#also not me doing the basic 'older man holds young boy by the shoulders' pose | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sweetestlamb · 3 years

Text

Still, I Rise

Summary: Damn teenagers and their angst.

Author's Note: Back with another chapter, if you didn’t already know it I will be revealing our mystery character from the last chapter LOL please put down the bats and weapons (jk take them out it’s hilarious!) With this chapter we are getting closer to the “climax” and I am so excited to write the fun chapters I have planned ahead, one scene that I am really looking forward to writing is the camping trip, I had so much plans and events that I wanted to see that didn’t because TVN woke up and chose basic, we hate to see it. I can’t wait to rewrite history honestly also can’t wait to just move to onto regular schmegular teen problems, I swearrrrrrr.

"Don't you dare embarrass me this time. You aren't ugly why can't you get these damn little rich brats to like you? Are you truly this useless? Don't come home if you can't make this one fall for you!"

Those had been his father's final words right before his hand split his lower lip open with a razor sharp blow that made his head whip in recoil. His father's footsteps faded as he walked away leaving him crumpled on the ground, anger and embarrassment raging in his blood. He hadn't chosen this life at all, never wanted to be a bargaining chip for that despicable man. First with Eun Dan Oh and now this new girl, Kang Sujin.

She'd initially stood him up and he had felt foolish sitting in the lavish restaurant by himself, checking his phone but no calls or messages arrived.

His father had been livid that night, more vicious than usual his stepmother's weak screams served as the soundtrack for his brutal beating. Why couldn’t she just be quiet? Did it make her feel better when she acted as if she actually gave a shit about him? His brother coming into his room after with those pathetic weeping eyes and a bandage had only made him angrier, he shoved him away slamming the door in his face, refusing his help. He didn't need anyone, nobody could save him from his horrible fate.

It hadn't taken much research to find out her school and on impulse he'd gone there without her knowledge, watching from afar at first. A tiny girl with short hair framing her face had ran giggling into a taller girl with long dark hair and a classically beautiful face, they walked side by side smiling and laughing and that's when he'd heard her call out , "Sujin we should get something to eat!"

It wasn't love at first sight or anything ridiculous and disgustingly romantic like that, but he felt a connection to the girl for some inconceivable reason as if they were kindred spirits or something, maybe it was the remnant of a bruise he saw on her wrist hidden beneath her sweater.

It seemed they had more in common then he had initially believed, it was a grim similarity.

He'd gone home feeling less burdened than before, and his father's smile had been terrifying when he'd told him that he would work hard to win the girl over, only because he knew how quickly that smile could evaporate and his father could become the monster he was accustomed to. He tried not to flinch as the older man clapped him on the shoulder, his body already in fight or flight mode.

His father had merely smirked at his apparent fear.

Bastard.

So he'd taken to following the other girl around, she was going to be his fiancé anyway so he saw nothing wrong with it. And that was how he learned about the other boy, a tall slender boy who looked like someone that would grace an idol magazine cover. They were together more often than he liked, and it seemed more than platonic if the glances and subtle touches were a sign.

He wasn't jealous per se, but this would be a roadblock in his plan that he couldn't afford. He was getting used to not being beaten.

The day he'd followed them to the hospital presented another challenge for him, he hated hospitals and what they represented with every fiber of his being. He'd spent too much time in them growing up and then again for a girl who couldn't care less about him, she was another reminder that he wasn't worthy of love. He had thought he loved her but still hurt her whenever she disobeyed him, he knew he was no better than his father.

Unexpectedly Sujin had burst through the hospital doors, surprising him and forcing him to hide lest she spot him, peeking out from his hiding place behind a tree he saw her distraught and near tears running the opposite direction. He stood in shock merely watching and waiting to see if the unknown boy would follow her, but thankfully he never came.

Pushing down his own wariness and discomfort he walked into the hospital immediately feeling a cold chill on his skin, he refused to call it trauma that made it sound like something was wrong with him. He was fine and he could do this.

Thankfully the nurses were too busy and nobody noticed him walking by and he froze when he spotted another man who was capable of making him flinch. Doctor Kang, he looked anything but approachable in his gleaming white lab coat and he remembered watching the man laugh with his father as they both sold their children without remorse. Instinctively he hid watching the man glare into a hospital room, he almost feared for whomever was the recipient of the ice cold gaze.

Minutes melted by before the doctor finally walked away, his steps clipped and echoing on the linoleum floors and he finally let out a sigh of relief when the other man disappeared around the corner.

Stealthily he rounded the corner and took the doctor's abandoned spot, peeking into the room through the small window in the door. It was that boy again, the idol wannabe but this time he wasn't alone there was a young girl with a bouquet in her arms and a older woman lovingly patting him on his cheeks.

His mother.

A loving one, at that.

His blood seared watching the domestic scene, jealousy ripping through him like a tornado. There was no way he was letting this asshole have Sujin too, he already had too much. More than he, Baekyung would ever have.

The motorcycle roars under her thighs as they whip down the road. It only serves to remind her of the first time she was on a bike with another boy, his cologne and the scent of leather infiltrating her senses and making her heart jump through hoops. This time she feels nothing but annoyance and extreme frustration, barely holding onto the stranger in front of her as she leans forward to yell above the engine, "Pullover!"

She knows he heard her based on the immediate tension in his body but he continues to ride ignoring her request demand. With a grunt she grabs onto his waist only to bodily drag them to the side not caring if they both crash at this point she cannot stand another second on this bike with him, instantly he straightens them before skidding to the side and finally pulling the brakes bringing the motorcycle to a halt, the moment the bike stops she hops off in a frenzy.

Thrusting the bottom piece of his helmet up he screams at her, "Are you insane? You could have hurt us!"

She bares her teeth at him, ready to unleash her full anger on him now without an audience.

"Who the fuck are you? And why did you come to my school?" She bellows glaring poisonously at the strange idiot who had single handedly upended her day.

Moving calmer than she's feeling, he dismounts finally pulling his helmet off and then squeezing it under his arm looking down at her.

With a condescending look he stares at her, "You know exactly who I am, don't play dumb it's beneath you."

He's right. She does know who he is although she had never seen him or known his name, she had truly thought she could ignore him and he would disappear. Just like with her father that was proving to be an erroneous dream that would never come true.

"But I'll formally introduce myself since we are going to be engaged soon after all, Baekyung. You can call me oppa though."

Engaged soon.

Her head spins from his words, she feels terror shift over her like a thick suffocating blanket.

"You don't even know me. Why would you even agree to this?" She stares at him in disbelief, at a loss to his acquiesce to their tragic fate.

The look in his eyes haunt her, it's like staring in a mirror and gazing back at the person she was months ago. Somehow without her knowledge or consent she'd changed, grown even and therefore started believing that her life was just that, hers.

"You act like we have a choice. Don't be stupid, we have to just do as we're told. It's easier this way for everyone." He repeats those words that she herself had uttered to Seojun not so long ago, a sense of deja vu washes over her.

"How is letting ourselves be used easier? Don't you have your own dreams or aspirations? Isn't there someone you actually like?" She knows the error of her argument immediately as she says it, his eyes narrow into thin enraged slits and she can practically feel the anger vibrating off him.

"Don't pretend to care about me. This is about you and your little boyfriend," he spits the word like acid and immediately she remembers those chilling words he had whispered in her eyes earlier, "Do you think he'll be safe?" That was all it had taken for her to go with him, he couldn't get hurt she wouldn't allow that to happen ever. She had no idea what those ominous words meant and how this boy could pose a threat to Seojun but she knew she had to hear him out and protect Seojun anyway she possibly could.

"He's not the only one you should be worried about." The smug bastard continues with a humorless grin on his face and suddenly the dots connect, her father outside of Ms. Han's hospital room and that calculating look on his face. Her stomach drops.

"Leave them out of it!" She screams embarrassed at the urgent plea in her voice but she can't help it, she's so scared more than she's ever been for herself.

"Well that all depends on you doesn't it? Your dear father will have no reason to do anything to them if you listen like a good daughter and date me as expected."

She stands frozen once again feeling helpless, it kills her inside all her growth slipping down the drain in a matter of seconds.

"Why are you doing this?"

He stills at her question, his cold mask dropping and leaving something numb and unreadable in its place. It feels familiar to her, she awaits his answer with bated breath.

"I want to live, even if I have no control over it. I'd rather be alive."

Thunder clashes above them, the previously sunny day shifting into a gray dark distortion, heavy storm clouds ominously loom above them and the first raindrops land perfectly on her cheeks, crying the tears that she refuses to let fall. She has no more left to cry.

Confusion is an understatement to express Su-ah's true feelings following the mysterious boy on the motorcycle, when she finally gets Sujin on the phone the other girl is quiet and mumbling, evading all her questions and as soon as she mentions Seojun, Sujin shuts down hastily ending their conversation with some nonsensical excuse.

That was not going to be the end, Sujin might want to play dumb about the true nature of their relationship but she wasn't part of the circus. She was no clown, she had eyes and it was clear that they liked each other and it was only growing the more time they spent together. She wouldn't let her best friend sabotage something that could be great for her, she deserved happiness and Seojun made her happy. So it was truly that simple.

Stomping up the slight incline to school, she huffs and puffs determined. She was going to talk some sense into the other girl.

Those thoughts come crashing all around her when she sees Sujin coming out of a car, a car that she has never seen before and her questions are answered when the boy from yesterday steps out after her. Every eye in a ten mile radius is watching them, captivated by this new school scandal. Girls already squealing and giggling, envious of Sujin and doing very little to hide their true feelings.

“Why is he with her? She isn’t even that pretty. He should be with me.”

The lies people told themselves to sleep at nights, sad.

Accidentally knocking the gossiping girl to the side with a rough shoulder check, ignoring her dramatic cry she sprints the rest of the way, once again pushing through the crowd to get to Sujin.

Immediately their eyes lock and she begs Sujin for a answers, What happened? Why are you doing this? What’s going?, she flinches at the cold emotionless stare she gets in response. She watches in dismay as the tall boy bends down as if to hug Sujin and that's when a loud grumble fills the air, she turns around to the all too familiar sight of Seojun on his motorcycle. He revs the handle bar causing the crowd to part like the Red Sea, then he rides slowly until he's right next to Sujin bike inches away from touching her.

With a practiced motion he tugs off his helmet, those sloping feline eyes already on Sujin in a hard stare.

The tension is insurmountable and cloying and Su-ah watches transfixed before Sujin breaks the impasse, tugging her bookbag over her shoulder she stomps into the school without a word to either boys. But then the interloping boy calls out, “Have a good day. Princess,” and Sujin stops immediately at the word, turning around with a ferocious look in her eyes, “Don’t call me that. My name is Kang Sujin to you. That’s all.” Su-ah sees the way that Sujin’s eyes almost subconsciously seek out a certain cat eyed boy and feels like she misses an entire conversation between the two before Sujin finally walks away.

The mysterious boy glares at her retreating back before shooting a cold glare at Seojun and then promptly hopping back into his car, the backseat as he's chauffeured away.

"Oh my god! That was so hot! Princess?”

"Who is that? Does Kang Sujin have a boyfriend? Wow, she’s mean to her boyfriend too. What a bitch.”

Why do you think Seojun looked so angry?"

"Maybe he's worried about losing his bad boy title!"

The crowd erupts around them in loud voices, all curious about what they've witnessed and already creating rumors to appease their curiosity. Suddenly a loud motorcycle screech causes them all to jump silence falling over the crowd before Seojun rides away, the tight clench in his jaw visible even from her distance.

Lunch is a step above awkward, bordering into painful. The easy conversation that used to be a staple of the table is all but decimated, instead everyone eats quietly chilled by the cold air permeating from both Seojun and Sujin. They only speak when spoken to and avoid all eye contact, especially each others. It's painful to be a witness to and she notes regretfully that neither are eating home made lunch today, opting for the school lunch instead.

Sujin had never officially told her but she knew that they were making food for each other, their smiles watching the other eat made it too obvious.

This was serious. Looking at them now they looked like complete strangers, everyone was too nervous to question the elephant in the room. Everyone except poor Chorong.

"Why is everyone was so awkward today? What did you two fight or something? Why do we all have to suffer because of your lover's quarrel? Just kiss and make up already."

The table all looked on with opened mouths except Suho and herself who both looked worried instead.

And people thought she was slow, how had they all not realized what was happening? It was clear as day.

She flinches at his well-meaning words that are evidently not well received by either teen, watching them both glare at the table unmoving and the silence drags out painfully before Seojun breaks the stalemate. Standing without preamble he glares at Chorong before placing the stare on Sujin, it does nothing to change her unaffected stare. With a loud sigh he stomps away, despite his friends dismayed shouts of his name.

She continues to eat her lunch, watching Sujin in her peripheral.

She looks like she has the weight of the world on her shoulder and Su-ah for the first time in their friendship has no idea what to do.

But when they all start to funnel out of the cafeteria she follows the other girl anyway, tugging her into an enclave where they are hidden from the rest of their classmates Sujin cries out at the sudden jerk but loses her defensive stance when she realizes it’s just her.

“What?”

“What’s going on? Why are you letting that punk bring you to school and why are you and Han Seojun acting like you broke up before you even started officially dating? Sujin-ah, please tell me what’s going on.” She pleads latching onto the other girl’s arm peering up at her with puppy dog eyes, they have never failed her before.

“I can’t tell you yet, I’m sorry.”

There’s a first time for everything and she frowns at Sujin feeling like there is a mountain between them. She can’t help the hurt that she feels knowing the other girl doesn’t trust her enough to tell her what’s going on. She thought they had moved past all the secrets and hiding but obviously she was wrong.

“I really am sorry. But I will tell you everything soon enough.”

She releases Sujin’s arm, ready to walk away. She hates being in the dark. But before she can walk away, she feels Sujin hand on the bottom of her sweater tugging her backwards, she looks back with a perplexed glare.

“Do you trust me?”

She stares at Sujin and the soft tilt of her head as she asks the question, and her answer is easy, although she has no idea what’s going on and none of this makes any sense to her she doesn’t have to think about that answer.

"You shouldn't do this to him. It's too cruel." Suho expects a biting retort or even a call for him to mind this damn business, so he's shocked breathless when instead the other girl smiles at him, a tiny almost indecipherable thing that makes her lips thinner.

"You two have come a long way." Sujin responds unexpectedly shaking her head and walking over to the couch, before beckoning him over too.

He stares feeling suspicious but ultimately he follows, curiosity winning.

"I think I'm ready." Sujin expels a deep breath, twisting her hands nervously in her lap. Before he can ask her what exactly she's ready for she continues, "I want to tell your father what happened if you really think he'll help me."

He's too late to swallow the strangled gasp that escapes from his lungs and he leans back in surprise. He wants to continue his conversation about Seojun but he’s scared to do anything to make the other girl retreat or change her mind now. That conversation will have to wait for another day.

Sorry Seojun.

"Are you sure? You're really ready to do this?"

There's a long pause and he watches a myriad of emotions run across Sujin's usually expressionless face until something that looks suspiciously like hope blossoms making her glow brighter than the sun.

"Yes. I want to try living just for me."

Blinking away the moisture in his eyes, he pulls out his cellphone sending his father a message.

Please come over.

It only takes seconds but it feels like an eternity before his father replies, he smiles at the message.

On my way.

He stands up to put the kettle on the fire, he knows that tonight will be a long night and he needs something to keep his hands occupied.

When his doorbell rings he's shocked when Sujin stands up looking at him with a serene gaze, "I'll get it." He only nods at her in reply, watching as she greets his father and man recovers quickly at the unexpected visitor, smiling warmly at Sujin before pulling her into a warm embrace.

Even more surprisingly Sujin doesn't flinch, allowing herself to be wrapped up.

His father embraces him as well, patting him on the back and again on the head when they break apart. He can feel Sujin's eyes on them and he moves away guiltily. Now isn’t the time to rub his burgeoning relationship with his father in her face.

"Have a seat Dad, thank you for coming so quickly."

His father lifts an eyebrow at the sudden serious tone of his voice but he follows his directions nonetheless folding his hands on his lap and looking inquisitively between the two teenagers.

"Is there something you both want to tell me? Perhaps you two are....." His father motions vaguely between them and he stares back not comprehending until his father smiles slyly and Sujin beats him to it, protesting ardently.

"No! No, it's nothing like that. There's someone else...I mean no. That's what what we wanted to talk about."

He raises an eyebrow at Sujin's slip and his father chuckles at her stuttering and the red blaze across her cheeks.

His father waves his arms in appeal, apologetic grin on his face. "Sorry I didn't mean to embarrass you both. I just always hoped you two might one day. A father can dream."

He scoffs at his father, "Give up on that dream she's like family to me. We would never see each other that day."

Sujin nods passionately in agreement and his father shrugs easily, now looking even more curious than before.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

Sujin stills on her spot on the couch, the determination in her bones seeming to melt away with every passing minute. He fears this won't go as planned and he has no idea how to motivate her.

Then a loud vibration rumbles from the couch and it takes Sujin a moment to realize it's her phone, he watches curiously as she looks at the message and then a single tear runs down her round cheek. The determination curls back around her like armor, he watches in amazement as she sits taller turning to look at his father with newfound courage or maybe it wasn’t newfound but suddenly uncovered by whatever she had seen on her phone.

“Suho asked you for help for me. I’m really the one who needs your help.” He can hear the slight quiver and hitches in her words but she gets them all out and instantly she has his father’s undivided attention, he even turns his body to fully face the girl. Pride swells in his chest at the sight, he was worried his father would only be adamant about helping him directly as a way to get closer to him but now he can see that he was wrong about the other man. Genuine concern fills every line and wrinkle of time on his face.

“What is wrong? What do you need help with and why can’t you tell your parents?” It’s a innocent question, and logical too but he fears Sujin’s reaction, when she feels like she is backed into a corner in the past that has led to her lashing out with dagger sharp remarks, he watches with his heart lodged in his throat.

“Because they are the ones hurting me.”

His lungs deflate releasing all the air that was trapped in the sacs, she said the truth without hesitation and he turns to glance at his father watching him process the bomb that she has just dropped on him. His father opens and closes his mouth several times, before finding his voice it is but a whisper when he responds to Sujin.

“That time you needed a doctor.” The statement is directed to Suho and with a sober nod he confirms what his father already knows, with a loud sigh his father sinks into the couch quiet rage on his face. “I should have known, you always seemed so scared of him but I thought it was just his parenting style I never thought...never expected that he would....I should have done something!”

Sujin laughs, it is pained and small but he hears it and immediately turns to look at her, “He sounds just like you like father like son I guess,” Sujin directs that at him and he blushes in memory, he can’t deny the claims. Then she turns back to his father with surprisingly soft eyes, “Don’t blame yourself, just help me now if you can.”

“I will use all of my resources to make sure he spends his life in jail.”

Suho jumps in his seat looking over at Sujin, that is way more than they had ever discussed that was what he truly wanted for the monstrous man but it always seemed like too much to ask for but here was his father saying it as if it was completely plausible.

“Jail? Do you really think he can go to jail? It would be his word against mine, I never took any pictures. I was stupid.” Sujin berates herself, and before he can dismiss the self inflicted insult his father is already moving closer and putting a large hand on her trembling shoulder, only then does he realize how the girl is shaking like a new leaf.

“No, it will be my word against his. I will also get that report from Doctor Kim, that could be used as evidence. You’re just a kid and a victim, I’ll handle this you don’t need to do anything else. You’ve handled enough on your own, we got you now.” His father looks over at him as if waiting for his approval and he moves onto the couch with them both, after a moment’s pause putting his hand on Sujin’s other shoulder.

“We got you.”

Jukyeong glances over nervously at Seojun the aroma of coffee thick in the air as she sweeps up the beans she had clumsily spilled on the ground, she waited for Seojun to playfully scold her as he often did when she messed up at work but the reprimand never came and when she glanced over at him he had been staring longing at his cellphone.

Su-ah had been the first to notice how weird him and Sujin acted around each other and despite not having a lot of experience with relationships, especially those of the romantic kind she could see that they didn’t hate each other as much as Sujin tried to drive the deceptive point home. They were always teasing each other and Seojun found any excuse to be near Sujin and soon he wasn’t the only one, they just seemed to naturally gravitate to each other at times bickering so much it was like they were the only two people in the room.

But all that had come to an abrupt end with the sudden appearance of the boy on the motorcycle, the entire school was in a uproar over him, Baek Kyung, she had heard the other girls whispering his name. On paper he seemed very similar to Han Seojun, same bad boy persona and affinity for motorcycles and glares. But the biggest difference she noticed was Sujin's reaction to them both, she had heard from some gossiping girls how vehemently Sujin had declared that Baek Kyung not call her “princess”, a moniker she had commonly heard Seojun use to refer to the girl. Sujin never stopped him these days, instead rolling her eyes and speeding up to escape from him, he would chase after all calling her the sweet nickname all the way.

When Seojun would use it to refer to her in passing such as, “Are you gonna eat that princess?” Those were times that Sujin didn’t react at all, simply handing him whatever food in her container had caught his eye that she had ignored.

They were casually domestic in a way that they never seemed to realize and she couldn’t help but categorize. Seojun liked Sujin that was becoming clearer and it seemed like the feeling was mutual, even if the girl wasn’t yet ready to admit it.

Which was why this new development came as a complete shock to her, why was Sujin suddenly giving her attention to someone else?

“Did you guys have a fight? Just tell her you’re sorry.” She offers out of the blue, and Seojun turns to her with a puzzled look drying a mug with a cloth, “What are you talking about now clumsy?”

Thankfully the shop is empty, she quirks at eyebrow at him folding her arm when he continues to play dumb.

“Sujin. You guys clearly had a fight, you’re both so hot tempered. Her temper is probably worst than yours though so just apologize okay? It’s better than fighting.”

He stares at her with a blank face before turning away, rubbing firmer at the mug in his hands and she worries for its safety.

“Why should I apologize when she’s the one who’s with another guy? Don’t worry about me, I will be fine. Clearly this was one-sided. She doesn’t like me.”

She openly laughs at him now, looking at him like he has two heads. “What are you talking about? If she didn’t like you then why did she follow you to your mom’s hospital? She tried to be all sneaky but Chorong told us everything. Plus she always gets jealous when other girls give you food at school and don’t think we don’t all know that you guys make food for each other!”

He whips around looking at her with huge eyes, “Wait you all knew? So when I said that someone special made it for me? You knew?”

She smiles brightly, “Yep. It wasn’t subtle at all.”

He sighs in annoyance, turning away to hide the pink on his face.

“I’m not apologizing. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

She sighs at the boy’s words, knowing that this fight might go on longer than it needs to and she wishes she could just shake some sense into both of them, why were they choosing to suffer like this?

Damn teenagers and their angst.

Grumbling she goes to take a customer’s order, glancing over at Seojun with a final sad smile.

Hopefully they can figure this out without falling apart.

Time seems to move slower than usual today and he almost pumps a fist in triumph when he sees that it’s finally eight and they are free to leave.

“Do you want to me to walk you to the bus stop?” He offers Jukyeong out of politeness but she shakes her head no, telling him that she is going to meet with her older sister for dinner running out before him and hailing a cab, he smiles at the sight that’s one girl who loves to eat.

Turning off the lights in the shop, he turns over the “open” sign and locks the door behind him. The cool spring night air brushes against his cheeks and he makes his way to his motorcycle, mounting in one motion and sighing as it purrs to life before he speeds off his destination already in mind. He bobs and weaves through traffic, smirking at idiot drivers who blare their horns at him when he inches too close to their precious car but even they are not enough to rain on his parade.

When he finally arrives, he bounces off the bike throwing the helmet onto the handlebar carelessly before bounding over to the figure he sees waiting.

He can’t help the smile that tugs against his lips, ultimately setting it free as the figure turns around at the sound of his boot stomping on the ground.

“Did you wait long?” He asks moving closer until he can feel the heat wafting off the body in front of him.

“No, I only just got here too. Why are you smiling like that? You look deranged.”

He smiles wider, feeling mischievous after what a certain klutz had revealed to him with a smirk he leans closer to her, grinning harder when she leans back looking at him with a confused glare.

“I heard from a certain birdie that you followed me to the hospital and that you get jealous when other girls give me food. Is that true princess?”

Sujin growls at him, shoving his shoulder hard before stomping away to the park bench. He eagerly follows after her, throwing his arm over her shoulder smiling at her wearing yet another one of his sweaters, this time a black one that reaches the bottom of her knees and completely hides whatever she is wearing underneath. She looks equally sexy as adorable and it makes his blood boil in a way he has been trying harder and harder to suppress around her.

“I knew you would try to milk the situation. This isn’t why I told you everything.”

He smiles recalling what Sujin is referring to.

Just a day go.....

He stares angrily at his phone in utter disbelief that she would have the gall to call him after what had just happened. She had left on another boy’s motorcycle even though he had asked her not to, he didn’t know what was going on but seeing her leave like that, he wished he knew how to turn off all his feelings for her. No other human should have this kind of power or control over him but here he was ready to burst because she had picked someone else over him.

“What do you want?” He barks out answering the call with a hard press of his finger and immediately he starts to lose some of his fire when he hears her soft staggered breaths on the other line.

“Seojun, can you meet me somewhere?”

He wants to say no, to bitterly hang up on her and tell her that he has someone new too but that would be a lie and he desperately wants to see her and hold her and find out why she decided to rip his heart out and stomp on it.

Feeling pathethic he answers her with a sigh, “Where are you?”

Songnisan park. It’s not too far from their school and he hangs up without answering hopping on his bike and riding to her. Maybe it’s stupid but he can’t turn his back on her just yet, he still wants to hear her out even if she’s going to break his heart.

By the time he reaches the park it’s raining, pouring down in sheets despite the warm weather and he immediately sees Sujin sitting under the downpour while other park goers are running and using picnic blankets as makeshift umbrellas.

The scenes feels all too familiar and he wonders if this will be their end? Would life be that poetic to have them end the same way they became?

Sighing he tugs his sweater off, walking quickly to close the gap between them before sitting beside her and thrusting his sweater above both their heads, protecting them from the rain.

She turns to him with a gasp and he realizes how closely they are sitting beside each other, he can feel her breath when she exhales and it washes over in an intoxicating breeze. He has to forcibly put some distance between them before he does something that he knows he shouldn’t, especially not now.

“My father knows about us. He saw me at the hospital and I’m scared he saw your mother and sister too. I don’t think I should visit anymore.”

He pauses to process her words and he feels his chest tighten with anger at the mention of that sub-human, if he ever tried to harm a hair on his family’s head that would be the last thing he ever did. But once the rage passes by he thinks of the rest of Sujin’s sentence, my father knows about us.

They were an us.

There was an us for people to know about?

“Us?” He replies stupidly, unable to stop his heart from fluttering.

With a sound of exasperation she looks over at him, “How is that the most important thing that I said?” The pretty blush on her face does not go unnoticed but he responds to her statement staying focused, “My mom was discharged today. They said it was just a scare and nothing serious. He can’t do anything to us, if he tries I’ll kill him.”

He means it, every single word falling from his lips.

He’s not prepared for Sujin to sob and drop her head onto his shoulder, he drops their sweater umbrella at the sudden pleasant weight feeling the rain drench his hair and shirt instantly.

“I’m so happy to hear that. I was so worried about all of you.”

A bubble of happiness explodes in his chest and he’s so close to just letting go of all his anger and holding her, seeing her so worried about his family is almost enough to undo him.

But, he can’t forget the image of her riding off with someone else. His heart will never forget that ache, that indescribable pain.

“So you care about me now? Is that why you left me like that today? Because you care so much?”

He is being petty, he knows that but he can’t stop the jealousy that is fueling him right now. His green eyed monster is raring its ugly head.

“That’s the guy you told me to stand up, remember? That’s the guy my father is trying to sell me to. He’s been following us and he knew about you, he threatened you. I did what I had to, I have to do this until I speak to Suho’s father. I think.....No. I’m ready now. I’m going to tell him everything and ask for his help.”

His heart is pounding erratically in his chest, he can barely hear the rain over the loud thumping of the organ and he can’t believe he ever doubted her, feels guilt twist around him but he pushes that aside to take in everything she has confessed to him, without saying the words she has all but confirmed everything Jukyeong carelessly exposed to him in the coffee shop, she cares about him too enough to want to protect him at any cost. But most importantly she was starting to care about herself, she no longer saw her life as expendable and was willing to ask for help even at the expense of revealing her darkest secret and getting her hopes up.

Fuck she was the bravest person he knew.

Without thinking he tugs her into his arms, wrapping her in a tight hug before he realizes what he’s doing but by the time he starts to move back she’s already hugging him back, her arms tight around his shoulder and her head in the dip of his neck and it’s too perfect to stop now. Absently he strokes her wet silky smooth hair and when they finally draw apart, the barest amount of space between them he takes another risk, glancing at her eyes pleading and then smiling when she nods, giving him permission even without knowing what he plans to do, simply trusting him, he leans forward and plants a soft butterfly kiss on her forehead, she hisses in response but instead of moving away she latches on to him tighter.

“I’m so proud of you baby.” He kisses her again, firmer this time putting all the love and pride he feels for her in that gentle kiss to her brow.

