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truglori · 3 years

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Homebody (Ch.5)

Summary: Amiyah is the younger sister of local drug dealer (Durkio). Shy and reserved she keeps to herself and stays out the way. But lately she began to find interest in his right hand man/ best friend (Erik Stevens). Wanting to get him to notice her she discovers that he already had her wrapped around his finger without even trying! There was only a few problems that kept her away from her fantasies , her brother that controlled almost every single breath she took and would kill anyone who looked at her that way and lastly Eriks girlfriend, Alexis , who they called the queen of the hood according to her lavish lifestyle as well as being with the next newest top boy in the making. While Alexis was his girl to the streets all Amiyah wanted to do was be his Homebody...

Pairing: Erik Stevens x Thick OC

Warning: Language, Robbery, Smoking

The smoke from the three burnt out blunts fogged the car. Erik’s head hung low as he tried to focus on the topic of discussion. Looking to his right he watched as Durk sparked a lighter to light up the fourth one and started a new rotation. Taking it from his hand Erik put the blunt to his lips and pulled. He had to admit that he was feeling high but yet nowhere near done with the session.

It was a Monday morning. Almost ten am to be exact. They were parked in Erik’s car in front of Frank’s Auto Garage. To a normal person it look like a regular place of business but it wasn’t. Durk used the shop to clean his money so he wouldn’t have anything tracing back to him. Erik glanced up and watched two corner boys walk out with a backpack each before getting into their vehicle and driving off.

“Aye man I appreciate you for coming through with this assignment. Once I get this nigga Shawn out the way I could finally do some business with the new connect.” Durk spoke before inhaling the blunt.

Nodding his head Erik slouched in his seat.

“I told you it’s nothing. Just don’t forget I’ma need one person to come with me. Someone who can watch my back.”

After going into almost two years without doing a job Erik felt a little rusty. He wanted to be certain that he could bring someone with him who could look out. Someone who he could trust that had to be skilled enough to keep up. The last thing Erik wanted was for this to go wrong and he end up in prison or even worst, dead.

If it was any other person coming to him to offer him work Erik would decline them with a quickness. This wasn’t something that he wanted to be a part of anymore. He had aspirations to become a better man. And with that, that means he had to give up the lifestyle to live a better one. But it was Durk. The man who had the opportunity to gun him down right in front of the trap house when they first met five years ago spared him. Gave him a second chance.

Erik witness Durk do way worst to people who didn’t do nearly as half as much compared to what Erik was going to commit that night. So he felt in a way obligated to come through for his best friend. There was no other option. He owe him his life.

“No doubt. Actually I got this one associate that’s in debt with me. Told him I could use his help whenever I needed him to pay me off. Heard he a shooter that don’t miss. Anybody who have your back I think it’ll be him.” Durk grinned confidently.

Erik nodded his head absorbing the information. Trusting his brother with whatever choice he went with he continue to ask him where the drop would be.

“Okay so what about this nigga Shawn. You got an address.”

Durk pulled out his burner. Going to a text message he clicked on it and passed the phone over to Erik.

He read over it. 4523 Lanely Rd. Pulling up his notes icon Erik typed in the address and saved the information. He gave the burner back to Durk. Realizing the area that it was in Erik shook his head. Nice suburban area where it was mostly Caucasian which amount to one thing. Nosy ass neighbors. It was a risk but he would just have to deal with it.

Hearing Durk sighed he studied him. His hands was rested over his eyes as he was leaned back in the chair. His boy looked stressed.

“You good?” A genuine tone came out.

“I think my sister fucking around with someone but I just don’t know who yet.”

Erik’s eyebrows lifted up. Glancing up to the ceiling as he listened carefully.

“I just really hope it’s not one of these fuck niggas. I might need yo ass for another job after this. We could rob this nigga together.”

The two chuckled.

‘Damn I can’t rob myself.’

Erik thought to himself before engaging back in the conversation.

“What makes you think she fucking with someone?” Erik curiously wanted to know. It would give him an advantage on what he should not be doing.

“Well the other night I walk in the livingroom and there she was sitting there with her titties all out, make up done like she was getting ready for a dick appointment or sum shit.” Durk replied in a stressful tone.

Daydreaming at the ceiling, Erik’s memory jogged back to her outfit from that night. He could still see the way her cleavage appeared in front of him as she sat across from him in the diner. The soft flesh looking at him. He had to control himself multiple times that night from staring at them so much. But he couldn’t with the way they would bounce a little every time she laughed.

Speaking of her smile. Erik adored that about her the most. He love how her lips curled up showing off those pretty white teeth. The way her lipgloss color made her lips appear more fuller than what they already were. The same lips that drove him crazy from the softness. If he could sit in the booth kissing her all night he would have. That was enough to satisfy him. Erik sucked in his bottom lip as if he could still feel hers on his. She just had to let him get a taste.

‘Why she let me do that?’

Erik berated himself with that question as he shook his head about his lack of self control. He felt guilty. He was the nigga who his best friend was worried about hurting his sister. Right now he was feeling like a pussy. It was like he didn’t have the balls to speak up and tell him the truth. He was feeling Amiyah.

“Why you don’t like her dating anyway? I get you trying to protect her but I mean she is 21, you can’t stop her from living bro.” Erik wanted to sound reasonable but without suspicion.

“I know she got a life to live but the fact that mine is tied up with hers don’t help.”

“What you mean?”

Durk paused glancing at his phone. “ I mean besides you I can’t trust none of these niggas man. What if whoever she talk to know that she my little sister? No telling what they’ll do to her just to get to me.”

Erik listened understanding his perspective.

“I done did some foul shit out here that I’m not proud of, you know this. This why I am what I am because if I don’t get them first then I know for damn sure they’ll try to get me. I’m just worry about Amiyah getting caught in between.”

To Erik it seem like Durk just wanted was best for his sister. To him family came first. It was important to him. He valued it and would do anything to protect the ones he love. Erik comprehend this.

“You worried she won’t be able to know who and who not to trust?”

“Every-fucking-day. That’s why I don’t want her going anywhere besides home and work. I just want the best for her.”

“You should that’s your sister. Just trust her. She not gon let you down.”

Durk looked at Erik, who gave him a sincere look. If there was anybody else he could trust with his life aside from Amiyah it was his friend. His brother. Erik.

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Amiyah leaned against the register as she wrote down her completed work assignment. Blowing the air out of her mouth she let the pen fall from her fingers and on to the counter. She was exhausted and ready to clock out and lay in her bed. Her mind began to wonder about the events that transpired over the weekend.

The last time she spoke to Erik was after he dropped her off. He sent a text asking if she made it in safely and that was it. Nothing else since then. His on and off again of inconsistency irritated her. She wanted him to be all about her just as much as she was for him. Of course under the circumstances they had to be cautious but he didn’t have to go another two days without hitting her up.

Checking the time on her Apple Watch she had an hour left before she was up and out of the boutique. She started cleaning certain areas and rehanging the merchandise back onto the racks to make time go by faster. Hearing the sound of the bell ring brought her back to reality.

“Welcome to Bella Ella’s.” She greeted them without looking up and only focusing on her task out of habit.

“Thank you. Hey girl!”

Peering in the direction of the voice she saw Alexis. She was going through the dress section. Amiyah sighed inwardly before walking over to her.

“Hi welcome back. Can I help you look for anything?” She faked a smile.

“Yes actually, I’m looking for something the same as last time just not too revealing this time. I want to tease him. You know?” Alexis sent her a smirk as she walked in front of one of the mannequins observing the clothes.

Hesitant but curious Amiyah asked her. “For another date?”

“Uh you can say something like that. It’s a surprise.” Alexis eyed her up and down.

“Well we have this ruched bodycon dress. It’s an off the shoulder long sleeve lace type of look. I think it’ll fit you. Check it out.” She handed her the dress.

Alexis put the dress up to her frame. Looking in the mirror she smiled at the choice of clothing. Shaking her head she grinned pointing her finger at Amiyah.

“See girl you get me. It’s crazy. Almost like we like the exact same thing.”

“You can say that again.” Amiyah whispered under her breath.

“Huh?”

“Oh I was just talking to myself. If you’re ready I can ring you out.”

They walked to the counter. Amiyah logged in and scanned the dress. Folding it up and putting it a bag she heard Alexis speak.

“Girl how do you do it?”

“Do what?” Amiyah answered confused.

“Work a nine to five. I mean don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just that I personally wouldn’t do it.” She smiled.

“ I like working honestly. I get to meet new people. I have fun here sometimes. This is where I met my best friend and I get to get away from home.” Amiyah shrugged her shoulders as she spoke truthfully.

Alexis nodded slowly. “Right. So are you seeing anyone? Anybody caught your attention?”

Laughing lightly Amiyah shook her head. “No. I met this one guy and gave him my number but nothing popped off yet.” She was talking about Cane.

“Hm if that don’t work out you should let me hook you up. I know a few niggas that’ll blow ya back out and then pay ya bills after.” Alexis grabbed her bag and started to walk away.

Before she could stop herself the question came out faster than she expected. “Is that what you do?”

She stopped midway before turning back around. Her face was contorted. Sizing Amiyah up as she stepped in front of the counter.

“Bitch I do whatever the fuck I have to do to get what I want. Even if it mean that I have to fuck around here and there. It keeps my bills paid and my nails from getting dirty. Maybe I could teach you a thing or two.” She gave her one last look before she strutted out the shop.

Amiyah rolled her eyes. Taking a ‘How to get a man’ class from Alexis was the last thing on her list. Girls like her and Amiyah don’t mix too well. She just couldn’t understand how you could trade in time spent on a fake relationship just to get what you want with true happiness.

Her shift was finally coming to an end. Amiyah sent her brother a text fifteen minutes early just so he would be on time to pick her up. Looking towards the entrance her coworker Kacy was coming in to relieve her.

“Hey Kace, it was pretty much a slow day so there’s not any go-backs that you have to do. I would just try to act like you’re cleaning up. Look busy because you know Rhonda be watching the cameras.”

They both laughed.

“I know. She think she slick but go ahead and get out of here. Enjoy the rest of the day. See ya Amiyah.”

Waving goodbye Amiyah exited the boutique. There she spotted her brother waiting outside in his all blacked out Audi A4. She strolled in his direction and got in.

“Wow it’s been forever since you’ve been here on time.” She teased fastening her seatbelt.

Durk kissed his teeth as he pulled off driving to their home. “How was work?”

“Boring I do the same thing everyday.”

“So quit.” He took a quick glance at her.

She sighed irritated. “I’m not quitting my job Durk.”

“You the one who said it’s boring. Just quit.” He laughed.

Amiyah rolled her eyes. “Why? So you can keep your eyes on me 24/7. You always trying to babysit me, damn.” She snapped at him. The mood changed instantly.

Durkio’s jaw clenched as he turned looking at her with his eyes blinking rapidly.

“Babysit you? Where the fuck you get me trying to babysit you from telling you to quit-“

“I know that’s what your intentions are! Not that you care about me not liking my job but because you just want me to have to depend on you and ask you for everything!” Amiyah’s voice kept getting higher with every word.

“Miyah you already depend on me. That two thousand dollar bed that you sleeping on I brought that. Your whole bedroom set, I brought it. The apartment that you living in comfortablely without worry about having to pay one muthafuckin bill, is because of ME!”

Durkio’s hand gripped the steering wheel tightly as he parked in front of their building. He could feel his breathing began to spike as he felt himself get more agitated and angry. Getting out of the car he headed towards the entrance to avoid going any further with her.

Amiyah jumped out and followed closely behind going inside. The elevator ride going to their floor was quiet and tensed. Amiyah tried her best to not argue with her brother but she had more to get off her chest that she didn’t want to go unheard.

“You know you’re a fuckin control freak.” She slammed her purse and jacket on the couch one they made it threw the door.

Durk paused his steps from going into his room.

“How? Tell me what I do Amiyah.” He walked leaning against the counter with his hand folded over the other waiting for her to talk.

“Durk stop playing dumb. Everything that I do you have to be a part of somehow. Like the time I couldn’t take the job offer from the mall because it was ‘too far’. Or how whenever I want to hangout with Kelley you think I’m going to fuck some man-“

“That’s because you are! I know Saturday night you ain’t go out with no fucking Kelley dress the way you were. I’m not fucking stupid Amiyah.”

Amiyah got in his face. “Why would I go fuck someone and I’m still a virgin Derrick. I’m not dumb. I’m not just sleeping with any and everyone.”

Her eyes burned with tears threatening to fall.

Durk used his forearm to move her out of his space. It triggered him whenever someone would walk up to him with disrespect. He knew he would never put his hands on his sister but he didn’t want to feel the urge like he would so he gave her a light push.

“Miyah back the fuck up.” His jaws were tensed and his nostrils became flared out.

“So you can speak your mind but I can’t? I’m not your girl Durk so stop putting rules and regulations on me like I am. I wish our parents were still here so I wouldn’t have to be in this shit hole of a place you call home.”

Amiyah’s blood was boiling. She spoke without thinking. She let her emotions get to the best of her before she could calm down to try and talk to her brother like the young adults they were. But it was too late. She’d gone too far.

Durk shook his head before releasing a dark chuckle.

“You an ungrateful ass bitch, you know that?” His voice spoke lowly but loud enough for her to hear.

Amiyah looked at him in disbelief as the tears came down her face.

“I had to put my life on hold to take care of you. I put myself at risk everyday just to make sure you’re taken care of. So that you won’t have to go out there doing anything you didn’t want to do just to put food in your mouth and clothes on your back. And this how you show some fuckin appreciation?”

He looked at her confused.

“Durk I do appreciate-“

“Get the fuck out my crib.” His voice spoke coldly.

“What?” She unfolded her arms before she walked towards him.

“You heard what I said. By the time I get back you better be gone. Good luck supporting yourself with that weak ass job.”

With that being the last thing spoken to her he brushed past her shoulder and left. Amiyah waited in the same spot hoping that her brother would come back and just tell her to forget this whole argument. But he didn’t.The tears that she thought she had control of were now cascading down her face nonstop.

“What the fuck did I just do!” She scolded herself as her hands covered her face.

She walked to her room. Pushing her door opened her eyes scouted around the room taking in all of her belongings. Where would she go? What could she take? How much could she take without having a vehicle of her own?

Walking over to her bed she sat in silence. She had to think. She had to find away to get her out of the mess that she put herself in. Picking up her phone she dialed the number of the only person she could run to without judgment.

“Hey, Kelley.”

_______________________________________

Erik rolled up to Frank’s Auto Garage. It was time for him to go on the mission. His attire was all black to make himself easily invisible in the shadows. Getting out and walking to his trunk he popped it opened and lifted his secret compartment befor grabbing a duffel bag.

Closing the trunk behind he locked it using his key fob and walked to the front door. He banged four times doing the code knock before he was invited in. One of Durks look out men opened the door.

“Oh shit, what’s good E. You working tonight?”

Giving a silent head nod of approval Erik dapped him up.

“Ok. Well boss is in management. I don’t know what’s going on but he definitely not in the mood. Tread lightly man.”

Taking note Erik walked to the room where Durk was. When he reached it he saw him sitting at his desk talking to someone that he never seen before. Erik tapped lightly on the door making his presence known.

Durk eyes shifted up. “Erik what’s good? Why you knocking? You my brother, you know you ain’t gotta do that.”

“Didn’t wanna interrupt. What’s good? How you doing?” Erik gave him dap with a hug. When they pulled apart he looked in his eyes trying to find an answer. Durk was hiding something.

“Yeah I’m straight. But I want you to meet the person who gon be going with you tonight.” He replied quickly before walking back to his desk.

The guy that sat there quietly got up from his seat. From Erik’s view he didn’t look too much younger than him. He seen his attire matched his as he seen that the young dude already had some leather gloves and a ski mask rested on his head.

Erik gave him a fist pump. “What’s up, I’m Erik.”

“Cane. Nice to meet you bro.”

Durk watched the two interact before interrupting.

“Alright it’s almost 3am. Just got word that nigga Shawn was at the club,which should be closing now. If y’all make it to the address before him-“

“That’ll give us time to find an area to stakeout and then bum-rush him. Catch him off guard.” Cane spoke.

Durk turned to look at Erik before smirking giving him a ‘I told you’ look.

“Exactly. Listen just make sure y’all get the M and dip.” He was referring to the million dollars stashed away.

“I know how this go. Just make sure this nigga straight before we go out there. You know what you doing lil nigga?” Erik questioned Cane.

He kissed his lips. “Look man this ain’t my first rodeo and if I didn’t know what I was doing I’m sure ya boy wouldn’t be calling me.”

“Whoa nigga you owe me a solid. Don’t act like I need you.” Durk stepped in to check him.

Cane waved the two off.

“Aight I trust ya judgment Durk but if shit hit the ceiling, you bailing me out nigga.”

Durk laughed. “Nigga get fuck and go get my money.”

They dapped one last time and Erik left with Cane trailing behind him. He went up to a shelf that had multiple sets of keys sitting on it. Erik grabbed one before walking to the back. There were five different cars out there. He hit the unlock button on the key fob that led him to a dark burgundy Toyota. It was the getaway car for the night. Erik never used his own when he had to do jobs.

He opened the back door and place the duffel bag in the bag. It had two Beretta M9’s, an Ak-47, as well as a roll of duck tape and rope in case the situation went left. Erik got in the driver side. He heard Cane slipping in the passenger seat as he place the address in. It would take them 37 minutes to get there.

Glancing at the clock it was now 2:24 am which gave them plenty of time to find a place for a hideout. Entering the highway Erik and Cane rode in a comfortable silence. Cane every now and then giving Erik a quick glance over before turning his head.

Some time had past when they noticed that they were arriving in the neighborhood of the house where Shawn stayed. The houses were a few yards away from each other but Erik knew that they would still be able to hear the sound of a gun if one went off.

“If you park on this side that bush will be a blind spot. That nigga won’t be able to see us when he pull up.” Cane pointed to the area.

Erik shook his head in agreement. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Pulling into the spot Erik parked the vehicle and shut it off. The light from one of the houses landscape slightly shined in the car to make it possible for them to see each other as they waited.

“So you the infamous Erik I heard about. Ya name got some clout to it with all them licks you did when you was coming up.” Cane broke the silence.

Ignoring his comment Erik reached in the back unzipping the duffel and taking out one of the Berettas. He began to load the clip.

“I never thought I see the day where I would be doing a job with you. Heard you was one hard ass nigga”

Chuckling Erik stopped to face Cane. “What you want an autograph or something. Damn nigga you sound like a fan.”

Cane smacked his lips and then laughed.“Aight you got it. But nah I’m just showing respect to an OG.”

“I don’t look that much older than you.”

“Still one of the OG’s.” Cane showed him respect.

“I appreciate the courtesy. I heard some good things about you as well.” Erik was referring to his previous conversation with Durk.

Cane shrugged. “I do a lil sumn.”

Reaching in the back Erik pulled out the Ak-47 and handed it to him.