He expects a lot of things in response to his bold move and the new nickname, a punch, a kick, her loud denial and rejection, he is emotionally prepared for any and all of those reactions, but instead she steals his breath away when she smiles up at him, looking into his eyes and he realizes that she’s looking for permission too and he nods, nervous and anxious to see what she will do.

With a moment’s hesitation she tugs him down and he goes easily, his heart in his chest and he closes his eyes as her face draws closer to him, his heart is pattering now a crazy thundering mess filled to the brim with anticipation.

He feels her plush lips against his cheek, the rain making the skin slick and he hums in encouragement as the kiss lingers before he opens his eyes and immediately they are lost in each other’s eyes and he can feel their faces moving closer as if opposite ends of a magnet and he waits for her to stop them, to push him away and run off but she is just as lost as him, moving closer too and when only centimeters separate their lips, a loud crash of thunder booms high above their heads making them jump apart, both flying to opposite ends of the bench.

“We should...um get out of this rain before we catch a cold.”

The ride home is awkward and he can barely breathe with how tightly she’s holding his waist but he smiles through the rain, taking care to move carefully on the wet streets not wanting to hurt Sujin and then they are in front of Suho’s apartment, much too fast to his disappointment.

They both sit unmoving for a few seconds before Sujin releases his waist from her death grip and gets off the bike.

“Let’s talk over there for a minute.” He states dismounting too and walking over to the scaffold so they can escape the torrential rain for a moment at least.

They stand awkwardly shivering from the cold in their wet clothes, it’s obvious that Sujin is embarrassed about what happened- their kisses-but he can barely contain his joy, if he were alone right now he would be doing backflips.

This day as made a complete 180 turn for the better.

“I have to pretend to date him. We already agreed to come to school tomorrow. He agreed to stop following me if I let him take me to school and go on dates. He has to put on a show for his father too.” She says talking so fast that the words slur together and he wonders absently if she’s nervous? And if so, why? Was she nervous about his reaction?

He nods in understanding, “Okay. I forgot to say it earlier, but thank you for telling me and not leaving me in the dark. I appreciate it.”

That’s the logical part of his response, he knows what it took for Sujin to involve him in her plan and how huge it is that she hadn’t wanted him to misunderstand her feelings and motives. But she’s still the girl that he likes and he can’t help the illogical things that flood his mind too.

“Not on his motorcycle though.”

She looks at him with a deep searching stare and he simply stares back, nonplussed. He knows what he sounds like, a bargaining jealous boyfriend. That’s exactly what he wants to be so he sees no reason to attempt to explain himself, whatever she’s thinking is true and he isn’t the least bit ashamed to admit it. At his unabashed stare she crumples looking away with a barely hidden smile, “Okay. Not on his bike. Even though I never told you that you were allowed to have conditions, this isn’t a negotiation.” She complains but the sting is gone because she has already agreed to his request, he flashes a smile at her.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. I will have to act jealous, that shouldn’t be too hard.” He winks at her and this time she does try to punch him, he barely dodges her fist.

Such a violent little thing.

“I never said you had to do anything.”

He shrugs, “It makes sense. I like you so it would only make sense that I would be jealous if I thought you were dating someone else, plus he will probably want to see that too.”

She’s as red as a strawberry as she sprints away from him without another word, waving at him over her shoulder.

He smiles all the way home, before falling into bed after a much needed warm shower, his toes and fingers were like ice chips when he finally got home.

Remembering one more thing, he grabs his phone shooting a quick text message.

Don’t let him call you nicknames. Only Sujin.

Reading it back he determines that the message is a bit too...commanding and if he wants to keep a certain boot out of his ass he better fix it so he swiftly adds:

Please.

Present time....

“I didn't do anything. She just suddenly started telling me how much you adore me and how you can’t live without me and that I should just forgive you and take you back.” He sniffles dramatically watching amused as Sujin rolls her eyes, before angrily pulling out her phone, he laughs suddenly worried for Jukyeong so he snatches the object from her hands, much to her chagrin.

“I might have exaggerated about what she said, a teeny tiny bit.” He demonstrates the small amount with his fingers and she glares at him biting out, “Liar,” before snatching back her phone and stuffing it in her pockets with a grumble.

Getting serious he turns to look at her with anticipation, “How did it go? Were you able to tell him everything?” She is staring out at the horizon, despite him boring a hole in the side of her head begging for eye contact.

“I hesitated. I lost my confidence.”

He can hear the defeat in her voice and without a pause he opens his mouth to comfort her and tell her how strong she is and explain why this is just a minor setback but next time they can go together and if she needs him to he will hold her hand the entire time and give her every last drop of his support and--

“But then I got a message and it gave me courage. So I told him everything and he agreed to help me. He wants to send my dad to jail, not just emancipate me.”

She did it.

She really did it.

He smiles at her wider than the ocean.

“You did it, Sujin.”

She stares at him in palpable shock, he immediately knows why it’s not often he uses her name and he expects her to be happy that he isn’t calling her the nickname she is always dismissing, she’s always so adamant that she is not a princess much less his princess.

“Don’t call me that.” She says finally turning to meet his eyes and he stares back confused because he had only said her name, why was that a problem? Wasn’t that what she had been trying to get him to call her since the first time he dubbed her princess?

“What do you want me to call you then?”

He is truly asking but the look she gives him makes him feel like the dunce in the corner of the room and realization unfurls in his body like a slow moving tsunami and he smiles unbridled at the epiphany.

He hasn’t wanted to get his hopes up by making assumptions about what this is but maybe it’s time that he have some confidence now, he was someone important to her. She had already proved that in so many ways these past days.

Taking her hand in his, he smiles brightly at her.

It’s the first time that he has held her hand, and he can feel the damaged skin in his own smoother hand. His heart aches for only a moment, her hands are just like her they might look bruised and pitiful at first glance but beneath the broken surface lurked unimaginable strength and power and just like the rest of her, they were imperfectly perfect. He never wanted to hold another hand, this was the only one he needed.

“Good job, you did it Princess.”

She smiles up at him, looking gorgeous-heart stoppingly so-and he can’t help the way his chest constricts as if he didn’t know it already he knows it now unequivocally .

He, Han Seojun belongs to Kang Sujin.

#true beauty #bmtl #han seojun #kang sujin #extraordinary you crossover #baekyung #lots of povs #another rollercoaster chapter #junjin #true beauty fix it #true beauty kdrama #I had mini heart attacks writing this

39 notes · View notes

rinkunokoisuru · 4 years

Text

I don’t normally write fan fics, not to mention actually share them, so I’m super nervous, but whatever, here we go This is based on the comic by @horrendoushag because I saw @lexosaurus‘s tags. Also some inspiration from some other fics seeing as I’ve read a lot of them.

Danny paused his game of Doomed and slid his over-sized set of headphones to his neck with a sigh at the knock on the door. He wasn't expecting Sam or Tucker to come over, and he knew that Jazz was at the library working on her thesis, so that really only left one or both of his parents as the one responsible. He swung his chair slightly towards the door as the knocking continued. "Yeah?" Danny called, voice raised. "Danny, can we come in? We need to talk with you." As suspected, it was his parents. Yes he'd forgotten to clean the lab again, and yes he'd only barely passed most of his classes, but this wasn't anything new for him. Besides, classes had only just ended for the semester, so it was unlikely that that was what they wanted to talk about since report cards hadn't even been sent home yet. Mentally preparing himself, he decided that he'd just have to let them come in and talk his way out of whatever it was they had to say or just accept the in-coming grounding. "Uh. Yeah, I guess." His mother opened the door and stepped to the side to allow his father space to enter the room.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Danny asked nervously. Maddie's lips were pulled tight and if the hood of her hazmat suit had been pulled back, Danny was sure the fire in her eyes would have been enough to make him shrink even further into his seat. Glancing towards his dad's more expressive face in hopes that he had just misinterpreted, Danny could see that he was just upset as his mother, though with a hint of confusion mixed in as well. "Would you care to explain this, young man?" She held up her phone for Danny to see the screen. From where he was sitting, he couldn't really see what the fuss was about. "It's, uh, twitter?" he shrugged before crossing his arms. "Danny-boy," his father stated sternly. "Alright, alright. Let me see," he grabbed for the phone. As he browsed through what his mother had passed to him, Danny felt his stomach flop in a mix of fear and embarrassment. "Well, Danny?" she tapped her foot impatiently. "What's all this about you dating that menace, Phantom?" Danny winced and sunk further into his chair. He never expected his parents would go on twitter in the first place, let alone find his profile. Phantom had had his own twitter profile for only a week before he'd been assaulted by people claiming ghosts weren't real, that they were his biggest fans, that he was scum that needed to be eradicated, people asking if he would date them, and other uncomfortable comments. Danny had learned to either ignore them or play along and quickly became known for his shitposts. The fact that he was dating himself had started as just a joke with Sam and Tucker to try to aggravate Wes, it had been inconceivable at the time that his parents would ever find those tweets. Yet here they were. "I can explain?" He could not explain. "Well let's hear it then, Danny," his mom replied, raising an eyebrow. The impatient foot tapping continued as he stared at the bedroom floor. He brought his hand up to rub at his neck, a nervous habit of his, as he wracked his brain for an excuse. The uncomfortable silence dragged on for what felt like hours to Danny, though was only about a minute before his dad broke it. "Danny," Jack soothed, placing his sizable hand on his son's significantly smaller shoulder, "we understand that you're getting older and starting to make a lot of your own decisions, but your mother and I are worried about you. It just isn't safe to spend so much time around such a dangerous ghost." "Phantom isn't dangerous." "I know Phantom is very popular with kids your age, but he is dangerous. He pretends to protect the town, but who knows what he could do if he decided to stop faking it," Maddie added. Danny jerked away from his father's hold and jumped out of his chair, only barely able to stop his eyes from glowing an unnatural ectoplasmic green. "No! Jazz and I keep telling you! Phantom doesn't pose a threat to humans." Jack narrowed his eyes with skepticism, and Danny was sure his mother was doing the same beneath her goggles. Letting out an exasperated huff, Danny continued, "You guys are too caught up in your 'research' to even consider that a ghost could be good. When was the last time you even talked with a ghost?" "Danny..." his mother started. Both of his parents had heard this same argument from Jazz plenty of times by now. "No, listen. You never listen. Phantom isn't going to hurt me!" "You can't know that." "Yes! I can!" "And how is that!" Maddie's lips impossibly pressed even thinner, her whole stance becoming more aggressive. "Because I'm Phantom!" His parents seemed to deflate at this outburst. As soon as he realized what he'd said, his hands flew to his mouth and he allowed the cold rush of invisibility to run over him. ---- It had been two weeks now since Danny had accidentally revealed to his parents that he and Phantom were one and the same. While the experience had been less than pleasant at the time, in hindsight it had been a pretty stupid way for his secret alter ego to come out. Jazz had come home not long after the confrontation. When she found out what had happened, she had some words of her own and stormed out to find Danny. As soon he returned safely, the whole family sat down to have a civil discussion about the news that Danny had been half ghost for almost two full years before they found out. To Danny's relief, his parent's had instantly accepted him, though that didn't stop them from feeling like they were at fault for what happened to him. Most of those two weeks since the outburst had been spent assuring his parents he was okay and that he didn't blame them. In fact he liked being part ghost. All things considered, things went much better than he thought they ever would have. Though that didn't stop things from being a little awkward when it came to Danny using his powers. ---- Danny and his friends slid into their usual booth at the Nasty Burger, Sam making sure to sit as far from the trays with meat as she could lest her stomach turn at the smell. Tucker lifted his Nasty burger and took a large whiff before shoving it into his mouth. "Sho how are your parentsh adjushting to you being Phantom?" "Please swallow your food before talking, Tucker," Sam rolled her eyes. Danny picked up one of his french fries and mindlessly dipped it into his ketchup. "I think they're doing alright. I'm still kind of hesitant to transform in front of them though." "I understand that. You basically lied to them for the past two years. It's going to take time for them to be completely comfortable with your ghost half," Sam said, picking at her slightly wilted salad. "Ugh, you sound like Jazz," Danny groaned, tossing his uneaten fry back onto the tray. "I know it's going to take time for them to get used to it." "They did say they want to support you, dude," Tucker gulped down the rest of the greasy burger. "Maybe you just need to expose them to a little more of your ghostly side," he wiggled his fingers for emphasis before pilfering some of Danny's fries, "Just use your powers around the house more often, man. Think of all the things you can do without worrying about getting caught now!" Danny glared briefly at the fry thief before turning back to his food with a sigh. "Maybe you have a point, Tuck." "Of course I do." "Maybe talk to Jazz about this plan first, just in case." "Better point," Danny replied before smacking Tucker's wandering hand away from his food once again. "Ouch! You weren't even eating those!" "They're still my fries." For the rest of their lunch, the group of teens mostly chatted about what movies they were looking forward to, which ghosts had been most annoying lately, and what other plans they had for their summer vacation. Eventually though, the trio had to go their separate ways. Sam's mother had plans to drag her daughter to some sort of benefit for the umpteenth time and Tucker had promised a group of his online friends that he'd help them out in some new game they were playing, so Danny waved goodbye and headed home by himself. It wasn't long before he'd arrived at his own doorstep and made his way upstairs. Danny considered dropping into bed and taking a nap before some ghost inevitably dropped in, but found himself wandering over to Jazz's room instead. Seeing the door was ajar, he quietly rapped on the door frame until his sister looked up from whatever she was working on. "What's up, Danny?" Jazz asked, a small smile on her face as she scooted her chair away from her desk so she could look at her brother while they spoke. He shuffled into the room and leaned against the wall. It took hardly any time for Danny to explain what he had discussed with Sam and Tucker, leaving Jazz looking pensive. "It actually seems like a pretty good idea to me," she finally said. "I think it might be good for all three of you. Especially since Mom and Dad aren't trying to shoot you anymore," she smirked. Danny let go of the tension he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Thanks, Jazz." "No problem, little brother," she smiled gently. Danny sent back a small smile of his own and left the room, allowing Jazz to return to her work. --- "Danny?" "Yeah, Mom?" he called from the living room. "Can you help me with dinner, sweetie?" Rather than gather the energy to stand from his relaxed position on the couch, Danny tucked his phone into his pocket and allowed the cold feeling at his core to overtake him. There was a bright flash of light and suddenly where there had sat the blue-eyed, black-haired Fenton, was instead the blindingly bright white hair and toxic green eyes of his Phantom form. Now was as good a time as any to start using his powers around his parents more often. He let the weightlessness that came more naturally in his ghost form take over and lazily floated into the kitchen. "What did you need help with?" his voice echoed ominously. His mother jolted in surprise before once again composing herself. "I was just hoping you could reheat the leftover mashed potatoes to go with dinner," she started hesitantly. "I'm not interrupting a fight with a ghost, am I?" "Hm? Nah," he replied. "A-alright then." Danny hovered on over to the refrigerator and stuck the entire front half of his body inside. He soon emerged with the cold bowl of potatoes and popped them into the microwave. At least they were less likely to come to life since they'd only been in there a day or so. Maddie watched her son flit about the kitchen like this was the most normal thing in the world. She absent-mindedly cleaned up the mess from preparing the night's meatloaf and supposed that for Danny, it probably was the norm. If he'd been half-ghost for nearly two years, then it would be sillier to expect him not to use his powers from time to time. "So how long until the meatloaf is done?" Danny questioned. The microwave was still running, but rather than continue to float in various places around the room, he had instead elected to change back into his human form and play around on his phone. "Just a few more minutes." "Awesome." They settled into a comfortable silence, Danny tapping away at a game on his phone and Maddie putting the finishing touches on the sides for their dinner. The quiet was only interrupted when the shrieking of the microwave alerted them that the potatoes were hopefully done reheating. "Danny, go get your father for dinner," Maddie said as she went to take the meatloaf out of the oven. "Okay," Danny replied without even looking up from his phone. In an instant, Danny Fenton had once again been replaced by Danny Phantom. Maddie stared in wide-eyed confusion as her son bent down onto the kitchen floor and stuck his head into the basement below. Jack happened to be looking up at the clock when he saw a shock of glowing, white hair sink through the ceiling. He felt his jaw drop as his the rest of Danny's head followed. There was a moment where they stared at each other, neither saying anything. "Dinner's ready," Danny finally relayed. Jack managed to shake himself out of his stupor. "Great! Thanks, Danny-boy!" The ghostly head of his son retreated back through the ceiling. It was going to be a while before Jack and Maddie could be completely comfortable around their son in ghost form, but at least Danny got to be a little shit in the process.

#danny phantom #fan fiction #fan fic #danny fenton #jack fenton #maddie fenton #jazz fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #uh...#idk #how do tag fics?#identity reveal #this is stupid #sharing my writing is scary lol

278 notes · View notes

writerfangirlbooks · 4 years

Text

Bobby’s Daughter Part 1

Dean x Y/N

Prompt: Imagine flirting with Dean Winchester before he finds out you're Bobby's daughter.

A/N: I know Bobby never had children, but let's imagine for now. I've got a cool idea, for the most part, to go with this prompt. As always, feel free to request any ideas you would like me to write! I've had quite a few Dean ones recently and even more coming up soon. Thanks for sticking with me. Also, I just can't write a story without a backstory, I just need it desperately haha, so enjoy this midnight mess. And uhh, this one gets a little steamier than the others, just a heads up. Also this one is getting multiple parts! Word Count: 1800

Credit to gif owner!

It took you long enough to convince your dad to so much as let you hunt by yourself.

You heard the story of your mom once, and only once. Your dad hated discussing what happened to her. It broke his heart, losing the love of his life. Bobby often declared he didn't know what he would do without you, that you being born was a blessing and miracle tied into one burst of joy in this miserable man's life. That was quite a bit to live up to. Fortunately, you weren't stuck with him all of the time. Once he stopped homeschooling you, you were able to have real interactions and get to know the real world.

Every once and a while, a friend of your father would drop his sons off at the doorsteps to watch for endless amounts of time. Sure, the boys were a couple of years younger, but at least they never said you had cooties. They were excited to be with Uncle Bobby, though they weren't related. It occasionally made you doubt your place in his heart, wondering if he wished you had been born a son instead. However, it was nice to not be made fun of not having a mom and having a drunkard for a father. You saw the brothers young and at one point, hadn't seen them since. It wasn't uncommon for traveling hunters to occasionally leave their children for a weekend or two, so you didn't easily remember all of their names.

Growing up a female was tricky in small-town Iowa, even more so as a hunter. Your father spent some time away hunting when things began to go awry in nearby towns. You started public middle school around age eleven, but your father feared you were simply too young to spend nights by yourself, and you didn't exactly have a bunch of friends to spend the nights at. That ended up causing extra frustration and stress on his plate before you suggested an idea you watched on television: private school.

In a way, Bobby was a better father after you went away. You became more outgoing, learned what it meant to be a lady, and more importantly, how to use that to your advantage. You were encouraged to learn other languages, try extracurriculars. So you did, studying Spanish and French for the rest of your education. You joined the photography club, acted in theatre, and played soccer. You went home on holiday breaks, summer being your favorite as it meant spending more time with your dad. He did his best to be home as often as possible. You got excited to fix cars if it meant spending time with him. Despite his protests, you felt encouraged to hunt, so he gave you pointers. It was years before around age sixteen, he finally allowed your first solo hunt. It was thrilling and unsurprisingly, it went great. He preferred playing board games and watching television with you, making him overall pretty chill.

The one thing he was not a cool dad came to your dating life. You tried getting a boyfriend young and Bobby insisted on meeting him before your first dance. Let's just say the two of you didn't leave together by the end of the night. He was more lenient toward regular, mediocre guys. His one rule was the most adamant: don't date hunters. Fortunately enough for you, most hunters were around your dad's age, so, very much not your type.

That could lead to some very lonely tonights as you became an adult, leading to one night stands in apartments. Of course, you skipped past the whole college scene. Far too expensive and not something you seemed interested in, anyway. Despite your father's protests, you decided to spend time traveling rather than staying with him. You had gotten used to your independence and was somehow nearing thirty way too quickly. You considered yourself content in life. You were a darn good hunter, a woman that could hold her alcohol, and a successful freelance photographer. You weren't sure where your dad's income came from and you decided it best not to ask, sticking to making an honest living while hunting as often as possible.

It was late summer and Bobby's birthday was coming up soon. Although he hated celebrating, you made sure to be around during this time. It just so happened to coincide with a case you were tracking. You figured you would surprise him tomorrow evening and make his favorite dinner. For now, though, you rented a small apartment half an hour away. You felt motels were dirty and a bit pathetic. You did have some class, after all.

Tonight you were looking for a good time, clothed in one of your favorite dresses, with matching heels and handbag. You headed to the bar, pulled up a chair, and ordered your favorite margarita. Soon enough, a man's build and shadow blocked your view of the door. He cleared his throat and you turned your head, taking in the view of messy brown hair and mischievous green eyes attached to a face full of sun-kissed freckles. The man wore nothing special, just regular jeans and a plaid shirt layered with a hunter-green jacket. It was a look that fits well in Iowa, but his voice showed quickly he was not raised here.

"Not a beer girl, huh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow towards your bright colored drink. You did a quick assessment and deemed this man as not a threat. He could be just what you were looking for. As you began to speak, you watched his attentive gaze dip from your eyes to your lips then back again.

"Not quite my style. I like something a little sweeter," you said with a small smile. Leaning back in your chair, you aimlessly twirled the straw around in your drink as you looked back up to the handsome stranger.

He draped an arm around your chair, his fingers lightly brushing your shoulders in the process. "Then feel free to call me sugar, sweetheart," he said. His eyes crinkled with the flirty grin. You wanted to laugh at what a bad line it was but figured his looks could make up for a lacking game. You bit back your smile by licking your lips and tacking a long sip of your drink.

"Well, I don't know about that, but you can call me Y/N," you offered.

The conversation quickly led into basic first date questions, leading you and the man who later introduced himself as Dean to realize you had quite a few similarities, such as bands, landmarks, and even pies. Neither of you was able to persuade the other to change interest in alcohol. Once you got to the topic of cars, you had lost track of time. Dean claimed to have an older Impala and was eager to show you. You were used to the ploys of cool cars to get a woman outside, but you weren't objecting to where the night was headed. You were left intrigued and somewhat shocked that someone this good looking was actually telling the truth about having such a well kept and beautiful vehicle. You were hoping to get the chance to impress him with your own knowledge about cars at some point if things actually made it past three am leavings, which was typically not likely.

When Dean proposed the invitation, he noticed your response was less than immediate. You didn't mean to hesitate but was trying to work out to tell him how you did not feel comfortable leaving your own car in the bar parking lot. His shoulders sagged ever so slightly. It typically wouldn't have been that noticeable except behavior change was something you studied in school when taught how to create poses for your photos. His green eyes were bright and eager, reflecting from the yellow lights outside of the bar.

"I, uh, if you're not interested... we don't have to..." Dean began stuttering, changing pace. He must not be used to rejection, you decided. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

You took one of Dean's hands, finding the new change endearing. Although it could've been funny to turn down someone that seemed like a player and innate flirter, that was not your plan for tonight. "Dean, I'm fine. I just don't like to leave my car, so if you want to follow, or go with me, back to my place?" You offered. You tilted your head, waiting for an answer.

He nodded. His grin had returned widely and he used his other hand to indicate for me to lead the way. And off Dean and you went. The two of you stumbled into your apartment in half the time it should have taken you to get back. Dean's chatter filled your ears up until you unlocked the door to your room.

Your keys were tossed onto the television stand while shoes were being kicked off against the closet door. Heat filled the room as your bodies filled the bed, disregarding your clothes and newness to one another. You felt much more connected as Dean kissed you, a sense of familiarity in his warmth and scent. It began with an intense and heavy makeout before his lips left yours, and began to trail down your neck, continuing further as time ticked away. The clock on the wall was the only sound you could hear besides your ragged breathing and the squeaks of the bed. The sheets were too weak for your grip, so you moved your nails into his back. You could feel his smiles trace your skin. You couldn't help but shudder when Dean whispered into your ear. It was a beautifully messy sight, watching Dean and you move as one, clinging to one another. Your eyelids fluttered, unsure of where to focus as the sensations grew stronger. Arching your head back to allow more room elsewhere, you thought you had lost your voice before one simple movement reminded you how to speak, urging you to call out Dean's name.

The night carried on for much longer.

Wattpad/Pinterest: writerfangirlbooks

Tiktok/Instagram: ashleyeneal

Tags: @akshi8278

#supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fandom #spn imagine #SPN #spn fic #spn fanfiction #spnfandom #dean winchester #dean #flirting with disaster #flirting with dean #the winchesters #winchesters #winchester boys #bobby singer #dean x y/n #dean x reader

45 notes · View notes

doing-all-write · 5 years

Text

star light, star bright

Joe and Ben take a trip on a boat for a ice relaxing Guys Weekend. What Ben doesn’t expect is to fall in love with the owner of the boat. Or to drunkenly sing karaoke with her.

Pairings: Ben x O.C.

Rating: E (18+, PLEASE do not interact if younger than 18)

Warnings: S M U T. Dom!Ben, but mainly Soft!Ben, bad karaoke and lots of boat and ocean puns (I’m a monster)

Word Count: 14K

Inspired by this iconic photo:

A/N: HELLO. IT’S ME. BACK FROM THE DEAD (Or I had three events in a row at work and wanted to D I E) but to make up for it, have a nice thiccc 14K, smutty fic!! This is my first time writing smut so PLEASE don’t judge me too harshly on it!

But as always, feedback, reblogs and comments are always appreciated! I hope you love it!

ALSO!!! In my most favorite turn of events EVER, I have someone who wants me to tag them! So: @itsabenthing, you’re a real one. (If anyone wants to be tagged in future fics let me know!!)

The sun beat down, scattering nets of diamonds across the water. The slow roll of Jimmy Buffet's guitar mingled with the waves slapping against the hull of the boat. The gulls screeching as they whirled through the air, diving down when they spotted dinner swimming underneath the surface. The wind fluttered the pages of the book held in her hand as she adjusted the sunglasses on her face.

The pole she was leaning against warmed her back. She laid the book down and turned her face toward the sun. It warmed her bones and she took a deep breath in, letting the sea, salt and wind fill her lungs.

She checked her phone, made note of the time and stretched her legs and arms out, almost purring as she uncurled from her reading position. She tipped her head back, closing her eyes to soak up this moment as she patted the deck of her boat.

She had grown up around boats. Her parents owned the Nereid marina and her earliest memories were of sitting on her mom's lap putting her small hands on top of her moms soft ones, feeling the wheel turn smoothly as she memorized the movements. Pretty soon, she had been the one steering the boat and "learning the ropes" as she loved to tell people and thrived off of their pained groans.

She worked at the Nereid every day, learning from the people who came into the port. Incessantly asking questions. Asking about their boats, their lives, where they had come from, where they were going. Her parents had teased her for being so inquisitive but she was in awe of the people who came to the Nereid.

In her mind, they were great adventurers, living a free wheeling life on the sea that she wanted for herself. She would watch people leave and the pull in her stomach to follow them was so strong she could feel her legs tensing, as if getting ready to jump into the ocean to swim to their boat, desperate to join them in whatever adventure they had planned next.

Her parents had expanded the Nereid so several of them littered the coast of California but the original one had passed into her care after she had graduated college. Her parents still helped out and offered guidance when she asked but overall, the original marina was hers to make the calls. It had a charming appeal to it, and between word of mouth and the incredibly Instagrammable mural she had added to one wall, people flocked to it.

As she sat there, soaking up the warmth, she was grateful she had gotten out of bed before the sun had risen. She had woken up early, the last of the stars in the sky fading as the horizon turned from inky black to lilac as the sun began its ascent from the horizon.

Her dad had always told her that each sunrise was different. And that each one had details that would tell her how her day would go. It wasn't until she was much older and in the habit of waking up early that her father would confess he had made it up to coax her out of bed that early.

Some people had their horoscopes, she had sunrises. Whenever she could, she would haul herself out of bed, and clutching a thermos of coffee, watch the sun rise and predict how her day would go. This morning she had a feeling in her gut that today, the sun rise would be incredible. So she slipped out of her apartment above the marina, jammed her feet into flip-flops, crammed a hat on her head and set out.

The sun rise this particular morning had been various shades of pink. The colors closest to the sun a deep red. She had thought to herself that those colors must be what it's like to be in love. She felt a tug in her heart as she contemplated how long it had been since she had been with, well, anyone since she had broken up with her last boyfriend. She quickly shook herself from her melancholy thought and cracked open her book as the sun's rays grew stronger.

Now, the sun was beating down, making sure to fry away every last bit of the chill there had been that morning. She decided she should head back to the Nereid and check in, see how things were going and if she needed to put out any fires. She chuckled as she murmured to herself and one gull that had landed next to her boat, bobbing with the waves, "Well if there WERE any fires to put out, thank god we're by a ocean."

The gull squaked and flew away.

She shook her head ruefully as she stood up and raised her arms above her head, the crochet tank top she had put on over her bikini rising up above her denim shorts.

The sea unfolded before her, reminding her constantly how wide the world was. How many people there were to meet, so many stories to hear and places to see. Her body shivered involuntarily as she contemplated the vastness of it all.

~~~

Somewhere close by to where her boat had just been anchored, another boat was getting ready to pull into the Nereid marina.

"BEN! HOIST THE BOOM AND GET 'ER READY TO COME STARBOARD."

"Do you know anything about boats, mate?" Ben scratched his head as he contemplated Joe's Captain Morgan pose.

"No, not a damn thing. But it sounded convincing right?"

"Yeah, it's the confidence, ya know?"

"It's all about confidence Benny boy." Joe said, slapping Ben's shoulder as he joined Ben at the rail.

Ben offered him a beer which Joe accepted with a quick thanks, the sharp crack of the tab opening piercing though the air.

Ben held his can aloft in a silent cheers and Joe brought his over to gently tap the rim of Ben's. They nodded to each other and raised the drink to their lips as they took a sip.

The sun beat down on them, warming the tops of their heads as the ocean stretched out in front of them.

Joe took another sip as Ben asked, "So, are we getting to port soon? What's the plan?"

Joe considered it, "Well, we plunder first,"

"Obviously."

"Then we do some light pillaging,"

"Of course,"

"Then have a nice meal together because you're my friend"

"That's lovely buddy thank you." Ben leaned into Joe as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder, giving him an awkward side hug.

"Anything for you, Ben."

"Hate to interrupt this touching display of male friendship but we're almost to port" Rich, the actual captain, called down to them as he deftly steered the craft towards land.

Joe peered up at Rich from under the brim of his baseball cap, "Shouldn't I be the one making those announcements? I am the captain after all."

Ben snorted, "Correctly identifying the starboard and port side does not a captain make."

"You're just jealous my nautical knowledge is so much better than yours."

Rich barked out a laugh as he shook his head, "The amount of nautical knowledge you have wouldn't even fill a Post-It note."

Joe pointed a thumb back at Rich, "I'm not sure we should trust this guy with our safety out in the open sea."

"I feel much safer in his hands than yours." Ben chuckled.

Joe gasped and brought a hand up to his chest, "I'm being attacked! My character is being demolished by my best friend and Rich!"

"What? We aren't best friends?" Rich deadpanned.

"Not with those insults you keep hurling my way, buddy." Joe wheeled around and pointed an accusing finger at Rich.

Ben laughed and stared back out at the horizon. He obviously knew the world was round but he could almost understand why people thought the world was flat for so long. He felt like if he stared at the horizon long enough, he could fall right over the edge and into the swirls of a galaxy.

Joe sidled up to his friend, eyeing him as he watched Ben's shoulders loosen up.

"You enjoying being in the cold grasp of that fickle mistress, the ocean, Benny?" Joe broke the silence as he clapped a hand down onto Ben's shoulder.

Ben snorted, "Absolutely. A pirate's life is a wonderful live and all that."

"It sure is." There was a. pause as Joe contemplated how he wanted to best introduce the next topic.

Finally settling on, "Speaking of she's and fickle mistresses and all that, how have you been doing since the breakup?"

Ben shrugged his shoulders, "It comes and goes in waves, ha." Joe let out a snort at his friends unintentional ocean pun.

"No, but, some days I think I'm okay and then something happens to remind me of her or our time together and I feel a twinge but," here Ben paused and cocked his head to the side, "I think that's just normal."

Joe nodded sagely, "Yeah. give yourself time, man. That was a long relationship. You're not going to get over it right away."

Ben nodded as he brought the beer can back up to his mouth to take a sip and surveyed the horizon. He could see the brightly painted mural getting larger by the second.

Rich sighed as he deftly steered the boat toward the Nereid. He had worked with Az and her family since he was young. He and Az were basically siblings, which is why, when he saw her standing on the deck of her boat tying it up, he laid on the horn.

Az jumped a foot in the air, dropping the rope she had been holding and managing to hit her head on the boom all at once.

"Fucking hell..." her voice drifted off as she turned around to see what asshole was responsible for taking ten years off of her life.

When she saw Rich pulling into the port with their most expensive boat she extended both middle fingers in a salute, complete with huge grin.

Rich laughed as he saw Az's two-fingered salute but the horn blaring had caused both Ben and Joe to jump and spill some of their beer.

"What the hell, man?" Ben shouted as he stared up at Rich.

"Yo, Rich, what was that about? Did someone cut us off?" Joe asked

Rich shook his head, "Sorry guys, I saw Az and wanted to fuck with her."

Ben and Joe looked at each. Joe cocked an eyebrow and Ben shrugged. They wandered over to the front of the boat to see what was going on.

Ben's first glimpse was of the sun reflecting off of her hair, causing it to look like gold. Then the two middle fingers raised high.

Joe noticed the shit-eating grin before he realized that she was directing her two prominent fingers at the man standing near the top of their boat.

Az noticed the other two figures on the boat about a second too late and lowered her hands, feeling bad that they may have thought she was flipping them off. She raised one hand in a sheepish wave as they pulled closer.

She laughed ruefully to herself as she turned back to securing her boat, Figures, she thought, the one time Rich actually has two cute guys in the boat I'm flipping them off. She took one final sweep of the deck as she shoved her book into her backpack and swung it over her shoulder.

She leapt from the deck of her boat onto the dock, landing with her arms raised triumphantly, waiting for Rich to cast judgement on her landing.

"And Az sticks the landing! The crowd goes wild! The judges give her all 10's!!" Rich imitated the screams of an energetic crowd as she waved and gave an exaggerated bow to her audience of...three now.

She came out of her bow and saw the two guys she had accidentally flipped off standing behind Rich, clapping along with him.

"Thank you, thank you. Please, no, c'mon, it was nothing." She said with mock modesty as she laid a hand across her heart and pretended to wipe a tear from her eye.

"How's your head doing?" Rich asked as he engulfed her in a hug.

"Well, I DID hit it on a large piece of wood so...not great."

"Ahh, c'mon. We were just having a good time."

"Were we?" She shot back as she stepped back and looked over his shoulder, "Hi, I'm Az, I definitely wasn't flipping you two off. I felt bad when I realized he had you guys on board."

"Oh no, I'm used to pretty girls flipping me off, it's fine." Joe said as he stepped forward with a hand extended.

Az let out a bark of laughter as she slipped her hand into his as they exchanged pleasantries.

Az turned to the blonde standing next to Joe and was barely able to keep the "Jesus FUCK you're gorgeous" from falling out of her mouth.

But he WAS. From a distance she could tell he was going to be cute but up close? Az was eternally grateful that someone as beautiful as this man could exist and be right in front of her.

He was checking all her boxes too; blond hair, dazzling smile, beautiful body (God she should ask who his trainer was and send them a fruit basket and a thank you note) the only thing that would really make him perfect was-

"You alrigh'?"

A fucking British accent.

Her eyes widened and Rich smirked. They both knew that she was well and truly fucked.

~~~

"Hey, Sal, how's it going?"

"Great, Az, the fish are biting and the sun is shining. Can't ask for more, eh?"

"Got that right. You stay out of trouble, alright?"

"Back at ya, sweetheart."

She waved at him as she continued down the marina. The sound of her flip-flops thwacking against the wood alerting her arrival to both regulars and newcomers at the Nereid alike.

Joe, Ben and Rich were sitting on the edge of the dock, feet dangling over the clear blue, watching her make her way down the boardwalk. After introductions had been made, Az had parted apologetically, saying she needed to do a lap but she would love to properly show them around once she came back.

"Does she talk to everyone?" Joe asked as he saw her stop at the dock next to Sal's and start talking animatedly to the woman there.

"Pretty much. I mean, she does own this marina so it would be kind of shitty if she didn't." Rich shrugged and readjusted his sunglasses.

Ben shoved his hands into the pocket of his jacket, "She OWNS this marina?"

"Yeah, her parents opened it and she took it over when they started branching out to other locations. This one's the most popular though, mainly because of her," Rich inclined his head to her retreating back. "And it's because she talks to everyone. Everyone loves Az."

"I've been meaning to ask, is her real name Az? Like, A Z?" Joe asked.

Rich snorted, "No, her real name is Azure which is a sick name but she thinks it's pretentious so she shortened it."

Joe nodded while Ben kept his gaze glued on Az as a little boy ran up and tugged on her shorts. She laid a hand over her heart as the child handed her a seashell with a huge grin on his face. Ben felt a smile growing on his face as she bent down to accept the gift, handling the shell with extreme delicacy, listening to the little boy as he told her everything he went through to get it.

Ben was entranced by her. When they had pulled into the Nereid he could tell she was cute. But when he had seen her up close, felt the full effect of her smile, how her eyes sparkled in the sun, the freckles dusted across her cheeks, he felt his breath hitch.

He could vaguely tell that Joe and Rich were talking about other things but he kept his eyes trained on Az. On her hair falling down her back, the way her hips swayed as she walked, the way it caused her ass to move-

"BEN. Come back to us buddy."

Ben jolted as he almost lost his grip on the edge of the dock, catching himself before he landed in the water, "What?"

"Rich said Az knows some good places for us to grab dinner and they'd love to take us out, does that sound good to you?" Joe asked as he furrowed his brow, reaching a hand out to steady Ben.

Ben cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah, that sounds great, thanks man." He inclined his head at Rich who just stared back at him, eyes inscrutable behind black Ray-Bans. Ben's gut suddenly dropped to the bottom of the ocean as he had the horrifying thought that maybe Rich and Az were dating.

Ben quickly dropped his gaze to the blue depths underneath his feet, wondering if it would be worth it to just jump in, start swimming and never look back.

Suddenly, Rich sprang up from the dock, "I'm gonna go check on Az, see what her ETA is to be done. I'll be right back." And with that announcement, strode off.

Joe's brow furrowed as he stared at Rich's back. "I don't know what just happened but I would say that we pissed off our captain."

Ben grunted as he kept his gaze laser focused on the fish cutting swiftly through the waves.

Joe tapped his foot against Ben's, "Hey, man, you know, you can communicate with me through more than monosyllabic sounds."

Ben huffed as he ran a hand through his hair, "I know. Sorry. I got myself all turned 'round but I'm okay now."

Joe's eyes cut over to Ben and as casually as he could, asked, "Was it about Az?"

"Uh-I mean-Not, like, explicitly but-"

"Well the way you were checking out her ass was pretty explicit I gotta say, Benny boy."

Ben's cheeks immediately turned red as he raked his brain for something witty to say. He finally sighed and dropped his head into his hands, "It was pretty obvious wasn't it?"

"You looked like one of those cartoon characters when they see a pretty lady and their eyes bug out of their head."

Ben groaned into his hands, "Dammit! She's just so hot and I don't know, maybe it's the ocean air doing something to me but I couldn't stop staring at her and then I saw Rich staring at me staring at her and now I'm worried that she and Rich are dating and I fucked up."

Joe slowly nodded his head as he contemplated Ben's predicament, "Well, it's good that we're by the ocean. If that's true you can always just drown yourself."

~~~

"He was drooling over you."

Az made an indelicate "OOF" noise as Rich grabbed her arm, doing a do-si-do move so she was facing him.

"Who? The Springer's dog? Because they just told me they tried some new medication to help with that-"

"No. What?" Rich furrowed his brow, "Is that really a thing you can do for dogs?"

Az shrugged, "I guess so. I'm not a vet, nor do I own a dog so my knowledge of cutting edge veterinary practices is sketchy to say the least."

Rich glanced over his shoulder to stare at the basset hound that was, indeed, sporting no less than three uninterrupted strands of drool which was three less than what he normally had.

He shook his head as he turned back to Az, "Okay, that's BESIDES the point. Though I do want to talk to them about that, I'm intrigued...ANYWAY. No. BEN was."

Az stared at Rich for three full seconds before bursting out laughing. Rich sighed and crossed his arms, waiting for the hysterics to die down.

Az dabbed her finger under her eye, "God Rich, that's hysterical. But seriously, why did you come over here."

"His eyes were so laser focused on your ass that I'm surprised there's not a hole in the back of your shorts."

Az's hands instinctively went to the back of her shorts, "Thank god I wore my cute bikini bottoms then."

"You fool. You absolute buffoon. One of the most attractive men I've ever seen in my LIFE was so absorbed by your ass that he almost fell off the dock when Joe yelled at him. I may be ace but that doesn't mean that I can't tell when someone is so thirsty for you that he would willingly drown for it."

Az stood there, staring over Rich's shoulder taking all this information in. The horizon spread out before her, various shades of blue.

"The title of my memoir should be called '50 Shades of Blue'" She finally muttered under her breath.

"AZ."

"Sorry, sorry! I heard you. I just-"

"It's always 'just' with you. You just can't because of the marina. You just can't because you're focusing on yourself. You just can't because of a million other reasons. You know what it JUST is with you?"

Az winced with each accusation hurled at her, "Jesus, just tell me so this can be done."

Rich took a deep breath and gripped her shoulders as he leveled his gaze at her, "You just don't believe you deserve this. You just are scared that someone will leave and you'll be left hurting like you were when your ex left you. But you know something? Even if this perfect replica of Michelangelo's David doesn't work out, you'll a) have a great story and TWO-"

Az's lips quirked into a half smile at Rich's lame attempt at humor.

"Is that you'll at least have given it a try. And I'll always be here for you to sing-scream 'thank u, next' with if he turns out to be a dick."

A laugh bubbled its way out of Az's throat, "Okay but like, we've already done that so often they threatened to call the Coast Guard on us."

A steely look settled over Rich's face, "And Barb from port five can still eat my entire ass. MY POINT though," at this, Rich ducked his head down to look right into Az's eyes, "just go for it, Az. Please."

Az's eyes flickered down at the water lapping underneath the boardwalk. The sun filtered through the cracks of the woodwork causing small sparks to light up as it hit the water flowing underneath.

She heaved a sigh, "Alright, FINE. Besides, if he's truly as into me as you say he is, this should be easy."

Rich clapped his hands, "Oh sweetheart, it's going to be easier than getting the Springer's dog to stop drooling."

~~~

To lighten the mood, Joe had started throwing rocks and bits of wood into the water yelling, "she loves Ben, she loves him not" with each plop while Ben kept threatening to push Joe into the water.

"You almost hit a fish with that one." Ben said, in a desperate attempt to distract Joe.

"He looked at me funny."

"They're fish. They look at everything funny."

"Fair point."

"Oh fuck, there's one swimming right at me."

"GET HIM, BEN. SHOW HIM WHO'S BOSS." Joe yelled.

Ben squinted one eye and gently tossed the piece of wood into the water near the fish.

"I'm going to call the cops." Came Az's voice in a sing song from behind them.

Ben turned around to find Rich and Az strolling back towards them. Az's arm hooked through Rich's which caused Ben's stomach to plummet.

She slipped her arm out from Rich's and dug her phone out of her pocket, "Hello? 9-1-1? Yes, this man here is abusing fish."

"Fuck, dude, we gotta get out of here. I can't go back to the slammer again." Joe laughed as he hauled himself up.

Ben smiled as he swung his legs up onto the dock. His feet fell next to Az's, encased in flip-flops, toenails painted bright pink as he traced the line of her legs up to meet her eyes.

Az's hand trembled a little as she offered it to Ben, "Need a hand?" A soft smile grew across her face as his blue eyes met her own.

The blue of the ocean was nothing compared to how blue Ben's eyes were, Az decided.

The green of Az's eyes were the most beautiful color he had ever seen, Ben decided.

The silence stretching between Ben and Az had gone on long enough, Joe decided.

"SO. Rich. What restaurant are we going to?" Joe loudly asked as he clapped his hands together, breaking the spell.

Az blinked and giggled nervously as she helped haul Ben to his feet. He smiled down at her and thanked her.

"No worries, you're lighter than expected."

"These are fake muscles. A pain in the ass to inflate every morning but so worth it."

The burst of laughter that erupted from Az made Ben smile wider.

She reached a hand out and wrapped it around his bicep, "So, if I squeeze too hard it'll pop?"

"Like a balloon."

She kept her eyes trained on Ben's face as she squeezed his arm and holy god she was not prepared for how solid it would feel. It took all of her will power not to get on her knees and beg him to choke her right there in front of God and everyone.

She cleared her throat, "Haven't heard anything pop yet."

"Well, clearly, your hand strength needs to be built up."

"I think there are some guys who would argue my hand strength is just fine." Az said without thinking. Her eyes widened as she realized the words that had fallen out of her mouth. Ben's breath caught in his throat as the image of Az's hand wrapped around his cock infiltrated his senses.

Rich's mouth dropped open as Joe made a noise that sounded vaguely like a hamster getting strangled.

Az ripped her hand from Ben's bicep "Well, I don't know what we're doing standing around here for, I promised you guys a tour so let's get started." She sped away down the pier, mentally chastising herself for coming on way too strong.

Rich stared at Ben, standing stock still, then at Joe who looked like he'd been hit on the back of the head with a two by four, and muttered, "Well, this is going to be easier than I thought."

~~~

"And this is the mural I commissioned from a local street artist. I actually caught her tagging a wall and I loved her work so much I hired her on the spot."

Ben and Joe stepped closer to take a closer look at the mural that depicted the ocean in a psychedelic fashion. Brightly colored fish, seaweed, shells, sea nymphs ("mermaids are overrated, it's all about sea nymphs now." Az had declared when Joe made a Little Mermaid joke) dolphins, sharks, even an octopus, in neon colors adorned the side of the building.

"It's really popular with Influencers and such. Tourists come to take pictures of it, it's been nothing but an incredible draw." Az said as she trailed her fingers over it as she walked down the wall. Her finger tips landed on the shark and she turned to look over her shoulder, "This guy is my favorite."

Ben meandered closer to get a better look at it, "Why is that?"

Az shrugged as she moved to stand beside Ben, "I've always liked sharks. I think they're fascinating and get a bad rep. We're the ones infiltrating their home. If someone tried to come into my home and polluted it at the same time, I'd probably consider eating them too."

Ben nodded slowly as his gaze drifted over the mural. "I like the octopus."

"Yeah? Why's that."

"He has a chill vibe about him."

"I can respect that."

Watching Ben and Az joke about the killer weed the octopus had, Joe hesitantly asked the million dollar question,"So, Rich, how long have you and Az been together?"

Rich snorted, "Too long." Hearing the squeak that came from Joe, hastily realized what he meant, "Oh, like, romantically? You think Az and I are, like, together together?"

"Um, yeah dude. You seem pretty comfortable around each other and I just assumed..." Joe's voice trailed off as a bemused grin melted over Rich's face.

"Are Az and I close? Yes. Do I love her? Absolutely. Is she a giant pain in my ass? Since day one when she told me I give off too much of a 'Jimmy Buffet' vibe. Am I also ace so therefore have no desire to date her or anyone? Oh you bet your sweet ass."

"So...Ben's clear to shoot his shot?"

"Ben's so clear to shoot his shot the whole fucking playing field is barren."

"You don't know the first thing about sports do you?"

"Not a thing my man." Rich confirmed cheerfully.

~~~

The sun had begun to make it's descent and the first whispers of orange and pink began to crawl their way up into the sky.

Seeing how small the gap between the sun and the horizon had gotten, Az clapped her hands together as she turned to the group, "So, if you guys are interested, there's a great bar nearby that I can get us either free or deeply discounted drinks. You in?"

Joe stared at Az for a beat then threw an arm around her shoulder, "I've never loved anyone more."

Az laughed as she rested her head onto Joe's shoulder, "And I'm sure it was me flipping you off that won you over and not the promise of free drinks."

"I've never been so into anything in my life." Ben muttered as he stared at Az. The words came out more intense than he intended. Az felt a warmth spreading through her stomach as she lifted her head from Joe's shoulder.

Ben blinked at his own intensity but didn't break his gaze from Az's as he stepped closer to her. The movement of her throat as she swallowed was the only thing that broke his gaze.

Rich's eyes were ping-ponging back and forth, relishing in the sexual tension.

Joe slowly slid his arm off of Az's shoulders and hesitantly stepped back.

Az could feel the heat building in her belly, a flush spread across her cheeks as she blinked up at Ben. The voice in her head finally snapped to attention and reminded her to say something, anything.

Her tongue poked out to swipe across her bottom lip. Ben shifted as his eyes darted down to track its journey, using his willpower not to capture her lips with his.

"Good, because the night's just getting started." Az said thickly as she slide her hands into the pockets of her shorts.

Only Rich caught her trying to wipe off her palms in her shorts and rolled his eyes.

He knew from personal experience that Az's palms always got extra sweaty whenever she flirted, clearly even a target as easy as Ben couldn't escape her clammy palms.

He just prayed that he wouldn't try to hold her hand in the next 20 minutes.

~~~

Az jiggled the worn handle on the innocuous wood door. She turned her head to glance back at Ben, "Don't worry, this is usually what happens."

"Good, because sketchy unmarked door? In an alleyway? I figured you had just lured us back here to murder us and wear our skins."

"Fucked up that you thought that. I would never wear your skins. I'd preserve them, stuff them and then use them as tasteful decor."

"JESUS Az." Rich declared as he stared at her, slack-jawed. Joe's face was caught in between amusement and horror.

Az winced as she finally got the doorknob to turn, "Too much?"

Ben waltzed through the open door, "Don't think there's ever 'too much' of you, love."

Az's cheeks flushed and she squirmed as he aimed a wink in her direction before stopping in the doorway to let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting.

There were Christmas lights strung all around the perimeter of the bar. Tables haphazardly littered the floor with chairs floating in between tables like so much debris. The back of the room was taken up by the actual bar. To the right, a small, hastily constructed stage with a karaoke machine looked to be the only thing that hadn't been there since the 70's.

Vintage concert posters promoting The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Carol King, Fleetwood Mac, Queen and more were wallpapered in a collage. The jukebox standing guard to the side of the front door was playing Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. There was a low rumble as patrons and bartenders talked to each other.

When the door opened and Ben stepped in, most of them turned to peer curiously at who had just entered but didn't paid him, or Joe, any mind. A few hands went up and some greetings were called out in response to Rich's greeting as he waltzed into the establishment.

Then Az walked in.

"AZ!"

The bar exploded in a flurry of sound and movement as chairs were abandoned and tables shoved as a crowd foamed up around Az. Ben, Joe and Rich were forced to shuffle to the side as hands and bodies crowded around her. Most of them offering to buy her a drink or updating her on events that had transcribed since they had last seen her. Az took it all in stride. She smiled and laughed and nodded and let herself be carried by the crowd to the bar.

When she reached the bar she turned her head and Ben saw her eyes flitting from corner to corner, trying to locate them after the crowd had bum rushed her.

Ben raised a hand and her eyes locked onto the gesture at once. She smiled and he saw her shoulders relax. She turned back to the grizzled fisherman that was either greatly exaggerating the size of a personal body part or talking about a fish he had caught earlier in the day.

He desperately hoped it was the latter.

A sharp jab to his kidney brought him back to the present, "What are the odds she's getting drinks for all of us?" Joe asked as he surveyed the crowd that was three deep by the bar. Ben shrugged as Rich weaved his way to a table that was right in front of the karaoke stage.

Ben and Joe followed Rich and sat down as if this was another normal Saturday night for him. Joe kept staring at the bar when he finally broke, "So, is that a normal occurrence? Or did you tell everyone to pull that stunt so we'd think she's cool?"

Rich snorted, "God, I wish we were that coordinated. No. This is Az's favorite bar. And again, she grew up here so a lot of those people have known Az since she was just a wee tot."

He shrugged, "Everyone loves Az, I don't know what to tell you."

Ben felt his head nodding in agreement, then without thinking, asked, "Do you love Az?"

Rich's head snapped up so quickly he felt something pop in his neck and Joe's eyes widened a comical amount at Ben's boldness.

Rich coughed as he tried to find the right words, "Yeah, but like a sister. I'm ace, so, romantic feelings? Not my thing."

Ben felt like he was going to pass out. Joe could see the gears turning in his friends head and decided to help drive the point home and asked Rich point blank, "So, you and Az are not dating?"

"Nope." Rich popped the 'p' with extra verve, keeping his eyes trained on Ben.

Ben coughed into his hand, "So, uh, is she-uh-dating anyone, then?" He slouched down in his chair, hoping to offset how nervous he sounded with some laid back posturing.

Rich watched the full grown man in front of him sink so low into his chair he almost fell off of it and thought, Jesus, they're both such idiots. I hope they bone all night.

"No. And there hasn't been anyone in a while." Then realizing how that sounded tried to make it better, "Not that there's anything wrong with her! She's amazing, she just puts all of her energy and focus into the marina. Not saying that she wouldn't do the same in a relationship, it's just-AZ! Thank GOD you're back!" Rich flung his arms into the air as Az approached their table with a tray full of drinks.

Did you say something that didn't sound great then to make up for it you talked more which made it sound worse?"

"We've known each other too long haven't we?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll be right back." She turned and went back to the bar to return the tray Penelope had given her to transport the drinks.

Penelope managed the bar and was always willing to let Az pick up some shifts bartending when she needed some extra cash. When summer time got to be particularly heady, Penelope would entice Az to work with promises of free shots and unlimited baskets of deep-fried mac and cheese.

"So, Az. Your new friends are, how do I want to say this? Absolutely stunning."

Az kept her eyes down as she slipped the tray on top of the stack behind the bar, "Yeah, I guess. I don't know if I would describe Rich as stunning but-"

A sharp sting landed on her hip causing her to yelp, "What was that for?"

Penelope stood with the towel already rewound and ready to strike again, "You know damn well I'm not talking about Rich and if you don't tell me why blondie can't keep his eyes off your ass I'm gonna smack you again."

She pulled her arm back to show she was serious and Az scampered to the other side of the bar with hands held up, "OKAY! Okay! I'll tell you, just-be cool man. Put the towel down."

Penelope stared at her.

Az rolled her eyes, "If I sleep with 'blondie' tonight do you really want me to be covered with tiny red marks and he's so disgusted by my disfigurement he jumps into the ocean to get away from me?"

Penelope's eyes narrowed as she considered, "Alright, fine." The towel lowered as she tucked it into her back pocket, "But I still want answers. No one that beautiful has come into this bar since last time you came in."

"Lop, you flatter me."

"I know. It's a tactic to get more information from you."

"I should be mad but I'm just so honored you think I'm beautiful I'll tell you anything."

"Alright, what's your social security number?"

"Not that flattered."

"SPILL. NOW." Penelope ordered, slamming her hands on the bar.

Az rolled her eyes, "ALRIGHT, GOD. I went out on my boat this morning and as I pulled back in so was Rich with-"

"I so wish you had said pulling out."

"Will you let me FINISH?"

"Bet you won't be saying that later tonight. Blondie looks like he knows how to eat pussy."

Az threw up her hands, "You know what? No. You don't get to know ANYTHING now because you can't behave yourself. Are you HAPPY?"

Penelope shrugged, "Not as happy as I would have been if you'd said you'd pulled out."

"You're impossible."

"So I'll see you in the morning for coffee and a recap of your sexual escapades?"

"Of course. Love you."

"Love you too," Penelope said to Az's retreating back.

~~~

As she slid into her chair, Az lifted her glass in a toast, "Cheers, I'm glad Rich picked your guys' sorry asses up."

Her eyes met Ben's in the gloom and he saw the Christmas lights reflected in her eyes like so many stars.

"I'm glad that he picked us up too." Ben smiled at Az and let his gaze linger with hers as he took a long pull from the glass.

Az couldn't stop herself from staring at his lips. How full they were. How good they looked wrapped around that glass. How good they would look wrapped around certain parts of her anatomy.

Rich and Joe exchanged glances as Ben and Az fell into a loaded silence. Rich took a gulp from his glass and slammed it onto the table, "WELL. I, for one, am not going to let this night go to waste. It's karaoke time."

Az's eyes lit up as she whipped her head, "You're so right. It absolutely is."

Joe was bouncing up and down in his seat, "Thank GOD someone else brought it up because I was about to ask if I could get dibs on first round."

Ben groaned, "Do we really have to do this? I'm not much of a karaoke guy."

Az turned to him, "You will be after you have about five more of those," indicating the half finished beer in front of him, "so drink up. Because I have a feeling Turn Around Bright Eyes is going to be our big duet."

Ben's mouth fell open in shock as Joe cheered and Rich rolled his eyes, "God, Az. I fucking hate that song. Even when they covered it on Glee it was still a trash heap."

"Everyone hates that song but by god is it the perfect karaoke number."

Rich opened his mouth to argue, mulled over Az's statement and shrugged his shoulders in defeat, "I can't argue with that logic."

"Oh real help you are." Ben shot to Rich.

"Sorry Benny Boy. We all gotta pay the piper for free drinks somehow. In this case, it's total humiliation in front of an audience." .