“So then you should be able to handle this then.” He was testing him.

“What! This is personally my favorite. This thing could make any nigga dance.”

Erik laughed watching the thrill of excitement in Canes eyes. He reminded him of himself when he was first getting started. Ready and down for everything.

The headlights of a Cadillac SUV caught their attention. It was Shawn pulling up. They watched as he hopped out the driver side.

“Heard this nigga keep one on him. You think he gon try and pull it.” Cane took the safety off of the AK. He was talking about his piece.

“I don’t give a fuck what that nigga got. He better not flinch.” Erik pulled the mask over his face. He watched Shawn walk to his passenger side and opened the door.

“Oh shit! This nigga got a bitch with him.” Cane blurted out.

“Plans don’t change. It is what it is.” Erik spoke truthfully. He had to get the job done.

Cane nodded his head and pulled his mask down. They watch Shawn walk to the front door with the girl following close by. Three minutes later the couple went inside the house.

Erik and Cane exited the vehicle making their way onto the front lawn. Staying away from the security lights they crept on the side. There was a side door that they found that lead right into the kitchen. Peaking through the crack of the blinds Erik spotted the two in livingroom sitting on the couch facing the opposite way.

“Let me pick this lock.” Cane bent down to eye level with it. It took him nothing but a minute to get it open.

Quietly Erik turned the knob and entered. Both him and Cane slowly tipped toe to the livingroom putting a gun to both of their heads. Erik had Shawn and Cane had the girl.

“If you want you and your girl to make it to see another day I suggest you to comply with my instructions and not try anything stupid.” Erik threatened as he cocked the gun.

Shawn froze in his seat as the girl next to him started to scream. Cane hopped over the couch and snatched her up by the arm.

“Bitch shut the fuck up before I put a bullet in yo head. You know what get against the wall and stare at that muthafucka.” He pushed her towards the wall.

“Y’all niggas know who I am?” Shawn finally spoke up.

“Yeah nigga. Why else you think we here? We just want the money. It’s simple.” Erik negotiated with him. He pulled him off the couch by his shirt.

“I don’t know what you talkin-“ He was interrupted by Cane hitting him in the mouth with the butt of his gun.

“Nigga quit fuckin playing with us. Run that shit.”

Erik shook his head but smirked. This was one reckless ass dude and he liked it.

The girl screamed again. Erik could hear the terror in her voice. It sounded like she was going to cry.

“You got five minutes to give us that money or you and ya bitch die. Which one is it? Yo life or some dead presidents”

Cane started to run the show and Erik let him as he sat back and watched.

“Aight nigga. It’s in the fucking safe.” Shawn spit the blood out of his mouth.

“Lead the way then bitch.” Cane pushed him and followed him to the back.

Erik was left alone with the girl who was facing the wall. From behind she had a bad ass body. Gazing over her wardrobe she was Burberry down and her fire red locks fell down her back. He kept glancing back and forth between the dark hallway and her back before Erik finally heard a few words slip out of her lips.

“Please don’t hurt me.” She pleaded.

The moment her voice reached his ears his face scrunched up. Walking up to her he turned her around to face him. Backing up he put his gun down shaking his head with disbelief.

The bitch that Shawn had with him was Alexis.

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Please excuse any mistakes! I will edit this chapter soon!

Tag-list (If you’re not on it let me know and I’ll add you if you want to be added)

@supersizemeplz @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @hearteyes-for-killmonger @curls-and-crosses @killmonger-dolan @killmongerkink @migosis @raysunshine78 @alookintohersoul @popcorn803 @just-juicee @mllover260 @kimmyblckswan2 @koriiii @tchallasbabymama @toniilaney @marvelmaree @mia-faith @adreamsublime @queen-b1 @mcdesij @vintage-pvssy @viewsfromrose @ceeverse @smuttywriter @harleycativy @callmemckenzieee @theblulife @bvssmob @everything-is-awesomesauce @xoxomyaah @19jammmy @tchallas-ikumkani-wam @suburbanblackhoe @allhailqueennel @admirehermind @mymeira12universe-blog @bellanay

#black panther #erik smut #erik killmonger #erik x plus size reader #killmonger fanfiction #erik stevens #killmonger x reader #truglori #black panther killmonger #homebody

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tsukifanbase · 4 years

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Obey Me! Brothers Visit MC During Autumn: Lucifer, Mammon, and Belphie

Authors Note: i'm thinking I might make this a series, like at the beginning of every season just something similar to this 👀 sorry I haven't written much lately! school's taking up pretty much all my time nowadays-- anywhosie, enjoy! [ also s p o i l e r s] (oh btw this is gonna take place after mc leaves devildom for the summer, before they come back to devildom) lmk if yall want pt 2 with the other characters

Warnings: fluff, bruh absolute just fluff everywhere like so much, mb a lil bit of angst but that's what all my writing is like so hehe

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Lucifer

- i feel like lucifer would’ve visited you in the human realm before

- like probably sometime over the summer, but he hadn’t seen you in a while and he was starting to miss his favorite human :(

- not like he’d ever admit to that

- i don’t think luci would really be the type to wait until you summoned him for something, if he wants to make sure you’re okay, he’s gonna come see you lmao

- anyways

- lucifer had been staring out the window for quite a while- he had been doing paperwork, but somehow even when you were in a different realm, you managed to disrupt him

- he chuckled to himself at that thought, then sighed

- you had been rather difficult to focus around, always getting yourself into trouble

- luci couldn’t catch a break when you went to RAD

- he missed you

- a lot

- lucifer glanced back at his desk, where he had been working just moments before

- his eyes landed on an unsigned piece of paper that had your name on it

- you could come back home if he got you to sign it

- in truth, lucifer hadn’t really thought about finding a way to get you back to devildom. he certainly missed you, but the idea that he could actually arrange your return just hadn’t hit him yet

- until three days prior, when the sheet with your name on it appeared on his desk

- lucifer had a sneaking suspicion who put it there

- it was diavolo let’s be real

- the real mystery was why lucifer hadn’t gone to bring you the permission slip already

- he had waited- it had been three days, and he couldn’t make up his mind if he wanted to go give it to you

- lucifer didn’t want to put you in the position of having to choose between your life in the human realm or your life in devildom

- but he missed you

- and so, luci checked his watch to make sure it wasn’t three in the morning, then grabbed the permission slip before making his way outside

- it would be okay to be selfish, just this once, right?

- lucifer arrived at your home at four in the afternoon, you weren’t there

- so he found a way to open the door, bruv you hid the key under the doormat he didn’t really have a hard time lmao

- you walked into your bedroom at nearly quarter past four and immediately flopped onto your bed

- you didn’t even notice that lucifer was watching from your desk in the corner of your room

- he walked over to you and stared at you

- bro he literally didn’t say anything, he just waited ahaha thats not creepy

- lucifer crossed his arms over his chest and you finally looked up

- your eyes locked and you quietly asked, “luci?”

- lucifer narrowed his gaze at you and answered you with an, “mhm?”

- and then you freaked out, because honestly you half thought you were hallucinating or something, you jumped up to give lucifer a hug

- don’t get me wrong here, i have the intense feeling that lucifer doesn’t like hugs, but i also have the intense feeling that you and the occasional brother are the exception to that rule

- so

- when you clasped your arms around him, luci barely hesitated in returning the gesture

- he pulled you close, like he never wanted to let go again

- you eventually pulled back to ask why he had come to visit you

- it wasn’t like he didn’t visit often, just usually he had a reason to, even if it was just because he wanted to check up on you

- oh and all that nerve luci had about being selfish for once in his lifetime, yeah that was gone XD

- so your question kinda caught him off guard, like it just seemed like he forgot because for a hot sec he was just staring at you like, ‘uh huh im sorry what was that?’

- when he didn’t answer, you took the lead

- “do you wanna go to the fall festival with me?”, you asked, a bright grin spreading across your face

- and obviously luci knew what a fall festival was, he just didn’t really see your request coming

- but i mean he nodded so lmao

- pretty soon y’all were walking down the street, stopping at random carts at the festival to look at autumn themed stuff

- luci didn’t have human money, so every time he showed a vague interest in something and you offered to buy it for him, he would start squabbling about not wanting you to spend your money and blah blah

- you’d wait until he started walking away from the cart and then buy it for him anyways ;)

- somehow along the way, lucifer suggested you guys hold hands to stay together in the crowd uh huh yeah right lmao

- it was nearing the end of the festival when you remembered there was a park down the street, so you turned to luci and asked, “mind if i show you something?”

- he agreed and you guys started walking down the street, and lemme say the park kinda blew lucifer’s mind

- he was aware that leaves on trees changed colors depending on the season, but he wasn’t expecting how beautiful they were

- yellows, and oranges, some red, here and there

- and then he turned to look at you

- right at home, where you belonged

- wearing a shirt luci was pretty sure you stole from him, sipping warm apple cider

- the most beautiful thing in that entire park was you, he was sure of it

- lucifer felt the permission slip crinkle in his pocket, and he made up his mind about showing it to you

- he wasn’t going to

- “lucifer, are you okay?”, you sounded concerned, and you brought the hand that had been holding his own to brush a piece of his hair out of his face

- lucifer smiled at you, really smiled, and then replied, “yes, my dear, i’m quite all right”

Mammon

- ok so u guys remember when about two minutes ago i said lucifer wasn’t the type to wait until you summoned him

-well let’s give mammon some credit where it’s due

- he triedd to wait until you summoned him

- bb is many things but he is not patient XD

- ok lets get into it

- mammon was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling

- he wasn’t really thinking about anything?? but he had been sitting there for like an hour lmao

- asmo and satan were standing in the doorway like, ‘is he okay? does he need a doctor?’

- since usually when people think of mammon they do not think, ah yes his normal activity of... doing nothing?

- then out of nowhere, mammon sat up and his brothers quickly fled the scene to avoid being caught lmao

- mammon got a big grin on his face, and he strut out of his room to go bother you

- he had gotten into the habit of going to find you whenever he was bored or lonely

- he arrived at your bedroom, and just before his fist hit the door to knock, he realized that you weren’t in there

- that you weren’t even in devildom

- mammon barely hesitated before spinning on his heel and heading to lucifer’s office

- he wasn’t even really conscious of what he was doing, but mammon knew why he was about to go ask to visit you

- he needed you, more than he ever truly realized

- when you arrived at your apartment that afternoon, you were greeted by your landlord in the lobby, he informed you that there was a strange man sitting outside of your apartment, who was insisting that he needed to see you

- you practically dropped the grocery bag you were holding, nodded to your landlord, thanked him, and then began sprinting towards your apartment

- mammon was sitting in front of your door, staring down at his hands, he didn’t even notice that you had walked up to him

- you immediately noticed something was off with him, so you dropped to your knees to bring him into a hug, “what’s wrong?”

- he smiled to himself as he wrapped his arms around you, “nuthin'”, now that you were with him

- after you both relished in being reunited, you hopped up and grinned at him, “you’ve got perfect timing!”

- you went to unlock your apartment door, and pointed at the grocery bag that you had abandoned on the floor- it was full of apples

- mammon stood and picked up the bag for you, “apples?”, he questioned, he wasn’t really familiar with human cuisine but it seemed a little bit strange to just buy a massive bag of apples

- “i’m gonna make desert!”, you opened the door and walked into your apartment, then closed the door behind mammon, “and you’re gonna help me”

- the smile you gave him made his heart melt

- he had missed you so much

- “pfffff, why would i do that?”, mammon’s cheeks were flushed red, he crossed his arms and looked away from you, trying to hide his embarrassment

- you were grabbing something out of your cabinet, it looked like sugar, “because”, you smiled at him

- “what kind of reason is that-”

- he helped you make the apple pie lmao

- mammon lifted a bite of the pie up to his face to look at it, “what even is this?”

- he wasn’t asking in a mean way, he just genuinely didn’t know what he was looking at lol

- “just try it! i promise you’ll like it!”, you told him from the kitchen, you were putting away ingredients

- mammon huffed, and you gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse

- “if you try it, i’ll give you a present”, he immediately tried the dessert

- greedy boi

- mammon thought it was delicious, but he wasn’t about to tell you that, “i guess it’s alright, now you’re gonna gimme something?”

- you nodded and walked over to where he was sitting, “hey, what’re ya doin’?”, you gave him a peck on the cheek

- mammon fell silent for a second, and then his face burst into flames as he watched you grin and return to putting things away

- and honestly that was the best gift you could’ve given him

Belphie

- ok so im sorry but belphie is definitely the type of demon to wait for you to summon him

- i don’t make the rules XD

- he is tired boy, and while he may love and care about you a lot, going to the human realm takes a lotttttttt of energy lmao

- like he has to walk allllllll the way to lucifer’s office and ugh just like no too much work

- so anyways lmao

- you hadn’t really planned on summoning bel at all

- you were lying in bed, a lazy morning like so many you had shared together

- this one was more beautiful than any you had ever experienced before

- the leaves were changing colors just outside your window, the sunlight of a late morning breaching your bedroom through the leaves, and hitting your face

- the weather had gotten colder recently, so you had added more blankets to your bed to accommodate

- or maybe you were trying to make up for the loss of your cuddle buddy

- either way, you were wrapped securely in blankets

- and everything seemed perfect

- except you were missing the best part of sleeping in, of staying in bed until the early afternoon

- you were missing your best friend

- so you decided to change that

- you barely had to think about how to summon him, one second, he wasn’t there, and the next, belphie was lying on top of you

- he was sleeping, as usual

- bel clutched you tight in his sleep, mumbling something about missing you under his breath

- he was dreaming about you

- because as little energy he had to go visit, that didn’t mean that belphie didn’t miss you

- in fact, nearly every day since you left devildom, bel had complained to beel about how cold his bed was

- bel had trouble sleeping for a while after you left, unbelievable, but true

- he had grown so accustomed to falling asleep every night to the sound of your breath, your scent, your warmth

- belphie opened his eyes mid afternoon, he realized why he had been sleeping so soundly when he glanced down to see who he was hugging

- your eyes were closed and he assumed you were asleep

- bel sighed blissfully and hugged you tighter, pressing a kiss to your head

- “i missed you”, he mumbled into your hair

- “i missed you too, bel”

329 notes · View notes

jae-canikeepyou · 4 years

Text

| closer | j.jh

pair: jaehyun x fem!reader

genre: au + idol!jae & choreographer/dancer!yn

a/n: this request is long overdue but here it is! :) i’m sorry for the long wait ;-; it’s challenging to write since i’m not a dancer so my explanation’s a lil’ suckish. also! i had to edit a song remix for this oneshot, so the dance and imagination’s clearly up to you *wink wink* enjoy reading! ~j

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though you lost count of the frequent, unexplainable somersaults you experienced in your stomach, you weren’t sure whether this always happen whenever you were told to join other dancers to monitor a routine for a group. perhaps it was just you, that today felt entirely different compared to when you first started.

as far as your career went, this was the only time you felt so stressed. and by ‘stressed’, it didn’t mean that the boys’ couldn’t get the steps right— they were fast learners and the choreography you helped co-create wouldn’t be a problem to them.

nct 127’s rehearsals were at a spacious backstage for straight two days now. in those short days, there was a certain air that lingered and you couldn’t fathom it properly. with you around, the boys would suddenly crowd in a circle, anywhere in the area, and began to utter out whispers you hoped your ears were able to hear. maybe if you were reincarnated, you’d choose an animal with great hearing to be able to hear what they were saying.

and honestly it got you wanting to pull your hair out because.. what if?

what if they disliked how you were a person of few words during practice? or that they preferred if you gave more feedbacks toward their dance like other choreographers who came before you? there weren’t any hints leading to the source of action and really, if this was an actual investigation you’d be removed from the team for not having quick-wits.

taeyong immediately became your close friend right when you were introduced to them by your seniors. he had this you-can-tell-me-anything aura all over him and was the only person you always conversed with among the boys. given that you were part of the choreo team since kick-it era, the boys welcomed you; like so much. but in those greetings, a gut feeling kept bothering you that you would be pulled into something.. perhaps something you might not be able to handle? you wouldn’t know. it was a gut feeling anyway, fifty percent of your intuition were always proven wrong.

you stared at the widespread mirror, arms up to record them while examining their moves and rhythms to the beat. they were tired, you could tell with the way they swayed and continuously wipe off the sweat rolling down their temples. so you decided to give them a break after three hours of practice.

replaying the video over and over to check if they got the timing right, taeyong went to sit by your side gulping and squeezing the water bottle. “relax y/n. you’ll get more wrinkles if you keep doing that.” he nudged you gently to catch your full atttention from the phone.

“do what, exactly?” you looked at him, eyebrows furrowed tiredly above your death-gazing eyes.

he poked you with the butt of the cold bottle he held, where beads from it soaked your forehead. “this.” he lectured you again, almost annoying to the ears. “it’s not at all attractive.”

“we both agreed you have better brows than me but ouch that’s rude. i think i’m quite pretty and you know it.” you return a playful poke that had him nearly trampling backwards, a slight sting felt by your ankle once you regained balance.

per usual, you disregarded his innocent comment and continued to monitor the practice via phone. he didn’t mean it and you knew that. taeyong kept bugging you to cool off from work and hang out with them since you were all good friends to begin with. of course that development happened in a span of few months to be able for you all to reach that certain relationship.

however, was it possible to attain the level of intimacy when recently, all you felt from the other guys was the weird gap? you couldn’t even describe the awkward distance. taeyong shook both of his sleeves into sweaterpaws to rub the droplets on your forehead.

“quite pretty? you’re beautiful! you’re like a cool princess every guy wants and i’d honestly date you if what we are isn’t platonic.” he danced in a wave effect with his arm. you gently hit his chest for being very vocal even if it just was the two of you.

“aww, you always know how to make me feel better! thanks.” you sweetly compliment him for a second before your smile turned into a frown.

at the corners of your peripheral, johnny, jungwoo, mark, donghyuck and yuta all averted your scrutiny. the action was obvious and quick, but what made it more suspicious was that it happened respectively like falling dominos. although they did typical and cliché gestures of escapism from your response, still they pretended to ignore you either with their hands shoved in pockets or whistles of their own song.

a surrendering huff caught taeyong’s attention. you never sighed nor show any emotions of distress before and this was a little concerning to him. “what’s wrong y/n?” he turned around to see the others minding their own business despite taeyong already realising the edginess they showed.

“can you help me figure something out with them?” you begged as you tilted your gently slightly to the side. “it’s been weeks and i have no idea why they’re acting this way. am i that unapproachable compared to my seniors?”

taeyong suddenly pursed his lips to a small circle as if he was hiding some top secret information that was ‘exclusive for members only’. “oh- y’know.” he nodded quite repetitively but with hesitating breaks in between. he knew what you were going to ask him since it hasn’t been the first time. he usually could dodge your curiosity and wondered why he couldn’t now. “they’re p-probably just chilling.. like always.. yep.” he popped the ‘p’ and stood. “i’m sure it’s because they’re tired from rehearsals!”

things couldn’t just get any weirder. you squinted your eyes as you scooted in closer to him. “you’re stuttering. you never do that.” you pointed out, observing his wavering eyes. “do you know something-”

he stammered and gently pushed you away a little like it would stop you from asking further. “i-i don’t know what you’re talking a-about.”