Ben rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his drink as Az, Joe and Rich cheered. "Let's get this fucking over with."

~~~

"CAUSE I'M MISTER BRIGHTSIIIIIDEEEEE! GUITAR SOLO!" Ben launched into an epic air guitar solo, complete with white man overbite, as Rich gawked.

"Holy shit, he's such a dork, I can't believe you want to sleep with him, Az. Az?" Rich looked over to see Az flailing as she air drummed along, threatening to hit anyone within a five foot radius.

Joe was blissfully jamming to the air bass guitar, eyes closed, not a care in the world.

Rich shook his head in amazement as he finished the last of his drink.

The table was littered with pint glasses, most empty, a couple filled with a sliver of amber liquid. They had worked their way through most of the karaoke classics. Joe's rendition of Livin' On a Prayer brought the bar down and Az's version of I Wanna Dance With Somebody definitely had Ben feeling some type of way.

They were well into hour three of karaoke, with most of the patrons clearing out after hour one. Penelope had gotten several incriminating videos of Az that she could barely wait to show her in the morning.

Lop was currently wiping down the counter, eyeing the plug of the karaoke machine as the final notes of Mr. Brightside died out as Ben looked up, surprised to find himself on his knees after his impassioned performance.

Az, Rich and Joe were on their feet, whopping and clapping wildly as Penelope gave Ben a nod, the most encouragement she had given him all night.

Ben stood up and gave a bow then stumbled as a whirlwind of laughter and cheering enveloped him in her arms, carrying the scent of coconut and salt with it. Az was laughing in his ear as she hugged him and pulled back to reveal her smile, making the whole room seem to glow. He stared at it, committing it to memory.

"C'mon Benny boy, it's last call." Az was saying as she wrapped an arm around his waist, "and Lop does not like it when we push our welcome."

"Some of us have things to do Az!" Lop called from the bar where she was stacking glasses.

Az rolled her eyes as Ben slung a heavy arm around her shoulders. Joe and Rich were by the door holding it open for the two of them as they sauntered through, the alcohol leaving them warm and loose but coherent.

"So, have you seen the boat we arrived on?"

Az snorted, "You mean the one that belongs to my marina? Yeah, I may have seen it once or twice." She pinched his waist as he protested, "Alrigh'! It was a conversation starter. You know? One of those things were I say something, then you say something else?"

"I know how conversation works, Ben."

"Are ya sure? Because you've been pretty quite."

Az's mouth dropped open in shock as she stuttered a response and Ben chuckled warmly as he pulled her in closer to his side, "'M jokin' love. Don't worry."

Az's head lolled into his chest, trying to hide her grin at being called love, as she groaned, "Have I told you you're a giant pain in my ass, Hardy?"

"A few times, maybe." Ben smirked as his hand slid down her back to rest on the curve of her back that sloped down to her ass.

Az inhaled sharply as she felt his hand move lower. Ben tried to act like he hadn't heard her but his widening smirk gave him away.

They rounded the corner and saw the marina rise up before them. The sound of the ocean softly lapping against the hull of the boats bobbing up and down momentarily bringing a sense of serenity to Az.

Ben was transfixed by the change that came over her when she stared out at the ocean. The wind picked up her hair, like the wind was trying to pick her up and take her where she needed to go. Her eyes were fixed on a spot out on the horizon and Ben wanted to follow those eyes wherever they went. He inhaled the scent of the sea and knew that he would always think of Az whenever he smelled the ocean from now on.

"Sing us a SONG on the PIANO man! Sing us a SONG TONIGHT!" Ben turned to see Rich and Joe stumbling up the dock, arms wrapped around each other and he couldn't figure out who was helping who continue to be upright more.

"Are they both managing to hold themselves upright? On each other?" Az had turned in Ben's arms when she heard the singing. She had drapped her arms around his neck, peering over his shoulder and could feel his chest vibrate as he laughed.

"We shouldn't judge too much, we're kind of doing the same thing." He murmured into her ear.

"Yeah but, we're not THAT intoxicated. I can stand up perfectly fine on my own, see?" Az extricated herself from Ben's hold and he immediately shivered at the loss of contact. Az stood before him and over-exaggeratedly stamped her feet into the ground and put her fists on her hips as she beamed at Ben.

Ben couldn't help the smile that broke over his face and Az's own smile grew wider as she contemplated the beautiful boy before her. His eyes reminded her so strongly of the ocean, always changing color but still feeling like home. He was charming, kind and funny. She was smitten. And she was fairly sure he was as well.

But she didn't want to assume. It would rip her from the inside out if she made a move and he gently let her down with that accent and those eyes looking at her with pity. She couldn't handle that.

Ben watched as a conflict raged behind Az's eyes, causing her posture to deflate. He tilted his head, trying to decipher what had happened but was jolted forward as Joe rammed the full force of his body mass into Ben's back.

Ben had a height and muscle advantage on Joe but when Joe had alcohol and the love he had for his friends coursing through his veins, no one stood a chance.

"BENNY BOOOY THE PIPES THE PIPES" Joe belted into Ben's ear, causing him to flinch,

"Hey buddy, you doing okay?"

"Ben, I am better than you have ever been or ever will be." Joe's eyes were going in two different directions as he tried to rest a hand on Ben's shoulder but missed by a mile.

Az laughed at Joe as Rich tucked his head into the crook of her neck and started whining about how he just wanted some french fries.

"I uh, seem to have done more damage than I anticipated doing." She sheepishly.

Ben shook his head, "Nah, karaoke brings out the worst in others. It was inevitable."

"Or the best." She said softly and looked at Ben with wide eyes and bit her lip. Ben shifted as he tried to come up with a response but it was challenging with Az staring at him like that and Joe trying to climb Ben's body so he could get a piggy back ride back to their boat.

"AAAAAZZZZZ. Please, I just want some fries!"

Az rolled her eyes and the moment ended as she turned to face Rich and grabbed the sides of his face, "Then by GOD man we are going to get you some fries."

Joe's face lit up, "FRIES? I also want those!"

Az giggled as Rich planted a sloppy kiss to the side of her face, "You're worse than the Springer's dog but c'mon gang let's get some starch."

Joe and Rich cheered as they stumbled down the pier towards fries and Az tried to herd them away from the sides so they wouldn't fall into the water. Ben watched them leave and shoved his hands into his pockets. He needed time to think. To be alone. So he made his way on board the boat they had come in on.

He climbed the ladder all the way to the top deck and laid out on his back. His arms crossed behind his head to offer some cushion as he gazed up at the stars.

He wondered what had made Az lose confidence in herself. He assumed he had made it clear he wanted her. Maybe she didn't want him? Maybe that glimmer in her eye was her way of realizing that she just wasn't as into him as he was into her?

He didn't think he could stand watching those eyes fill with pity as they tried to let him down gently.

He sighed, picked out the brightest star and sent up a desperate wish.

star light, star bright, first star I see tonight...

~~~

"I love fries. Almost as much as I love you Az."

"Thanks Richy that's very sweet. And after watching you eat a whole basket of cheese fries in under two minutes that really means something."

Rich mumbled something about how potatoes were his one true love as he drifted off to sleep, curled up on the recliner in Az's living room while Joe had taken up more space on the couch than a man that size should have. Checking to make sure both were asleep and not in danger of choking on their own vomit, she exhaled and scanned her apartment for her phone. The soft glow of it alerted her to its presence on her kitchen counter.

She crept over to pick it up only to be greeted by a text from Lop,

Can't wait to see all the hickies you have tomorrow at breakfast.

She rolled her eyes and wiggled her thumbs over the keyboard as she tried to formulate a proper response. Should she tell Lop the truth? That she was so terrified of being rejected by Ben that she wouldn't even take a chance? Or should she just ignore her text and go to bed?

She groaned, letting the weight of her head fall forward until it. thunked against her phone as she contemplated what to do.

She lifted her head, locked her phone and slide open the balcony door. The ocean air filled her with calm as she surveyed the boats bobbing in the waves.

She looked up and found the brightest star she could. She closed her eyes and with her whole heart started to wish.

star light, star bright, first star I see tonight...

~~~

30 minutes had crept by and her eyes refused to close. She did everything she could think of to relax and fall asleep. She had counted sheep. She had focused on her breathing. She had pulled up an ASMR YouTube channel.

(She quickly exited out once she realized she was only clicking on videos that had ocean sounds in them and realized how idiotic that was.)

In a moment of pure frustration she threw a temper tantrum, flinging her limbs, beating the mattress with her fists. She cursed her body and brain for failing her when she needed peace the most.

She took three deep breaths and wondered where Ben was for the 500th time that night. After leading the Drunk Brigade to get cheesy fries and when she asked him if he wanted anything and didn't receive a response, that's when she realized he wasn't with them.

When she tried to get Joe to give her Ben's number so she could check on him, he had pulled up Spotify and started blaring "Boss Ass Bitch" which meant Az had to wrestle it from him and put a stop to it before the other drunk individuals standing in line started a mosh pit.

After making peace with the fact that she definitely wasn't going to sleep any time soon, or even at all, she got up and hoped a walk would clear her head. Walking along the dock always put her at ease.

As the wind whipped around her, she pulled the sweatshirt she had thrown on over her shorts closer to her to combat the chill. She had planned to walk to her boat but something pulled her towards the boat that Rich, Ben and Joe had sailed in on. She liked going to the very top of it, it gave her the best view of the stars. When she was younger she liked to spend nights up there, reaching her hand up and pretending she could pluck the stars out of the sky.

She got to the top and froze as she saw a figure laying on the ground. Immediately her heart sped up and she thought through all the possibilities.

It could be some homeless person. They wandered the boardwalk sometimes. Maybe I could just leave and deal with it in the morning?

Oh god, what if it's a dead body? Was her next immediate thought, Then I'll somehow be blamed for the murder and go to jail and my whole life will be ruined.

When the body stirred, the relief she felt was short lived as she realized she would have to deal with a very LIVE body.

Direct action is the best action. Catch them off guard, knock them out, then call the cops. She slowly slid her phone out of her pocket and dialed 9 1. She nodded to herself, took a deep breath in and raced onto the deck waving her phone over her head,

"YOU BETTER TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE RIGHT NOW BEFORE THE COPS GET HERE ASSHOLE"

Ben jolted awake, not even realizing he had fallen asleep, and tried to sit up only for his head to collide with something solid, causing him to fall down on his back groaning.

Az rubbed the spot where her head had made contact with the mystery perp and wondered briefly if she was out of her depth if this person was willing to stoop so low as to headbutt her.

Ben carefully opened his eyes as the voice said, "Okay, headbutting someone is low ESPECIALLY when you're the one who broke onto MY boat and besides, NO ONE wins in a headbutt."

He recognized that voice.

He knew that voice.

"Az! Az. Az, look at me. Look! It's me! It's Ben! And I didn't mean to headbutt you, but, christ, you have a dense skull."

Ben? Az lowered her arm as the words cut through her adrenaline fueled rampage. She looked down at the figure below her and fully understood what had happened when her eyes met the blue ones staring up at her.

"Jesus, woman. You know how to give a wake up call."

Az breathed a sigh of relief, "Well you know how to scare someone! Why didn't you tell me you were up here?"

Ben looked down as he shuffled his feet and muttered, "Needed some time by myself." Az cocked an eyebrow in disbelief as she chewed over what he had just admitted to her.

Why did he need time to think? Was he worrying about her? That unspoken moment on the pier that was ruined by Az's overthinking and Rich's need for potato products after a night of drinking?

"Wait, why are you up here? Shouldn't you be holding Rich's hair back as he vomits into a toilet or something?" Ben shot back at her accusingly.

It was Az's turn to become sheepish and she rubbed the back of her neck, "I, um, I couldn't sleep."

Ben looked at her for a loaded moment before scooting over and patting the spot next to him, "Well, you're welcome to join me. I don't think I'll be going back to sleep anytime soon. Too much adrenaline coursing through my body."

Az whacked him on the shoulder as she settled next to him and the smirk on Ben's face grew as he turned his face up to the night sky.

"You come out here a lot when you can't sleep?"

Az hummed, "It's peaceful. Helps me put things into perspective."

Ben nodded, "Wish I lived near water. But I've forests near me which helps. Something calming abou' trees ya know?

"Yeah. Forests. Oceans. Mountains. Anything in nature that's bigger than you that reminds you of how small you are and how big the universe is. And how lucky we are to even be here at all."

"Oh, we're jumping right into the Deep Thoughts, huh?"

Az smirked, "I'm quite quick Hardy, ya gotta keep up."

Ben knocked his elbow against hers, "Well if we're jumping into deep thought territory, every time I look at the night sky I find the brightest star and wish on it. Helps me realize what I want to focus on in my life."

Az's eyes grew wide, "Wait, for real?"

"Yeah. Been doin' it since I was a kid. Why?"

"I do the same thing."

"You're joking."

"I swear on my LIFE."

Ben chuckled, "Well, I don't think we have to go that extreme, I believe you but, wow. Huh. Guess the universe is trying to tell us something."

"Guess so." Az smiled back at Ben and when he didn't drop his gaze, dropped hers first.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she drew her knees into her chest, still feeling the intensity of Ben's gaze on her.

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'? Not allowed to look at you?"

"You are but it just, I don't know, makes me nervous?" She flinched at the uptick that ended her remark and mentally chided herself for not sounding more confident.

"I make you nervous?" Ben could hear the smugness in his voice and knew he should tone it down but couldn't find it in himself to do so.

"Oh my god, I'm going to regret telling you this, but, yeah. I mean, obviously."

Ben leaned back on his hands as he studied Az's profile, "Why do I make you nervous? Not like I'm intimidating."

"You kind of are though?" When Ben made a shocked noise Az straightened up to face him, "No! No, no. Not in like, a bad way? Just in like, a, ah, you're very attractive?" She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and pulled her hands into the sleeves of her sweatshirt and balled them up, "And, uh, for someone like me, that's very intimidating."

"You're intimidated by me because I'm...attractive?"

"Yes, Ben! I think you're hot! Smoking! A total smoke show! You happy? And I know that you think I'm just some dorky girl who likes cheesy 80's ballads but," she flung her hands towards the heavens as if to illustrate how fruitless it would be for him to like her, "here we are."

Ben could barely contain the smile that threatened to break his face in two. "Alrigh' well, first of all, thank you for sharing your real feelings." Az clambered up, muttering about how she had embarrassed herself enough when Ben hoisted himself up and grabbed her wrist, "but don't assume you know what I'm thinking."

Az's body stilled and Ben knew she was listening despite her not meeting his gaze, "You just thought I felt one way abou' you? That's a little short sighted. You ever assume you know everything about the universe? I've got whole universes inside me too!"

Az peeked at Ben through her eyelashes, "You get that line from the last John Green novel you read?"

Ben gently grasped her chin with his thumb, angling her head up so she would fully look at him, "Maybe I did. There's a reason he's so popular. But don't interrupt me." Az pouted and Ben traced the outline of her lip with his thumb.

She shuddered at the contact and Ben stared into her eyes, "I've wanted to kiss you since the moment I saw your hair shining in the sun and your two middle fingers greeting us as we pulled into port. I couldn't believe someone as beautiful as you wanted to hang out with someone like me. I mean, fuck, Az," he wheezed out a laugh, "I've been losing my mind trying to find ways to be closer to you. Make you laugh. Make you smile. I sang fuckin' Turn Around Bright Eyes just because you asked."

"And you were the best duet partner I've ever had for that song."

"While I take great pride in that, I'm on a role here."

"Sorry. Please continue."

Ben took a deep breath in, "Az, I've wanted you ever since I saw you. But then I got to know you and, fuck, that feeling has just increased. So please," his voice dropped to a whisper as he ducked his head and his lips brushed over Az's as he asked, "Can I kiss you?"

Az's breath came out in shaky bursts and she didn't trust herself to move. She nodded and Ben's lips melted against hers as he cradled the back of her head and wrapped an arm around her waist.

It felt like everything in Az was aflame. The fire that had been building in her ever since she laid eyes on Ben had reached a fever pitch.

His lips moved against hers and he groaned. Her lips were just as soft as he expected them to be.

She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. He grasped her waist with both of his hands, fingers digging into her sides to ground her to him. As if he needed to make sure that she was real and she wasn't going anywhere.

Az had no plans of leaving anytime soon. She stroked the short hairs that grew at the nape of his neck, causing Ben to grip her waist tighter and she let out a moan.

Ben almost came as she moaned into his mouth. He could feel his cock growing harder and when Az pressed herself closer to him she could feel it as well.

She pulled back from his mouth with reluctance and let out a shaky breath, "Someone's excited." Ben threw all delicacies to the wind, "My cock has been hard since we started hanging out." Az's eyes grew wide and Ben could clearly see how blown out her pupils were.

The wind blew a few strands of hair across her flushed cheeks and with a glance down, Ben could see her chest rising and falling rapidly. With that thought, he traced his hands slowly up her sides as Az's breath hitched in her throat.

"Is this okay?" Ben whispered as his hands crept up her sides, agonizingly slow, leaving a trail of fire in their wake as Az nodded. She could barely keep herself upright, there was no way she could form words.

Ben smirked down at her as his thumbs grazed the sides of her breasts and Az jumped. "Easy, it's okay" he whispered as he leaned down to capture her lips with his once again.

"I know but, fuck, Ben. I've wanted you all day." Az whined and Ben was certain in that moment there was nothing more attractive than the sound Az breathlessly telling him how badly she wanted him.

"Well, you don't have to wait anymore." He whispered against her lips and Az pressed her lips to his as she gripped his shoulders.

Ben's hands continued their agonizingly slow pace to the front of Az's chest where he realized she wasn't wearing a bra and he let out a groan, "Fuck, Az, I need you."

"Who's the impatient one now?" Az smirked as she nipped at his bottom lip and Ben whined.

"Is there anywhere we can go? Preferably with a bed?"

"Inside, there's a room at the end of the hall."

Ben planted a deep kiss on Az and pulled her down the hall. Az's head was still reeling with how he had just kissed her and was only slightly aware of Ben leading her through the door and down the hall of the boat to one of the bedroom's that was located on board.

Ben turned the knob and let the door swing open as he pressed another kiss to Az's lips. Her hands were clawing at his back and he registered distantly that he might have scratches on there that he would have to explain to Joe.

Not that he cared.

Az fumbled behind her as she kicked the door, briefly hoping it was closed enough. Ben had moved down to kissing her neck and she couldn't think about anything else.

She bent her head back to allow him more access as he nipped at the column of her throat, causing her to release little moans every time that were sending Ben's head spinning.

Az yelped as Ben picked her up, causing her to wrap her legs around his waist instinctively, and he deposited her on the bed where he stared down at her as she pushed herself up to her elbows and stared back. She cocked an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"Nothing, you're just...fuck. You're beautiful."

Az's smile was bashful and she suddenly found it extremely hard to look Ben right in the eye at that moment.

Ben, sensing her shyness leaned down so he was hovering over her body and whispered, "Now's the time when you tell me I'm beautiful."

Az laughed, and remembered this was Ben. Sweet, caring Ben who she had spent all day pining over. She wasn't going to waste another moment getting caught up in her own head.

Ben went back to sucking and licking at Az's neck as one hand reached up underneath her sweatshirt and traced the outline of her breast, causing Az to arch her back.

She whined, "Ben...please."

Ben smirked against her neck, "Please, what?"

"Touch me. Please. I've wanted this all day."

"Hmm, I don't know..."

"Please, sir. I'll do anything." Az breathed out before she could stop herself.

Ben pulled back and stared with wide eyes. Her own eyes were half-lidded as she stared up at him, pupils blown out, cheeks flushed, chest heaving, hips bucking.

Ben cleared his throat, "What-uh-what did you just say?"

A look of worry washed over Az, "Uhm, sir?"

"That's what I thought." he growled.

He leaned down so his lips were right against her ear, "And since my good girl asked so nicely...I guess I'll give her what she wants."

He traced a circle that got smaller and smaller until he was tracing around her nipple as he swung his other leg around so he was straddling her and started to grind his clothed cock into her cunt. Az was only briefly embarrassed thinking about how she could cum from grinding against Ben fully clothed like some pre-pubescent 13-year old.

She babbled. "Please, sir. Yes. Oh my god. Fuck. Ben. Please, I need more."

Ben chuckled, "I've barely touched you. If this is how you're reacting now I can't wait till I tease your little cunt with my fingers, tongue and cock."

"Oh my GOD Ben, please. I need more. Please, I'm begging you."

Ben smirked as he started tweaking her nipple with deft fingers. He brought his other hand up to stroke her throat, testing the waters, "How do you feel about me touching your throat? Do you like that baby girl?"

Az whimpered and nodded as she desperately tried to grind her pussy against Ben's aching cock even more. He hadn't even registered how hard he was. He was so focused on Az and how needy she was, his own needs almost escaped him.

He gently laid a hand over her throat and squeezed the smallest amount which caused Az to throw her head back and let out a moan so loud that Ben was sure every boat in the marina would hear it.

It made his cock twitch.

"That's my good girl." he cooed as he continued to tease her nipple. Az whimpered and reached her hands up in a grabbing motion,

"What is it sweetheart? Use your words."

"Kiss me. Please."

Ben smiled and moved his hand from around her throat to cradle her cheek, "Of course sweetheart." The kiss he gave her was sweet, gentle and deep which caused Az's head to spin even more at the difference between this kiss and his filthy actions. Az wrapped her legs around his waist to bring him as close to her as possible.

Ben chuckled, "You're already so needy."

Az rolled her eyes, "Shut up." and went back in for another kiss.

Their lips moved together as Ben reached his hands down to the edge of Az's sweatshirt and gave it a little tug.

Az pulled away and ripped the sweatshirt off in record time. Ben sat up and stared down at Az's body, finally exposed to him.

"Holy shit."

Az fidgeted under his gaze, "What? Not what you thought?" bracing herself for him to tell her he had changed his mind.

"Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined you having a body as amazing as the one you have."

He leaned down to wrap his lips around her nipple as his other hand came to play with the one his mouth wasn't currently occupying. Az groaned but couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she reached a hand up to tug at his hair.

Ben switched from one nipple to the other as he glanced up at Az, "Couldn't let the other one feel left out."

"God forbid" Az breathed out as she arched her back after he gave a particularly hard nip.

He chuckled as he came up to plant another kiss on her lips, "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

Her eyes snapped open as she felt his hands travel down her body, past her breast, where he gave her nipple one more tweak, down her waist, down to the top of her thigh as he danced his fingers up her inner thigh. Teasing her as he brought his fingers close to where she most wanted him.

"Ben..."

His fingers stilled, "What did you call me?"

She whimpered, "Sir..."

"Better." His fingers danced closer to her cunt.

"Sir...please. I need you." Her hips were bucking desperately and Ben looked down at the beautiful woman underneath him and couldn't believe he had gotten so lucky.

He fiddled with the edge of her shorts, as she whined. He smirked and moved to trace the outline of her pussy through her underwear, he took in a sharp intake of air, "Fuck, baby girl. You're soaking wet for me."

Az whined, "That's what you do to me. That's all for you, sir. Please."

Ben groaned as he bent his head down to capture her lips with his as he dipped a finger into her panties and teased the lips of her pussy open.

Her thighs fell open easily as she bucked her hips to get more of his finger inside her. Ben slowly dipped one finger inside of her, when he felt how wet she was, he added a second, and then a third.

Then removed them entirely.

"Baby girl, flip over onto your stomach for me."

Az looked at him curiously but did as she was told, "Like this?" she asked as she looked back at him and bit her lip. Ben groaned and palmed himself through his pants as she looked up at him with her big eyes.

She glanced down at his bulge, "Can I suck your cock?"

Ben almost choked. "Holy fuck sweetheart. You're gonna make me cum if you keep talking like that."

Az giggled and then moaned as Ben thrust his fingers back into her, "I would love for you to suck my cock but first, I really want you to cum for me." He said as he kept thrusting his fingers in and out of her dripping core.

The angle had his fingers hitting her sweet spot right away. He kept palming himself through his jeans. He pumped his fingers slowly into Az's cunt, feeling her walls clench around his fingers, her ass moving up and down as she fucked his fingers, trying to fill herself up more. She whined when Ben ripped his fingers out of her.

"Ben..." She looked behind her and saw that his shirt was off and was making equally quick work of his jeans and boxer briefs. "Take off your pants. Now." he growled as he stepped out of his own, letting his cock spring free. Az was transfixed by it. It was huge. She licked her lips as she saw the pink tip, leaking pre-cum. She groaned as she imagined wrapping her lips around it, making Ben cum down her throat. Swallowing every single drop of his cum as he moaned.

"Baby girl?" Ben's voice broke Az out of her reprieve and she quickly reached her hands down and shimmied out of her panties and shorts and threw them into the room.

She pushed herself up to her hands and knees and stared at Ben over her shoulder, "Well?"

Ben licked his palm and stroked his cock a few times as he admired the view of Az's ass in front of him, her pussy glistening with her wetness.

He licked the fingers that had been in Az's cunt and tasted how sweet she was as he walked forward. He inserted his fingers back into her cunt making her hang her head and groan.

He pumped them in and out a few times and smacked Az's ass, "Lie down on your back."

She yelped but did as she was told. Ben looked into her eyes as she laid down, "I'm so sorry, I should have asked before I spanked you, I'm so sorry-"

Az cut him off with a kiss, "No! No. It was so hot. Sir." She added as she smirked up at him. Ben chuckled as he kissed her lips and moved to kiss down her body.

Az's breath got shallower the closer he got to her pussy. He nipped at the inside of her thighs as he just barely brushed her clit with the tip of his tongue.

Az almost levitated off the bed, "FUCK. BEN. Please!"

Ben chuckled and inserted two fingers into her cunt and started making obscene sucking noises as he sucked on her clit. Az always used to say she didn't understand why people made so much noise during sex but now? With Ben working his magic on her with his fingers and tongue? She didn't know how she could be quiet.

All too soon, she felt the familiar burning sensation in her stomach as she reached her edge, "Ben..Sir.."

He hummed against her clit which made her throw her head back and let loose a new wave of moans, "FUCK. If you do that again, I'm going to cum."

"Cum on my face then. Please." Ben said as he hummed against her clit and made a come hither motion with his fingers causing Az to completely unravel. The heat that had been building inside of her all day consumed her body as her vision went white.

Ben kept lapping until she whimpered and tried to move away, even then he kept slowly pumping his fingers in and out of her.

"Ben, please..." her voice came out as a whisper as she tugged on his hair to indict she wanted him to move up. Ben placed a final sweet kiss on her clit before slowly kissing his way back up her body.

Az let out a deep sigh as she closed her eyes and let the few remaining pulses of pleasure wash over her, relishing in the attention he was bestowing upon her.

Ben paused as he took in Az's body, stretched out below him and whined in the back of his throat.

The green of Az's eyes were revealed as she smirked at the needy sounds that escaped Ben.

She quickly pushed Ben off of her and before he could protest too much she straddled him and bent her head down to nip at the line of his throat which caused him to cry out.

Az giggled, "Does that feel good sir?"

Ben's eyes were rolling into the back of his head as Az's core ground against his exposed cock, he could feel the wetness as he bucked his hips up into her, "God, yes, sweetheart, please that feels amazing, don't stop..."

Ben's voice trailed off as Az started kissing his collarbone, then his chest, then his stomach, when he finally registered what her intentions were, he moaned as his eyes fluttered closed.

Az peered up at him through her lashes and couldn't stop herself from admiring how beautiful he looked. Eyelashes resting on his cheeks, chest heaving, cheeks the color of an English rose and his eyes...were staring right at her as she placed a soft kiss onto his cock.

He whined and Az's hips bucked involuntarily at the noise. She smiled up at him and he reached a hand down to caress her cheek.

She hummed and pressed a kiss into his palm. She turned her head back to the more important, and pressing, task at hand.

She kissed Ben's thighs as he threw his head back and sighed in ecstasy.

In between kisses, Az teased "I've barely touched you and you're already this needy."

Only a sliver of blue could be seen as she looked up at Ben, "If I wasn't so desperate for you to suck my cock, I would have a much better comeback" he breathed out in between moans.

Az smirked and curled her fingers around his cock as she licked her lips in anticipation.

Ben was huge. She shouldn't have been surprised, Lop had even said he carried himself with an energy that seemed to imply he was hung, but god.

She wrapped one hand loosely around his cock and licked a wide stripe from his balls to the tip where she placed a gentle kiss on it.

The groan Ben let out had her swinging a leg around so she could grind her core into Ben's thigh as she continued licking his cock.

She finally, agonizingly slowly, wrapped her lips around the head of Ben's cock and started to bob her head up and down.

Ben reached his hands down to grasp her hair and move it out of her face.

Az spit on his cock and started working her hands up and down as she peered up at Ben, "Thanks for the hair tie."

Ben bucked his hips up into her hands as he gasped, "Not so much for you, mainly wanted to see your lips wrapped around my cock. Been thinking about that all day."

Az laughed and kept one hand pumping the length that she couldn't fit into her mouth. She looked up at Ben through her eyelashes and heard him mutter, "Fuck. Having your lips around me is even hotter than I imagined."

Az hummed and Ben screamed, "FUCK" and pulled her off of his cock, mashing his lips against hers in a frenzy, "If I don't fuck you now I'm going to hate myself forever."

Az laughed gently against his lips, "Well, we can't have that now, can we?"

Ben nipped at her bottom lip as he brought a hand up to lightly smack her ass, "Someone seems to have forgotten their place, baby girl."

Az whimpered as she felt the sting, "I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again."

"Damn right," Ben said and stilled as his eyes met Az's with concern, "I don't have any condoms on me. Are there any on this boat?"

Az pressed a kiss to his cheek, "I have an IUD. It's fine. Just, please fuck me right now. Please? I'm begging you."

Ben exhaled and grabbed Az's hips with such strength that Az knew for certain there'd be bruises the next day.

Az clambered on top of him and lined up her entrance to the tip of Ben's cock, she slowly lowered down and the feel of her walls being stretched by his girth had her letting loose a string of curses that were almost drowned out by Ben's.

"Fuck, Ben, you're so big, god." Az squeezed her eyes shut as she bottomed out.

Ben squeezed her hips as he took every ounce of willpower not to buck up into her and fuck her until all she could say was his name, "Jesus, sweetheart, you feel incredible. This is so much more amazing than I ever could have imagined."

Az let out a shaky laugh as she started to roll her hips forward and back. Getting used to Ben's length, working it over. Ben couldn't take his eyes off her as Az's hips started rocking harder and harder against his cock.

He reached his hands up and grasped her breasts, rolling her nipples in between his fingers as Az threw her head back and let out a moan. Ben didn't think there was a better view in the entire world than this one.

Az reached a hand down to rub her clit as she rocked her hips back and forth and Ben's hips snapped up into her as his hands worked on her nipples. She felt her core tightening and that familiar warmth start building inside her for the second time.

She gasped, "Ben...sir...Ben..I'm so close, fuck, please don't stop, please"

Ben growled, "I don't plan on stopping any time soon, sweetheart."

Az moaned as she rubbed her clit harder and finally with a tweak of her nipples, Az felt herself coming undone around Ben's cock.

As she came out of her haze she could hear Ben babbling about how good she was, how tight she was, how he wanted to cum so badly. Az slowly leaned down and pressed a kiss to Ben's lips, causing him to pause in his actions.

She pulled back and smiled at him and he smiled at her. He gently stroked her sides, then grabbed on to her waist and flipped them over so Az's back hit the bed with a "OOF" and Ben ended up on top, hands on either side of her head.

He grinned down at her as she rubbed her hands up and down his arms, "Think you're so special huh?"

Ben's grin grew wider as he snapped his hips into her and Az broke down into moans and strained to get more of his cock inside of her. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Yeah, I like to think so."

"Please. Just fuck me."

Ben breathed out a laugh, "You don't have to ask twice." And started thrusting into Az as she grasped onto his shoulders, arching her back.

Ben could feel his thrusts getting sloppy and knew he was close. He reached a hand down and rubbed Az's clit, "Baby girl, think you got one more in you? I want you to cum with me."

Az nodded as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, "Uh-huh, yes sir, please, I want to cum again so badly, please please please please..." the last please fell on deaf ears as Az reached her climax for the third time. Her walls clenched around Ben's cock, pulling the best orgasm he'd ever had in his life out of him shooting thick, hot ropes of cum into her pussy as they both moaned and held onto each other as if they were life rafts keeping each other afloat.

Ben opened his eyes as he and Az caught their breath. They looked at each other and burst into laughter as they came down from their highs.

"Wow, uh, that was-"

"Amazing?" Ben asked, shyly.

Az's eyes grew warm as she brought a hand up to caress his cheek, "Yeah. Definitely worth the wait."

"Well, sorry. I didn't want to assume you wanted this as badly as I did." Ben whispered as he gazed down at Az with a soft look in his eyes

"Hmm, yes. Because a man who looks like a Greek god and can also make me cum THREE TIMES is clearly someone I don't want anything to do with." Az joked as she pulled Ben's face down to give him a gentle kiss.

Ben rolled his eyes as Az giggled. Which turned into a whimper as he pulled his cock out of her and he chuckled when he saw her pout, "Alright love. None of that. I'll be right back."

Az sighed and stretched out on the bed. She heard water running in the bathroom and Ben emerged with a warm washcloth.

He sat on the bed next to her and gently pulled her knees apart as he cleaned her up. Az smiled her thanks as Ben returned to the bathroom to clean himself up.

He walked out and saw Az had gotten underneath the covers, as he pulled back the covers he smiled, "Is this spot taken?"

A slow grin split her her face as she shook her head and patted the spot next to her.

Ben clambered into bed beside her and when he opened his arms wide, Az snuggled right into them. She sighed contentedly as Ben placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

As they both drifted off to sleep, they both thanked the star they had wished on for making their dream come true.

High above, the star they had both wished on, seemed to shine a little brighter as it hung right above the sleeping couple.

~~~

Rich woke up the next morning with a headache, the feeling that he had fuzz all over his tongue and the need to never consumer alcohol ever again. He groaned as he sat up and saw Joe, who was snoring louder than a man that size should, was still sleeping.

Rich stretched and slowly made his way to the bathroom. As he finished up and walked back out to the living room, he peered into Az's bedroom and saw her bed was empty. He shrugged, Az usually got up early so he figured she was already out on her boat.

After making coffee and taking it out onto Az's porch, he saw her boat still in the port with no sign of activity. He cocked his head, mentally going through a list of places she could be at.

His feet were heavy as he meandered down he dock. When he got closer to the large boat, he had arrived on the other day, he saw that the door on the uppermost floor wasn't closed all the way. Grumbling about how Joe would make a terrible captain, he lumbered aboard to take care of it.

After closing the first door, Rich did a quick sweep of the other areas to make sure everything was good to go to take Joe and Ben back out on the boat today. If Joe could stomach being on a boat after drinking so much. As he reached the floor by the uppermost deck he saw the bedroom door open at the end of the floor with light coming through it.

He crept closer and peered through the crack. He saw Az and Ben, both sound asleep, Az curled up into Ben's chest, Ben's arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

Rich slapped a hand over his mouth and sprinted back to Az's apartment, pumping his fist the whole way.

He quickly dug his phone out of the recliner cushions and texted Lop a million exclamation points, peach emojis and eggplant emojis.

Almost immediately Lop texted back, "I fucking knew it."

Rich laughed as he crept back downstairs, leaving the lovers to wake up in each others arms and to thank their lucky star.

#ben hardy fanfic #ben hardy one shot #ben hardy smut #joe mazzello #original character #OC #original female character #original male character #ben jones fic #ben hardy fic #ben jones smut #ben jones oneshot #boats #i want a BF who sails so badly fuck #ben hardy x reader #ben jones x reader #joe mazzello fic

77 notes · View notes

365daysofsasuhina · 5 years

Text

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day One Hundred Eighty-Six: Trickle Down ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Hyūga Hanabi, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Manami ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

Is it really a proper Summer vacation unless you go somewhere water-related? And of course, if you want to go full cliche, you go to the beach.

And that’s exactly where they’re headed.

In all honesty, Sasuke’s surprised Hiashi agreed. Though that technically might have to do with the fact that he’s yet unaware about the fact that his daughter is dating one of the three boys she’s been given permission to travel with.

Him, specifically.

Hanabi is also with them, the little tagalong. It would hardly be fair to keep her away, after all. Technically there are four adults in the arrangement to keep an eye on them: his aunt Manami, her son Shisui, and of course Itachi. And much to Sasuke’s surprise...Itachi brings someone along.

A girl.

But, Sasuke’s not one to butt into his brother’s business. All he knows is that Manami drives himself, Hinata, and Hanabi. Everyone arrives on their own to the beach two hours from their home suburb.

It’s actually been a few years since he bothered to go. They’ve even got overnight rooms, having the rest of tomorrow until the drive home that night. The only arrangement he’s aware of so far is the girls having a room...minus Manami, who’s splurging on her own. He’s assuming the boys will then be left to their own devices.

Which is wonderful...because Shisui snores like a bear.

But at least it’s just one night. For now, they have the entire day ahead of them, having left fairly early this morning.

Dressed in a button-up blouse and a skirt, Hinata emerges from the car and holds a hand to her brow, shielding her eyes as she looks over the beachfront. It’s...rather crowded, but what can you expect? “Wow…! I can’t remember the last time I was here!”

“Look at all the people,” Hanabi marvels, mirroring her sister’s pose.

“Yeah...be careful not to get lost, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah...I’m not a baby. And I’ve got my phone, I can always text you.”

Hinata wilts a bit at the girl’s flippant attitude, but in the end just gives a small sigh. “...grab your bag, we need to go check in.”

The group heads inside, Manami handling the rooms. While the rest of them wait, Sasuke brightens as Itachi and his...friend arrive. “Hey, you made it.”

“Traffic was a bit hectic, but yes, we’re here,” the elder brother replies, smiling. Turning to the sisters, he softens. “It’s good to see you two again. It really has been a while.”

Hinata gives a dipping nod. “You look well, Itachi! How’s college going?”

“It’s...going.” A tinge of sheepishness tinges his expression. “Let’s just say I was eager for Summer to arrive.”

“You’re working though, right?” Sasuke asks, hands in his pockets.

“I am. Just part time - on a week, off a week. Thankfully Manami’s plans lined up perfectly.”

As the brothers chat, the girls take to their own conversation. Already Hinata seems rather enamored with Itachi’s companion...which Sasuke can’t help but perk a brow at.

“...I’m glad you two are speaking again,” Itachi then offers softly, drawing his brother’s gaze. “I know it pained you to go without her friendship for so long.”

“Yeah, well...I had my own shit to sort out,” Sasuke mutters in reply. “But yeah...me too.”

There’s a knowing curiosity in Itachi’s eyes, and he then asks, “...so, is this little getaway a platonic one, or…?”

Stiffening a hair, Sasuke’s cheeks dust pink. “W...what’s that supposed to mean?”

Clearly already understanding, Itachi smiles. “...just a kind of...intuition. Manami told me you’ve been spending quite a bit of time together. Including after curfew.”

“Uh...she knows about that?”

“Oh please, Sasuke: she’s ex military. You really think you could sneak out of that house without her knowing?”

Mouth opening to speak, Sasuke instead squawks as an arm lands over his shoulders. “Hey!” Shisui cuts in with a gleaming grin. “What’re you two chattin’ about?”

“Your mother’s uncanny ability to know every little thing that happens in her house,” Itachi explains dryly.

“Ooh, yeah...no avoiding those hawk-like eyes, I tell ya. Sasuke get busted for sneaking out again?”

Scowling, he ducks out from under his cousin’s grip. “Busted, no...at least, I’m not in trouble.”

“She knows you’re not dumb enough to...well, do something dumb. Probably just figures you’re out for a stroll in the quiet,” Shisui offers.

“Exactly…”

Glancing to the group, the eldest then asks, “So am I the only one without a date, or…?”

“Seems that way,” Itachi teases with a hint of a grin.

“Maybe I’ll find one out on the beach, eh? Once I stride out there in my speedo, they’ll have to peel the women off me,” Shisui retorts, cracking another good-humored smile.

“Please God tell me you aren’t actually going to wear a speedo,” Sasuke deadpans.

“I mean -”

“Come on, guys!” Manami then calls, turning them all to the counter. “Rooms are booked, let’s go settle in! Then we’ll hit the beach, okay?”

Hanabi gives a whoop, following close behind as the rest trail after her. As arranged, the girls take their room, the boys to another, and Manami to her own. “Meet back out here in twenty, and we’ll head down together.”

Nodding, Sasuke hauls his bag into the assigned room, finding two beds. Seems he’ll be bunking with his brother like the old days. Getting right to the point, they all change into swim gear...and Sasuke mentally sighs in relief when Shisui pulls out trunks like the rest of them. He did not want to see that man in a speedo…

Once enough time passes, they head into the hall with towels in tow, meeting the rest of the group. Manami simply rocks a tank and shorts, prosthetic in clear view. Hanabi dons a white one-piece, an innertube around her waist. And both of the older girls are...still dressed?

“You not gonna swim?” Sasuke asks.

“No, I just…” Hinata goes pink. “I’ve got my suit on under. I wanted to wear this down to the beach for...for a while.”

A blink. “...okay.”

Herd assembled, they squish back into an elevator and head out toward the sand. Hanabi takes off at a dead run, prompting Hinata to chase. “Hanabiii! Slow down!”

Manami crows in laughter, everyone else sighing. “I’m so glad none of you three are that young anymore…”

“Hey, I’m still twelve at heart,” Shisui retorts.

“True, but you’re also physically a legal adult and pay for your own medical bills if you were to sprint, fall, and break something,” she counters with a grin that matches his own. “Feel free to act twelve all you want.”

Both brothers snicker as Shisui pouts. “Love you too, Mom,” he mutters.

Eventually they catch up with the sisters. Hanabi’s already in the water, floating with her tube. Hinata’s laid claim to a pair of umbrellas, somehow not taken...but also a good deal distant from the hotel entrance.

“All right, you all head into the water...I’m gonna sit in the shade and read,” Manami declares, throwing down her towel and making to do just that. Itachi and his date decide to wait a bit as well, leaving Sasuke to try to convince Hinata to ditch her clothes and go swim as Shisui just...barrels out with a warcry.

“Come on, you can’t go to a beach and not swim.”

“S-sure you can!”

“...what, are you self-conscious? Hinata, you’re fine, just -”

“So what if I am?” she cuts in, once again pink in the face. “I just...d-don’t like being so...undressed.”

“What about me? I’ve basically just got long boxers on.”

“I do n-not want to think about that…!”

“Come on,” he offers, practically whining. “I wanna see your suit.”

“It...it’s nothing special.”

“Knowing you, I bet it’s adorable.”

Looking shy at the compliment, Hinata hesitates another moment before sighing, working the buttons of her blouse. Under is a tank-like top: white with sunflower prints. And once she peels off her skirt, there’s a high-waisted bottom, the same warm yellow.

“...I like it,” he offers. “But man, you need more sun.”

“W-what?”

“You’re so pale!”

Her cheeks puff with a pout. “...well the only time I seem to go out anymore is a-after dark!”

That earns a grin. True...he drags her out so late, she probably doesn’t do much else for being tired. “...fair enough.”

Once they’re both lathered with sunscreen (Hinata having already tended to her sister), he coaxes her out from under the umbrella. “C’mon, we’ll get in the water and then no one can see you.”

“B-but -?”

“No one’s gonna be looking at you, anyway - they’re all doing their own thing. The only eyes you gotta worry about are mine,” Sasuke teases, earning a slap against his shoulder.

Making it to the waves, they stride in to their knees, Hinata squealing at the cold. “This...this is a mistake!”

“No way - you’re not backing out now.”

“But -?”

Scooping her up, Sasuke ignores her protests and carries her further in before just...throwing her.

“Wah -!”

Sploosh!

Scrambling for the surface, she stands in the now chest deep water, dripping wet. “You...you…!”

He just grins, ducking behind arms as she splashes him. “Looking a little drenched there, Hina.”

“I’m gonna k-kill you!”

They mock fight for a bit, ocean spraying at each strike of a hand before it devolves into laughing and chasing. But it’s not long before the novelty wears off, and Sasuke suggests heading up to dry off for a bit.

“Okay...good idea.” Taking the lead, Hinata wrings out her hair as they emerge from the water.

A few paces behind, Sasuke mops it from his face before his gaze gets a bit...caught up in the way water trickles down Hinata’s back and legs.

...oh.

Shisui and Hanabi are still in the water, and Sasuke notices the elder pair have disappeared...but he doesn’t see them in the waves. Eyes narrowing a bit, he forgets as Hinata gestures for him to sit. Manami, true to her word, is still reading...and clearly ignores the couple a few towels over.

“That was fun!”

“Told you,” Sasuke teases.

Out sticks her tongue. “There’s a pool too, right?”

“I think so.”

“We’ll have to try it later. For now I’m a little swimmed out.” A pause. “...swum out? I’ve...had enough swimming.”

Snorting, he just reclines on his towel, deciding to doze for a bit until they get led to their next activity. Hearing Hinata do the same beside him, he cracks an eye, finding her pinkie with his.

She grips it back, a subtle smile growing as her eyes close.

Yeah...this was a good idea.

.oOo.

Not...too much to say about this? Just your basic day at the beach kinda fic, featuring...lots of family xD This is technically part of the "Neighbors" sub modern AU. I still need to go back through all these and make sub lists for the mini 'stories', I just...haven't had the time, especially with now 186 of them to go through...I will eventually! Just...not likely for a while, aha ;;;;; But yeah! It's late, and I've had a busy day with another one coming up, so that's all outta me for now. Thanks for reading!

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #hyūga hanabi #uchiha itachi #uchiha shisui #uchiha manami #best years of your life [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

14 notes · View notes

dexi-green · 5 years

Text

Avengers:Endgame References/Easter Eggs/Connections SPOILERS!

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

I knew there had to be at least one connection to each MCU film so I decided to write down what I saw. Some might be very vague or be reaching a bit, but there are some solid ones I think. SPOILERS OF COURSE! I’ve included lines, cameos I thought were significant, shot parallels, etc. Plus some extra stuff at the bottom that deal with comic, actor/write cameos, etc. Enjoy! Please let me know if there is anything wrong or missing! It’s a long post. I’ll put it under a cut if someone wants me to. I tagged everything I could think of.

Iron Man

“I am Iron Man”

The sound at the end of the credits is of Tony making his first Iron Man Suit.

Morgan wanting Cheeseburgers and Happy’s response references how Tony wanted an “American Cheeseburger” after he was kidnapped and rescued.

Tony walking out of The Benatar is similar to him walking off the plane after he gets rescued.

”Don’t post this on social media”

”I just want peace” Tony does a peace sign like the soldier at the beginning of Iron Man.

Tony leaves a message for Morgan like his father, Howard did for him.

The “Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart” Arc reactor display that Pepper made for Tony with the first small arc reactor he made to keep shrapnel out of his heart, is sent off on the lake during his funeral

The Incredible Hulk

When Steve asks Hulk how he knows he would survive using all the infinity stones he says, “We don’t. But the radiation is mostly Gamma. It’s like I was made for this”.

Iron Man 2

“It’s always you” was the line Tony said to Pepper when making her CEO of Stark Industries

Thor

Erik Selvig shows up among the dusted.

New Asgard is in Tønsberg, Norway, which is where Odin led the war against the Frost Giants.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Steve and Peggy’s dance that they he promised her before going into the ice is finally fulfilled.

The compass with Peggy’s picture Steve has is the same from TFA.

“I can do this all day”

“Don’t do anything stupid?” “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you”

”I went in the ice in ‘45 right after I met the love of my life. Woke up 70 years later.”

After their plan to get the tesseract from New York failed, they went to Camp Lehigh which is where Steve trained before having the Super Soldier Serum injection.

In Peggy’s office there is a picture of young, pre-serum, ‘skinny’ Steve from his training at Camp Lehigh before he got the serum injection, on her desk. This is the same picture that was in the records she was reading after he went in the ice at the end of TFA.

New Asgard is actually Tønsberg, Norway, which is where The Red Skull got the Tesseract from in the beginning of TFA

When returning Steve the shield, Tony says, “He made it for you”. Howard made the Shield for Steve after he saved the soldiers in TFA.

The jacket that Steve is wearing when he returns as an old man is the same jacket he wore at before he met Abraham Erskine.

The Avengers

During the events of this movie is the time they go back to to get the Space, Power, and Time Stone (from the Tesseract, Scepter, and Eye of Agamotto respectfully).

Agent Sitwell appeared briefly in Avengers and Winter Soldier.

“We do our best work after the fact, we’re the Avengers”

Steve’s eye when they first go to fight Thanos at the beginning, seeing outer space for the first time, mirrors when Tony went through the portal during the Battle of New York, and saw outer space for the first time.

”We’re a long way from Budapest”.

When Scott, Natasha, and Steve visit Tony asking for help he says, ”The table’s set for six” which could be a reference to the six original avengers.

”You pulled this off. I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible too.” Natasha referring to when the Hulk was more out of control.

Steve uses the scepter on Avenger’s Era Cap similar to how Loki used it on Clint and Erik Selvig.

When they go back to right after the Battle of New York, Tony and Thor tell Alexander Pierce they are headed to lunch, referencing the iconic Shawarma post credit scene

Steve tells Tony that he isn’t the, ”guy to make the sacrifice play. Lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you”. Tony ultimately sacrifices himself for everyone.

Iron Man 3

Harley Keener, the little boy who helps Tony in Iron Man 3, is the teenager standing alone at Tony’s funeral.

Pepper wears the armor Tony made for her which was hinted at in IM3 when she wears pieces of Tony’s armor to save Tony.

Thor: The Dark World

Thor basically explains the events of the movie when talking about The Reality Stone/Aether.

During the events of this movie is the time they go back to to get the Reality Stone.

Frigga

Thor says “I like this one” to Carol like Loki’s “I like her” to Jane.

Loki uses his magic to make fun of Cap similar to how he does in TDW, and when Avenger’s Era Cap sees Steve he even thinks that it is Loki.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

“On your left”.

Natasha wears the same arrow necklace she did throughout WS.

Steve hosts a support group for survivors of the Snap/Decimation like Sam did for Veterans.

”You here to do your laundry?”

Alexander Pierce

The scene where Steve has to get the scepter is almost shot for shot the same elevator scene from Winter Soldier, he also uses the knowledge from that movie that HYDRA had infiltrated SHIELD to get the scepter.

After their plan to get the Tesseract from New York failed, they went to the same bunker in Camp Lehigh that was a SHIELD base, where Natasha and Steve confront the A.I. Zola.

While at the SHIELD base in Camp Lehigh, when Tony is getting the Tesseract, Howard shows up calling for Arnim, this is Dr. Arnim Zola.

Steve still thinks a hat is a disguise.

Steve tells Avengers Era Cap that Bucky is still alive to break his focus.

The song Steve and Peggy have their dance to at the end is “It’s Been A Long Time” by Harry James, a song that was popular at the end of World War II. This is the same song that Nick Fury is listening to when Steve finds him in his apartment. It could also be a reference to Peggy’s line, “It’s been so long”.

Guardian’s of The Galaxy

During the events of this movie is the time they go back to to get the Power Stone.

The opening is used when Quill is dancing.

Nebula and Gamora from the time period of GOTG appear.

Nebula and Rocket mourn losses similar to how Rocket and Drax do at the end of GOTG.

Natasha kicks an Orloni (the rat like creature) on Morag like Quill does.

Howard The Duck appears in the final battle with a gun behind Wasp.

Rocket recreates his pose with a gun on Groot’s shoulder, just on War Machine’s shoulder.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

“That up there...that’s the Endgame”.

“We’ll do that [lose] together too”.

Mention of the original idea behind Ultron.

”I saw this a few years back. I had a vision I didn’t want to believe it...What we needed was a suit of armor around the world.”

When testing the time travel devices Clint goes back to his farm, and starts out the film there with his family.

Clint’s Family (including Nathaniel Pietro Barton).

Tony gets a lake house, out of the city, similar to Clint’s farm.

Steve is able to pick up Mjolnir, and when he does Thor says “I knew it!”. During the party scene in AOU Steve tries to pick up Mjölnir and it budges a little but he ultimately can’t, however Thor’s line hints that Steve realized he could pick it up but decided to pretend like he couldn’t.

In the Final Battle against Thanos, Thanos breaks Steve’s shield and it looks similar to it’s broken appearance in Tony’s Vision.

When Peter uses his web to grab onto Mjölnir, it’s similar to when Pietro grabs onto Mjölnir and is pulled away.

On Natasha’s desk is an old pair of ballet pointe shoes, ballet was the cover for her assassin training as seen in her vision.

In Tony’s vision, he see’s all the other Avenger’s dead, when talking to Fury about it they say the worst part was that Tony was the only one in the vision that didn’t die. At the end of Endgame, Tony and Natasha are the only original avengers who died.

When Bruce asks Thor if he knows who helped him during a tough spot, Thor asks if it was Natasha, referencing their romantic storyline.

Ant-Man

In the SHIELD base in Camp Lehigh, Steve is looking for more Pym particles, there is some ants in an ant farm and an older looking Ant Man helmet.

Captain America: Civil War

Aunt May is at Tony’s funeral.

Tony returns Steve his shield after telling him to leave it in CW.

”This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago? At the Airport? In Germany? I was the guy who got really big…”

”Whats up regular sized man.”

Nebula comments to Rhodey “I wasn’t always like this” and he replies “Me either” referring to the mechanical crutches on his legs that Tony made to help him walk after his fall in CW.

T’Challa says, “Clint, give it to me” when they are passing around the Gauntlet. In CW when Clint introduces himself, T’Challa says “I don’t care”.

Steve calls Peter ‘Queens’ referring to their small exchange in CW.

When Tony is using his B.A.R.F. technology to play out a memory he says that he wishes he told his dad, “I love you...I know you did the best you could”. When Tony and Steve go back to 1970 to Camp Lehigh he is finally able to tell him.

Doctor Strange

The Ancient One

The Ancient One uses similar magic on Bruce that she did on Dr. Strange

”Strange is meant to be the best of us”

Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2

The Benatar ship

“Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me” Nebula talks about how Thanos replaced parts of her to get her to be stronger.

The jump points they go through to get to ‘The Garden’ at the beginning look exactly like how they look in GOTG (not really a reference, just nice consistency).

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Ned Leeds

The photo Tony has in his house of him and Peter is them holding a certificate for Peter’s Stark Internship.

Peter gets his real hug from Tony.

”Activate Instant Kill”

Peter grabs onto Mjölnir, In SM:H he did an impression of Thor holding Mjölnir.

Thor: Ragnarok

Korg, Miek, and Valkyrie/Brunhilde

At the end of Ragnarok Thor says they will settle the Asgardians on Earth, which they show he does, making New Asgard in Tønsberg, Norway.

Black Panther

Shuri and T’Challa show up amongst the dusted, and in the final battle.

Queen Ramonda

In the Final Battle, Shuri wears her battle armor and hand cannons from the final battle in BP.

Avengers: Infinity War

Mention of Vision’s death

“We’re in the Endgame now”

Tony and Pepper’s kid is named Morgan. Tony mentions a dream of having a kid and naming the kid Morgan after Pepper’s eccentric uncle.

Peter talks about the Snap from his point of view,

“I lost the kid”

“He wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street magician gave away the stone”

“The Garden” Where Thanos retired to after the Snap

Thanos’ scarred arm and face from using the Infinity Gauntlet and all the stones at once.

Thor chops off Thanos’ head and says, “I went for the head”.

Bruce continues to use the Hulkbuster armor again instead of becoming Hulk in the first part of the film.

When they are talking about where and when to go back to to get the Infinity Stones Bruce is seen eating Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, ‘Hulk-A Hulk-A Burning Fudge’.

San Francisco has erected monuments to all the “Vanished” from the Snap/Decimation.

Bruce is in the same position, laying on his back looking up at the sky, as he was when crashed into the Sanctum Sanctorum. In both cases he was also the first person in that setting to know that Thanos was coming (in Infinity War he was sent down to warn everyone, in Endgame he is looking up at Thanos’ ship).

Wanda crushes Thanos with his own armor, similar to how Thanos crushed Rhodey in his War Machine suit.

Carol held onto The Gauntlet when Thanos was wearing it to stop him, similar to how Cap did in IW, drawing a parallel between the Captain’s and the Final Battles of each film.

When the Asgardian’s are chasing Rocket away they yell “Get that rabbit!” Like how Thor referred to Rocket as a Rabbit

Tony’s final moments with Peter, mirror Peter’s final moments in Infinity War with Tony.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Luis’ X-Con Van with the Quantum Tunnel in the back.

Ant-Man has been trapped in the Quantum Realm since the end of AMATW.

The suits they wear to go through the Quantum Realm are Red and White like Hank Pym’s Quantum suit, and have the same helmets the Ant-Man suit does.

Captain Marvel

Carol lingers on a picture of Nick Fury when he shows up among the dusted hinting at their friendship that was formed in CM

“Where have you been all this time?” ”There are a lot of other planets in the universe..”

Extra

Cameos

Stan Lee’s cameo is when Tony and Steve go back to Camp Lehigh, he is the man in the car who says, “Make Love Not War” He also has a bumper sticker that says “Nuff’ Said” one of Stan’s catchphrases.

James D’Arcy makes an appearance as Edwin Jarvis who he played in the Agent Carter show.

Ken Jeong and Yvette Nicole Brown cameo. The Russo brothers worked on the show Community and gave some of the cast members cameos in their MCU films.

Jim Starlin, the writer of the Infinity Gauntlet and the man credited for making Thanos, cameos in the support group scene.

Joe Russo, one of the directors of the film and other MCU films, cameos in the support group scene as the man who cried on a date.

Comics

Carol’s haircut after the Five Year jump is like Carol’s iconic short hair in the comics.

Thanos’ armor as a scarecrow the same way it is in the Infinity Gauntlet comics.

When they go back to 1970, Steve’s disguise has the name Roscoe on it. Roscoe Simons replaced Steve as Captain America in the comics at one point.

During the remake of the Elevator Scene from Winter Soldier, Steve uses the knowledge from Winter Solider of HYDRA having infiltrated SHIELD, and whispers “Hail Hydra” to Agent Sitwell. This is a reference to the Secret Empire story where Hydra made a clone of Steve.

In the SHIELD base in Camp Lehigh, Steve is looking for more Pym particles, there is an older looking Ant Man helmet, which looks exactly like the old Ant Man helmet from the comics.

Okoye mentions a seismic incident on the ocean floor, this could be a reference to Namor, The Sub-Mariner, one of the original characters, debuting in Marvel Comics #1 published by Timely Comics (which later became Marvel).

There is a comic series called “Asgardians of The Galaxy”.

Morgan Stark is the name of Tony’s evil cousin in the comics.

Captain America standing alone against Thanos is similar to a scene from the Infinity Gauntlet comic.

The first time ‘Avengers Assemble’ is (finally) spoken in the films. The first time it was spoken was by Thor in Avengers #10.

Ant-Man’s van is in lockup 616, Earth-616 is the main universe for the comics.