“hm you sure about that?” you hummed and he mouthed a ‘yes’. “you don’t know what’s coming after you if i figure it out buddy.”

“i’m sure, y/n. stop being a worrywart.” taeyong pinched your cheeks. “i’ll let know you right away if i hear anything out of the ordinary.”

“uh-huh. jaehyun’s the one i think who’s ’out of the ordinary’. we never talked. just hi’s and bye’s and he doesn’t smile at me.” you commented as you spotted him at the entrance door. “bummer, i really find him good-looking..” your phone buzzed a message from your leader. technically he wasn’t, but a person in-charge of your schedules to teach other idol groups.

somehow you felt a wave of relief that you would be out of the venue for the day. it would be assuring to not be around 127 for a while when they behaved like they did. who knew thinking too much would bring exhaustion? this was more tiring than dancing. a lot more. you swung your phone to taeyong, telling him that you were going to leave. “i gotta go, see you.”

“oh, alright. take care.” taeyong waved subtly, confused as to why you suddenly spoke of jaehyun out of the blue.

you let out a long sigh and exited the venue with thoughts of wonder; they were good people and most definitely you were the approachable type, so why were they keeping distance besides taeyong? johnny, yuta and donghyuck were super friendly, and it’s unlike them to suddenly keep quiet. mark and jungwoo were fun to tease; seeing the expressions they usually don’t put on around you was really fishy. taeil and doyoung have similar affection for you because you were like a little sister and.. jaehyun?

well.. jaehyun’s jaehyun, and among them, he was the far-fetched one. that was what you felt from him,

from the beginning.

because every single time you crossed paths, he would look away right when you locked eyes with him. there was no smile, no expression.

nothing at all.

maybe it pinched your heart a little. and maybe there would be a right time for this. just maybe not today. hopefully that wouldn’t extend for another month. hopefully you would get to talk to him like you did with the rest of them. it was a challenging to be patient when you’ve kind of taken a liking on jaehyun despite the inexplainable treatment. he was.. cute.

once you were out of the group’s sight, jaehyun came in with a duffle bag and a beanie— that basically made his hair in a frenzy- along with taeil & doyoung. he had his arms frantically shaking as if he was trying to reason out. “i can’t hold a normal conversation without tensing up.” he dropped his belongings and joined the crowd, not noticing the growing smirks slowly coming into view from his friends.

“and you think choosing to freeze and stare would make her talk to you?” taeil asked straight up. “that’s called cowardice bro.”

jaehyun combed his hair back and wore his beanie again when the focus was shifted to him. “no it’s not. it’s called being shy.. i guess.” he crossed his arm, unsure of his answer as well.

mark took a sip of watermelon juice, later eyeing a bowl sitting peacefully on one side of the table for seconds. “hyung, do you expect to get closer to y/n if you act like that though?” he gave johnny a side-eye as he hid his smile behind the cup, to whom the latter responded the same.

“all of us are trying to keep quiet of your ecstasy towards her like you asked us to.” jungwoo implored because what was done has to be said eventually. “and now she thinks we’re hiding something from her, i can feel her suspicions for the past weeks.”

“did you make it obvious?” jaehyun hissed a little. “i warned you to act natural-”

johnny wrapped the young man in his arms, earning laughs from the others. “the one who’s not acting natural is you. i thought you’re a straight-forward kind of guy. this should be a piece of cake for you.”

“everyone, please come to the center.” their manager called them to gather up, informing details regarding the next schedule for the week.

sm town concert was just a week away and they’ve been practicing nonstop for it. the exhaustion on their faces fled when the manager said something that would make the fans see them in a different light. some staff giggled at their reactions, some told them to go with it, the rest just wanted to see how it would turn out to be. the boys weren’t expecting it, not at a sudden time like this when they’ve gotten the rundown memorised already.

normally they complied and no arguments were brought forwards. now they managed to scream all vocabularies to reason out that another dance routine would make them more exhausted than before. “we’re not pulling a prank nor a hidden camera if that’s what you’re thinking. anyway, the added part is around a minute interlude.. it’s before the actual track. only one of you will dance it.”

yeses and cheers of relief made majority of the staff exchange looks because they weren’t finish with the information they received. “this interlude is by volunteer, so whoever wants to do it just raise your hand or come up front.” the manager instructed as he wrote down the minutes, later both of his brows arched high forasmuch to his surprise, the decision was quickly decided; it would usually take the boys a while. “oh! thanks for being cooperative, jaehyun! the rehearsal starts tomorrow...”

jaehyun’s head never shot up as fast as it did just now. he didn’t pay attention to the short meeting and since all of the voices were indistinct to him, he was astonished with hearing his name being said. he wondered why they concluded with him doing the interlude. in his head a second ago, he was coming up with plans to finally— and normally— conversate with you. and upon turning around, his friends failed to keep their snickers in. they all simultaneously took a step back, leaving the dimpled boy remain standing in his position.

“...and take ten, then we’ll proceed to the last two songs for today.” the manager left the boys for a break.

wheezing breaths and heavy falls on the floor were soon followed by exploding laughters. they were like fireworks, jolting the nerves out of jaehyun and he rolled his eyes at his friends’ intentions to tease him. “that’s not fair, you guys plotted against me.” he pinched the bridge of his nose when a flush of betrayal finally covered his entire conscience.

they laughed since it was a reaction they expected, but more so when he missed out the most crucial information. “oh my g- he doesn’t know! hahaha!” haechan and jungwoo clung onto each other for support. it was too much to handle.

yuta scooted close to johnny, who had his phone up the whole time. “that was on record, yeah?” he asked and the latter grinned devilishly.

“rgha!” jaehyun growled, soon accepting the role that was predestined to him. “i swear john if you-”

“he didn’t really hear it!” mark cut him off and joined the younger ones, hitting each other and as they couldn’t believe that jaehyun, could be this dense. “wow this is insane!”

jaehyun’s ears turned faint pink. he didn’t like the excessive attention he was getting from his friends, and he has no idea what the sudden outbursts were all about. “hear what, exactly?” he had a petulant expression and shifted his weight on one leg as he waited for the answer.

taeyong choked a giggle at his question. it was similar with yours when you innocently asked earlier. “jaehyun, he said the other half of the remix duet is y/n. you’ll dance with her tomorrow, and until the concert.”

his heart pumped so fast that he didn’t know how to react; whether it was due to obvious fact that he would see you again for the third time this week, or it was your name and his.. in the same sentence.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

if there was something you didn’t like to experience again in your life, that would be spraying your nose in public. good grief, and it had to happen nearby the boys. you shut your eyes closed at the sprinkly yet piercing shock rising up from the nostrils to your head. after few seconds of calming down, youngjoon pat your head as if that would bring you comfort. not really.

“i thought hana’s doing the nct dance duet?” you rubbed the small tears from the corners of your eyes, the striking pain still lingered around your senses a little.

he shrugged that his shoulders the action made you think he has something to do with the sudden change of plans. but assuming too much would ruin your mood and affect the way you dance later, so you let it slide for today.

“i’m your senior. you’ll do what i decided on,” he gave you his phone; the title of the track was one that you were told to choreograph. “it’s about time your monitoring days are over. anyway, you’ll dance with..” youngjoon trailed off himself.

you scanned the spacious venue to figure who he was referring to. none came into your mind until jaehyun walked past by you, and youngjoon pulled him close. “ah! with him!”

oh great, i’m dancing with mr. far-fetched.

staring off into space, taeyong appeared briefly in your peripheral, mouthing that jaehyun ‘volunteered’ for the interlude— which didn’t really add up why he would decide to do this performance when he hasn’t talked to you at all.

it was funny how friendly and warm jaehyun was to your fellow choreographers. he would smile freely and offer spare bottles or snacks. however, he looked stiff now and you craved for answers for strange his behaviour. still, you would be lying to yourself if you said he somehow made you.. squirmy, in a good way.

“let’s work well.” he heard you speak as you began to walk to the centre of the venue, jaehyun soon following you from behind.

he noticed the boys sitting on bleachers for a break, secretly snapping pictures to tease him later on. they mouthed and told him to talk— he was leaving you hanging and making a lady wait for a response was not a gentleman thing to do. he was stunned with your natural beauty and to think you were before him, just made him realise that this was the chance,

to get closer.

because remembering what taeyong told him yesterday, his friends told him to step up his game after it was revealed you found him good-looking. that alone should be enough for jaehyun to have the courage to hold a conversation with you. soon jaehyun cleared his throat, pulled his t-shirt collar and bit his inner gums. “yeah, likewise.” jaehyun cleared his throat. “this should be easy. where should we begin?”

“this is the track we’re dancing to.” you fished out your phone to let him listen to the new version, noticing how youngjoon nod at you.

the said man approached, whispering words that had you wanting to facepalm. a gasp escaped your lips and jaehyun raised a brow in curiosity. “i’m gonna kill her-” your face bubbled up in subtle anger.

jaehyun couldn’t hear much, the volume of the interlude was loud enough to make your voices inaudible. he wasn’t good at lip reading too, but he felt different when his eyes met with yours. a smile you wore earlier flattened, your positivity was still there, yet little did he know the changes made on the spot. youngjoon walked back to the mixer and made jaehyun’s hair a mess.

oh how the gods and goddesses of love must’ve liked shooting arrows continuously at his barely-comprehending mind. he almost ran out of breath hearing those words come out of your mouth and he knew it wasn’t going to be that easy for him.

because to him you were a beautiful distraction.

he recalled how you first met in the practice room during kick-it era; comfy clothes, a chill person with light make-up colours and pretty much his friends instantly introduced themselves. he wished that he was close to you as taeyong was. hopefully by the time the whole concert video was out, fans wouldn’t make a meme out of him given the fact that they did when mc-ing for broadcasts, he unknowingly created a gap between himself and other girl groups.

half an hour had passed and perhaps at this minute, you decided to take back what you said; that they were fast learners. proven you wrong, again. some of them were but jaehyun kept messing up and you were close to losing your patience. he couldn’t get things right. whenever you asked him if he was alright, he claimed to have gotten the hang of the steps taught earlier.

what a lie that was. so far he has stepped your shoes, bumped you though they were minor, and missed some moves. what made you teeth grit was that he looked like he wasn’t aware he did those at all.

ugh look at him. he can do better than this. if he doesn’t catch up, i’m requesting for another member to dance with me.

although he quickly memorised his solo part before dancing with you, the one second break in between have already made him forget the next step. he wasn’t in the right mind, he knew that much and was continuously questioned himself why he lost concentration. dancing with naeun was an exemption. she was a fellow mc, and even then he was shy to hold her hand. but this? this was different. this was more than just holding hands. this included skinship he has never done before, let alone executing intimate movements.

“pretend you’re pulling a lever as she flicks her hips side and back the second time. your hands should be by her hips.” youngjoon instructed, observing jaehyun’s shaky movements at the mirror reflection with reference from the video you sent him before. “good. jae, body wave to the left. y/n to the right and both swing your shoulders outwards..”

but if he wasn’t in the right mind, you were slowly getting there too. the more you were faced with jaehyun, the more you head became fuzzy. you could feel yourself heating up and this wasn’t due to the dance at all. “y/n, caress his jaw and grab him close.”

jaehyun gulped, trying not mind his friends and focus on the routine. “oi, step in closer.” your senior said, nudging the boy at the back. “i said closer like you’re hugging her- ah.” youngjoon realised he made a mistake. the boy froze again and his figure hovered you, the lights above blocked by his shocked expression.

you were falling back.

at this rate, both of you might cause the other an embarrassment of a lifetime. you braced for impact and it was written on your face. jaehyun saw how you shut your eyes. he was afraid of injuring you and somehow did the unthinkable; not even his friends expected that from him and were worried the big guy might crush you. he flipped you around the moment you both were inches above the ground, landing on him instead. “mfgh. ow.” you heard him groan, followed by few gasps and shocked voices.

hesitantly, you opened an eye and felt his palms around your torso. he too had a sour face from the fall. “that was close.” jaehyun squinted you take a peek of you and let out a sigh, which already brought guilt showering over you. “glad you’re not injured-”

“are you two alright?” hana with concern, asked as others repeated the same question.

you got up to sit on your calves in apology but soon spotted hana and youngjoon grinning like their plan worked. so they did have something to do with this. “are you an idiot??” you sighed with a drumming heart, taking jaehyun aback. “you’re performing in two days and it’s best if i’m injured than you are.”

“hey, you’re dancing too..” jaehyun chuckled though was surprised with your sudden fits and tone of your voice, standing up to lend a hand. “..so it’s best if you’re not injured.”

he waited for you to respond to his offer and as you took it, you felt a painful throb at the left ankle. tsk, must’ve twisted a bit it when we fell. dammit jaehyun. you cleared your throat loudly. it came out more of a growl in an annoyed tone. “look, i don’t think you get it. you have two days to practice and there‘s only one you. there are many dancers who can replace me-”

“no, i don’t think you get it. you’re the only one who knows the choreography. you’re basically irreplaceable.”

perhaps if this was told to you in a different sight, you would be squirmy and walking on flowers now. but this was nothing of it. you had to remain professional and set your personal feelings aside.

“not unless if another dancer perfects the dance in two days..” you trailed off.

“okay okay, stop the talking and continue where you both left off. a fall like that shouldn’t be a reason why you’re quarrelling.” youngjoon clapped his hands, moving you in front of jaehyun to start from the top.

when you said that, jaehyun was unsure why you were suddenly irritated. he held his position for the duet before speaking words that had you all fluttery again. “well, i’m dancing with you and staff said it’s final.”

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the following day, your ankle swelled overnight and informed that you would teach jaehyun and yeri, whom you’ve chosen to be his dance partner— the only idol available prior to nct 127’s performance. you crossed arms, observing how she got the steps quicker than jaehyun. “i want you to pop your hips a little more and match the timing with jaehyun. look at him intently before he holds your hand and you letting go.”

a pout then was seen on her face, hesitant and shy to do what you instructed. “i know it’s weird but i’d like you to think what you’re doing is art..” you tried to sound encouraging and later saw jaehyun taking a break at the far end of the stage. “just expressed in forms of movements.”

yeri stifled a laugh, feeling a lot better now she saw how you looked at her fellow label-mate. “yeah that’s not how jaehyun sees it-” she hushed immediately for speaking her thoughts. “y/n, how has he not learned his part yet? didn’t you teach him yesterday?”

“trust me i did! jaehyun’s a great artist but he just doesn’t seemed focused like i imagined him to be.” you took a bite from your sandwich, and yeri giggled that you unconsciously ignored the first half of her sentence. “i mean his solo was a 15-second one. i don’t see why he would forget the rest of the 35-seconds.”

she pursed her lips and took sight of taeyong winking at her, hinting your density with these situations. “well i think he actually got the steps now.” she arched her brows, pointing at the direction where jaehyun was at. “i heard he works hard alone- not that i’m offending you! you’re a great teacher and dancer!”

you smiled as you crumpled the plastic wrap and tossed it in the bin. “none taken, i kinda understand why he would be nervous around me.”

her ears perked up and pulled you to the side. “ooh ooh you do? what is it? i’m in for the tea!”

“i pull a resting face while i monitor them. probably why he found it hard to approach me. he thinks i’m the kind who doesn’t want to be disturbed.” you and yeri walked further off the stage to sit at the very front.

she held her chest hearing how awful you might’ve felt from him. “aw that’s bitter tea! y/n i’m sure he doesn’t think that way! it just takes time, might be longer than the other guys but you’ll get there.”

“get to where?”

“to being friends, and not only the professional level.”

at another side of it, taeyong and the rest heard the whole conversation. they shared looks knowing that they had to relay the news to jaehyun, who was staring at you giggling away with yeri. he met eyes with them and had a thin lipped smile, walking towards his friends. “you guys are weird, quit the creepy smiles.”

doyoung smacked the boy’s head for the density his currently possessed. “do you know the impression she has on you?”

“who? yeri?”

now it was taeil’s turn to smack his head. “y/n, you dimwit.” he sighed, looking at your silhouette under dimmed light then onto jaehyun. “she thinks you’re great..”

“but what you do around her seems to have shown you’re not interested in her.” jungwoo completed his sentence.

jaehyun never felt so attacked by both from them and the facts thrown upon him. “what? no! i am interested in her!”

“then tell her that. it isn’t that hard to say you’re interested in being friends.” haechan bent to release the tension in his muscles.

they wanted to encourage him a little more yet were then called to stand-by for another practice, with the interlude as the beginning. the signal from the staff have ordered for the lightings and music to be queued and readied.

mark nudged him in a strength that nearly made him fall. “hey, it’s about the right time you get closer to her,” he said in a low voice, highkey referring to your ruptured ligament on your ankle yet jaehyun seemed to have missed the point. “or else there’ll be no development.”

jaehyun chugged on his bottle in silence. “what do you mean?”

“youngjoon hyung said she’ll be on leave for weeks. i don’t know how long but if you don’t do anything now, you’ll continue to live up to the impression without even talking to her.” he explained and cringed afterwards feeling taeyong and johnny’s presence among them.

“show her that what she choreographed for us is not in vain, okay?” johnny made his hair a mess, before leaving the stage to go to where you were. the stage director said his count down. you cheered on yeri with a thumbs up and the music started its tune.

a/n: can’t seem to add song in between texts, so here’s a link instead ;-; let me know if it doesn’t work :3

it was your choreography up there, that was soon to be shown to the world, recorded to be part of the rundown and later burnt in c.d’s. you felt nervous at the fact if they would really execute what you wanted to show— the form of art you put your sweat upon even if it were just 50 seconds. when jaehyun began taking yeri’s hand after his solo part, leading her then mirroring her movements, your heart squeezed for no reason. they should be able to nail this part until the last beat of the song.

but as you clenched your chest to prevent your hands from shaking, taeyong saw your expression, convincing him enough that your reaction towards this said otherwise.

the boys usually held a small dinner a day prior to the concert, for a good show and performance. yuta decided to invite you to a japanese restaurant nearby so you wouldn’t feel left out or feel a lot distant than you already were with them.

you prepared your essentials before meeting them, the tapes of your ankle band came loose and you reached to adjust it as discomfort was all you felt for a while. jaehyun knelt down to sit across you, licking his dry lips to simmer the nervousness he felt inside. “do you need help?” he asked when you looked up to notice his presence. “or is there anything i can do to help?”

“y-yeah. it needs a proper tightness to it.” you gave a faint nod. he smiled and held your left leg to rest it on his thigh.

silence was slowly killing him, he had to admit that at least. now that you both conversed, what then? would this just be another acquaintance talk like yesterday, where it was only a mere one? nothing else to it? nothing happened?

jaehyun wanted to set the professionalism to the side, heed to his friends’ words and actually become close to you. perhaps put his feelings for you behind him for the meantime. “sorry.” he conceded, which made you confused for a second. “i’m sorry.”