Clint calls his daughter by his alias, Hawkeye. The female Hawkeye in the comics is Kate Bishop, not his daughter, but she does train under Clint.

A middle ground Hulk/Bruce is called ‘Professor Hulk’ in the comics.

In The Mighty Thor #390 Captain America picks up Mjolnir and hands it to Thor.

MCU/Marvel Films

During his message to Pepper he says “It’s day 21? No 22”. Endgame is the 22nd film in the MCU.

”The table’s set for six” could be a reference to six original avengers. Or Tony, Pepper, Morgan, Happy, Peter, and Rhodey.

Rhodey suggests killing Thanos when he was a baby. Similar to the baby Hitler scene in Deadpool 2.

Wakandans, Asgardians, Ravagers, and Master of The Mystic Arts’ all show up in the final battle against Thanos, making up the larger groups outside of the individual heroes. Chitauri and Outriders make up the bulk of Thanos’ army.

From this movie it looks like the official deaths from Infinity War and Endgame are; Heimdall, Loki, Vision, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, and Tony Stark/Iron Man. Gamora was brought from the past to the future by Thanos, and fought in the final battle against him, but seems to be missing by the end of the film.

Within The Film

When Tony and Pepper are discussing whether he should use time travel and help the Avengers she asks,”But would you be able to rest?” When he is dying at the end she says, ”You can rest now”.

Steve tells Natasha “I think we both need to get a life” Natasha says, “You first”. Later Tony tells Steve he needs to get a life. At the end of the film, when Steve comes back older he says he “tried one of those lives Tony was talking about”.

When Tony agrees to help, he says to Steve that he wants to ”Maybe not die trying”.

Before Hulk uses the gauntlet Tony made to Snap everyone back into existence, he says “none of you would survive”. Tony dies after he snaps Thanos and his army away.

One of the last people we (sorta) see get dusted is Clint’s wife Laura, after Hulk snaps everyone back, the first person we get indication of being back is Laura when she calls Clint’s phone.

The newest character/hero we see in the film is Pepper Potts in her Rescue armor.

TV/Books/Media

’Time Heist’ is Scott’s suggested name for their plan. It is also the name of a Doctor Who, a show about time travel, episode from 2014. Karen Gillan who plays Nebula, played Amy Pond in Doctor Who one of the Doctor’s companions.

Several Time Travel films/shows are mentioned by name, “Back to The Future” “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” “Star Trek” “Terminator” “Time After Time” “Time Cop” “Quantum Leap” “A Wrinkle In Time” “Somewhere In Time” “Hot Tub Time Machine”

Sebastian Stan plays an antagonist character, Blaine, in Hot Tub Time Machine which is mentioned by Scott and Rhodey.

Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane in Iron Man and also The Dude in the Big Lebowski. Several characters call Thor ‘The Dude’ or ‘Lebowski’ and he just does actually look like him in Endgame with the robe and sunglasses

Tony calls Rocket “Ratchet” like Ratchet and Clank, where the Ratchet character is feline like, kinda raccoon-ish, who is a mechanic like Rocket.

”This is the part when spikes come out with skeletons on the end of them and everything. When you enter a place called the Temple of the Power stone there’s gonna be a bunch of booby traps”. Rhodey referencing movies like Indiana Jones.

Ken Jeong’s cameo character reads a book called The Terminal Beach by J.G. Ballard which includes a short story called “End-Game”

A-113 shows up behind Bruce when they are testing Tony’s time travel devices. A-113 is a common easter egg, referencing a room number at Cal-Arts, hidden in many Pixar and Disney films.

28 notes · View notes

frostythefelix · 5 years

Text

Blessings Wait For You

Summary: When the Dragon Clan begins terrorizing the kingdom again, your life spirals out of control, somehow landing you a spot at the royal family’s dinner table and a spot in the prince’s heart.

Chapter 2

Standing in the gravel before the castle, you suck in a deep breath. The white rock that makes up the castle walls is beautiful, surrounded by the most exotic plants you have ever seen. A magnificent, thick wood door stands proudly in an indent of the rock, with a cast iron knocker on each door. You approach the entryway, trailing behind your father with your servant dragging your bags behind you. The doors open together with the help of the two guards standing in front of them. An older man, clad in a sophisticated suit, is standing in the threshold, grinning at the sight of you.

“Good morning Miss Y/N. We have been expecting you. I am Mr. Yang. Please, follow me,” the butler greets you. He tells the servant to leave your things by the door and wait there before guiding you to the same room you were in yesterday. The walk seems quicker today as you gaze around the main room. You are blown away at the decor. A large, dark red carpet covers the rock flooring, acting as a runway down the corridor and then branching off down the others. You follow Mr. Yang down a hallway of portraits, recognizing the royal family immediately, surrounded by what you think is a real gold frame. Prince Felix is young in the painting, indicating that it was done a long time ago. He was born just a year before you were and you’d just turned eighteen. You hadn’t seen his portrait in several years. You wonder how old you were then, maybe thirteen? With your mind distracted, you hardly notice when Mr. Yang slows to a stop in front of an oak door. He knocks twice upon entrance. Another man appears when the door creaks open. You haven’t a clue who he is, but offer a polite bow anyway. He returns the bow, opening the door wider to let you in. Mr. Yang turns to leave then, muttering a goodbye.

“Please, take a seat.” The man gestures to the couch you sat on the day before, taking a seat on the one adjacent. You do as told, your father following suit. “I am the Head Guard here at the castle; my name is not important at the moment. I am here to brief you and show you to your room. I understand you’re here to be protected, am I correct?” You nod in response, finding it strange that he is talking directly to you and not to your father. “You will be treated as a guest in the castle. That means you are to attend dinner with the royal family every night at six p.m. and are to be in bed by eight. Breakfast is optional, but you will be woken up at six a.m. every morning. You are to wear your best dresses every day. This is a castle, not your home.” He drones on for another five minutes about the rules and regulations and you swear if he talks any longer you will fall asleep.

You say goodbye to your father after the speech and follow the Head Guard to your new bedroom. He stays silent as he takes you up the stairs and down a couple hallways. There isn’t much to look at on your way there. The white rock walls are bare and only a bench or a table stands as decor every few doors. Finally, he stops in front of a corner door, leaving you there without a word, confused, and a little afraid, if you are being honest, but you twist the knob and push, nonetheless. The room is beautiful. A light blush pink color is painted onto the walls, the furniture a dark wood. A vanity sits on the back wall and across from that is a king size bed, sheets white with floral designs. It all seems so… royal. An older woman is sitting on the bench at the end of the bed, a welcoming smile on her pretty, but tired face. You notice her smile immediately; it is impossible not to admire the curvature of her lips and the straightness of her white teeth. The woman introduces herself as the Head Maid, Mrs. Seo before she leaves, insisting that her son will be here later to escort you to dinner. You spend the remaining time before dinner unpacking. You can’t believe your circumstances, grinning to yourself as you spin around the room. A knock interrupts your dancing. Your smile fades for a split second, the reminder of why you are here in the first place crossing your mind. Shaking your head, you let the smile return. If you’re here, you might as well make the best of it. With a small chuckle, you open the door to meet a boy around your age.

“Hello,” you greet. “Are you Mrs. Seo’s son?” The boy smiles, nodding shyly.

“I’m Changbin.” He barely makes eye contact with you, opting to stare at the ground instead. You pout, wondering if it is due to another one of the unnecessary rules of the castle.

“Well, Changbin, it’s really nice to meet you. I’m Y/N. I hope we can be good friends.” He sneaks a peek, his confusion making you laugh.

Changbin escorts you down the halls to the dining room. You keep consistent conversation on your way there, asking him all the questions you could about him and the castle. You take notice of his smile; he clearly got that from his mom. The fun ends all too soon when the two of you reach the double doors to the dining room. Two stoic guards stand in front of either door, opening them slowly to grant you entrance. The dining room is huge, you observe right away. The walls are so high you have to tilt your head all the way back to see where they meet the ceiling. A glass chandelier hangs in the middle of the large room and a long, wood table sits directly under it. The king is sitting at the head of the table, the queen on his left, and Prince Felix on his right. The ruler watches you impassively, swirling his cup in his hand.

“Dinner is at six, Y/N.” The unimpressed glare you receive from the queen shocks you. You didn’t know what time it was.

“That’s my fault, Your Majesty.” Changbin rushes, stepping forward. You don’t miss the amused smile on the prince’s face as his mother clears her throat. “I was late picking her up.” The queen’s eyes sweep down your form before your eyes lock again, her head held high.

“Be on time tomorrow night.” She scolds. You nod, bowing deeply and keeping your head focused on the floor as the guard guides you to the open spot next to Prince Felix. He snickers as you stare intently at your empty plate. You shyly lift your head when the queen orders the servants to bring out dinner. The queen is immersed in fixing the skirt of her dress, looking up at the king when he lets out a small cough. Your eyes follow hers questionably. The king is staring at you blankly, not a single readable emotion on his face. It is too intimidating and you don’t let your eyes linger for long. Prince Felix is also looking at you, you notice, only he is smiling kindly.

“I am Felix,” he says when your eyes meet, sticking his hand out for you to shake. You apprehensively look around the room, wondering if it’s okay to shake his hand. He is a prince, are you allowed to touch him? Not getting any indicators that you can’t, you shyly reach out your hand and slip it into his. He shakes twice, his smile only widening. You are entranced. His smile is of another world, you think. Prince Felix is cute, more than cute, really, but he is a prince; beauty is to be expected from the royal family, though the rumors of Prince Felix’s looks do him no justice.

Dinner is served and your mouth is watering. You aren’t sure what it is, but that doesn’t stop you from asking for a second scoop. The king and queen are silent, nodding in thanks to the servants as they serve them their dinner. It surprises you when Prince Felix speaks up.

“Mom, did I tell you about the tennis match today?” He asks, straightening in his seat, a gleaming smile brightening the room. The queen grins, shaking her head as she shovels some meat into her mouth. “It was one on one, Hyunjin and I.” He turns to you, “Hyunjin is my First Hand. He’s basically my best friend.” You can’t help but smile, appreciating that he is including you into the conversation. “It was so intense-” he continues his rambling, but no matter how much you want to pay attention, to hang onto every exciting word, the king’s hard stare poses to be too much of a distraction. He leans back in his chair when you catch his gaze, lifting his silver chalice to his lips.

Dinner doesn’t end quick enough, but you are thankful for the food and Prince Felix’s animated storytelling. A female maid accompanies you back to your chambers. She introduces herself as Isabelle, your personal handmaid for the time you will be spending in the castle.

“You can call me Y/N, Isabelle. You don’t have to be so formal with me,” you giggle when she calles you ‘Miss’ for the upteenth time since you met her an hour before. She helped you out of your corset dress and into your pajamas and is now shyly sitting on your bed as you try to converse with her.

“You are of nobility, Miss Y/N. That would be rude of me.” She replies. You hold yourself back from rolling your eyes.

“I may be noble, but that does not mean we can’t be friends. We are going to be spending a lot of time together. Wouldn’t you rather enjoy it than have it be so stiff?” You ask, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s be friends,” you propose. Isabelle smiles widely, lifting her head up so you can see her full face. She nods twice, accepting your proposal. You are glad to have a girl friend in the castle. As excited as you are to spend all this time with Minho, you need another female in your life.

#stray kids #felix #felix lee #stray kids x reader #stray kids imagines #felix au #royal au #stray kids royal au #felix royal au #felix x reader #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop fic rec

125 notes · View notes

spine-buster · 6 years

Text

I Thought You Might Be Mine (Ricochet) - Part I

May 29, 2014 Tokyo, Japan

When Iris Capshaw moved to Tokyo one year ago, her mother’s advice mulled in her mind as she would sit in her small apartment, alone in a city of nearly forty million people:

Never let fear get in the way of you making your decisions, honey. You were born to do something greater with your life than to just do what everybody expected of you.

Iris took anything her mother said to her to heart. So when her mother whispered those words to her in the airport, right before Iris went through the security gate, she seriously considered getting them tattooed across her forehead. They were words she would live by. They were words she’d carry with her forever.

Iris took those words and created her favourite piece of art that she hung in her apartment instead of getting that forehead tattoo. It hung proudly just over her television. A constant reminder.

Iris had always been…different than her other siblings. While her older brother was more content with reading books and her younger sister with colouring, Iris was always causing some sort of commotion. When she was a toddler, she’d open the Tupperware drawer in her family home and stack them as high as they could go before they’d come crashing down – only to keep doing it over and over again. When she was old enough to use the stove and learn how to cook, she’d always try out new recipes that would leave the kitchen looking like a bomb had gone off. She begged – begged – her parents to allow her to attend any and all field trips her high school offered to students, even going so far as to work illegally in the back of a bakery at fourteen so she could earn the money herself.

Her curiosity had always gotten the best of her. Her parents understood from a very early age that she wasn’t going to be the child that stayed home on the weekends. She was never going to be the child that did everything according to plan or custom. She was never going to settle for just any course or career path. She was a go-getter. She was an adventurer. She was a woman hell-bent on seeing as much of the world as possible, and would use her brains and her curiosity to get there.

The Capshaws understood their daughter, which is why, when she announced in 2013 that she was moving to Tokyo, they didn’t bat an eyelash. Her brother and sister put up more of a fuss than her parents. Iris just shrugged her shoulders. She was living out her dream. Nobody was going to stop her.

She considered this as she walked into the offices of New Japan Pro Wrestling, the company that had hired her to teach their gaijins the basics of the Japanese language, and their Japanese stars the basics of the English language, so they could have multinational appeal. She had already worked for the company for a year, and she could truly say she loved her job. There were always new gaijins to teach and make friends with.

“Hold the elevator!” she exclaimed as she rushed towards the open door. Whoever was inside stuck their hand out politely as her shoes clicked across the tile of the lobby and finally into the elevator. “Thank you so much,” she said, looking towards the other person in the elevator.

“It’s no problem,” the man said politely. “What floor you going to?”

She studied him quickly. He wore a nice pair of slacks with a crisp new polo shirt and a sports jacket. His neck was about twice the size of a normal man’s. He was definitely a new gaijin. “Same floor as you. Fourth.”

He gave her a weird look. “How do you know where I’m going?” he asked.

“You’re a wrestler, aren’t you?” she smiled. “You’re here for New Japan Pro Wrestling?”

“What gave it away?”

“Your neck is about double the size of almost every other man’s neck, save for the wrestlers I know.”

The man laughed as he shook his head. “Yeah, that’ll give it away. I’m Trevor, by the way. Trevor Mann,” he extended his hand for her to shake.

“Iris Capshaw,” she smiled. “What are you known as?”

“Ricochet?” he posed it as more of a question than a statement.

Suddenly, the light bulb went off in her head. This was the Ricochet her boss was telling her about – a gaijin they were bringing in again for the upcoming Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He had done many tours of Japan before, all with different promotions, before he caught New Japan’s eye last year. Her first day with the company was just after the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in 2013, so she had never met him as part of the tournament last year.

“So you’re Ricochet!” she exclaimed. “My boss has already told me so much about you! You must have really impressed them last year for them to call you back.”

“Yeah, I hope so,” he smiled, trying to be modest about it. “So you work in the office, then?” he asked.

“Yeah. I mean, I’ll probably be assigned to help you,” Iris explained. “I’m a teacher by training. The company hired me to teach English to its Japanese-speaking stars and Japanese to its English-speaking stars. I also do a bit of media training and acting classes too, but that’s besides the point.”

“You’re fluent in Japanese?” Trevor asked. Iris nodded her head proudly. “That’s awesome. Must get confusing though, having to switch back and forth all the time.”

“Nah, I’m used to it by now. The company is looking to expand and go global, right? They want the boys to have some light English. Plus it’s good to keep practicing or else all the guys would learn would be swear words thanks to the Young Bucks.”

Trevor snorted as the elevator dinged, letting them know they had reached their floor. “They didn’t have you around last year.”

“I know. But you’re in luck now,” she smiled. “Welcome back to New Japan Pro Wrestling.”

That night, Iris was pleasantly surprised to see Trevor at dinner with all the other gaijins. He hadn’t changed at all from when she saw him that morning, and was definitely more overdressed than the rest. Tyson, who showed up everywhere in shorts, was busy looking at the menu, while Nick and Matt Massie were distributing chopsticks.

“Hey boys,” she waved briefly, taking the empty seat beside Trevor. “How’s everyone?”

A round of polite hellos and answers to her question followed. Trevor looked thoroughly stunned that she was at the dinner. “What are you doing here?”

She leaned away from him playfully. “What? You don’t want me here?” she asked, feigning shock.

“Oh believe me, I want you here,” Trevor said. “It stops this from being a total sausage fest.”

“Perfect. Because it’s time for your first lesson,” Iris smiled wryly.

“Lesson?!”

“I’m a teacher, remember? Everything is going to be a lesson. So, lesson number one – never trust Matt or Nick with directions around Tokyo. Listen to Tyson and Tyson only.”

“HEY!” Matt protested as he handed Iris a pair of chopsticks. “Not fair! You misheard our directions once and suddenly we’re untrustworthy.”

“Uhh, no. I did not mishear your directions. You guys told me to go south instead of north because you have no concept of direction,” Iris stated firmly. She leaned towards Trevor. “This is before I learned the streets of Tokyo like the back of my hand.”

Nick, who was sitting beside Trevor on his other side, pulled him closer. “Don’t listen to her. I love her but don’t listen to her.”

Iris glared at Nick before reclaiming Trevor’s attention. “Lesson number two. The Japanese language as three different alphabets – hiragana, katakana, and kanji. It’s my responsibility to get you familiar in all three. We’re gonna start with the menu.”

“I’m an awful student, though,” Trevor said. “Thick skull and all that.”

“Well that just means I’ll need to spend more time teaching you,” Iris said. “I never give up on my students.”

Trevor tried to suppress his smile, but he knew he couldn’t hide it. He watched as she reached over to grab a menu, biting his lip so he wouldn’t say anything stupid. “I’d like that a lot.”

Iris learned a lot about Trevor during dinner. She learned about his origins in Paducah, Kentucky, and how he started in the wrestling business. He showed her some old pictures of him as a teenager where she nearly spit out her water at his straightened afro and scrawny body. She almost didn’t believe he was the same person. She learned about his son, Cameron, and how everything Trevor did was for him. Even the double moonsaults – Iris was convinced he would break his neck doing them one day, so she asked him politely to please stop.

Trevor learned a lot about Iris, too. He learned about her older brother, Hugo, and her younger sister, Mia. He learned about how they moved around a lot as kids because of her dad’s job and how they finally settled in Ottawa, Canada. He learned how she taught herself Japanese out of pure curiosity – which is how she taught herself seven other languages too (he also learned a new word – polyglot – which is what she was). The more she talked, the more all he wanted to do was hear her speak. She could speak in a foreign language and he’d still listen to her. He didn’t even care about what the other guys were saying – he only wanted to hear from Iris, about Iris.

As Kenny ordered the second round of sushi and sashimi, Iris poured water into their glasses. “Fucking hell. I really need to go to the washroom, but I heard Tyson ordered ahi sashimi.”

“So? What’s the big deal?”

“It’s so fucking good here! They go like hotcakes with these guys. I once saw Matt stuff two into his mouth at the same time.”

Trevor snorted at the mental image. “I’m sure you’ll be fine – he just ordered them anyway, it’ll take a while.”

Iris bit her lip. “Hmm…you’re right,” she acquiesced, shifting her position. “Okay, I’ll be right back, but if I miss those I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”

Trevor chuckled to himself as he watched Iris make a beeline for the washroom at the other end of the restaurant. He kept an eye on her until she slipped through the door – even then, his mind wandered back to the things she was telling him earlier. How her brother had just gotten married. How she somehow broke her stove in her first apartment within the first week of moving to Japan.

“Hey Casanova,” Tyson called out from the other side of the table. When Trevor finally turned his head, Tyson was shaking his. “Fuck man, took you long enough.”

“What?”

“He was calling you for like ten seconds dude,” Nick giggled. “Seems you were a little…uh, preoccupied,” he nodded his head back towards the washroom.

Trevor stayed silent as he saw Tyson smile. “I think Trev’s gonna wanna be fluent in Japanese soon, boys,” Tyson commented. “Whaddaya say, Trev?”

“You’re walking on thin ice, Ty,” Trevor warned, not wanting to get into it. “You guys all friends or what?”

The boys nodded their heads in unison. “She’s a good kid. Always willing to help out, always willing to go that extra mile,” Nick was the first to speak up.

“She tell you how many languages she speaks?” Matt asked. Trevor nodded his head. “She’s a fucking genius. Doesn’t stop her from making some stupid decisions sometimes, though.”

“What do you me--”

“Awwwwwwww yes!!!” Nick exclaimed as he saw the waitress approaching them table with a small plate. When she set it down, Trevor noticed that it was the ahi sashimi. The waitress had barely put the plate down before Nick, Matt, and Tyson’s chopsticks were picking up the pieces of raw fish. Quickly, Trevor picked up his chopsticks to grab a piece.

“Hey, you said you hated tuna!” Nick protested as Trevor slightly struggled with balancing the piece of fish between the chopsticks. “You literally just said that five minutes ago!”

“Get out of here, Massie,” Trevor giggled as he brought it over to his plate quickly.

Suddenly, Trevor heard Tyson’s comical evil laugh. “Watch this,” he whispered, nodding his head over. Trevor looked to see that Iris was rushing back to the table. He quickly looked down at the plate to see one piece of ahi sashimi left.

“Hey Iris,” Tyson got her attention. He didn’t even take his eyes off of her as he extended his arm towards the plate, picking up the last piece with his chopsticks before stuffing it into his mouth.

“NOOOO!” Iris cried out as she practically collapsed back into her spot beside Trevor. She brought her hands up to her face and looked as if she was legitimately about to cry. “I missed it! I missed it! They always fucking do this!”

“Iris--” Trevor tried to interrupt.

“This is why we can’t have nice things!” she exclaimed. All the boys could do was laugh. “Did you stuff two into that fat mouth of yours again, Massie?” she directed towards Matt.

“Hey!”

“Iris!” Trevor finally got her attention. “Look down at your plate, girl.”

When she did, she let out an audible gasp. There, right below her nose, was a glorious piece of the ahi sashimi, waiting to be devoured. It looked perfect – because it was perfect. If she could eat only one thing for the rest of her life, it was probably this. She looked towards Trevor. “You?”

Trevor nodded his head. “I saved a piece for you.”

Iris smiled. “I knew there was a reason I already liked you best.”

When dinner was finished, Iris, Trevor, Nick, and Matt took a taxi back to the district where their hotel (and Iris’s apartment) was, while Tyson was able to walk home from the restaurant. She didn’t know when exactly Trevor had gotten into Japan, but she assumed the jetlag was going to hit him hard sooner or later. Plus, she thought he would want to get a good night’s sleep before the beginning of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament started tomorrow.

“Do you have a cellphone yet?” Iris asked Trevor once the driver had stopped at a light and Matt began making small talk with him.

“I got nothing besides wifi,” Trevor said, getting his phone out of his pocket.

“Okay, tomorrow before the show we’re going to go out and get you a Japanese sim card,” she said, grabbing the phone from him and opening his Facebook app. He watched as she searched her own name and clicked to request her as a friend. “It will be, like, less than twelve hours from now, but just in case an emergency happens, contact me here,” she informed him, handing the phone back to him.

Trevor couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he looked down at his phone. Her cover photo was a picture of the Tokyo skyline – no doubt a picture that she took. Her profile picture, on the other hand, made him sceptical.

“We already have an emergency,” he said.

“What?” Iris whipped her head towards him. “What is it?”

“Who’s this dude?” he asked, bringing up her profile picture. “Is that Hugo?”

The picture in question was of Iris and another guy posing in some park in front of cherry blossoms, probably Shinjuku Gardens. Iris had sunglasses on but the guy’s face was in full view for Trevor. He tried to see if there were any similarities between the siblings but couldn’t really find any.

“That’s my boyfriend Ryder.”

Boyfriend? Boyfriend?! They had just flirted all night – well, at least he did – and she just decided to drop the boyfriend bomb now?! Trevor tried to play it cool. He really did. Here Iris was, the right side of her body pressed against his left – fuck, he probably would have tried to kiss her if the Bucks weren’t in the fucking cab – and she had a boyfriend. A boyfriend. “Oh yeah? Where is he tonight?”

“He works in Shanghai but we see each other every few weeks,” she said.

Oh hell. Oh hell. The dude wasn’t even around! She was alone in Tokyo, except for the fleeting weeks he visited? Or when she went to visit him? Trevor didn’t know what to think. “Uh, that’s cool. How’d you guys meet?”

Iris chuckled. “We met at a giajin bar, actually,” she revealed. “He used to work in Tokyo but then got moved to Shanghai about six months ago.”

Trevor noticed Matt giving him a look from beside Iris, who had no idea. “So he’s alright with you being in Tokyo then?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?”

Trevor shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know…long distance relationships and all that. I know how stressful they can be,” he said. “And like, you hang out with wrestlers all day. Majority of your friends are gonna be dudes.”

“I can be friends with the opposite sex and not want to fuck them,” Iris said.

Fair enough, Trevor thought.

But could he?

@wrestlewriting @wrasslin-x @thegenericluchadora @thewriterformerlytaggedas@fan-fiction-galore @anerdysouthernbelle @spot-of-bother @amaranthine-reign@baleesi @flnnbalor @smuppies @sarahmatthews7 @daintymissdevitt@newjapan @corey-renee @running-ropes @balorsomega @karleedaniels27@kazuchika @ileana0300 @alexahood21 @ohcristimhookedonhavocimsodunne @fembxt @heelturn-timesten @kaitlynwwefan @50shadesofadamcolebaybay@50shadesofkennyomega @chasingeverybreakingwave @thyestean-feast @thecandicej @devittsbalor @sp00kylesley @danahart @sietefinns@kaydee-kayyyy @powerbombshell @swedish-strong-style @blondekel77@irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @nickysmum1909 @houndofjustice-imagines @wwesmutdonedirtcheap @wweximaginesxd @indywrestlinglover-life @mandi512 @kakakatey @ourscratcheddreams @sleeplessandcynical @badame124 @thevixeniris @fabulousrockstar @lunatic-sambrose

#ricochet #ricochet fic #ricochet imagine #ricochet drabble #ricochet fan fic #ricochet fan fiction #ricochet fanfic #ricochet fanfiction #wwe #wwe imagine #wwe drabble #wwe fic #wwe fan fic #wwe fan fiction #wwe fanfic #wwe fanfiction #itymbm series

33 notes · View notes

tentwentyninecompositions · 6 years

Text

Seven: Put It All On the Line

REGGIE

I’m sitting with G at this cafe just taking in all her beauty. We’re back in London and I must say I like it here a lot. She grew up in these streets so technically she’s home. The weather here isn’t too bad and the food is pretty good too.

G sat her glass on the table and looked off to the side to peer at the city from slightly over her shades. I snapped a picture of her fine ass to add to my collection.

“Another picture, seriously? You’ve become obsessed with taking pictures of me ever since we left Ohio.” G shook her head and removed her glasses, setting them down.

“Yes Geneva, I took another picture. Is that okay? Can I take pictures of my queen in peace?” I defended watching her blush at my term of endearment.

G turned to face me and motioned me to lean into her. Shifting my jeans I followed her actions and met her in the center of our table.

“So I’m your queen now?” She whispered.

“Now? Girl stop fucking with me. You know damn well you’re my everything.” I argued, cupping her chin in my hand.

“Shut up and kiss me already.”

Loving the attitude I closed our distance and showered her in slow affection. Being on the road with her, traveling to familiar and unfamiliar places has me wanting to do this full time. Gina can work on the go and if she gets assigned some place, we can hop on a red eye there. I have nothing back in Ohio that is keeping me permanently. Wherever Geneva is that’s where I want to be.

“I bet ya panties are soaked right now.” I smirked, sucking on her bottom lip.

G giggled to my words and touched the lining of my jaw with her fingers.

“That depends.” She whispered.

“On?” I challenged.

She was mute continuing to kiss me. Next thing I knew I felt a hand grazing over my pants. Her unexpected touch made me overly excited proving what she was getting at a second ago.

Breaking the moment I cupped my hand over my mouth and tried to suppress my erection from the inside.

“I was right wasn’t I?” She laughed.

“Nah.” I shook my head only for G to throw an unused straw at me.

“You’re such a horrible liar when it comes to me. I can always tell when your dick is hard Reggie.”

“And how is that? What are you on some deep, intimate level with my manhood now? Cause if so, that’s really weird.”

“You idiot. It’s your eyes baby. It’s all in your eyes.” Just as I said that I felt my phone buzzing from within my pocket.

Seeing that it’s my boy I answered it quickly. “Niko, what’s good nigga?”

“So you just leave your brothers out here to shrivel up and dry my nigga? Come on baby..get your head in the game and out of the fucking clouds!” Niko argued off the bat.

“Aye man, relax now. My head is always in the game. Don’t come at me like that Niko. Now what’s up?” My mood has officially shifted to posed off even though G is still in my presence.

“Frank in the hospital with three broken ribs and crushed orbital socket. The bastards who broke into Gina’s crib, that we fucked up that night..got to Frank. He was on his way to pick up his little girl and these young cats messed him up bad. We need you home man. We need you now.”