“from the fall yesterday?” you stretched back that your palms were your support as he taped the band around. jaehyun shook his head, making you more confused. “then what are you apologising for?”

“for making you feel like i didn’t want to talk to you since you arrived.”

you stared at him, lips parting when you finally grasped his purpose. “oh.. that! it’s okay. i’m not expecting to be that level of friends immediately.” you chuckled awkwardly because it was a bit of a lie. i mean it took a while to be good friends with the others-”

“i’m sorry that i chose not to talk to you and it might have given you a bad impression of me.” he took your shoe so you could wear and head to the restaurant. “i guess it really is difficult to when i admire you a lot. heck i even asked my groupmates to tone down their knowledge about that because they have plans to embarrass-”

he jolted at the drop of your phone and your sigh, eyes wandering and wavering at it then looking to you. he helped you stand up and when he did too, you sighed heavier, flattened lips and a smile. “my anxiety convinced me that you hated me.” you confessed, finally letting out the worry that has been bothering you for months.

you shyly looked back at him and noticed how he was fidgety as you were. you couldn’t handle the visuals he has— even more now that he was close to you. so ethereal and magnetising.

maybe this was what the somersaults you’ve been feeling all the time. the unexplainable gut feeling that you’d be pulled into something you couldn’t handle?

it was him.

jaehyun panicked at the word. “h-hate? i don’t! not even a bit. i really like you!” he sputtered, then waving his hands to deny his feelings. “i mean like as in like you as person and your dedication to all this.”

“heh..” you both turned to the voice and taeyong smirked what he heard. “just tell her already, jae.” he pointed out, and you were left clueless as they shared the same brain cell. jaehyun’s eyes grew, hoping that his friend wouldn’t expose him, but taeyong answered him with his eyes, as if his voice was almost telepathic.

‘not confessing! you’re not at that intimacy level yet! tell y/n that you wanna hang with her!’

“i-i just wanna get closer to you?” he pondered, scratching his neck from the tornado of feelings whirling inside. “as friends, not as workmates or anything.” he waited for your response, staring in your magnetising orbs that lured him into something deeper.

“we would’ve been if we talked earlier on.” you smiled, hinting that you didn’t mind taking that step with him too. “but yeah, same here, jaehyun.”

jaehyun smiled genuinely at you for the first time, no awkwardness nor forcing himself to. “yes!” he had his fists up with ecstasy that you said his name, only to panic at the time. the dinner was already starting.

taeyong exhaled and swung his arms to let the blood flow normally. “ah, now that’s settled. let’s get to the restaurant too.”

you punched his arm and he flinched at the impact and hissed that it came out more of a question than a reaction you expected. “what you get for lying that you didn’t know anything.” you stuck a tongue out.

“and i’m supposed to pay the price for it?” he rubbed to sooth the pain. “not fair.”

walking to the backstage, you slowly lifted your foot to head down the stairs. “don’t worry, they’ll get their punches from me real soon.” you whistled.

jaehyun took your hand, supporting your weight at the same time. he couldn’t rush you in the state you’re in.

“what about jaehyun? he’s the one who did all this, and had the rest of us included.” taeyong jut his lips to point to the boy, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jackets. “he should get a punch too.”

“i’m not punching someone who wants to be closer to me. it’s not a good.. first impression.” you hid a laugh with flattened lips, jaehyun mirrored you and gave a flirty wink.

with that, he managed to magnetise you, just to make his gap with you,

closer.

#nct 127 #jaehyun oneshot #jung jaehyun #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun writings #jaehyun au #jaehyun fluff #jung yoonoh #nct jaehyun #jaehyun #nct #jaehyun nct #jaehyun x reader

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shyneanon · 3 years

Note

I don't know what type of prompts you're looking for, but this idea has been on my mind for a while: swap MfSans and Princess. Where Sans is the one who's sick of mafia life and wants to leave, but his bro won't let him. On top of that, this flirty human woman won't leave him alone, even though he's told her a hundred times his bro will kill her if he finds her hitting on Sans.

Ahhhh an AU of my AU fanfic, that sounds so fun! I’ve been wanting to write this but was having a hard time thinking of the details, but I finally have something done. They’re not completely swapped in personalities or anything, mostly just in their roles in the story, but I hope you enjoy it.

---

Sans didn’t like going for walks.

But it was something Paps insisted on. Several times he’d tried shortcutting to cheat, but Paps always caught him. He was smart. So eventually Sans had given up.

Instead, he would head for the park on evenings when he wasn’t on the job (so to speak), sit there awhile, and then come back. Paps always thought he’d been walking all that time. Sometimes he even got nice cream, and Paps was none the wiser.

As usual, he found a park bench— one that he took up most of the room of— and sat. It was nice to be alone with his thoughts for a while. The park was a lot emptier and quieter at night. No kids. Most people at home with their families.

Their peace-loving, law-abiding families.

Sans did more thinking than most people realized. He had a lot of thoughts and opinions on things, he just… wasn’t very good at expressing them. He didn’t like talking— not even with his brother. Sometimes Paps didn’t really listen to him. That was particularly the case with Sans’ suggestions about how they could get out of the mob. He’d hatched several plans, but Paps told him they were too risky. It was best, he said, that they stay where they had money and power and could live comfortably.

Sans didn’t find the mob life particularly comfortable.

Quite the opposite— it felt stifling. And Paps wasn’t helping. He tried to stop Sans from talking to women— or, fun women, at least— because he had his own idea of what kind of girls Sans should be talking to. Girls in the mob, who were raised to be boring and submissive, and to lie through their teeth to avoid bothering their boyfriends. Being with someone who’d basically been trained like a dog to only do what would make him happy would just make him feel like trash.

Besides, if he married some mob boss’s girl, then there would only be more incentive for them to stay. And he didn’t want incentive to stay.

“Sans?”

Oh shit.

Sans would recognize that voice anywhere. It was so… silky. He looked over and sure enough, there you were, a shopping bag in your hand. Probably having bought a dress for one of those fancy parties folks in the mob loved so much.

Sans hated you.

Well, he hated you because he liked you. You were exactly the kind of girl he didn’t want, and yet at the same time, you were everything he wanted in one… really sexy package.

Talking to you was a really bad idea. So he just tipped the brim of his hat slightly, looking away in an attempt to look uninterested. “Heya, doll.”

Much to his dismay, you sat next to him on the bench and smiled. The way you moved drew attention to your curves…. Were you doing it on purpose?

“It’s good to see you,” you told him. A playful smile. “I was feeling bonely.”

Sans tried— and failed— to stop himself from laughing a bit. Fuck, you were funny too….

“So?” You batted your lashes-- it was clearly playful, but it still made his soul flutter slightly, and he inwardly cursed himself for it. “How are you?”

You were smirking. He was pretty sure you reveled in driving him insane.

“Not as good now that you’re here,” he returned, and you snickered. Why was it cute?

“Aww,” you said. “I’m hurt.”

Sans didn’t reply, just forced himself to look away, despite how much he enjoyed looking at you.

“Hey.”

He turned just a little, raising a brow. You had a massive grin on your face.

“Knock knock.”

He blinked and did his best not to look alarmed. Goddammit, no.

Not a knock knock joke.

“You’re supposed to say ‘Who’s there,’” you teased.

Fine. He would indulge you. The joke probably wouldn’t be that funny anyway. “Who’s there?”

“Nana.”

“Nana who?”

“Nana your business.”

Before he could even try to stop himself he snorted loudly, slapping his knee a little. “That was fuckin’ stupid, doll.”

“That’s why it’s funny.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Aw, c’mon. You agree with me. Admit it.”

Your tone was so smug. Dammit, he was terrible at pretending he didn’t like you, wasn’t he?

“Besides, yours are dumber.” You nudged him. “C’mon, tell me one. You always have some.”

His face grew warm. He wasn’t used to people wanting to hear his jokes. Sure, making people groan was half the fun, but… making you laugh…

After an attempt at a nonchalant shrug, he said, “Knock knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Cash.”

“Cash who?”

“Nah thanks, I prefer walnuts.”

You snorted and gave a giggle. Sans didn’t notice his smile soften. What he would give to make you laugh like that more often….

If only you weren’t in the mob.

He was lost enough in thought that he didn’t notice when you began to slip into his lap, only when you were about halfway in it. It wasn’t inherently sexual, but Sans’ mind was the type to go into the gutter easily, and… His face grew hot, and you raised a brow.

“Oh my, someone gets turned on a bit easily, huh?”

His face only got hotter. “S’just a blush,” he protested.

You clearly didn’t believe him, but you shrugged, still smiling. “Oh, alright. My mistake.”

“Yeah,” he said, furious that his face was still warm. “Yer mistake--”

“I’m sure you won’t mind if I do this then.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pressed your body against his, giving him a wink, and he could feel himself growing warm… somewhere else.

“Y’know my brother wouldn’ be happy if he saw you here like this.” He kept his own hands from touching you, holding them out so that if Paps did suddenly show up for no discernible reason, he would see that Sans was clearly not reciprocating.

“Well too bad for him.” You leaned up, getting closer. “You can make your own decisions.” With a slight purr in your voice, you added, “You’re a big boy.”

You were close enough now that Sans could hear you even when you spoke softly.

“I’m sure there’s all kinds of things a big boy like you could do to a tiny girl like me….”

Why did everything about you… your voice, your body, your eyes… have to appeal so much to his most base instincts…?

And why’d you have to be so… wonderful?

“Just one kiss?” you whispered.

Sans didn’t protest when you pressed your soft, perfect lips against his teeth. In fact, he wrapped both arms around you, returning the affection. Your hands cupped his face and the touch sent shocks of electricity through him. He growled, his more aggressive instincts beginning to surface.

“Baby,” he purred, and you kissed him again, with more fervor this time. His hands went to your waist, and his mind began to slip into an incredibly racy fantasy. “Baby, I’m gonna…”

“You’re gonna what?” you asked, clearly excited.

His mind indulged itself in some very vivid imagery and he thought of a dirty response. He let out a predatory growl again, opening his eyes so he could make eye contact…

And then he realized what he was doing. He paused.

When he didn’t respond, you breathed, “What are you going to do to me, Sans?” and the primal part of him immediately started to dive back into its very explicit daydream, but the logical part of his mind managed to reel the rest of him in.

“I’m gonna… move ya back onto the bench,” he answered lamely, gently pushing you off his lap. Your flushed face (fuck, it was hot) quickly started to return to its usual color and you blinked, looking confused. Still, you complied, and to his surprise, looked away.

“Sorry,” you said. He wanted to tell you that yes, you should be, but instead it took all of his energy not to so much as put a hand on your shoulder. As much as he didn’t want to, he did like you.

Why did he have to like you?

“I, uh… jus’ gotta go, s’all,” he said, standing up. He turned away and tipped the brim of his hat. “See ya, dollface.”

“Actually…”

He looked back over, a brow raised in suspicion, to see that your more mischievous smile had returned. Oh, what now?

“It’s getting dark,” you told him, getting up and picking up your shopping bag. “And I think that, being the small and helpless little lady I am… I could use an escort home?”

Sans felt the corner of his mouth quirk up. “Yeah? Worried for your safety?”

“Of course. The city’s big, and full of… unsavory characters.” You put a hand over your heart in mock fear. “One of them could get me, and… do things to me.” Another wink, and a sly smile. Sans struggled not to let himself slip into more fantasies. Thankfully, your mock concern was funny enough to keep him more or less grounded.

“Well,” he said, playing along with a shrug. “We can’t have that. I s’pose it would only be gentlemanly of me to take you home.”

“Yes, it would. And we both know you’re quite the gentleman.”

“Always.” His grin had returned-- in fact, he could swear he was grinning even more than usual-- and he held out his arm. “Madame?”

You locked arms with him, beaming. “Merci,” you said, and he laughed. All thoughts of avoiding you were ignored.

He was too busy having fun to care.

#this was really fun #but it took a couple of rewrites #I really was like #'I have no idea what I'm doing'#fanfic #fanfiction #x reader #reader-insert #self-insert #sans x reader #mafiafell #mf sans #the boss' daughter #the boss's daughter

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

Text

Stark Spangled Banner

Stab Me In The Front

Part 1: America’s Asshole

Intro: It’s been a year since Katie was held hostage by Hydra, and whilst she’s still working through her feelings she has an idea about how she can make other people’s lives better as a result of her ordeal. Alongside this, she needs to take a trip to Boston to meet Harlan Thrombey-SIP’s latest author. Slightly nervous about taking a business trip alone after what happened last time, Steve offers to go with her.

What could possibly go wrong?

Warnings: Bad language. SMUT (NSWFW)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: So, here we go. This was a request/idea from @icanfeelastormbrewing for an Avengers/Knives Out Cross Over where Katie and Steve come face to face with America’s Asshole! The tongues are sharp and the knives are out! This is set in 2015 so way before the KO storyline so therefore contains no spoilers!

Oh, @angrybirdcr I bloody love this edit and banner- the edit you have named the Ransom pre- Steve-Rogers-fucked-my-face-after-I-called-his-wife-a-hoe edit...

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

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

October 2015

“So, Mr Thrombey, that’s all confirmed.” Katie tapped at a key on her computer to lock the meeting in her calendar. “11 am, Next Thursday, the 15th ”

“I’ll send you through the zip code and location for your GPS.” Harlan responded “The house is just outside of Lincoln, not far from Pierce Park. It shouldn’t be too far for you if you’re staying at the Harbor.”

“Thank you.” Katie smiled as she spoke into her phone.“I look forward to meeting you on Thursday Sir.”

“Oh, less of the Sir, Harlan please. And the pleasure is all mine Miss Stark, I mean, Mrs Rogers, my apologies!” The man chuckled. “And thank you for accommodating my need to pull this meeting forward by a few days.”

“It’s not a problem.” She assured him. They exchanged pleasantries again and then she cut the call and leaned back in her chair, cracking her neck, before she double checked the travel arrangements. The hotel was booked, flight was sorted, hire care was confirmed. All that she needed to do was not forget the annotated manuscript or the cover ideas.

The door to her office opened and she looked up to see Tony leaning in the doorway, waving a Starbucks cup at her, along with one of their familiar brown paper bags, clearly bearing treats.

“I love you, bro!” She smiled at him as he wandered in, chuckling, placing the drink and paper bag down in front of her. She looked into the bag and gave a moan when she saw it was a rather large, gooey looking brownie, and gave a bigger moan when she sipped her drink and found it to be a Pumpkin Spiced Latte. “Perfect Elevenses!”

“Well thought you might need one, you’ve been locked in here since seven this morning…”

“You got FRIDAY spying on me?” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“No.” He denied, but at the same time the AI affirmed her suspicions.

“He has indeed had me watch you, Mrs Rogers.” “Traitor.” Tony rolled his eyes and Katie chuckled

“Well I had all this Harlan Thrombey stuff to sort, Steve’s still in Copenhagen with Sam chasing the alleged latest sighing of Bucky.” She shrugged “Not much point in lying in when you’re wide awake is there?”

“True.” Tony nodded. “Are you going back to the Compound tonight?”

“I might just stay here again if that’s ok?”

“Kiddo, you own part of this Tower, it’s always gonna be your home too.” Tony shrugged, “You can stay as long as you want.”

“Thanks Tone.” she smiled. She didn’t want to admit it, but she felt safer in the Tower whilst Steve was away, even thought it was ridiculous as the Compound was just as secure, being closer to her brother was a comfort.

“I haven’t forgotten what tomorrow is.” Tony looked at her.

Neither had she. It was a year to the day since Bucky had pulled her out of that shithole in Canada and rescued her from her ordeal at the hands of HYDRA. With a little sigh, Katie pulled off her glasses, a lasting consequence of her period of capture and torture. Ever since spending six weeks in that constantly lit cell she’d needed glasses for anything that required a long period of concentration on a computer screen or monitor if she wanted to avoid migraines. Bruce seemed to think it was something to do with the fact that her cell had been painfully bright all the time and that continued exposure to artificial light in such a way triggered a subconscious response.

She ran a hand over her face and looked at her brother, swallowing down the sudden spike of emotion, and swallowed.“I’ve been trying not to think about it.” she said gently.

“Which is why I booked you and Pepper into the Dominick for the afternoon.” Tony smiled at her, reaching over to take her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Well, Pepper has, I’ve just given her the credit card. Apparently you’re in for a full deep tissue massage, facial and then Franco’s booked to do your hair, oh and don’t bother telling me you’re busy as I had your diary cleared and everything reschedule to next week” He sat back, watching as she opened her mouth before shutting it, shaking her head softly. “You leave in thirty minutes.”

“You spoil me.” She smiled softly.

“Anything for my girls, plus I thought it might keep you busy whilst Spangles is otherwise engaged.”

“He was hoping to be back but when I spoke to him before he doesn’t know if he’s gonna be.” she shrugged. “It is what it is.” Tony smiled at her before he stood up “Yes, it is. And this afternoon is your pamper time so get your shit together and meet Pepper downstairs.”

“Yes sir.” she said, saluting him with a grin.

****

As with anything Pepper or Tony booked, the spa was off the scale. Katie had been meaning to go for ages, and now, as she sat in the chair in Franco’s salon she was already searching available dates to go back. She laughed and joked with the stylist and Pepper, the pair of them enjoying yet another bottle of champagne as they had their hair done. A couple of hours later, at just gone seven, Pepper dragged her out over the road and into a ridiculously expensive wine bar.

“Feeling better?” Pepper asked as Katie took a huge gulp of her Sancerre.

Katie smiled. “Much, thank you.” “You know, I’m always here if you want to talk to someone other than Steve about stuff.” Pepper looked at her “And it won’t go any further.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t wanna talk about it.” Katie sighed “You know, Pep, I see all these women out there that went through…well, you know, and I read their testimonies and I just wonder how they’re so strong, like, how can they can just stand up and talk about it?” She trailed off, shaking her head “And me? I just wanna pretend it never happened. So much for being an Avenger huh?”

“Hey.” Pepper shook her head, looking at her sternly. “Stop that, right now.” “Well it’s true.” Katie shrugged. “I mean, I’m a public figure right? But all people know is I was missing for weeks, and it was put down to a mission gone awry. I just, well, I feel like I should be out there, trying to make a difference, helping people.”

“Kiddo, what you went through,” Pepper swallowed, “I can’t even begin to imagine. And how you’ve dealt with and processed it, well, frankly I don’t know how you’ve been so strong. There is no shame in wanting to simply move on and leave it in the past.”

“I know.” Katie sniffed a little. “Thank you. Having everyone around me makes me realise how lucky I actually am. I’ve got a huge support network. Not everyone who goes through…well, not everyone has that to fall back on.” Pepper pondered something before she looked at Katie, “You know, we haven’t picked our Partner Charity for the Stark Relief Fund next year. We could make it one that deals with Sexual violence. No need to go into details as to why.” Katie considered that for a moment, before she nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.” She clicked her deep purple manicured nails against her wine glass, thoughtfully. “It would make a difference, right?”

Pepper nodded. “Absolutely. Give it some thought, see how you feel.” “I will, thanks.” she smiled.

****

Steve was exhausted but wasn’t willing to spend another moment away from his wife. So the moment the jet was down he headed straight for the garage, jumped on his bike and roared out of the compound heading down town towards Manhattan.

“Good Evening Captain Rogers.” FRIDAY greeted him as he pressed his palm to the access pad at the rear entrance from the underground car park “Mrs Rogers is in your apartment.”

“Thanks FRIDAY.” he said, as the elevator began to rise. It stopped a few floors up, and when the doors flew open he was greeted by Tony who was undoing his tie.

“Oh, you’re back.” He looked at Steve appraisingly.

“You’re up late.” Steve remarked in response.

“Just working on a few things.” Tony said vaguely. “How was the search for Tin Man?” “Well, it was him alright.” Steve ran a hand down his tired face. “Few more leads to work on. We could have stayed out there for a bit longer truth be told but, well, I wanted to be here tomorrow, you know.”

The two men shared a moment of understanding, both of them having experienced unsurmountable raw pain and anguish over the weeks Katie had been missing and it wasn’t something they were likely to forget any time soon. If ever.

“She know you’re home?” Tony looked at him again. Steve shook his head.

“Wanted to surprise her.”

Tony smiled softly. “She’s probably asleep. Her and Pep have been in the Spa all afternoon and they’ve drunk a lot so…”

Steve gave a huff of a laugh. “Yeah she messaged me before saying you’d sent her there out for the afternoon. From the spelling mistakes in the text I figured there was a fair amount of alcohol that had been consumed.” He paused and smiled. “That was really thoughtful of you, Tony.” “Well it happens occasionally.” Tony sniffed as the elevator stopped at his floor. “Listen, Steve…” Steve turned to face him. “She’s not been herself the last few weeks.” Tony scratched at his beard and Steve took a deep breath.

“I know.” he said gently “I think she’s just, well, processing, if that’s the right word. We only got back from our honeymoon three weeks ago, and it kinda hit her when we got back just what time of year it was. Whilst we were away she didn’t have time to think about it.”

“Just, well, take care of her for me okay?” Tony looked at the Soldier and Steve nodded.

“Always Tony, you had my word on that when I told you I wanted to marry her, and I meant it.”

Tony nodded and clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a look of thanks before he left the elevator on the Part Floor level. It began to rise again and Steve let out a soft sigh. Tony was right, the last two weeks in particular Katie had been a little quiet, less vivacious, almost withdrawn even. At first he had put it down to post honeymoon blues, but Natasha had pointed out that this time twelve months ago she had been at the mercy of HYDRA, with those bastards brutalising her in ways that he couldn’t even bring himself to think about. For this reason, he’d been reticent to go on the latest mission but Katie had insisted, pointing out that they couldn’t not carry on with their lives and that she would be alright.

The fact she had basically moved back into the Tower for the three days he had been gone, however, made him think that she wasn’t quite as alright as she had told him.

The doors opened on their floor and he stepped out. It was mostly dark as he headed through to the bedroom where he found that the TV was playing on the wall, but Katie was fast asleep, one of the pillows clutched to her chest as a makeshift cuddle partner. With a soft smile he closed the door and headed over to the bed. Kicking off his boots he lay on his side, facing her, and brushed her soft hair back off her face before pressing a kiss to the bridge then tip of her nose and finally her lips.

She stirred, her face scrunching up in that adorable way it always did, before she blinked her eyes open. It took her a second to focus but when she did her lips curled upwards into a soft smile which became an ear to ear grin.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” He said softly, kissing her again, his hand cupping her face.

“You’re home.” She reached up to lay her hand over his. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?”

“Wanted to surprise you.”

“Well it worked.”

“I missed you.” He whispered, his thumb caressing her cheekbone as he leaned in for another kiss.

“Missed you more.” She shot back, her lips brushing his and he chuckled.

“Doubt it. How was the Spa?”

“Oh it was amazing.” She gushed, her eyes shining. “I had this deep tissue massage and the guy hit spots on my back I didn’t even know I had. The facial was great, and my hair…”

“I like the colour.” He smiled, gently moving his hand so he twirled a piece around his finger. The ends were slightly lighter than usual, almost a dark honey blonde, and it extended a little up the strands before evening out.

“It’s called ballayage.” She smiled at him. “I just fancied a bit of a change.”

“Looks good on you. And I’m glad you had a nice time, you deserve it.”

“How was the mission? Worth it?”

“Yes and no.” Steve shrugged. “We have a few more leads we can chase up but…” he took a deep breath “I’m beginning to wonder what the point is. He clearly doesn’t wanna be found.”

“The point is he’s your friend, your brother.” Katie moved her hand to run her fingers over his jawline, the pads scratchings lightly against his five-oclock shadow. “Maybe he just needs a bit of time to find himself first, that doesn’t mean you have to give up on him. Besides, I need to give him back his jacket.”

“And I need to thank him. For getting my beautiful girl out and safe.”

“I can’t believe it’s been a year tomorrow since he found me.” She said softly

“Is that what’s been bothering you?”

“Huh?”

“The last few weeks you’ve not been yourself.”

She licked her lips and nodded “Yeah, I just, well, I didn’t give it much thought when we were on our honeymoon, you know, but since coming back and ramping up the Thrombey Campaign it’s kinda hit home a little.” And suddenly Steve understood. SIP were publishing the man’s latest book, “The Colour of Revenge” which was all about a Detective on the trail of a killer who was hunting down and dispatching of six men who had been acquitted of a gang rape and murder.

“Shit.” He let out a groan at the fact he hadn’t made the connection. “Honey, I’m so stupid not to realise that.” “Hey.” She frowned, “Don’t…” She reached up and smoothed the lines that had appeared on his brow and he let out a sigh, gently reaching up to lace his fingers with hers, bringing her hand towards him and placing a soft kiss on her wrist. “It’s better now you’re home.” She assured him gently.

He smiled and gave her a gentle kiss again.

“Is that everything?” He pressed and she hesitated again.

“I’m scared.” She admitted eventually, looking at him.

“Scared of what?”

“Going away, on my own.” The tears welled in her eyes. “I hate that they made me like this, Steve.”

He let out a sigh, he hated that she was scared too. She didn’t deserve it.

“Why don’t I come with you?” He asked, the idea suddenly forming in his mind. Katie stilled for a moment and he continued. “Not to the actual meeting, but I can drop you off and pick you up, hang around, whatever you want me to do.”

She looked up at him smiling softly, not even trying to pretend she wasn’t relieved he had offered. “Would you?”

“Of course.” He nodded, wiping the tears off her face. “You only had to ask.” “I didn’t want to. I know how busy you are here and…” “That can wait.” He held her face in his hands as he drove his message home. “You’re the most important thing in my life and if me coming with you makes you feel better then…” He shrugged “Besides, I’ve always wanted to go to Boston.”

“I know we haven’t been back from our honeymoon long, but maybe we can make a little trip out of it if you like?” Her face was suddenly hopefully “Come back on the Saturday?”

“Sure.” Steve smiled at her. “Let’s do it.”

“Oh, Stevie you’re gonna love it.” she beamed, and he smiled at the way her face had gone from being furrowed with worry to alive with excitement. “Massachusetts is amazing in the fall and Boston is just stunning…” “Well I’ll make sure I bring my sketch book.” He smiled “Give me something to do whilst you’re in the meeting.” “Thank you.” She said softly. “I’ll book us somewhere nice to eat one night. Give us an excuse to wear something pretty.”

“Like you need an excuse.” He teased, and she nipped him harshly on the arm. He chuckled and then with a groan he unwillingly pushed himself up off the bed.

“I need a shower.” He said, almost apologetically. “I won’t be long.”

“You better not be.” She muttered and he smiled, dropping a kiss to her forehead before he headed into the bathroom.

True to his word, he wasn’t long. Five minutes, tops. But by the time he came back, the TV was off and Katie was fast asleep. Thinking back to what Tony had said, he found himself wondering if she had actually slept much at all whilst he was gone.

Steve dried himself off, stepped into a clean pair of boxers and then slid into the bed next to his wife, slipping his arms around her. Once her back was nestled snugly into his chest, he dropped a soft kiss to her neck and closed his eyes, happy to have her in his arms.

****

Steve woke the next morning to find his girl tangled around him. She’d shifted in the night, clearly, and now her face was pressed into his chest, right leg snaked between both of his, her right hand was slid under his arm, lightly gripping his shoulder whilst her left rested against her head, fingers in her hair. Smiling to himself he pulled her closer, relishing the feel of her against him. She murmured something incoherently as she gently moved, her cheek pressing into the hair on his chest, the hand around his shoulder slid down to the base of his back where her fingers simply rested, soft against his spine as she continued to sleep.

And Steve was quite happy to let her nap for longer, using him as her own personal cuddly toy.

He dozed in and out of consciousness again, drifting off for another ten minutes or so, before he felt Katie stirring in his arms, and a soft kiss gently being pressed to his jaw line. He smiled at the contact and tightened his hold on her again, his eyes still closed.

“Morning, Beautiful.” He said softly, his voice still thick with sleep.

“Morning, Soldier.” She said, her cheek returning to his chest as she basked in the safety and warmth of his hold as his hand crept up the back of the stolen shirt she was wearing, his rough fingers ever so gentle against her skin as he trailed the pads up and down her spine.

“Sleep okay?” He asked, his eyes still not opening.

“Yeah.” She assured him, truthfully. It had been the best night sleep she’d had in days.

“Good. What do you fancy doing today?”

He felt her still and then she pulled back slightly, and at that he opened his eyes and blinked to see those gorgeous emeralds locked onto him.

“Are you not needed at the Compound?”

He shook his head “Kitten, I’ve not seen you for almost three days so I figured we deserved one together.”

She groaned “I have meetings this morning.” “That’s okay, I’ll meet you at lunch.” He said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She didn’t argue. She knew full well why he’d taken the time out, and frankly she adored him for it. Without saying a word she leaned up and captured his lips in a gentle kiss that quickly became heated, but was shattered by the piercing noise of Katie’s alarm.

She gave a groan, and made to move.

“Don’t you dare.” Steve mumbled against her mouth, his grip on her tightening.

“Stevie,” She sighed “I gotta…”

He reached over, his large body flattening her into the mattress making her giggle as he swiped across the screen of her StarkPhone silencing it.

“You ain’t gotta do shit.” He said, hovering over her on his elbows. “Except me.” He added as an afterthought.

“Oh so you’re gonna to explain to the board why I’m late?”

“Well, to be honest,” he said, dipping his head to trail hot kisses up the side of the next, “they probably won’t even notice you’re not there. I mean, are you really that important?”

“Fuck you.” She giggled back.

“Believe me, I’m tryin’” he quipped, his mouth nipping at her ear lobe. That made her giggle even more and she felt his lips curve into a smile against her skin.

“I love it when you do that.” He whispered gently, using his leg to part hers, leaving a large thigh pressed against her mound.

“What?”

“Laugh.” His mouth moved up her jaw line. “It makes me happy.”

“You’re such a sentimental sap.” She mumbled, as his lips claimed hers again, the heat between her legs intensifying as the kiss grew deeper, tongues lashing against one another. Steve pulled back for long enough to pull his shirt over her head before his lips returned to hers and Katie’s hand slid into his hair, one hand gently winding into the longer locks on top, her nails on the other dragging against the hairline on his neck. His hands moved, one gently cupping the side of her face, the other, gently skimming over her breast, her nipples already hardened. He gently teased one with the pad of his thumb and his mouth moved down to the other, his tongue and fingers working in tandem. She gave a little involuntary twitch against his thigh and once more his lips quirked up into a smirk.

“You want something, Baby girl?” He asked, peeking up at her and she nodded.

“Stevie, don’t make me beg, please.”

And when she asked so nicely like that, how could he ever refuse? He hooked his fingers into the sleep shorts she was wearing and worked them down, before flipping down the waist band of his boxers. Katie bent her legs as he shuffled upwards and worked into her, the pair of them letting out a groan each at the stretch as he buried himself to the hilt. Steve’s hands fell to either side of Katie’s face as he held himself up on his forearms, kissing her deeply as he flexed his hips forward, again and again, picking up a gentle rhythm.

It was soft, it was gentle, it was loving, everything she knew her soldier to be and it wasn’t long before he had her writhing and groaning loudly, his lips assaulting that spot on her neck.

“So good,” he groaned, his thrusts getting deeper. “Feel so good, Sweetheart.”

“Keep talking.” She keened, arching into him as her hands raked down his back.

“You were made for me, God I love you Mrs Rogers. So fucking much.” His words were punctuated by his heavy breaths as she gave a soft cry, her head falling backwards, eyes fluttering shut as she tightened around him, her legs shuddering slightly as she came.

“Atta girl.” He panted, his hips becoming faster as he thrust through her orgasm, chasing his own. It wasn’t long before he felt the ribbons in his belly unravel and he came with a cry of his own, his head buried in her neck, hips slowing, thrusts going deeper before he eventually stilled, a loud contented sigh escaping his mouth.

After a few moments of them simply basking in the afterglow, Katie’s hands trailing through Steve’s ruffled hair as his nose slid against hers, she gave a sigh and pushed on his shoulders gently.

“Soldier, I really do need to get up.”

He pouted a little causing her to chuckle before he rolled off her and she pushed herself out of bed, heading for the en-suite. Steve watched her go before he swung his legs from under the covers,, found his boxers, pulled them on and headed down to the kitchen to make them both some coffee. *****

The idea had sprung to Katie as she’d headed out for lunch. The local shop was donating a percentage of its earnings that month to a homeless charity, and it set her mind whirring.

“So you want to donate, all the profit we make, from what is going to likely be the biggest book SIP will ever publish, to charity?” Tony looked at her.

“In a nutshell, yeah.” She nodded. “We can split it across various charities, all those that help victims of sexual assault, abuse or crime…”

“Isn’t that what the Stark Relief Fund is for?” Saul, the SI Finance Director looked at her and she turned to face him.

“Yes, but it isn’t just about the money, it’s about raising awareness.” She pressed “A lot of people don’t know those charities existed. Hell, I didn’t know about half of them until a year ago. If we do this, think of the publicity and the press and…”

She trailed off, looking at Tony. He could see the excitement shining in her eyes. She had a point, and it wasn’t like SI needed the money. SIP was her company after all, and if she wanted to use it to do something good, help people, maybe even help herself…then that was fine by him.

He shrugged and looked round the table “SIP’s vision was never about making money.” Katie beamed at her brother as she realised he was backing her “It was always about helping those who needed a hand to get their work out there…I don’t see why in this case, where they author is already so well-known we can’t use that to help those who need it.”

There was a pause and she looked expectantly round the table. One by one the board members seemed to concede, all of them that is bar their Legal Manager, Dan Robertson who was frowning.

“You’re going to have to bring Mr Thrombey on board Mrs Rogers.” He looked at her. “We can’t just use his book as part of a campaign without his permission.” “I know.” She assured him. “I’ve already realised that. I’m meeting him on Thursday next week, I’ll have a full proposal and pitch ready.”

There were a few murmurs around the table before Tony spoke. “Is that it? Are we settled?”

Everyone looked at one another, nodding, and Katie leaned back in her chair, smiling.

But, she wasn’t smiling now. She had less than twenty-four hours before they set off for Boston and her pitch was only half way through completion.

“Sweetheart.” Steve’s hands slid over her shoulders where she sat on the chair in her office. She looked effortlessly elegant, even in sweats and an off the shoulder sweater, one toned leg stretched out in front of her, the other bent at the knee so her foot was resting on the seat of the chair, her left hand was curled around her shin, her right was tapping at her keyboard, the dark blue framed glasses perched on her nose. “It’s late.”

“I know but,” she sighed, “this means a lot to me Steve. I need it to be right.”

Steve knew better than to argue. Instead he leaned over and kissed the side of her neck. “What are you stuck with?”

“I dunno it just…it all seems so impersonal.” She removed her glasses and wrinkled her nose as he sat down in the arm chair in the corner of the room “Facts and figures on sexual assaults and stuff, we all know it happens, it’s about making people want to do something about it.”

“Are you ready to make it personal?” He asked gently, taking a deep breath. He hated thinking about what she had gone through, he truly did, and if he had half a chance he’d rip the bastards limb from limb. But if she was ready to confront what had happened to her, he had to be there to support and back her all of the way, regardless of his own feelings.

“I don’t know. I was talking to Pepper about this the other day. I should be able to, I should be someone other women can look up to, being an Avenger and all but…maybe I’m just not strong enough.” “You’re the strongest person I know.” Steve leaned forward and locked eyes with her.

“I don’t feel like it when it comes to this.”

“Honey,” he scratched at his head. “Without wanting to sound flippant, since January this year, you’ve been, okay, well maybe okay isn’t the word but you’ve gotten on with things. You’ve moved forward, we both did.”

“Because we were busy, and we had no choice…”

“Well maybe,” he shrugged. “But chasing down a sceptre, fighting Ultron, mobilising a new base, planning a wedding, running a business…it’s all time consuming, stressful stuff that if you really weren’t strong enough to deal with what happened, then it would have all gone to shit and probably tipped you over the edge into a nervous breakdown.”

She brushed a piece of hair behind her ear as she considered what he was saying.

“Honestly…” he continued, his eyes boring into hers. “If you want my opinion I think the fact that it’s the year’s anniversary of what happened that’s playing on your mind a little. You need to stop, look back and how well you’ve done and stop beating yourself up about all the things you haven’t”

She smiled softly and looked down at her hands before she glanced back up at him “When did you get so wise?” He chuckled “Well I am ninety seven years old.”

She laughed “You don’t look a day over twenty five.”

Steve smiled and stood up. “I’m gonna make you a hot chocolate, and you’re gonna stop overthinking everything and come relax. We’re up early tomorrow. You can do the rest at the hotel tomorrow evening.” “No can do, we’re going out.” Katie grinned at him “I booked the Chef’s table at Menton.”

“The what?” Steve frowned.

“You never heard of a Chef’s table?” She looked at him, and he shook his head. “Oh my God I’ve let you down, so badly. Check this out.” she tapped on her computer, bringing up the website and showed him the photos “It’s a private table with a glass wall that gives you a direct view into the kitchen. Totally impossible to get a reservation unless you book like a year in advance. Or name drop.”

Steve groaned. “You seriously dropped the Captain America wants a table line?”

“No, I dropped the Captain America’s wife want a table line.” She smirked, closing down the browser page.

“Pain in my ass.” Steve grumbled, standing up. But as he left the office there was a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

One that his wife had seen.

*****

“So, was it worth a name drop?” Katie asked as they walked back into the Fireside Lounge located in their hotel.

“I’m happy to overlook the fact you acted like a total brat to make that reservation, yes.” Steve grinned as he went to remove her coat from her shoulders. He looked her up and down, the tight black jump suit she was in was driving him crazy.