Learning that my nigga Frank got attacked really cut deep for me. Frank is much older than the rest of us so he’s like an uncle to us all. Even though he reminds me so much of my eldest brother, I still feel so close to him.

“Alright, I’ll call you in a bit. Y’all lay low until I get back you understand?”

“Got you. Enjoy your day brother but get yo ass back here ASAP.”

Hanging up on Niko I put my phone away reflecting on the details of our brief conversation.

“What’s wrong?” Gina pushed the small vase of flowers aside getting as close to me as possible.

“We have to leave. Tonight.” I’m not happy about the news especially since I’m not ready to cut our vacation short. I promised Gina a few more stops before even thinking of returning to the states.

“It’s alright, I understand.” She vowed.

When we get back, it’s gonna be time to work so I gotta be focused.

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

Setting my bags near my bed I pulled out my phone to call my team over for a little meeting. I also set up a meeting with my lawyer Vanessa and my financial advisor Carmin for tomorrow morning, bright and early.

Geneva hates them both because she has her doubts that they can be trusted. I know the ladies well enough to keep them on my payroll. They have yet to give me a reason to not trust them but I still keep my eye out.

I fixed up my room while I waited for my company to arrive. The doorbell rang in that obnoxious way telling me my stupid friends are here. Jogging down the steps I walked to the door and looked outside. These days I can’t take any chances with revealing my to just anybody. Letting these fools in my house I stood beside the door as noise filled my home.

“You’re back, welcome home boss.” Miles hyped as I shut the door.

Punching him in the chest I pulled him in for a quick hug and walked everyone into the living room.

“Where you been man?” Puff asked sinking into my couch.

“Traveling with G.” I answered coolly.

They all smirked at each other and turned back to me.

“You got some huh? Yeah I know you did. I see it all in your face.” Miles chuckled, rubbing his one gold tooth with his index finger. He stay doing that. It’s weird.

“You know he did. Look at his face! That’s the face of success right there.” Puff exclaimed, dapping up Niko and Miles.

“Anyways. So what’s the plan. Catch me up.”

“Ok so first there’s what happened to Frank. He’s better and he’s awake now but we haven’t seen him due to the visitation being family only.” Miles sighed unhappily.

“Then there’s the stunt with the cops trying to catch us out at the club. We were on our best behaviour and stayed way under the radar while you were gone.” Puff cut in.

“Wait..what happened with the cops? Why didn’t anybody tell me?” I asked getting anxious.

“We didn’t want to keep worrying you man. We got some shipments in, made a huge turn around profit from the episode two months ago.” They all continued to cover the basics of what’s gone down since I’ve been away.

Rubbing my eyes I kicked the table knocking everything over. There was a knock at my door which only made my headache worse. Stalking to my front door I looked through the peephole and saw G standing outside in what looked like shredded clothing. I opened the door feeling my jaw drop at how indecent she is to be in public.

Bringing her into the house quickly I shut the door waiting for an explanation.

“What happened to you?” I asked holding her face and doing an examination of her body.

“My apartment got broken into again and they tried to rape me this time but I shot one of the guys before they could do anything.” She panicked.

“Who?”

“The guys, Reggie! The guys who broke in the first time! They came in through the window and broke that, some came in through the front door. After I shot at the one guy I ran out before I could get dressed. I would’ve called you but I left everything. Reggie I can’t go back to that apartment.” She explained.

“Well where have you been? Where did the hell did you go to?”

“A fucking bookstore! I didn’t know where else to go. That’s the last place they were going to look for me. After hiding in the bathroom for three hours I came here. Reggie, I’m really fucking scared. I don’t feel safe.” Gina began crying and I knew that would attract attention she doesn’t need or want.

“Go upstairs and run a bath. I’ll be up there when I send everybody home.” I instructed trying to stay calm for her sake.

“What if they find me? Reggie I left everything at that apartment.” Geneva’s emphasis on everything bad me applying pressure to her cheeks by accident. After kissing her face to relieve the pain a bit, I sent her to my room.

I went back for the living room and saw the boys all staring at me.

“What you want us to do?” Marlon asked standing to his feet.

Pacing the floor I gritted my teeth and channeled my frustration into a plan. After I ran through my ideas with them I escorted them out. I locked my doors and windows, drew my curtains, turned on my alarms before running up to my bedroom. I walked into my bathroom to catch a glimpse of Geneva bruised and scratched up.

“Hold on G.” I stopped her from getting into the tub and sit down so I could clean her up.

“Does anything hurt?” I asked as I wiped off the dried blood with alcohol and a warm washcloth.

“My head, my arms and chest. My stomach hurts too but only because I haven’t eaten today. Other than that I’m alright. How are you? What did the boys want?”

Helping G into the tub I kissed her forehead and went to put the first aid kit away.

“They filled me in on what happened while we were gone so I sent them to do light work. Are you ok? You need anything?”

“Join me. I don’t want to be alone.”

I stripped down to nothing and joined my girl in her bath. I was gentle with her as I washed her up followed by shampooing and conditioning her hair.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you. I didn’t know that was gonna happen again.” I muttered as I washed her back, neck and shoulders.

“Reggie you didn’t know. It’s alright. I don’t blame you.” G sat her hand on my leg causing my body to melt under her touch.

“That’s just it though Geneva. I blame myself. I am your man meaning I’m supposed to keep you safe. I didn’t and I won’t ever forgive myself for this. I’m just glad you’re okay.” I argued. Dropping the washcloth I threw my head back to stare at the ceiling lights.

Neither of us were speaking right now so it gave me time to think. I have to go out tonight. I’ve got to step out of my peaceful zone and show these sloppy niggas not to fuck with my loved ones. Gina finished cleaning herself before turning around to take care of me. While she worked I just watched her, admiring and fantasizing. She’s so beautiful and smart. Why is fucking wit’ a man like myself?

“Baby can I ask you a question?” G glanced at me before shifting her focus to wiping down my sides and lower abdomen.

I gave her a signal telling her to ask me and she hesitated for a second.

“Do you think I’m stupid? Like, how is that I’m months away from being 30 and I just recently graduated from? Do you think I wasted my time?” She stressed, going lower with her work.

“Absolutely not. You’re one of the most intelligent people I know. You had family issues to deal with but even with all of that, you did it. You walked across that stage for a reason and now you have that degree. Put it to use or don’t. I’m on your team with whatever you choose. But if you end up in a strip club shaking ya ass..I might cry. That’s not a life I want for my baby.” I expressed making her laugh.

“I will not be shaking anything for anyone other than you. That’s a guarantee.”

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

“You on your way now?” Niko asked as I stood at the foot of my bed watching G sleep so peacefully.

“Yeah.” I mumbled not wanting to be loud.

“We here. Just waiting on you.”

I hung up on Niko and took one more look at G, heading for my car seconds after. I’m a very quiet and very private man. I do my work through other people I trust that work under me. Never have I gone out like this. If I want to kill, I have my prey brought to me.

There’s a lot I’m risking tonight but I’m doing this for my loved ones. Patrick, Marilyn, Cole, DeAndre, Mason, Nikki, LaTasha, and last but certainly not least.. Geneva.

10 notes · View notes

zedecksiew · 6 years

Text

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple

(For my friends, who endure so many things.)

In the night you are dreaming, and in your dream you see someone come out of the sea. They come in glory.

They ride a low wave and alight on the shore. A crack, like glass breaking, when their toe touches sand. Their eyes are shut. Their cheeks are rosy. Their lips curl slight, seeming to smile.

In their right hand: a whole pomelo, skin almost yellow, peeled open like a lotus blossom, the flesh pink and nearly bursting; In their left hand: a keris, blade down, dripping.

Their eyes are shut. Their coat is as satin, and ripple-simmers – a bleeding riot of colours: cherry, coral, gold, grass, sea-blue, plum. Sunshine.

You try to hide behind a boulder on the beach. Their eyes are shut. But you sense you have not left their sight. They see through the stone, and they see through you. There is a star on their brow. It glows like a neon sign of a shop, at night.

The next morning you find yourself unable to concentrate.

You forget the handbrake, so the car you are working on slides backwards, down the workshop’s incline – you chase and pull it to a stop before it slides onto the curve of the roundabout.

Lunchtime at Soon Heng Coffeeshop is unusually subdued. You sit alone, absently spooning soup. Wholesaler Sim and his brother sit at the table next to yours. They eat in silence. And then:

“Me and Ah Girl had a dream, last night,” Wholesaler Sim says.

“A dream? Me too!” his brother replies.

There is a collective skrrr-retch from the floor as a dozen plastic chairs are turned around, in unison.

“Did you dream about an old man?” Wholesaler Sim asks his brother.

It is Taukeh’s Wife Kim who raises her arm and answers: “I did!”

“He came out of the sea?” Sister Chin says. “I saw him too.”

“A star on his forehead,” Soft Khoo says.

“Who is he?” you ask.

“He is a datuk,” Wholesaler Sim’s brother answers.

“A datuk,” Taukeh’s Wife Kim says. “An admiral. Like the one under the tree, at the roundabout.”

“Clothes the colour of the rainbow,” Soft Khoo says.

“What do we do?” you ask. “I dreamt about him, too.”

Auntie Hong slaps her hand on the table – crack! – a smack that rattles the spoon in your glass of iced barley. “You young people,” she says. “Useless! We already had the dream. Meaning, no choice already! You want the god to be angry?”

“What do we do?” asks Taukeh’s Wife Kim.

“Cannot be helped already,” Auntie Hong says. “Must go and make the god.”

The factory waiting room has air-conditioning and faux-leather settees. You stand. The walls are covered with photographs – the god maker posing with priests, government ministers.

“Welcome, welcome,” the god maker says. He is a plump man. Slick-oiled hair. A cellphone clipped to his belt.

He points at a price list. “Nowadays, fibreglass is standard. We have many packages. If yours is a new god I recommend Golden Premium.” He points. “Basic level. And then in a year or two, take the Fortune Premium upgrade package.” He points again.

The god maker pulls out a form. “Okay, so. Male or female?”

“Male,” Taukeh’s Wife Kim says – but Soft Khoo says: “Female.”

The god maker looks at one, then the other. “Well,” he says, looking at Soft Khoo. “We do make male-female ones, split vertically down the middle. But that one is in our Hindu range.” He looks at Taukeh’s Wife Kim. “Slightly more expensive.”

“Male is fine,” Wholesaler Sim says.

“Standing?” the god maker asks, and you all nod. “Stepping on?”

“Tiger,” Sister Chin replies.

“Holding?”

“Keris,” Wholesaler Sim says. “And pomelo,” says his brother.

“Hm, no cane? Wearing a songkok?”

“Yes,” you say.

“And a star on the forehead,” Sister Chin says.

The god maker nods, taking notes. “Okay, now, painting. Usually this depends on race. If the god is very Malay, then we paint the clothes green. If Indian, we paint the skin black.”

He looks at Taukeh’s Wife Kim. Taukeh’s Wife Kim just shrugs.

“Clothes must be painted like a rainbow colour,” Soft Khoo says.

“Oh?” the god maker lifts an eyebrow. “Rainbow colour like a Buddhist flag? Blue-yellow-red-white-orange?”

“No,” Wholesaler Sim says. “Rainbow-rainbow. Red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple.”

The god maker scribbles, scribbles, scribbles. Not looking up, he says: “That’s interesting. Never made this kind of god with rainbow colours before.” He cocks his head, theatrical, as if a thought has suddenly come:

“Nowadays rainbows are quite controversial,” he says.

“Controversial?” Auntie Hong asks.

“That LGBT thing,” the god maker says.

“Oh, ya, that gay-gay thing,” Sister Chin says.

“Gay-gay?” Wholesaler Sim says. He elbows Soft Khoo twice. “So your kind of thing, heh?” Soft Khoo glares back, eyes like forge-fired irons. “Sorry,” Wholesaler Sim says.

“Has to be a rainbow colour,” you say.

“But not just rainbow colours,” Soft Khoo says. “His clothes also need to have light blue and pink and white lines.”

The others nod, agreeing. Wholesaler Sim’s brother says: “See? No problem. Adding pink and white means it has nothing to do with the LGBT thing. This is a totally different thing!”

In the week after the new god arrives, your workshop gets three visitors.

The first is Uncle Rawa. He sputters up the incline. His engine dies. “My bike,” he says. “Difficulty starting.”

As you detach the spark plug Uncle Rawa lights a cigarette. He waves it at the street, at the fig tree filtering six-o’clock light coming from off the horizon, at the freshly-painted shrine. “Pink. Nice colour. You all just did it?”

You wipe your hand on a sleeve and nod.

“Got a new statue inside?” he asks. You nod.

Uncle Rawa sucks in air and smoke. He comes from across the bridge, from the Malay village. He is a type of shaman, people tell you. Sometimes, he travels into the city; rich people pay him to keep away rain.

“They are guardians,” he says, exhaling. “They keep the soil and the water. Of course, now, we don’t mess with them any more. Not supposed to. It’s wrong, religion-wise. It’s all superstition. Nonsense.”

You blow through the fuel-tank vent more forcefully than you need to.

“My neighbours tell me they have been having dreams,” you hear Uncle Rawa say. You sit up to look at him. He ashes, and watches the sun setting.

You start the bike, twist the throttle; the engine roars then grumbles. “The vent was getting clogged,” you say. “No more problem.”

“Thank you,” Uncle Rawa says. “For painting the colours.”

The second visitor drives a luxury mini – never before encountered, here, so some of the local boys stop to gawk.

The driver is a man in sunglasses. “On a road trip, driving trunk roads down the Peninsula. Good luck all the way. Then, today, flat tyre.

“Baby, baby!” his girlfriend shouts, in English. “Come, come!”

She has wandered across the street, into the shade of the tree. They inspect the shrine – the oranges and betel nuts and the palm-leaf cigarettes; the beef rendang Sister Chin left under a red plastic food cover, against flies.

“Oh my god!” he says.

“Right? Right?” his girlfriend says.

They pose with the shrine, three seconds still for his phone camera. And then – “Now again, just me,” he says. He stands in front of the altar, claps his head between his two hands, mouth frozen open in a look of mock-surprise.

You see his face again, two days later, on social media, in a post shared by the Oriental Press. His eyes are round, his teeth white. Behind him is the shrine’s new god, bright with new colour.

The accompanying caption reads: “OMG LGBT DATUK KONG!”

The small counter at the bottom right corner tells you his post has 17.4K shares.

The third visitor is a reporter from the Oriental Press: glasses, wide smile designed to disarm; quick-stepping, press tag out; hungry-looking.

“Excuse me, mister,” she says. “Please mister may I ask you – ”

“No comment,” you answer.

But her colleague is older, maybe quicker to sniff out vulnerable targets. Because there he goes, trotting after Soft Khoo, who is trying to get away. “No comment,” Soft Khoo says.

“Mister, what is your response to people saying that this is the one of the covert strategies LGBT groups use to promote their lifestyle, their agenda?”

“Hey,” says Taukeh’s Wife Kim, chasing after. “Hey!”

“Mister, what is your response?”

Taukeh’s Wife Kim grabs the reporter’s arm. “Hey!” she says. “Don’t disturb him!”

“Mister – ”

“Don’t disturb him, you understand?” Taukeh’s Wife Kim says. “Ask me! I have a response. My response is this. Nobody here has anything to do with LGBT groups. With gay-gays. Okay?”

The reporter from the Oriental Press has his notebook out. His colleague runs over, her camera set to record. Both are trained on Taukeh’s Wife Kim.

She is screaming, loud as only taukeh’s wives can get. “Those people don’t know what they are talking about,” she says. “This is our place. Our god. Go away! Leave us alone! Don’t come here, making these accusations!”

Soft Khoo is true to his nickname. Afterwards you find him sitting on a step in the back alley, crying. You sit beside him.

You wait. Gradually, sniffing, hiccuping, he stops. “It’s not so bad,” you say.

“It will get worse,” he says. And you don’t know what to say to that, so you put your arm around his shoulder.

That night, Soft Khoo snoring beside you, finally you fall asleep. And you dream. In your dream you see someone come out of the sea.

They come in glory. Their coat is satin: billowy sails, gourami’s fins, a flag. Ruby and tangerine, saffron and jade, azure and amaranthine.

A white star, glowing. Their eyes are shut. Their lips are ruby. Cheeks full, blowing the whipping wind. Surfing a tidal wave to smash the shore. A crash, like tree-shattering lightning. The sand turns solid. Cracked concrete.

Their eyes are shut. You sense their attention, piercing through you. This time, you cannot cower. What would be the point? You step out, from behind the boulder. You bow. Fall to your knees.

In their right hand: a single egg, see-through like a heated cannonball, swirling with molten matter; In their left hand: a keris, blade down, gory.

You lift your chin. They touch the tip of their blade to your forehead. It burns, their dagger. You feel pride, approval. Piercing anger. Tenderness. Fierce tenderness.

(From an idea by Sharon Chin: A Datuk Kong for queer people, of and from the land; little shrines in this corner or that; seeded so deep they cannot be dug out; who the bigots fear, because you cannot mess with spirits and expect to get off easy.

She might have actually dreamt it.)

#real life #gods #writing #dreams #solidarity

12 notes · View notes

sonofadeanwinchester · 6 years

Text

You, Me & Evanstan (5)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Summary: Premier with the guys ;)

Words: 1,742

Sebastian Stan x Reader ; Chris Evans x Reader

Warnings: Swearing .. flirting

A/N: Is anyone actually reading this thing?

Tags: @221bshrlocked @potterhead1265 @pawallday @titty-teetee @shellymaesworld @chameerah @thejemersoninferno @sarahp879

Two weeks later, I was napping in my bedroom when Sebastian barges in demanding I wake up. I rubbed my eyes, still half asleep and cursed at him in a series of mumbles. "What in God's name do you want?" It was a little after 3 pm, no time for an adult to be napping, but here I lay.

Seb's eyes grew large and panicked. "Get up."

As I stood, I whined loudly, making sure he heard me. He grabbed for my arms, dragging me to his bedroom. "What the hell? Sebastian, I'm awake, Christ."

He shook his head, "Listen to me, I forgot about the premier that is tonight! For the new movie I'm not allowed to talk about," he chuckled, but cleared his throat coming back to the point. "Anyway, I forgot to get a date, usually a girlfriend or my mom but I'm SOL for them, so, pretty please with a gumdrop on top, will you .. go with me .. tonight?" He clenched his jaw and made a face, waiting for a reply.

"Are you serious?"

"'Look at my face and tell me I'm not 100% serious. (Y/N)! Answer me, or else I have to go solo..." He played nervously with his dark locks that always danced between black and brown. "Sweetheart, I need an answer." He continued after I didn't reply.

"I guess so."

He engulfed my body against his in excitement. "Thank you! You're a life saver!" I nodded, scared to death of his reaction. "Mikayla and Suri will be here in a half hour for wardrobe and makeup. Take a shower, you're starting to smell like the apartment." He winked and ran off to the bathroom.

I mumbled under my breath, "How the fuck am I suppose to shower if you hog the stupid thing?"

Chris came to me, looking confused. "Hey, listen."

"Uh, don't really have the time but walk with me and I'll try."

Chris followed close behind my short steps, sitting on my bed as I fumbled with my clothing. I stripped down to my underwear and a tank top. Chris has seen me like this before but he's never seen me do this in front of him. But right now, I'm too rushed to give a damn. "So."

I nodded, standing in front of the mirror. "So?"

"So ... there is a premier thing tonight and-."

"Lemme guess, you forgot about it. You are SOL for dates, meaning no girlfriend and mother is out of town or whatever and you want me to be your date?"

He looked around the room, confusion dancing in his turquoise eyes, "How did you know that?"

I grinned, "Dude, I'm psychic." He looked at me like I had six heads. "Just kidding ... uh, Seb just asked me the same thing."

"Oh." If I didn't know better, I'd say he was disappointed. "Okay, uh, I'll call around, see if anyone is available." He smiled awkwardly and left me alone.

Half an hour later, I was sitting in a chair in Sebastian's room, a tall African American woman, I'm assuming is Mikayla was behind me doing something wild with my hair. In her thick accent, she kept repeating that my hair was dead, needed some TLC, and other things. So, I gave her permission to cut off whatever was dead and basically go to town. I sat in the chair in the beginning with long locks, now cut to shoulder length and dyed a dirty blonde color. I hardly recognized myself. She curled it in large ringlets and sent me down the hall for wardrobe.

A tall platinum haired male stood in front of me now, Suri I guess, was picking out dresses for me that he thought complimented my curvy body. He hung twenty different dresses in the bathroom, waiting patiently for me to enter the room each time after slipping one on. This process took about forty-five minutes. Eventually, he settled on a mid-thigh cut black lace dress and a pair of matte black heels. He was the makeup artist as well, doing my face up in dark lashes, plump red lips and a smokey eye. I stared at myself in the mirror, trying to distinguish myself.

I stepped out into the hall, finding Sebastian done nicely up in a black tux, black shirt, black everything really. And he looked fine as hell. "Damn boy, you clean up well."

He stared at me, jaw slack. "Holy shit."

I made a pained face, "I know .. too much, right?"

He shook his head, a coy look on his face. "Not at all, just ... you look beautiful."

I chewed my bottom lip, cheeks turning rosy. "Thank you."

Sebastian licked his lips, a nervous habit I noticed, and cleared his throat. "Chris already left."

"Uh, okay. He asked me shortly after you if I would accompany him on this very special night." I winked at him playfully.

He smiled, thin-lipped. "Really?"

I nodded, "Did he find someone?"

He shook his head, shrugging, "Guess we'll find out. The limo is downstairs waiting."

The drive there was short and my stomach was doing cartwheels. I was bouncing my knee, my nervous habit, to the low volume music. Sebastian reached over and placed his hand gently on my knee. I smiled, running my fingers over the lace. "I'm just really nervous."

He smiled smugly, "Nah. No big deal, we just have to stop every few steps for pictures, answer a few questions and then we can head inside, okay?" I nodded but apparently I wasn't convincing him. "I'll be by your side the whole time okay." I nodded again, breathing more steady now.

The driver pulled up to the carpet and I could already hear the piercing screams of young fans. Sebastian opened the door and stepped out. The wave of excitement raised a few notched when they caught eye of who was exiting the limo. He smiled at them politely and reached his hand into me, helping me slide across the leather. I stepped out onto the carpet and there was hundreds of people, every which direction. He placed my hand in the crook of his elbow and guided me along the carpet. We made it in front of the first background, photographers snapping pictures, the flash blinding me. I laughed and smiled, trying not to flinch from the bright lights.

We walked a few more steps and I noticed Chris standing there, alone, hand in pocket smiling confidently. He caught my sight and his face radiated. He walked briskly back to us, give Seb a high five and hugging me tightly. He stood on my other side, the three of us posing for a picture. "Doll, you look positively beautiful tonight."

I ducked my head in response, smiling at him. "Thanks Chris, you look dashing yourself." He was in your standard suit, tie replaced with an open collar.

Seb pulled me along gently until we reached the reporters. I heard questions left and right, their names being yelled from everyone. One lady in the front directed her question at Sebastian. "Excuse me? Sebastian, who is this beautiful lady you have brought with you tonight."

He smiled widely, bringing my close to his side. "This is (Y/N), she's my best friend and roommate."

The crowd went wild at that statement. Another question from an older gentleman. "Chris, did you come with (Y/N) as well?"

He shook his head, "Unfortunately no, Sebastian snatched her up before I had the chance to ask her."

"Excuse me, (Y/N)." I looked at her, confused. She smiled, "Yes, just one simple question, how is it being best friends with two of the most popular actors in the MCU?"

I chuckled, "Well, honestly. They are just two regular guys, trying to live their life to the fullest and I'm blessed to call them my best friends."

Before we could answer anymore questions, Sebastian dragged me down the carpet further. We reached the end, where there was another few journalist, "Sebastian!" He looked at them and smiled, that one hundred megawatt smile that captured the whole world. I scooted down the aisle further, posing for pictures by myself. I caught a glimpse of Seb, answering questions with a laugh.

"(Y/N)! Over here!" I followed the voice to a young man, roughly in his early twenties. "Hi! Welcome to your first premier! How are you doing?"

I smiled, "Thank you! I'm doing pretty well all things considered. It's a bit more overwhelming than I imagined."

He chuckled, "That's to be expected. Did you come with Sebastian or Chris tonight?"

"Uh, I came with Sebastian."

He nodded, writing something down. "So, are you two an item now?"

I laughed out loud, tossing my newly cut locks around. "Uh, no. We're not. We're just really good friends."

He furrowed his brow, and clucked his tongue. "I don't know. Maybe the friends thing is only on your side. The way I see it, he seems pretty doe eyed when he's around you."

I snorted, "Sebastian is just a really loving person. He has been affectionate towards me since day one. This is nothing out of the ordinary."

He nodded, "Sure. What about Chris?"

I chortled, "What about him?"

He scoffed, "You know he is crazy about you as well, right?"

"HA!" I actually made a laughing noise. "Wow, okay. No, Chris is just a good friend, nothing more."

"Mhmm, well here they come, shall we ask them?"

Before I could stop him or even reply, he was shoving the same question in their faces. "So, are either of you interested in this fine specimen?"

Both, BOTH, of them went deep red. Chris shook his head, "Uh, to be quiet frank, that's none of your business. And also, she is just a really good person to be around and I'm very fortunate to have her in my life." He walked away from the reporter, running his hands through his light brown hair.

I looked at him, confused. That was weird. He directed the same question to Sebastian. "You know, Rich, to be honest, I love her with all my heart. She's a very good person, she's kind, caring, loving, hilarious, smart, beautiful. And I'm blessed to have her as a friend. And right now, that's all we are. Who knows what the future may hold but you know." After that he whisked me away inside before I could clear the air.

#you me and evanstan #part five

50 notes · View notes

were-cheetah-stiles · 7 years

Text

The Summer Fling (Chapter 8) - Dylan O’Brien

Author: @were-cheetah-stiles

Title: “San Diego Convention Center”

Relationship: Dylan O’Brien x Reader/OFC

Author’s Note: This is July 20th. Okay. Cool. Bye.

Summary: Dylan spends his morning talking about his relationship with you to Tyler and Colton, before he has an uncomfortable run in in the middle of the convention center.

Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine

"Bro, I am so emotional today, I can't even talk about Teen Wolf before the panel or I'm gonna lose it. Can we please talk about something else?" Tyler complained to Colton.

"Fine. Let's talk about you. Bella Thorne? Really, Ty?" Colton teased and Dylan snickered.

"Oh, yea, this is a better topic for him." Dylan mumbled sarcastically, without looking up from his phone.

"I mean, honestly, Tyler, what were you thinking? She's kind of trashy and she was way too young for you." Colton criticized Posey over his choice in women.

Posey chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, man, be nice. She's hot and, she's actually really sweet... and what are you talking about? Jeff is like twenty years older than you." Tyler countered, bringing up Colton's fiancé.

"Yes, but I'm almost thirty and we're in love,

so.." Colton pretended to glare at his old friend, and then observed Shelley walk by with Linden and Melissa while staring at Dylan, who didn't notice any of the exchange. He turned back to Tyler, who simply shrugged. "You not talking to Shelley?" Colton leaned over and asked Dylan, who was sitting in the holding room in the basement of the convention center with the rest of his cast, scrolling through articles about the Mets on his phone.

He looked up at Colton and then glanced over at his estranged friend, then bobbed his head to the side. "Not really, I guess. I think Britt won her in the divorce." Dylan barely laughed at his own joke.

"How you holding up, buddy? You look good.." Tyler gripped Dylan's shoulder and massaged it for a moment.

Dylan's mouth turned up at the corner and he clicked his phone off. "Thanks, Pose. You look good too." Tyler smirked and Colton shook his head and laughed at the two best friends. "I'm doing good though." Dylan paused as Sprayberry sat down next to Tyler and joined their conversation. "I've just been hanging out, you know? Enjoying New York and shit." Dylan smirked, then rolled his lips back into his mouth to suppress the involuntary smile. He began jiggling his leg as he watched Colton and Tyler smirk at each other.

"What's her name?" Colton asked smugly.

"Y/n." Tyler answered with a grin.

"Is she an appropriate age?" Colton made a playful dig at Tyler over their earlier conversation.

Dylan chuckled and folded his hands over his stomach and leaned back in his chair. He was relaxed getting to talk about you. He knew that they would be the easiest questions he'd get to answer all day. "Yea, she's like ten months older than me."

"How'd you meet her? What does she look like? Give me the details, man." Colton prodded, leaning forward and poking Dylan in the knee with his fingers. Tyler leaned forward a smidge as well, curious to learn more about the girl that Dylan had been spending his summer with.

Dylan unlocked his phone and pulled up the photo that was taken of the two of you by Jay at Silly Lilly's weeks earlier. He handed the phone to Colton, who zoomed in on your face, and tilted the screen so that Tyler could see it too. "Yo, she's hot. Who is that?" Dylan Sprayberry said as he glanced over Tyler's shoulder at the phone.

"Dyl's little summer hook up, or?" Colton teased, tilting his head to the side.

"We're figuring it out when I get back next week." Dylan smiled.

"Sick, dude. Yo, Khylin, Shell and I are going upstairs for a smoke, you coming?" Sprayberry asked Dylan.

Dylan smiled and shook his head. "Nah, actually, I'm good."

Tyler cocked his head back and smirked at Dylan. "You finally quit?"

Dylan bobbed his head back and forth. "I mean, it was never that serious, but since I've been hanging out with Y/n, and she fucking hates smoking, I haven't really been doing it anymore, especially the past two weeks." Dylan clarified.

"So she's a good influence too?" Tyler asked, his mouth in a full on grin.

Dylan nodded, then stared down at the floor and thought about you, a massive smile breaking out on his lips. "She's pretty phenomenal actually."

"What's she like? What does she do? What have you guys been doing?" Colton pried. "Give us the deets."

Dylan laughed and then began rubbing at the slight stubble growing on his jaw. "Okay, well, she went to Boston College with Julia, and that's how I met her. She's really smart, and funny and fun and she's always down to do whatever, and she's really adventurous and active, so she's really got me out and doing things, which is good, but at the same time, we've burned through like five seasons of Game of Thrones in about a month, so she's also kind of a homebody, which I love, and she's obviously beautiful..." Dylan gestured to his phone, resting on top of his knee, reminding them of the picture he had just shown them. "She's got great taste in movies and tv and music..." Dylan looked at Tyler. "Actually, bro, you'd fucking love her taste in music. I was going through her iTunes the other day and she had all this shit you listen to."

"Yo, she's from Long Island, right?" Tyler asked, having been caught up a little more about you by Dylan beforehand than Colton or Sprayberry. Dylan nodded. "You think she listens to Bayside?"

Dylan snickered and then picked up his phone. "Let's find out.. It's early enough that she maybe hasn't left for work yet."

Dylan O'Brien: Hey, you. I'm talking about you to Colton and Tyler and DylSpray, and Ty wants to know if you listen to Bayside.

"What does she do?" Sprayberry asked, as they all watched Dylan compose the text to you.

"She wants to be a journalist or work for a non-profit maybe, but for now, she works a couple of part-time jobs and just travels a lot. She had been all over Asia this spring, and was in Vietnam when she had to come home unexpectedly." Dylan explained, glancing at his phone again to see if you had texted him back yet. You hadn't.

"Damn, she's a world traveler then." Colton smirked, and raised his eyebrows.

Dylan laughed and nodded. "Yea, we watched the new trailer for AA and she immediately clocked one of the filming locations as Piazza Navona. It was crazy."

"So what've you guys been doing in New York?" Sprayberry asked still sitting next to Tyler, not having gone up to smoke with Shelley and Khylin, instead getting wrapped up in hearing Dylan's updates.

Dylan smiled genuinely and rubbed the screen of his phone against his black trousers. "We've been watching a ton of Thrones, so that's definitely one. We went paddleboarding and surfing and kayaking, and um, we've been walking her dog a bunch and just kind of hanging out at the beach. We've gone on a few hikes, and I took her to see Spider-Man..." Dylan paused to try to remember all of the dates that you had been on since you got back from Kansas. "We've been in the city a bunch too. I took her to a Mets game, regardless of the fact that she's a die-hard Yankees fan."

Tyler cut him off. "Dude, what? You're hanging out with a Yankees fan? That's so fucking weird for you."

Dylan laughed loudly and nodded. "I know. But what I learned from that date is that, while she will heckle me and tell me that Derek Jeter or Andy Pettite wouldn't have made that mistake, or whatever bullshit, she is actually just a New York baseball fan at heart, and she knew a lot about my Mets and she was shitting on the Rockies for the entire game. It was fucking great." Dylan smiled and thought back on how much fun he had at the baseball game with you. He continued listing off the things you had done. "What else..? We went to a winery on the North Fork. We went to The Met and she showed me all her favorite art. We saw Six Degrees of Separation on Broadway..."

Colton interrupted. "Oh my god, how was Allison Janney?" He asked.

Dylan smirked and then felt his phone buzz. "She was really good." He grinned as he handed his phone to Tyler, showing him what you had texted him back.

Y/n Y/L/N: i'm a Long Islander.. i think i would get my ass kicked if i didn't listen to Bayside.

Y/n Y/L/N: i'm at work, so i had to dig through my pictures, but show this to Posey.

"WHOA. WHAT THE FUCK, BRO!" Posey yelled, an excited smile spread across his face. "She collects records and has Bayside? Is she part of the Cult? Dude, dude.. I am so stoked on this chick right now. I'm texting her back."

Dylan laughed and let Posey do what he wanted, trusting his best friend not to make an ass of himself. "So, yea, we've been doing a lot and I really like her and we've just been having a lot of fun. It's been a really good summer so far."

"What does your sister think about you basically dating one of her friends?" Colton asked.

Dylan watched as Tyler and Sprayberry took a goofy selfie and sent it to you and he smirked and shook his head, then turned back to answer Colton's question. "She actually doesn't know."

"How does Julia not know, man?" Sprayberry asked.

"Quit pressuring him, guys. It's new." Tyler teased Dylan and handed him back his phone. "She's hella cool, bro. Definitely an upgrade. Keep her."

Dylan laughed, and a small blush rose to his cheeks, which he tried to hide as he began rubbing the sides of his face and jaw with his hand. "Yea, she's really great, but uh, I don't know. We haven't even discussed if it's just like a summer fling kind of deal or if this could potentially go somewhere yet.. Plus, I'm a little afraid that Jules is going to be pissed, either at me or at Y/n or at us both, and I just don't want that."

"Julia always seemed cool, I'm sure it'll be fine." Colton reassured his old friend, and Dylan bobbed his head to the side, and began chewing on his bottom lip.

"Hate to break up this reunion, boys, but we're heading up. Dyl, sweetie, you're going up in the next elevator." Melissa walked over in her vibrant floral dress and beautiful black curls, and prompted the group to get going up to the panel. Colton and Sprayberry followed her over to the large service elevator that would take them up to the convention hall, but Tyler stayed behind and put his hand on Dylan's knee.

"Dyl, you seem much better, but I missed you, dude."

Dylan smiled and leaned forward to place his hand on Tyler's shoulder. "I missed you too, man. I'll be out here a little more next month, I go back to New York pretty quickly this week though."

Tyler nodded and stood, Dylan following suit, and he embraced his best friend in a tight hug. "I love you, bro. I can't believe we're about to do this."

"I love you too, Ty. I'll see you upstairs, alright?" Dylan patted him on the shoulder and watched as he walked off to join the rest of the cast in the elevator.

Dylan sat back down; he knew it would be about five minutes before he would get to go upstairs to the panel. He checked his phone. He had seven text messages.

Holland Roden: Dyl, have fun today. Enjoy it for the both of us.

Holland Roden: I miss you tons. We have to get dinner the next time we're both in LA.

Holland Roden: And don't ignore Shelley. The two of you were best friends. Just try to remember that. Loveeee you.<3

Tyler Hoechlin: Love you too boo boo.

Dylan snickered at the text from Tyler, and scrolled past one from his mom that he swore he would answer later, and one from Taylor Kitsch stating how excited he was to start press and see him again. Then he got to the text he wanted to see: yours.

Y/n Y/L/N: YO, YOU SHOULD COME OUT FOR A HOMETOWN BAYSIDE SHOW. IT'LL BE DOPE.

Dylan laughed out loud, took a screenshot of the text conversation, and sent it off to Posey. He then went back to text you.

Dylan O'Brien: Posey is in love with you now.

Y/n Y/L/N: can i assume this is my Dyl and not Sprayberry?

Dylan's heart skipped a beat over the words, 'my Dyl'. An uncontrollable smirk broke out across his face.

Dylan O'Brien: It's your Dyl. I miss you a lot.

Y/n Y/L/N: you're the cutest. i miss you too. :( what are you up to right now?

Dylan O'Brien: I'm about to go upstairs to the panel. I'm really nervous actually.

Y/n Y/L/N: you're going to have the time of your life. enjoy it. try to take moments every so often to just look around and take it all in. you're going to do great :)

Dylan O'Brien: :)

Dylan O'Brien: You're the best. I'll talk to you later tonight. Have a good day.

He locked his phone screen, shoved it in his pocket, scrunched the left sleeve of his dark gray henley, and stood up to follow the security guard upstairs to do his final Teen Wolf panel ever.

After the emotional and bittersweet panel was over, Dylan had to do interviews and attend some small sponsored parties with his cast mates. It didn't matter that he kept getting seated next to Shelley, he was flying high on endorphins over how well the day was going, and how supported he felt by you; always sitting in his front pocket, a call or text away if he needed you. He decided to take Holland's advice, and pulled Shelley aside before the IMDB interview with Kevin Smith. They talked for a few minutes, with Dylan reassuring her that they were still friends and he still loved her, and her apologizing for what Britt did to him. They hugged it out and Dylan began feeling much more relaxed.

Dylan was feeling good enough, and slightly intoxicated enough that, along with some security, he decided to walk through the floor of the convention center to interact with the fans a little more before leaving. He walked through with Tyler, Sprayberry, Cody and Khylin and the moment that they hit the floor, they were swarmed. They managed to get about half way through the building when they came across the cast of Riverdale finishing up their signing event and being pulled away to their panel.

"Shit... fuck shit, shit." Tyler whispered as he saw Dylan connect his eyes with none other than Britt. "We have to go..." Tyler tugged on Dylan's shirt, but didn't get him to move.

"Dude, people are watching." Cody commented, scanning the crowd that was forming.

"Cody’s right. Just say hi, and leave... fuck." Dylan whispered to Tyler.

"Well, this isn't going to be good." Khylin mumbled as he watched Dylan's ex-girlfriend approaching rapidly with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Dyl. I was wondering if I was going to see you today." She hugged Dylan, who's breath hitched in the back of his throat as he smelled the familiar fruity scent of her shampoo. "Hey, T-Pose." Britt tried to lighten the mood and went to hug Tyler, but he backed up slightly and simply nodded at her. "Hey guys." She smiled at Cody, Sprayberry and Khylin behind the two older boys. The three of them simply smiled and waved halfheartedly. "So, I heard the panel went well."

Dylan glanced around him and noticed the increasing presence of camera phones being lifted in the air around them, trying to get a shot of the awkward Hollywood couple reunion. He pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. "Yea, it was good."

"Listen, we gotta go.." Tyler interjected, but was quickly cut off by a fan who got through the security barrier around them.

"Oh my god, oh my god. Oh my god, can I please get a picture? Oh my god, this is so exciting. Please?" She glanced between the cast and Britt.

Tyler smiled and nodded and positioned the sweet young girl in between him and Dylan. Cody, Sprayberry and Khylin all gathered around to join the photo-op, but before the security guard could snap the picture, the young fan grabbed Britt's arm and pulled her in. "Please, I am so glad the rumors weren't true and you two are still together. You have to be in the picture. I loved A Dog's Purpose so much."

Dylan sighed and lightly put his arm around Britt's shoulders as she wrapped hers around his waist and they all stood for a moment for the picture. "Thanks, sweetheart." Tyler hugged the fan one last time before security escorted her back outside of the group.

"Dyl, can I talk to you really quick?" Britt asked in a hushed tone.

Dylan pursed his lips and exhaled deeply, still feeling the eyes of a third of the convention center resting intently on their exchange. He was both grateful and miserable over the next interruption.

"Hey, babe, we're going in, are you coming?" Dylan looked over and immediately recognized the fake orange mop of hair talking to Britt. He connected eyes with the younger man and felt sick. "H-hey, man.. Good to see you." KJ hesitantly extended his hand out to Dylan's and Dylan shook it reluctantly. Dylan didn't say a word.

"Yea, yea, I'm coming right now..." Britt told KJ, then returned her gaze to her ex. "Um, I'll see you or text you, okay?"

Dylan simply pursed his lips and quirked his eyebrows up, then watched her walk away with her hand in KJ's. "Let's get the fuck out of here... Spray, give me your cigarettes." Dylan turned and looked at his friends, then held out his hand as Sprayberry placed the entire pack in Dylan's palm. "Let's go."

Dylan smoked in the car with Khylin and Sprayberry all the way to the hotel, then chain smoked the rest of Dylan's pack until his hands stopped shaking. He felt the anxiety begin to melt off of him as the thick smoke filled his lungs, and finally he relaxed.

Dylan decided to stay in instead of going out with Tyler and the rest of his cast mates, and laid on the large and white king sized bed in his hotel room. He checked his phone. He had four texts from Posey, checking in on him, one more from his mom and seven from Britt. He couldn't stand to read any of them. The one person that he wanted to talk to had not texted him once since that morning. He felt doubt and panic begin to creep into his mind, and he finally tossed his phone across the room, landing gently on the carpeted floor.

He pulled his hands up to his face and rubbed hard against his closed eyes, trying to stave off the early stages of a stress headache. He decided to get up, grab his phone and just call you. He was certain that you weren't texting him because you wanted him to enjoy his time with his cast, but he needed to hear your voice and make sure that your silence wasn't something more. He tapped your number and watched as the call connected and began ringing. It rang and rang and then went to voicemail.

"You've reached Y/n's cell, I'm probably in a different country, you really should just email me." He smiled at your soft snicker. "Leave me a message and I'll maybe get back to you. Thanks."

He was both frustrated by you not answering, and also instantly calmed by the sound of your voice. He began speaking after the beep. "Hey.. Uh, I just.." He glanced at the clock under his hotel TV and shook his head. "I just realized what time it is there and now I'm grateful that you didn't answer and I didn't wake you. I'll just talk to you tomorrow. I hope you had a good day... I miss you..... okay, yea, bye."

Dylan sat down at the foot of his bed, placed his phone next to him, leaned his elbows against his thighs, and shoved his hands against his face. He felt the skin of his cheeks and lips move up and down with the movement of his hands. He thought about calling you again, just to get your voicemail and hear your voice one last time. He decided that running out and getting a pack of cigarettes would probably be a more thoughtful solution, and wouldn't run the risk of waking you up at two in the morning. He sighed heavily and scanned the room for where he had left his shoes. He walked over to his suitcase and pick them up off of the floor when he heard a gentle knocking at his door.

He walked over and opened it. "Hey." He said with complete and utter surprise spreading over his face.

"Hi."

Who do you think is at the doooooooor? Spoiler alert: It’s Hoech.

@fuckwhateverfuck @l4life @ninja-stiles @lightbreaksthrough @maddie110201 @hattyohatt @stilinski-stydia-obrien @iknowisoundcrazy @leilaelizabeth @5secsxofamnesia @awkwarddly @completebandgeek @chivesoup @ivette29 @sunshineystilinski @twentyone-souls @obrosey-af @anonimereader06 @yaehl @theneverendingracetrack @fillthevoid-stilinski @teenwolf2424 @redstringlovers @jademorris @mrs-mitch-rapp93 @dailyburritos @lolaversuslipstick @mieczzyslaw @im-very-odd33 @amethystmerm4id @anonimereader06 @itsamberh @eccentricxem @mayahart02 @susybird @sp00der-m00n @like-a-bag-of-potatoes @kittykayrose @ellie-bee242 @nocturnalzeal @alexhmak @sumcp @girlwiththerubyslippers @wittystiles @gluetwentyfourobrien @stopit-ihateyou @mrs-mitch-rapp93 @lovefilledtragedy @r0s3mm @loveforbrains @arikachang @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone @omgimafuckingmermaid @inkedaztec @cafe-a-sabor-chocolate @carolinescookies @anastasiaaaaa

579 notes · View notes

clarey64-blog · 7 years

Text

Star Struck (Working Title)

Chapter 1

Miku wants to go to a concert in Seoul, but so far all she has is Yuko.

Welcome to McDonalds!

“Arrrgggh!” Miku (美空) complained to the pavement as she scuffed back to her dorm room. Kyoto University wasn’t her parent’s first choice, but Miku had been adamant about the international relations department there. It could have been the new spring scent in the air or the way her light jacket brushed against her skin but somehow some way the events that led her here found their way to the forefront of her thoughts. Miku had basically written a thesis on why she chose Kyoto and presented it to her parents in no less than a beautifully crafted and engaging slideshow. When her parents still resisted, she appealed to their betting nature and set up an agreement with them. If she could win first place in an English and a Mandarin competition, therefore proving her competence in diplomacy, she could go to Kyoto University. Her parents agreed but Miku suspected they didn’t expect her to succeed.

The English competition was easy. She flew by competitors and snatched up first place no problem. Her parents stood proud with her and bragged about her everywhere people would listen. Miku had such a bright future at their preferred university of Tokyo.

The results of the mandarin competition however haunted Miku now as she watched the events replay in her head. She got caught into a tiebreaker with the principal’s daughter and darling of her high school, Meiko. Meiko was as beautiful as her name promised with straight black perfect hair to her waist, bright eyes and clear skin, but she was cut-throat any other wise. Meiko had the school including the judges, settled right in her back pocket. Her victory was certain and Miku’s parents sat comfortably through the competition. Until the tie-breaking round that is. It was only by chance that the judges asked for a character that Miku knew and Meiko did not. A slimy guilt stuck to Miku for a few weeks after awkwardly posing hunch-backed for the victor’s photo with her principal. A slight film lingered even now. How dare she cross someone as beautiful as Meiko? Miku herself was as unimpressive as they come with shoulder-length jagged hair, flat chest, and freckled skin.

Miku shook her head to get rid of the sudden memory. That was all in the past wasn’t? Besides, she had more important issues to mull over. Like when the next SHinee concert was going to be and where.

“How am I going to get all the way to Korea in a year? I don’t have that kind of money! Onew is finally going to be back in Asia and I can’t be there to welcome him!” her bangs hung in front of her face as she continued to walk at a zombies pace on the sidewalk.

SHinee was a recent obsession. The South Korean boy band had been the medicine that she needed to help Miku get over her victory over Meiko and transition to college life. The boys were there when she was sad and she listened to them when she celebrated her new home. Their soft voices and ardent beats always made Miku’s body bounce. Sometimes even in publuc. They also sang in Korean! What more could a langophile like Miku ask for? She was hooked and she couldn’t get enough of them. Especially Onew, the gentlest member of the group. But even his soft voice couldn’t pull her out of this cloud of depression right now. In fact, it exacerbated her gloom.

An ant crawled across the concrete in front of her. Miku followed it with her gaze until it stopped at the bottom of the sticky doors of a McDonald’s. She ran the line of the crack of the front doors up with her eyes until she saw an advertisement for an ice cream cone only 50 yen! It was posted right next to a Help Wanted sign in big, bright, red letters. Yeah, she thought to herself, something sweet might help her lift her mood. So she walked through the automatic doors, through the rush of air carrying the familiar scents of hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes and tapped up to the counter, her hand already in her pocket searching for a 50 yen piece.

There was only the hum of the heaters and grill and the high pitched tapping on metal to greet Miku at first, but before she could think twice a young woman’s head popped out from behind the ice cream machine. The force of the perfect straight black hair and bright eyes that made the McDonald’s visor sit just right knocked Miku back a half step.

“Itasshaimase!" Oh god…thought Miku, this woman can’t be real. Even her voice is light and perfect. It’s Meiko all over again. Miku shoved her foot back up. No, I just want an ice cream cone. There’s no competition here! We both win in this! I get ice cream and she gets to sell it to me. Then the cashier stepped out from behind the machine. The young woman looked to be a few years older than Miku and the uniform hugs her as if she were the model they used to make it! Urgg! Flawless or not this Meiko-like person had to do her job.

The cashier practically floated up to the registrar as she smiled and asked, “How may I help you?”

Ha! Thought Miku, your top teeth are too close together. The two in front jutted out just a bit from the others. You’re not so perfect! Even if you do smell like fresh linen, I can order no problem.

“I, uh”

“Yes?”

Another worker, a young man this time slight and ordinary came around with a mop to clean up around the ice cream machine.

“Ice cream!” Miku was surprised at her own volume.

The young man let out a chuckle. The cashier blinked a few times in rapid succession and smiled brightly.“Ok that is 50 yen, please.”

If Miku was anything it was ready. Her arm shot out in front of her with the silver coin clasped in between her thumb and index finger. The cashier smiled even wider as she reached to prise the coin and say, “Thank y-” She stopped with the both of them still holding the coin and gasped. “I am so sorry! It will be a few minutes until we get the machine working again.Is that ok?”

Miku let go of the coin and exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. Miku’s coin wasn’t the problem. Haha! This cashier was! This cashier and that broken machine.

“It’s ok.” Miku said with a slight grin. She cleared her throat and put her hand in her pocket. Her fingertips still tingled from the cashier’s. “I have time to wait.”

“Oh thank you very much!” The cashier’s expression was so sweet. No, thought Miku, I won here. I win here. Even still she sat herself down at a table facing away from the counter and looked at the glass doors of the restaurant again.

She mused reading the advertisements backward. Eci maerc 05 !ney She giggled. She wondered if Onew did this in his spare time. Would he be open to learning Japanese? qleH betnaW. Ah they need help here. And I need money. She looked down at her white tennis shoes. She was vaguely aware of an old sounding English pop song playing in the deserted red and yellow dining room. Lullaby synthesizers, dramatic silences and electric guitar riffs clung to the plush leather booths. Miku sighed. There was no way her parents were going to give her the money to go to Seoul just to not study. The weird part was Miku really liked studying, but with years stacked on top of years of it she needed something else to do.

BANG!!! Bang bang bang bang!!! She heard some frantic pounding against the machine.

It was so loud in the restaurant! How was Miku supposed to figure out a way to get to that SHinee concert? Wait! Her eyes darted for the front doors. This is it! She clapped a hand on her forehead of course! McDonalds would pay money for help! That’s what happens at jobs right? She just needed to get hired. She needed a job.

She paused. But would she have the time? So far all of her classes were easy and she found that she had more time in the evenings than she knew what to do with these days. Besides watching SHinee music videos that is. So why not earn some extra money and go to the concert herself?! She sprung right up out of her chair, and her heart swelled with a new pride in herself she never knew existed. She was going to earn real money! Not like that 2,000 yen she got for perfect scores in all her classes. Real money from real people who were not her parents.

She walked up to the empty counter, holding her head high. And again the cashier’s head popped up. Miku stopped. She had forgotten about the cashier. The cashier’s eyebrows knit together, “I am so sorry we are still working on the ice cream machine.”

“Oh! Uh well…” Does she back out now? “ I was going to apply for a job, but I see you are busy…”

The cashier’s face lit up at once “Why don’t you?! You would be perfect here!” She dipped down behind the counter and came back up with an application in one hand and a black ink pen in the other. “Just fill this out and I’ll be over there with you in a few minutes for your interview.” Miku’s heart jumped to her throat.

“Y-y-you will interview me?” Miku never thought her voice could get so high.

“Yes! You are talking to the manager after all!” The name tag pinned to the cashier’s shirt flashed in Miku’s eyes ‘Manager: Yuko 優子.’ How could she have missed that?

“OK!” Miku blurted.

The young man snorted. “Wow Yuko, you even have the ladies flustered!”

“Oh Kyo.” Yuko cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. “Let’s work on your fixing skills so you can wow ladies too. We’ll start with looking at that spout one more time.”

Miku spun on her heel fast to keep the flush that rose to her cheeks to herself and walked right back to the spot where she had that stupid idea to apply. How could she have forgotten the cashie-the manager works here?! What will she look like next to someone like that!? Just fill out the application she thought. It’s not as if you are already hired.

The application was easy enough. Miku just wrote her name down and the names of her parents along with her new and past addresses. But she left the place where former work experience is supposed to go blank. Because this would be her first job. Then she thought hard about the part of submitting to a background check, pressing the end of the pen against her bottom lip. Had she done anything illegal? She blew air out of her nose. No she didn’t have the courage to do so much as break a class rule. Let alone anything punishable by the law.

She signed on the bottom and threaded her fingers through her hair so that her bangs were out of her eyes and sticking up in odd angles. As she lay back she became aware of a new humming coming from behind her. But too late. Yuko’s light tapping crept up behind her and Yuko herself sat down in the chair across from her with a trail of long silky hair behind her. Miku didnt even have time to take her fingers out of her hair.

“Well that’s a new style.” Yuko cocked her head to the side again just so that Miku’s stomach wrenched. She whipped her hands down to her side pockets.

“Let’s get started now shall we?” With Yuko seated Miku could look straight at her instead of inclining her head a few inches. She fiddled with the zipper of her spring jacket and said, “yes.”

“Ok can you tell me who you are?” Yuko lifted the paper up for a moment and then placed it flat down on the table and gave Miku her full attention. “I see here that your name is Miku. It’s such a pretty name. It will look quite nice on a name tag.” Miku wasn’t all that pleased with Yuko’s use of will, but she sat up straighter and answered anyway.

“Like it says on my application my name is Miku Kohara and I attend Kyoto University. My major is international relations. I am looking to pursue an occupation as an ambassador after I graduate with my Ph. D.” Miku puffed up her chest. It just felt suitable for the occasion. Yuko examined the application.

“Yes you certainly do have the right qualifications for that. You list that you are fluent in English!”

“I have also listed Mandarin right after.” Miku pointed to the listing with her finger.

“Wow, even better. I was never able to remember very many words in English class or Mandarin class.” Yuko leaned back and crossed her arms. “You’re obviously very qualified for whatever you want to pursue. So, why do you want to work at McDonald’s?”

Onew’s face flashed over Miku’s vision. “I, well, I want to bring happiness to people in the form of food and McDonald’s has the best!” Miku smiled wide. Yuko put an elbow on the table and rested head on her head and stared up at Miku.

“I-uh” Miku leaned closer too and opened her mouth to say I need more money for tuition, but fresh linen bombarded her olfactories and Yuko had the audacity to blink. Miku sighed and in a low voice said, “A year from now SHinee will perform in Seoul and I want to be there. By my calculations I should be able to make enough money to go if I work here until then.”

“There it is” Yuko grinned. She straightened back up and nodded her head. “I knew there had to be something more to you.”

“Yuko!” An older man walked out from behind the counter dressed in a shirt and tie, holding a clipboard precariously. He was balding and he had a kind face. He pointed a pen at Miku while he addressed Yuko. “Is this an applicant?” “Yes, sir she is!” Yuko moved to stand up, but the man waved her down.

He turned to Miku, “when can you start?”

“My name is Miku and I could start tomorrow evening.” Miku said wide-eyed looking up at the man.

“Great! I’m Tatsuya, the owner here.” he turned back to the counter. “Kyo! Can you come in at 5pm tomorrow to train Miku here?”

The young man’s face scrunched up and scratched the back of his head, “UUHh.. I really wish I could sir, but my grandma is real sick and tomorrow is my turn to take care of her.”

The owner whirled back to Yuko. “I am sorry Yuko. I know that you already have the day shift tomorrow, but can you stay and train Miku?”

“Oh of course!”

Of course, Miku mocked Yuko silently. Little Miss Perfect can’t let anyone down.

“Yuko!” He clapped her on the shoulder. “I can always count on you! Five pm tomorrow Miku!”

“Yes sir 5pm!” Miku said, but the owner had already started walking back to behind the counter.

“The ice cream machine works again! Let’s get you your ice cream cone.” Yuko rushed over and retrieved a serving for Miku. Yuko was already offering the cone out as Miku arrived. The new employee concentrated on trying not to touch Yuko’s hand again as she reached for it. But she fumbled! The cone went to the left oh! Then to the right and now wayyy to the left again so that Miku caught it in her left hand. Cold ice cream melted and trinkled down between her fingers.

“Oh I’m so sorry!” Yuko exclaimed. She hurriedly reached for a few napkins and encompassed both of Miku’s hands with hers. Miku, not knowing quite how to react wrenched away and threw the cone in the trash can which was a few paces away. Her feet made a beeline for the restroom.

After Miku ran to the sink she just let the cool water run over her fingers. I had better not get another ice cream,she thought. I didn’t realize how much Meiko affected me. She then thought of her parent’s disappointment too. Oh yeah that too. Something about Yuko must have spurred this on. She took a few deep breaths and turned off the water whose handle squeaked back into place.

When she walked out of the bathroom Yuko ran up and placed a hand on Miku’s shoulder. Miku resisted the urge to pull away.

‘Please let me make you another.” Yuko’s face wore an expression Miku didn’t think was possible on faces like the manager’s.

She really did seem sorry so Miku forced out an, “It’s alright. I got a job! That’s even better!” She reminded herself to smile.

“Ok” Yuko said softly then brightened up. “I’ll see you tomorrow Miku! Welcome to McDonald’s!”

“Yeah” Miku said as she put her earphones in and walked out.

After a while, she looked behind her to make sure she was out of sight of the restaurant. When the bright yellow arches were the size of her thumb, she let herself skip with joy. She was going to see Onew after all! She looked down at her phone and switched the song to ‘Dream Girl.’ Onew just another year and you’ll meet me! We’ll have so many language exchanging afternoons ahead of us! This thought of sitting in a rose garden gleefully laughing at the similarities of Japanese and Korean walked Miku all the way home. She was getting closer to Seoul. All she had to do was work with Yuko.

Thank you so much for reading! I was inspired by music to write this particular story so I am going to be listing a song at the end of each chapter to help close it and set the mood. There may even be a recommendation before the chapter :P I’m pretty corny so the songs will be directly related to what is happening in the story and the mindset of the characters. As for this chapter, I recommend “Dream Girl” by SHinee. Miku is pretty one-track minded, isn’t she? Please come again!

8 notes · View notes