She grinned, and then shivered slightly.

“Cold?” He asked, frowning.

“A little, don’t wanna sit in my coat though.”

“Do you want me to nip up to the room, grab your cardigan?”

“Would you?” She asked, even though she knew perfectly well he would.

“Course.” He dropped a kiss to her cheek “You get the drinks in, be right back.”

She headed over to the bar. The bartender, Will, was the same one who had been on before so he greeted her with a smile.

“Mrs Rogers. How was your meal?”

“Fantastic thank you.” She smiled. “Can I get two Bourbon’s please? I’ll leave it to your choice, I’ll be back in a second, just need to nip to the bathroom.”

She excused herself and once she’d finally had the pee she’d been dying for since they left the restaurant, she set about touching up her make-up, smiling to herself. She’d deliberately picked this jumpsuit as she knew it got Steve’s blood pumping. It was a simple, plain black one with a V-neck line, but it was tight. Teamed with a thin red patent leather belt, matching Jimmy-Choos and purse all set off by the bright red lipstick she was sporting, she knew she looked good. Not that Steve had much room to talk, she could happily perve on him in the dark pants he was wearing, teamed with a tweed blazer and that damned blue shirt, his collar left open. Frankly, he looked good enough to eat, which she was planning on doing later.

She headed back into the bar and spotted Steve perched on one of the stools, blinking as she saw he’d changed into a simple brown, long sleeved tee, but then again he always did like to get out of his dress shirts as soon as they got home usually, so she wasn’t that surprised.

“Hey, Handsome. You changed.” She slipped her arms round him from the back. He felt different, he was softer than Steve was. He smelt different, there was a really heavy woody scent to his aftershave whereas Steve’s preferred Hugo Boss was a lot lighter and she realised with horror that Steve hadn’t changed his outfit at all.

This wasn’t Steve.

When the man spun to face her, Katie had to do a double take as the likeness was indeed uncanny at first glance, but as she blinked and looked at him she noticed subtle differences. His eyes were cold and calculating, his jaw line wasn’t quite as sharp as Steve’s and the smirk he wore on his face was nothing like the cheeky one Steve would sport. It was almost a sneer which spread across his face, every feature laced with disdain.

“What the fuck?” The man glared at her as Katie stepped back, holding her hands up in apology.

“I’m sorry, genuine case of mistaken identity,” she said, taking him in. His shirt was the wrong colour too, only she hadn’t been able to see that from the back.

“Yeah well if you’re touting for business I already got some today so get lost.” The man drawled in his light, Boston accent. “Like I just said I thought you were…hang on…” Katie frowned as his words registered “You already got some?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” He looked her up and down, arching a brow.

“You think I’m a hooker?” Katie snorted.

“Pretty high end one though, I’ll give you that.” The man’s voice was now amused, as he nodded towards her chest.

“I’m not a hooker.” Katie shook her head, laughing in disbelief.

“Oh, sorry. Do you prefer the term escort?”

She rolled her eyes, flashing her left hand at him. “I’m married, this was a genuine mistake….”

She moved away from him to the side, nodding at Will who slid the check over for her to sign to charge the drinks to their room.

Ransom observed her for a moment, fighting the smirk that was threatening to break across his face. After another row with his stupid Libtard cousin and his mother who had been at his Grandfather’s house before, he’d come out with the sole intention of getting laid and then so drunk he could hardly remember his name. After a visit to one of his usual fuck pieces, he’d achieved the first part, now he was concentrating on the second. He’d been initially irritated by this woman’s interruption, but now she was getting sassy back, and he wasn’t about to let it drop. He could tell she had money,that much was clear to see. The way she talked, held herself, was dressed. Whilst she wasn’t a hooker as he had originally thought (although to be fair to her, she was pretty hot, he’d consider fucking her if the opportunity arose), she was probably living off some seventy odd year old rich banker husband. Huh, maybe she wanted a fuck after all…frustrated little trophy wife.

“So, tell me. Does your husband know you’re here trying to tap me up?” He looked at her.

“You know, if I was trying to errr…tap you up, you wouldn’t be able to afford me” She shot back, signing her name on the cheque with a flourish.

“Try me.” Ransom smirked, making a show of looking her up and down. “How much for that ass?” “I’ll kick yours for free you self-entitled dick.” She glared at him before she slid the signed paper and pen back to the bartender.

Ransom gave a bark of a laugh “I’ll pass thanks.”

Katie snorted and glanced sideways at look at him, scarlet red lips pursed as she eyed him over her glass of bourbon. “Good decision, because I’ve dropped bigger men than you for fun.” “Sure you have, Dollface” Ransom quirked an eyebrow, elbow leaning on the bar, angling his body towards her. She kept hers facing forwards, arms resting on the bar top, her head shaking slightly.

“You have no fucking idea who I am do you?” Katie shook her head, not looking at the prick stood next to her. She hated using that line, but, well, when the occasion arose to get one over on a weasely little shit like this, she wasn’t going to pass it up.

“Why should I?” He snorted “I don’t know all the little bitches in Boston.”

Katie felt her mouth drop open and she was about to retaliate when Steve gently appeared by her side, dropping her cardigan over her shoulders.

Ransom recognised him straight away. He’d had it quite often, been told he looked similar to Captain America. So this meant the woman he’d been baiting for the last five minutes was his wife, Katie Rogers, sister of Billionaire Tony Stark, the Avenger, Supernova.

He’d called Supernova a hooker.

Ransom looked into his glass of scotch, turning away back to the bar, snorting with laughter.

“Sorry baby, Sam called and…” Steve stopped, frowning at the look on Katie’s face. “You okay?”

“Fine.” She looked up at him, smiling and nodding towards a cosy sofa over at the other side of the bar. “You wanna go sit down over there?”

“Sure.” He nodded, picking up his glass of bourbon, he held out his free hand for her and she jumped down off the stool.

“I’d like to say it’s been a pleasure.” She snarked to the man next to her “But I don’t lie so…”

Steve frowned, wondering what had gone down whilst he’d been away. He glanced at his wife and then turned to look at the guy that was sat on the stool next to where Katie had been to see if he recognised him and did a double take. He recognised him alright, but only because he looked incredibly like him. Granted, there were a few subtle differences, but the resemblance was uncanny, to the point that at a first glance in the street, you could be fooled.

“Pal, you should keep that bitch on a leash.” Ransom spoke, his eyebrows raising and in front of him Steve stiffened.

“What did you just say?” He frowned, pulling himself up to full height.

“Seriously, man. You save the world from Nazi’s, get frozen for seventy years and then end up marrying that.” Ransom smirked, enjoying baiting the Captain “I’d ask ‘em to put you back under…”

Steve’s nostrils flared and he felt his neck getting warmer. “Don’t you dare talk about my wife like that.”

“Steve, leave it, come on.” Katie gently placed her palm on Steve’s chest. “The guy’s a complete ass hole. If brains were dynamite I doubt he’d have enough to blow his head off.”

“Well if we’re talking about blowing,” Ransom looked Katie up and down before locking onto her eyes. “You up for the job?

Katie let out a bark of a laugh, her hand still on Steve’s chest which was positively humming with anger as she turned to face Ransom, contempt etched across every single inch of her face.

“Go jerk yourself off and wipe it on a curtain like your father should have done with you.”

“I’d rather wipe it in your hair.” came the quip back.

And that was it. That was the point that Steve Rogers snapped.

There was a loud smash, the glass he was holding shattered in his grip as his fist contracted in pure anger. Katie barely had time to realise what had happened before he had stepped forward and grabbed Ransom by the front of his shirt, lifting him with ease, slamming him on the bar.

“Steve!” Katie pulled on his arm. “Baby, he really isn’t worth it, let go!”

“Captain Rogers!” Will behind the bar was desperately trying to talk him down as well “Please, don’t make me call security.”

Security! Steve wanted to snort. Like that would do any good.

“Soldier, come on.” Katie tried again, pleading to his reasonable side. “Look, we’ve had such a nice night. Don’t let him ruin it.”

Steve let out a deep breath, he wanted nothing more than to knock the asshole’s teeth down his throat, but he felt Katie’s touch on his arm and her pleading tone and he let go, shoving the man hard.

“I would tell you to apologise.” Steve snarled stepping back. His voice was steely, eyes carrying none of their usual warmth.“But I suspect it’s pointless”

“Yup.” Ransom nodded “Totally pointless.”

“Like your existence.” Katie mumbled, Ransom snorting in response. “Look, Drysdale, my manager’s told you before.” Will said, his voice laced with vexation as he shuffled from behind the bar to sweep up the glass that Steve had shattered. “Any more trouble and you’re gonna be banned.”

Ransom’s nostrils flashed angrily as he looked at the man “’I’m gonna be banned? Eat shit! He’s the one that just attacked me! He ripped my shirt!” he gestured down to where Steve had grabbed him, two tears either side of the buttons of his shirt “This is a Fendi!”

“Ransom, just shut up and apologise.” Will pressed again. “Or you’re gonna have to leave.”

“Fuck this, I was going anyway.” Ransom snarled, knocking back his drink. He stood up and pulled on a long, tan coloured camel coat before he glared at Steve then Katie “Really bad smell in here.”

Katie rolled her eyes, deciding to let him have that childish one without any fuss. But Steve didn’t.

“Close the door on your way out.” He watched as the man stopped, took a deep breath before angrily flinging the door open, his coat flapping behind him. There was a moment’s pause before it slammed shut.

“Sorry.” Steve turned, apologising to Will.

“He’s a dirt bag and a cretin.” Will shrugged, as he waved the apology off. “No redeeming features whatsoever. Well, none that I’ve seen and trust me, I’ve seen him a hell of a lot.”

“Is your hand okay?” Katie asked Steve gently. She turned his right hand over to see that there were no cuts at all from the glass, which was good.

“Yeah, fine, don’t worry.” Steve looked at her, frowning. “Honey, what on Earth just happened?” He asked her softly, as she took a deep breath, blowing it out of her mouth.

“I went to the bathroom and when I came back, well, I thought he was you from behind so gave him a hug.” She shook her head “Soon as I touched him I realised I was very, very wrong. I tried to apologise and he called me a hooker.”

“A hooker?” Steve repeated, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, so I told him even if I was he wouldn’t be able to afford me.”

At that Will, who had been busy pouring them both another drink, laughed as he slid two short tumblers of bourbon back over to them. “He won’t have liked that at all.”

Steve nodded his thanks to the man as Katie looked at him. “How come?” She asked.

“Well, simply put, his family one way or another are loaded, and Ransom likes to be the flash bastard if you get what I mean.”

“What do his family do?” Katie asked, “I’ve never even heard of the Drysdales.”

“His mother and father run a real Estate Company.” Will shrugged, “A local one round Massachusetts, but you’ll have heard of his grandfather, or if you haven’t you’ve been living under a rock for the last twenty years.” “Who?” she asked.

“Harlan Thrombey, the crime fiction author.” Will replied, and Katie felt the colour drain from her face. She turned to look at Steve whose eyes had also widened, and she gave a groan.

“Shit.”

**** Part 2

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #ransom drysdale #mcu #mcu fanfic #avengers #marvel #marvel fanfic

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molzies-fanfics · 4 years

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Cruisin’

A/N: I’m really glad for my first Leo one shot that someone gave me the basic plot points because honestly writing for Leo is gonna go one of two ways for me, I’m either going to write him super out of character (or base him off of OOTS which might not be the best idea in my opinion) or it will be in character for this type of fic and you guys will like it. But I promise I’ll get better at writing for Leo either way.

Updated A/N: I ended up writing so much for this but I’m so happy with what I wrote even if it is a little out of character. (2979 words)

Leo x female!reader

Requested by: @iamcheese13

Leo had made a habit of trying to leave without anybody noticing and hoping to god they just assumed he was in his room, meditating. But Donnie had knocked on his door and opened it to see if he was there to only come up empty three times this week. THREE TIMES. It was incredibly unlike the fearless leader to just vanish without telling the rest of his team, his brothers, where he was going. Raph knew how brutal he was whenever he came back from a trip to the surface by himself, it was like Leo was the mother hen but no one knew who would tell him off. Splinter? Yeah but it wasn’t like Leo was actually doing anything wrong.

Going up to the surface for a breath of fresh air wasn’t against the rules or whatever. It was the part about not telling his family that stuck out. Eventually even April and Casey started to notice that they saw less and less of the blue banded turtle. Suspicions were starting to grow and it just got to the point where they knew they had to follow him. If he was going out almost five times a week? Something was definitely up.

Following him down to the docks? It was a bit unexpected but it wasn’t like they knew where he was going. Stalking a ninja without being noticed was the hard part, with all the falling behind they did (especially with April and Casey) it was surprising that they hadn’t lost Leo at some point. Watching him walk into an abandoned warehouse was even more sketchy than they thought, so his brothers assumed that he was either being black mailed or he was dealing with crime directly…by himself.

A couple minutes passed and they saw a young girl, around their age, jump down from a boat and make her way into the warehouse with a bright smile on her face. Raph was having none of it, “What if she’s working for the foot?” he whisper shouted to his accomplices. It was a reasonable question, but as far as the brothers knew, Leo was alone with that girl in there.

*Leo’s POV*

I had been meeting up with her for a couple months now, meeting her by accident when I was out by myself one night near the docks. I liked to stare at the water to help me calm down and this was after a particularly nasty fight with Raphael. Next thing I knew, the wooden roof underneath me had gave way and I blacked out. When I woke up she was there, hovering over me and tending to what little wounds I had. She had somehow managed to carry me to her boat and had me resting on her sofa bed.

The way she looked at me wasn’t with fear or hatred, but concern and dare I say kindness. I learnt that her name was Y/N and she had loved the water all her life, when she was a kid she’d tell grown ups she wanted to be a mermaid when she was older. She loves all marine life, she told me turtles were her favorites, which (almost embarrassingly) made me blush. Hopefully I don’t think she noticed.

We became friends and for some reason I wanted to keep her friendship to myself. Which led to the sneaking out, not telling my brothers or my father where I was going, who I was meeting and why I went I meet them so often. You see, Y/N lived by herself, she didn’t have many friends in the city and all she had was her boat and everything on it. I barely fit under the deck so we ended up meeting in a warehouse nearby, it was warmer and had a lot more space.

Seeing her almost every day helped me regain my belief, that what we were doing for the city was worth it. That even when the people we saved ran away screaming, it was okay because they were safe and not everybody was going to be accepting to who we are or what we do. Even if all we did was help from the shadows, at the end of the day it was better than nobody helping at all.

But tonight? I wasn’t expecting things to go differently. I was expecting an easy going conversation with a girl that I considered as my friend…and nothing else! Nope. But no, my family had to step in at some point. I just wasn’t expecting it to be so…awkward.

“So I told her that yes I do live on a boat but that it’s also none of her business!” Y/N was rambling about how her day had went, especially since she’d ran into someone she had known from high school. She had only graduated last year but nonetheless she wasn’t comfortable with people judging how she lived her life. “Good for you.” I chuckled warmly. Watching Y/N talk had slowly became one of my favorite things, maybe it was the way she described things or how she moved as she reenacted scenes but all I did know was that she looked beautiful. Wait, what?

A sharp tone sounded from Y/N’s bag, taking the irritating device out she answered it. “Oh! Hi Mom.” She blushed as she turned to face me, indicating the door she mouthed to me ‘Is it okay if I take this?’. I nodded, as if she had to ask, I knew she didn’t talk to her parents that often so who was I to say she couldn’t take a phone call?

Shooting me a bright smile before she scooted out the door, she gave me a small wave. I was still waving back even after she had closed the door. What was I doing? All we ever did was talk but I found myself wanting…more? God, just having her as my friend was enough and I was grateful for that but it felt like I had known for a long time that I was looking for a lot more than friendship. Maybe this was why I had kept her away from the others?

*Third person POV*

Crawling through one of the many warehouse windows, the others gazed down at Leo. He was alone and looked a bit…sad? Raph couldn’t help but feel like he was right, maybe the girl was working for the foot and had only just revealed it to Leo after he had given her all the information. On the other hand he should probably check in with his brother before jumping the gun, like he had ever done that before? There was something about how Leo was holding himself that made Raph think twice.

Jumping down, the others followed, with Casey falling into a pile of boxes becoming a clear indicator to Leo that he was no longer alone. Shooting up from his makeshift chair (a crate) Leo skittishly met the eyes of his brothers. “Oh-Hey! Hey guys…what’s up?” Blushing all kinds of shades of green, Leonardo internally face palmed at how he handled their arrival.

“What’s up? What’s up! You have been leaving the lair without telling us for months Leo! Months! We’re worried! That’s what’s up!” Raph yelled. He may not have jumped the gun but he still had a right to be angry. “I’ve…I’ve been busy Raph.” He mumbled pathetically, embarrassed. “Busy? How can you be busy? You haven’t got many hobbies besides taking down the foot! So unless you’ve been doing missions by yourself I want to know exactly what you’re doing?! No excuses!” Raph questioned harshly, Donnie and Mikey just looked disappointed with April and Casey awkwardly standing there witness the family argue. Well, one-sidely argue.

“I…met someone.” The leader muttered, hoping it wouldn’t go as badly as it had so far. “Oh you mean that girl? Who is she? Do you even know Leo? She could be working for the bad guys did that even cross your mind?!” The ran banded turtle accused. “She’s my friend and she saved me! If she was our enemy she would have left me! Or she would’ve hurt me by now, she wouldn’t have let it go on for this long!!” He finally snapped, not wanting Raph to turn his anger to Y/N. She didn’t deserve it after all she had done.

“Look bro just because you got a girlfriend doesn’t give you the right to just flake out on us and not tell us.” Mikey rubbed his arm, sad that all of the lying had to lead to this (but realistically how else was it going to turn out). “Mike I never meant for-wait you think she’s my girlfriend?” Leo’s blush returned in full force. The fact that other people saw it too made him think he wasn’t going crazy? “Well she is. Isn’t she?” April perked up.

“Uhhh-” Before Leo had a chance to explain the warehouse door creaked open. “Hey sorry that took so long my mom wanted to tell me about…macarons?” You seemed to question yourself as your eyes met the three other turtle men and two people. “Um…Hi?” You waved awkwardly, making your way over to Leo. “You didn’t tell me there were others like you?” You laid your doe eyes on him and all of a sudden it felt like his legs were made of jelly.

“Um, I didn’t know when to bring it up?” His voice squeaked as he smiled uneasily. “Well anyway, I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you!” You beamed as you looked back at the turtles, making eye contact with the one that seemed to be glaring at you. “Huh, I’m sure you’d love for him to tell you everything wouldn’t you?” Raph snarked “Raph don’t.” Donnie finally spoke up. “No, maybe I should because nobody else will, not even Leo! Who’s supposed to be our fearless leader. It’s ridiculous! He’s so distracted he has no idea if she’s gonna stab him in the back or not.” Donatello glared at his brother as he made his argument right in front of you.

“Wait, you think I’m going to betray your trust?” Turning back to Leo, you needed to know if this was true. “My brothers do. I don’t think you would.” You could tell he was being sincere by how he was looking into your eyes. It made you want to melt. “Hey! Don’t group us into Raph’s spiel! We don’t even know her yet. Besides I don’t see why this is so different from when we met April and Casey.” Mikey reasoned. “Mike’s right. I’m April by the way.” She shook your hand, smiling warmly. “I’m Casey.” He introduced by waving behind the reporter.

“And I’m Michelangelo! Leo’s younger brother and the best looking of the group!” He winked as he slung an arm around you. Jealousy flared up in him for a moment, he shoved him off of you. “Sorry about him, he doesn’t know personal space is a thing!” He growled at the orange banded brother. You laughed at the interaction, “I didn’t know they were your brothers! That’s so cool!” Placing a hand on Leo’s arm you watched him calm down at your touch.

“Anyway I’m Donatello, some would say I’m the brains either way I’m far more intelligent than these knuckleheads.” The purple banded turtle quipped before Raph could throw a punch at him. You were still a bit nervous about him, he clearly didn’t trust you and was very protective of Leo and his family. “Don’t worry, if the others are okay, Raph will be too. He just needs time.” It was as if Leo could read your mind. With the amount of time you two had spending together lately, you wouldn’t be surprised if he had picked up on your mannerisms.

*a couple hours later*

“I mean…it wouldn’t be all that bad if Leo brought you by the lair sometime. Maybe even meet master Splinter.” Raph admitted. You’d thought it would take a couple of days, months maybe to earn even a shred of trust. Although the way you treated and held yourself around his brothers convinced him that you didn’t have a malicious bone in your body.

“Thanks Raphael.” You smiled politely, trying your best to not show how tired you really were. The others had called it quits for the night after hanging out for a bit, dawn was almost here and the turtles couldn’t be seen in daylight hours. “I’ll see you all soon, alright?” Patting down your pockets, you started to back away, double checking you hadn’t forgotten anything. “Aw hell yeah! Next time we see you, we’re playing Mario kart ‘kay?” Mikey pointed finger guns at you before bounding away. “Sure!” you giggled.

Donnie nodded, bowing slightly before walking alongside April and Casey who were yawning, leaning against each other. “I’ll walk you back to the boat.” Leo offered, giving you that smile with all the warm feelings behind it. “Thanks.” You grinned back, kicking the snow in your path into the frigid water below. Living at the docks was usually cold, but with Leo around it made you forget how alone you were, how cold reality was. You wish he was around more often but after tonight you realized how much he had given up just to come and see you. Even though what he did was wrong it made you feel…special, like you were special to him.

“Is it true you snuck away from your family just to see me?” Curiosity boiled over, the look on Leo’s face confirmed it. He felt guilty, you know that, but had it been worth it? “Yeah…it’s true. I just, didn’t know how to tell them…how to tell you, I can’t even imagine what master splinter would say if he found out I got knocked out so easily and was rescued by…you.” It seemed a bit back handed the way he had phrased it, like his father wouldn’t like you, but the way he had said it was completely different. His whole demeanor had turned soft and a short walk felt like it lasted an eternity.

When you reached the boat, facing him before saying goodbye, searching for the words you knew you had to say. Leo beat you to it. “I don’t want to make anything awkward between us after tonight. I hope you know that the last couple of months have been really…special, to me. I just want to know if they’ve been special to you too.” He admitted albeit sheepishly. “Of course they have Leonardo. I don’t think I could ever be awkward around you, if anything you calm me down. Even that night when I found you out cold in the shed, I knew I should have been panicking but knowing you needed help, my help, calmed me right down. Somehow I found the strength to get you back.” You let a little laugh, feelings bubbling beneath your words. You just wondered if he felt it too.

“I’m happy to have you in my life and I knew that meant introducing you to my family eventually. I just wasn’t expecting it to be in the form of an interrogation.” You both burst out laughing at that one. Starting to see color in your peripheral vision, you knew the sun was waking up. “Leo tonight was awesome, I don’t mind that you kept your family a secret, for whatever reason. Besides I look forward to beating Mikey at Mario kart.” Chuckling uneasily, you didn’t want to say goodbye, even if you were going to see him the next night. It had become less and less easy as your feelings towards him had grown. He gave you a half smile before stepping forward, the beginnings of sunlight glinting in his eyes. Your heart rate picked up as you realized you were practically chest to chest. “I’ll see you tonight.” He breathed. You could…you wanted to, but was it the right moment? Of course it was, but you could tell he was nervous underneath. His eyes were searching every other part of your fave besides your eyes and…lips. “See you.” You whispered slowly, dragging out the moment.

That was when his eyes met your lips, his head tilted slightly, sun rays creeping dangerously up his skin. All it took was breaking down the last of your resolve and trusting your toes to carry you the rest of the way. It was a brief brushing of lips, eyes meeting before he wrapped his arm around your back, his other hand cupping your cheek. He was surprisingly warm, each kiss told you that, even with your eyes closed you could tell he was smiling. He was buzzing with such happy energy. Wrapping your arms around his head in a prom-esque kind of way, you leaned into him, soaking in all the warmth before he pulled away for air.

You could see the sun rising in the blue, but you knew he was staring at you. “I really wish I didn’t have to go right now. I wish I could stay.” Leaning his forehead on yours, his hands on your hips now. All you could do was smile up at him. “Just think of it as something to look forward to tonight.” You smirked. “Heh, I tried to tell Mikey that I wasn’t ‘cruising’ or whatever but I realized tonight I kind of was.” He flirted back, kind of. “You tell yourself that honor boy, I’m the one who found you in the shed.” You laughed before giving him a gentle push.

“See you.” He pecked your lips again before finally separating from you. “See you then.” Beaming, you stepped onto the boat, watching him jog away with a wide grin on his face. Before you knew it he was out of sight and you were doing a little victory dance.

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mustangsgloves · 3 years

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Korrasami Secret Santa 2020

WOW I am late, sorry!

@spikings the world has been crazy....you asked for something gym related, and this is what happened. I still have one last part of this I want to write, but for now, here it is: (AO3 link)

Pt. 1 - Pt. 4 (of 5)

falling for you - or the four times Korra didn’t act on her feelings for Asami, and the one time she did (while sparring)

1. “I was hangin’ with you and then I realized”

Two words cut through the silence in the young CEO’s office. “Let’s spar.”

The water Korra was disinterestedly manipulating into different shapes almost fell to the ground as she suddenly turned to look at her friend. She echoed, slightly confused, “let’s spar?”

Asami’s eyes were already on her, blueprints detailing upgrades for her electric glove forgotten on the large oak desk in front of her. A small smile crossed her face as she leaned back into her chair. “Yes, let’s spar. That is what I said.”

“No, yeah, I mean…I heard you, I just…” Korra faltered.

“What’s wrong?” Asami smirked. “Worried I might beat you?”

Korra glared at her, but it held no heat. “No, that’s obviously gonna be your concern.”

“Oh, so you agree that I should be worried about beating you?” Asami laughed.

“That’s not what I meant! You…I – ugh.” The Avatar shut her eyes. “Forget it.”

“Korra,” Asami countered gently. “I’m just teasing you.” She paused, and Korra didn’t have to meet her gaze to know the look of concern her friend was giving her. “I was just thinking maybe it could do you some good to get moving instead of sitting here and waiting for Tenzin to get back and tell you what Unalaq is planning next.”

Korra sighed and focused her attention back to the water before replying. “You’re probably right,” Korra said. “It’s just, I hate sitting here, just…just waiting, when I should be out there stopping my uncle from starting whatever sneaky plan he has in the works!” The liquid curved into small cylinders of ice, each sharpening to a deadly point before flowing back to a fluid sphere.

“I know…or at least, I can imagine,” Asami paused, watching as Korra impatiently tossed the sphere from hand to hand. “But I do think some physical activity might help you feel better – I know it works for me.”

Korra shrugged half-heartedly, “I guess it might help.”

Asami was determined. “Tenzin will be back soon. This way you will hopefully feel better and then you can act more assuredly no matter what news he brings. I know it’s no bending arena and I’m no Bolin, but my dad…” she tapered off. Korra turned her attention back to the engineer.

Clearing her throat, Asami continued. “Well, my dad made sure to include a room for martial arts training and practicing in this building because I took lessons as a kid. That way, when he was at work and I was here too, I could practice. It’s not a bad place to work-out, I mean, there’s a sparring mat and some gear.”

Asami chuckled sardonically before continuing, “but I guess looking back now, it’s pretty obvious it was all just a ploy to keep an innocent child out of whatever diabolical plots he was part of at the time.”

Korra returned the water to the empty vase on Asami’s desk – thinking fleetingly that the huge office room could do with a little bit of cheering up, maybe with a few moon-lilies in the vase – before voicing her decision.

“Let’s do it,” Korra said, offering a hand to Asami who had retrained her gaze to the blueprints in front of her. Asami looked up, and her eyes reflected the same push and pull of anger and sadness that they always seemed to whenever she thought of her father. “Just the two of us, no Bolin necessary.”

Asami took her hand and let herself be gently guided from her chair. Her eyes flashed with a familiar mirth, and Korra could already feel the tension in her body receding. “No Bolin necessary?”

“Nope,” Korra proclaimed proudly, giving Asami’s hand a squeeze before releasing it. “I love the guy, but he and I are decidedly not good sparring partners. And besides…” She glanced at Asami. “I have a feeling you and I are going to be just the opposite.”

“I do too,” Asami said with a smile. Pausing only a moment to seemingly collect herself, Asami started towards the door. “Well, follow me, Avatar, and I’ll show you what a true master of the martial arts can really do.”

Korra grinned, and the rest of her anxiety and apprehension seemed to fade away in the same moment. “Alright, Ms. CEO. Please, show me the way.”

There was no doubt that Tenzin would only bring bad news about Unalaq, but at least Korra could pass the time in an enjoyable and productive way – kicking Asami’s butt at hand-to-hand combat.

Or so she thought.

It only took about two minutes before Korra realized that their sparring match was not going to be an easy win. True to her word, Asami proved to be an extremely talented martial artist: dodging, weaving, and landing blows that most other opponents (such as Bolin, who, as lovable and talented as he was, could notkeep up with Korra on the mats) wouldn’t be able to.

“I have to admit,” Korra huffed as she dodged a particularly powerful punch from Asami. “I’m impressed.”

“You almost sound surprised,” Asami countered as she ducked in turn, keeping her wrapped hands up to protect her face. “You aren’t still thinking of me as a prissy, helpless little girl, are you?”

Korra paused just long enough to accidentally let Asami land a kick to her side.

“Oof,” Korra grunted, widening her stance to regain her balance. “Definitely not, but I didn’t anyways. You proved the contrary very early on.”

“Glad to hear it,” Asami managed as she barely blocked a quick combination Korra threw.

“In fact, I think you underestimate yourself too much,” Korra continued. She dipped her body weight forward and moved past Asami, forcing the other girl to switch up her stance and landing a punch on Asami’s shoulder along the way. “You’re pretty incredible.”

“Nice one, and thanks,” Asami said, only taking a brief second to acknowledge the blow, “but are you sure aren’t just saying that because I’m kicking your ass?”

Korra snorted and threw another punch, which Asami dodged easily. “Kicking my ass? As if. I’m not even trying that hard.”

Asami’s eyes glinted with a spark of mischief that Korra hadn’t seen since the day the engineer had taken her on the racetrack. “Oh no?” she countered. “Let me make this a little harder then…”

Faster than Korra could follow, Asami dropped herself to the ground and rotated her legs around her in a sweeping arc that caught Korra’s ankles and forced her own legs to give out from underneath her.

The Avatar hit the ground with a resounding thud, and only moments later, Asami had her pinned to the mat. All of the air seemed to leave Korra’s lungs as she looked at Asami’s bright emerald eyes and the small smile on her face. Both girls were breathing heavily, and a faint sheen of sweat covered their faces. Korra found her heart racing, which made sense after sparring, but it felt different than usual, a little more…nervous? She shook the thought as Asami’s weight shifted off of her and she moved to stand up.

“Kick my ass, huh?” Asami said as she offered a hand to help Korra up.

Korra grinned and accepted Asami’s hand. “Apparently not,” she replied as she stood. “You might have actually beaten me there, Sato. Not a lot of people can say that they bested the Avatar.”

Asami laughed as the two walked towards the storage compartments to put away their gear, and Korra felt lighter than she had in days.

Their suspicions had been correct – they were the perfect sparring partners.

2. “I didn’t think it was true, I was surprised”

The next time Asami and Korra sparred felt very different from the first, but Korra chalked it up to the fact that she had just lost her connection to all of the past avatars. Not to mention the fact that she’d turned into a giant blue spirit and beat up her uncle, from what Bolin had explained to her a few days after Harmonic Convergence.

“Spirits, it was crazy!” Bolin had exclaimed. “Like, I knew you’re good at bending, obviously, being the Avatar and all, but man. Your hand-to-hand combat skills are better than I thought! It was, wow…it was just, blam and pow and then smack and then Unalaq just like, disappeared into a shiny light! I mean, how cool is that?!”

“Bolin,” Korra had replied, only slightly exasperated. “Weren’t you still in the spirit world when this happened?”

Bolin had blushed and admitted, “well yeah, but I filled in the rest after the giant blue version of you went after Unalaq…and besides, my little bro Meelo filled me in! He told me everything he saw from Air Temple Island.”

“He’s not your brother, Bo,” Korra had said with fake sternness. “He’s way too gross.” The two had continued to bicker during the rest of their celebratory dinner downtown with Mako and Asami.

Now, almost a month after the fight, Korra finally felt up to trying something for stress-relief instead of dwelling on her severed connection, practice bending drills repeatedly, or spending an entire day trying to move the ridiculously stubborn spirit vines that had popped up around Republic City. Thinking back to just a week before, when Asami had attempted to teach her how to drive, Korra smiled. Finally, she knew exactly what she needed to do to keep herself busy. Grabbing her glider, she shouted a quick goodbye to Pema, who was bouncing Rohan on her knee in the courtyard and launched herself off of Air Temple Island towards the city.

It only took Korra a few minutes to reach the Future Industries tower. Landing with ease on a wide ledge, she folded her glider and knocked quickly on the expansive windows she knew led to Asami’s office.

“Korra, hi,” Asami greeted her warmly as she opened one of the large frames to allow the Avatar into the room. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” Korra replied, watching as Asami closed the window and moved to stand next to her desk which held a recently filled vase of fresh moon-lilies, courtesy of Tenzin at the request of the Avatar herself.

“Well, you usually don’t just show up at my office in the middle of the afternoon…” Asami explained. “Not that I’m complaining, it’s a welcome change from the boring meetings I’ve been in all day but…”

“Are you busy?” Korra asked, suddenly feeling very embarrassed of her random visit. “I mean of course you’re busy, you’re the CEO…I can go! I can easily go and just let you keep doing your stuff, I just thought…well…maybe you could use a break? Or something, I –”

Asami quieted her with a brief touch of her hand on Korra’s shoulder. “No, don’t go. You caught me at a good time. Besides, you’re right, a break sounds nice. What did you have in mind?”

Korra gave her a crooked smile. “Well, I was thinking we could maybe spar? I know we haven’t since we did a few months ago, but with everything finally settling down…it could be a nice way to unwind.”

Surprise filtered across Asami’s face momentarily before it was replaced with a small smile. “Back for a rematch?” she asked good-naturedly.

“I don’t think it’s going to be much of a match,” Korra retorted. “Pretty much all I’ve been doing is practicing and mediating, and it seems like you’ve just been cooped up in here.” She gestured vaguely around at the office.

“You don’t learn, do you,” Asami said with a teasing tone as she pushed in her chair and began to make her way around the large oak desk.

“Actually, I’ve been told I’m a very quick learner,” Korra shot back.

Asami laughed – a full, happy laugh – and a small fissure of electricity seemed to jolt Korra at the sound. She pushed it aside, writing it off as relief and excitement at hearing Asami laugh after everything that happened with her father and now Harmonic Convergence, too. Korra couldn’t imagine that spirit vines popping up all over a city in which you’re the CEO of the most prominent technology and industry business would be an easy thing to deal with.

“Well, for a quick learner, you should’ve learned to not underestimate me twice,” Asami countered, motioning for Korra to follow her to the sparring space.

It turned out, that Asami was once again right – for the most part. The first few blows the two girls exchanged were well-matched if not leaning in Asami’s favor. But Korra could feel the anxieties and fears she’d been harboring since Harmonic Convergence beginning to seep out of her subconscious and into her limbs.

Asami threw a punch but hit nothing but air, Korra having swiftly sidestepped and instead driving a solid hit into the taller girl’s abdomen. Asami inhaled sharply but quickly retaliated, spinning around and delivering a sweeping kick to Korra’s side. Korra grunted as she was forced to stumble to the side. She tried to suppress the “fight-or-flight” reaction she could feel growing in her gut as she and Asami stepped back to circle one another, each with their hands held up defensively in front of their chins. This is Asami, Korra told herself, not Unalaq, not some giant spirit of darkness…she’s your friend. This had never happened before, at least, not the last time they sparred or any time more recently that Korra had practiced with Bolin or even Mako. She shook her head in an effort to rid herself of the thoughts before offering Asami a small smile.

“Ready to give up yet?” Korra asked, trying for a confident air to assuage the doubts in her mind.

Asami just chuckled. “Well I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but I actually landed the most recent hit here so, I think I should actually be asking you that.”

Korra frowned, “are you always this infuriating?”

Asami shrugged and replied, “not always,” before stepping forward and striking quickly.

But not quickly enough.

Korra ducked and sidestepped, grabbing Asami’s wrist as it sailed past where Korra’s shoulder would have been. Using Asami’s own weight and momentum against her, Korra twisted to then flip Asami over herself and onto the ground. Korra quickly followed and straddled Asami, effectively pinning the other girl with her hands above her head.

For a moment, neither girl said anything, and suddenly Korra felt as though this was their first time sparring as she remembered being in this exact same scenario which was only now reversed. Their breaths mingled and Korra was abruptly taken aback by how close their faces were – it wouldn’t take much to just lean down and…wait, what?

In her split-second of hesitation and confusion, Korra flashed back to her battle with her uncle and was bombarded with memories of the way Vaatu had pulled Raava out of her with surprising and disturbing ease. The proximity then was just a little farther away than Korra was to Asami now…the brief second of panic was all that was all it took for her to hastily push herself off of and away from Asami, who promptly sat up.

“Korra?” she asked gently, still breathing heavily. Instead of shock and something else on Asami’s face that Korra had seen but not quite understood, her features now held concern and curiosity. “Are you ok?”

Korra could feel the adrenaline coursing through her as she tried to take a few deep breaths…in…out…in…out…in a calming pattern just like Jinora had taught her months ago after Korra had a particularly vivid nightmare about Amon and found herself hyperventilating when she awoke. Vaguely, she registered, and appreciated, the fact Asami hadn’t said anything more and was simply sitting calmly about a foot away. The engineer alternated between glancing at Korra and down to her lap where she was absentmindedly wrapping and unwrapping the coverings of one forearm and hand.

When Korra finally felt as though she once again had a handle on her mind and body, she sighed, “I’m sorry, Asami.”

This just seemed to shock Asami once again. “What?” she said incredulously, “you don’t need to be sorry!”

Korra trailed her hands down her face, heat blooming in her cheeks. “I’m sorry I lost control and that you had to see…that.”

Asami regarded her for a moment, before gently placing a hand on Korra’s bicep and silently willing her to meet her gaze. Asami’s eyes were gentle, and Korra suddenly felt more embarrassed by her embarrassment than anything else, which was a far more ridiculous situation to be in and sounded like something Bolin would get himself into.

“Korra,” Asami began. “You…” she trailed off before gathering her thoughts and trying again. “Okay, two things. One, you didn’t lose control, at least as far as I could tell,” she smiled slightly and continued. “All it seems to me is that I just got my ass kicked by the Avatar.”

Korra offered a slight smile and small laugh at the comment.

“And two,” Asami continued, with a renewed glint in her eyes, “don’t ever apologize to me for something like that – unless you purposefully do something to hurt me, which –” she gave Korra a pointed look that said let me finish as the Avatar opened her mouth to object. “Which, I know you’d never do – you never have to apologize to me.”

“Alright,” Korra agreed, finally feeling the rest of the adrenaline and the embarrassment begin to fade. “And what about if it’s by accident?”

Asami quirked an eyebrow. “Well, if you hurt me by accident…I guess it’d be more of a case-by-case sort of thing. I’m sure we could draw up a contract.”

“You’re a good business-woman,” Korra chuckled. “And an even better friend.”

Asami smiled, fully this time. “A woman’s only as good as her partners,” she replied. “And I’m lucky to have an incredible one right here.”

“You’re a sap, Sato,” Korra said as she stood up. She offered Asami her hand – as it seemed they did at the end of every sparring match, or at least the two they’d had. The other girl took it firmly, and Korra felt the increasingly familiar jolt of electricity course through her body from the contact. If she didn’t know better, Korra might’ve thought that Asami’s electric glove was on her hand. Realizing she’d been staring at their clasped hands, Korra blinked and shifted her gaze to meet Asami’s eyes – emerald green, sparkling, and filled with a little bit of that mystery expression from earlier when Korra had had her pinned.

A beat of silence passed, and then Asami spoke as she dropped Korra’s hand. “Well, it takes one to know one, Avatar.”

Just like the last time they sparred, the two moved in tandem to return the equipment and clean the mats.

“Are you up for lunch?” Asami asked. “Bolin and I talked about it the other day and thought maybe the three of us and Mako could grab some today – maybe your favorite noodle shop?”

Korra grinned lopsidedly. “Do you even have to ask?”

3. “I didn’t wanna believe my feelings for you”

“No bending this time,” Asami warned good naturedly as she and Korra circled one another in one of Zaofu’s many courtyards.

“Ah, yeah…” Korra smiled sheepishly, briefly bringing up her right hand to rub at the back of her neck. “Sorry about that.” A few days before, the two had been sparring in the Queen’s garden while they were waiting for news either about Kai, or Mako and Bolin. Korra had accidently gotten a little too riled up as they had discussed the Queen’s plan and used airbending as she had kicked the pad in Asami’s hand, which added a lot of force to the move.

Asami hadn’t been too worried about the mistake, airbending luckily wasn’t as outwardly harmful as say, firebending, which was still something that Asami liked to avoid. Being good friends with Mako and Korra and seeing the good that firebending could do definitely helped with her opinion on the element…but it wasn’t that simple. Every once in a while when she saw firebending, Asami would randomly flash back to the day her mother was killed – not a happy memory, but trauma tended to stick with you like that.

Shaking the thought out of her head, Asami smiled at Korra reassuringly. “It’s alright, it’s not like you hurt me.”

“Well, I’m not trying to have you write up a contract, that’s for sure,” Korra responded playfully.

Asami grinned and with impressive speed, lunged forward to land a quick combination of punches against Korra’s strong stomach and diaphragm. Taken by surprise, Korra had no time to block or sidestep, and stumbled backwards with an oompfh.

Coughing as she regained her breath, Korra looked at Asami with wide eyes.

“If I didn’t know better,” she managed. “I’d say you were trying to get revenge.”

“Who me?” Asami asked innocently, though the spark in her eyes suggested she knew just what she was doing. “I hate to break it to you, but if you think that was revenge, you’re sorely disappointed.”

“Hold on, what’s that supposed to mean –” Korra began before, once again, Asami rushed her.

This was not Asami’s usual sparring method, Korra thought fleetingly as the two fell to the ground. Far from the norm of well-calculated and precisely placed hits she usually favored, Asami was going for what Korra would argue was more of the Bolin method – intense, sudden, and very physical approaches.

Luckily, the patch of grass they’d decided to fight on was forgiving, and their fall was softened. Korra somehow managed to come out on top after the two tumbled past one of the metal sculptures that Huan had showed their group after their arrival the day before. Korra straightened, straddling Asami’s waist and frantically trying to pin down the taller girl’s arms. Asami obviously knew what Korra was going for. Right as Korra managed to grab her wrists, Asami laughed and arched, sending her hips, legs, and subsequently Korra hurtling up and off of her.

Korra allowed her momentum to carry her forward, tucking into a roll and then getting back on to her feet. She took a few steps forward before raising her arms up defensively to her face and turning around to face Asami once again.

The other girl was already standing, ponytail beginning to come undone and smirking slightly. Asami blew a puff of air towards her forehead in an attempt to clear away the strands of hair that threatened to block her vision.

“Alright Sato,” Korra huffed. “If that’s how you want to play it…”

She charged forward, but thanks to the distance between them, Asami had plenty of time to simply step aside to dodge Korra’s rush. Korra whipped around and managed to place a hit on Asami’s back as she leapt back to avoid Asami’s sweeping kick. They continued in this pattern for a few minutes – Korra stepping back to get out of Asami’s range as she continuously aimed kick after kick at the Avatar. Suddenly, Korra found her back pressed against one of the few trees in the metal city. Of course, she thought to herself sardonically.

Asami changed tactics and lunged forward to try to keep Korra pinned against the tree. Korra shifted against the trunk and used her arms to brace Asami’s shoulders back as she considered her options.

This was decidedly the least spar-like sparring match they’d ever had.

“What made you decide to go full on wrestling today?” Korra asked as she grit her teeth. Asami wasn’t much bigger than she was, but their height difference gave Asami a distinct advantage as she pushed against Korra.

“Eh,” Asami shrugged. “I thought I’d change it up, especially since Lin thinks that even Zaofu isn’t safe enough for you. If there’s a bunch of crazy benders out to get you, I might as well try to help keep you on your toes.”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” Korra responded as she resisted harder. “But I can’t believe Bolin isn’t seeing this – I mean, he’ll never believe me when I tell him you went full on wrestler-mode – he totally thinks that’s just his thing.”

“Well,” Asami said, bringing her face closer to Korra’s, who’s heart rate unexpectedly skyrocketed. “There’s a lot that Bolin doesn’t know about me…including how I fight.”

On the last word, Asami let her lips brush Korra’s cheek before she abruptly stopped pushing against the Avatar, who was still returning the pressure, and stepped aside. Korra lurched forward and Asami, ever the innovator, grabbed hold of Korra’s wrist and used the shorter girl’s momentum to fling her away. Korra toppled to the ground, shock from Asami’s trick and the loose gravel keeping her from finding her footing in time.

Korra moved quickly to try to sit up, but Asami moved quicker. Before the Avatar could even fully prop herself on her elbows, Asami was on her. She swept Korra’s arms out from underneath her and kept her hands firmly on her wrists, causing the Korra’s back to hit the ground. Still straddling her, Asami moved Korra’s arms to above her head, fully pinning the Avatar on the ground.

Asami leaned down ever-so-slightly, but even with that slight movement Korra could’ve sworn her heart stopped. Why, she didn’t know, but it was all she could do to remind herself to breathe again. For a split second, Korra thought she saw Asami’s bright eyes flicker downwards away from her own, but she chalked it up to her shock the situation, and the fact that as soon as Asami’s lips had brushed her cheek, it seemed that they were all Korra could think about. Despite her attempts to calm herself down, Korra could feel the blood rushing to her face. Get a hold of yourself, Korra thought to herself impatiently.

The CEO had different plans. She brushed her cheek against Korra’s in a painstakingly slow manner as she leaned even closer to be able to whisper near Korra’s ear.

“Don’t forget to tell Bolin exactly how I beat you,” she said quietly. Korra’s heart seemed to stop again. “I hate to say it, but I have to agree…I have a feeling that he’s not going to believe you.”

With that, Asami rocked backwards off of Korra and stood up, brushing off the gravel and dust from her clothes. She turned away from Korra and began to walk back to the Beifong estate, before pausing briefly and looking back at the Avatar, who remained frozen on the ground.

“That was fun,” Asami said, a familiar, sultry look on her face – the same one that Korra used to hate whenever she would see it aimed at Mako during pro-bending matches. “We should do it again sometime.”

Korra sat up more fully and opened her mouth to say something – anything, preferably clever – but found it as dry as the gravel dust in her hair.

Asami laughed, flipping her hair that had long since come undone, and sauntered up the steps.

Korra gaped after the other girl, willing the heat in her cheeks and the butterflies in her stomach to subside. Don’t make it weird, she chided herself. She’s your best friend…Still, Korra found herself at the mercy of her nerves, which at this point, were beginning to fray. She hurriedly stood up and dusted herself up.

“BOLIN!” she shouted as she ran towards the guest house where the earthbender was supposedly napping. He’d have time for that later, but all Korra wanted right now was to explain, and try to understand, what in the world had just happened.

4. “maybe it’s better if I just try to conceal the truth”

Asami sent Korra enough letters for her to be able to catch onto what the engineer was willing to talk about or not…and for the longest time, Asami would not mention anything about sparring. It felt as though Asami viewed it as this sacred thing, something that the two of them did, that they could do, only before Korra was poisoned by the Red Lotus.

At first, Korra didn’t notice it. Asami would talk about her day, mention the projects she was working on, the boring meetings she had to sit through, the frustrations of dealing with Raiko, and the pleasant dinners on Air Temple Island that would subsequently be followed up with a “everybody misses you” that never felt guilt-ridding, only sincere and understanding. Asami would mention Mako’s detective work, bring up Bolin and his antics as well as Opal, Jinora and Kai’s escapades with the Air Nation, and even relay that Yin and the rest of the boys’ family were in good spirits and health. She would reminisce in the way that only she could without causing Korra to feel bad and talk about the way they had managed to get out of the desert on their makeshift sand-sailer – “I’m telling you, Korra, sometimes when business seems bad, I really do consider prototyping one of those sand-sailers. I think there’s some real potential for them in the Earth Kingdom markets!” – and optimistically discuss how they would have to go to Narook’s Noodlery when Korra returned to Republic City, when she was ready. Asami didn’t push or rush her.

But Asami never mentioned their sparring matches, not when she spoke of fond memories, or even when she wrote about what they would get up to once Korra was back. Korra was embarrassed to admit that she only picked up on this fact after about the fiftieth letter she received from Asami, about eight months into her absence in the Southern Water Tribe. A few times after she noticed this, Korra would sit and wonder why Asami wouldn’t bring it up. Each time, she couldn’t help but conclude that it was because that when Asami had last seen her, Korra hadn’t been able to move her lower body at all. It must’ve been that Asami was sparing Korra from the pain and embarrassment of thinking about when she could move, and so out of the kindness of her heart Asami had decided to omit any fond memories of their sparring sessions. It wasn’t like sparring was something that wasn’t memorable or a common occurrence – especially after Harmonic Convergence and even up to the day that Korra was poisoned, the two girls had sparred quite often. The two of them were so evenly matched that sometimes they could continue for almost an hour without either making much headway.

But finally, after almost a year passing since she’d left Republic City, Korra finally wrote Asami back. She told Asami how she was sorry for not writing sooner, it was just that she needed time to figure everything out, but she missed Republic City a lot (and her, but Korra was too nervous to include that, for some reason). She asked the CEO to not mention her response to Mako or Bolin, and it wasn’t that Korra wanted to hurt the brothers’ feelings, it was just that it was easier to write to Asami about this stuff. Korra explained how she’d done extensive healing sessions with Katara and was now well enough to not only be walking around by herself, but also get back to bending. She wrote about how she’d first practiced water with her father in the weeks soon after she’d regained her mobility, and then fire, earth, and air later on her own. Finally, at the end of her letter, Korra wrote:

I’ve also really missed our sparring sessions; they always make me feel better. I hope you’ve found another way to keep yourself occupied. When I’m back, I’ll kick your ass, Sato.

She’d debated for a few minutes whether she should add anything more, or just sign off before decided to simply add:

Thank you, for writing.

Yours, Korra

It felt awkward, and it didn’t feel like enough, but Korra had figured that nothing really would at that point. What are you supposed to say after you’ve been gone for a year with no contact?

It wasn’t like they had all the time in the world to mess around once Korra finally returned to Republic City, but Korra intended to make good on a promise she’d made to herself: after being gone for three years…she definitely owed Asami a sparring match.

After the chaos of their lunch-turned-rescue mission for Prince Wu, Korra and Asami finally found a small chunk of free time in the old Sato mansion, where Wu was staying with Mako and Bolin’s family. Mako had tried in vain a little earlier to try to show Wu some self-defense moves, but he had left the room not even half an hour later grumbling about how Wu “wasn’t even trying” and “couldn’t even hurt a fly,” which Korra interpreted as almost sounding endeared with the odd Prince, but she was smart enough not to say anything to the firebender as he stalked down the hall. She and Asami watched him retreat with Wu and Grandma Yin (for some bizarre reason) following shortly after. After they had disappeared, Asami turned to Korra, who had just been working up the nerve to suggest a match.

“You mentioned something about sparring,” Asami said, “in your first letter back.”

Inexplicably, Korra felt heat rise to her cheeks and fought down the urge to rub her neck as she tended to when she was nervous. “I did, yeah…” she managed. “I did mention sparring.”

Asami looked at her with vague curiosity and a slight, amused smile. Asami’s face was a little more angular than it had been three years ago, and her eyes, while still young and bright, held more sorrow and exhaustion now too. Korra couldn’t help but notice the way her new hairstyle made her look older, and more mature…which, granted, she was. With a start, Korra realized she was staring and not listening, but it was a moment too late.

“…so, do you want to?” Asami was asking.

Korra blinked.

“Sorry,” she offered. “I, was, uh…I got distracted. What did you say?”

For a moment, Asami’s cheeks looked flushed, but Korra assumed it was a trick of the light.

“That’s okay,” Asami replied. “I was asking if you wanted to spar, since, well…it’s been so long.”

Guilt flooded Korra at Asami’s words, despite it being obvious that the CEO had no bad intentions. It was anything but accusatory…the gentle way Asami had said it suggested that she too was sad about the missed opportunities of the past three years. Korra swallowed her wave of emotions and gave Asami a small smile, all previous awkwardness forgotten.

“I did tell you I’d kick your ass, didn’t I?” Korra said.

Asami just laughed.

It was almost like no time had passed. The two exchanged blows for almost fifteen minutes before Korra gained the upper hand. With a few well-placed punches, Asami tapped out, giving the first round to Korra.

Ten minutes later, round two went to Korra as well after the Avatar used the trick she’d learned from Asami three years before of sweeping her opponent’s feet out from under them. Asami was oddly quiet, more focused than she had been at the restaurant or even earlier in the day, and a lot less physical than the match they’d shared in Zaofu before the Red Lotus had showed up. It didn’t necessarily feel like a bad quiet, but Korra could tell that there was definitely something on Asami’s mind that was causing her to fight differently.

“Round three?” Korra asked Asami, trying to get a better read on her. “I’ll give you a chance to show me you didn’t actually let up on your work outs while I was gone.”

That got a smile from the other girl. “You’re on. Can we take a quick break first though? I’m a little tired.”

The two sat down and drank some water. Korra let the quiet of the room continue for a minute or two before she broke it, her nerves getting the better of her.

“Are you mad?” she asked Asami softly, not looking at the engineer.

“What?” Asami responded. “Am I mad?”

Korra just nodded.

There was a pause, and Korra felt her heart sink before Asami continued.

“No, Korra,” she said. “I’m not mad.”

Korra lifted her gaze to look at Asami, who was staring ahead thoughtfully.

“I’ve just got some things on my mind…” she turned to give Korra a small smile. “It’s nothing bad, though. Just something that I’ve been thinking about more, lately. I’m okay. It’s just a lot, you know? You’re finally back, and I’m so glad…it’s just going to take a little adjusting.”

“Yeah,” Korra replied. “That makes sense…and for the record, I’m sorry…when we’re both ready and we have more time, I’d be happy to talk more about everything, if you wanted. For right now, I want you to know I’m glad to be back, too. I’ve missed this…I’ve missed you.”

Asami softened. “I’ve missed you too. And yes, I’m sure we can talk about it another time when we don’t have to prepare to fight a dictator and save the world.”

Korra laughed. “I sure hope we get a break soon, all of us. Besides, then I’d have more time to keep beating you in these matches.”

Asami snorted and got up, walking back towards the mats. “You always do this, you think you can actually beat me,” she joked.

Korra set down her water and stood up. “Oh, so you’ve just been letting me win today?”

Asami’s features took on a familiar air of mischief and confidence. She raised her hands up into a defensive position and smirked, the tone of next words sending a jolt of heat to Korra’s stomach.

“Why don’t you come and find out?”

Korra exhaled, and walked onto the mat, squaring up to the taller girl once she was close enough. Trying for a similar air as Asami’s, Korra channeled every ounce of confidence she had into a smooth response. “All right, Sato. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Asami wasted no time in going on the offensive, forcing Korra to duck and weave to avoid getting punched. With the ebb and flow of the blows they exchanged and the fluid motions of their attacks and defenses, the two almost seemed to be dancing.

“I’ll admit it,” Korra huffed as she landed a kick. “You’re just as good as you were three years ago…if not better.”

Asami smirked. “I know.”

Korra grunted as a blow landed on her stomach. “Then did you just let me win those first two rounds?” she managed.

“No,” Asami replied, dodging so Korra’s fist missed her own abdomen. “I’ve never let you win when we spar, and I never will…you always underestimate yourself, don’t you?”

Korra shrugged and jumped back to avoid Asami’s swift kick. “It’s possible,” she admitted.

“Have you ever let me win a match?” Asami asked, blocking Korra’s punch by making an ‘x’ with her forearms.

“Nope,” Korra said.

“Not even in Zaofu?” Asami pressed.

“What do you mean, not even in Zaofu?” Korra asked, lunging forwards to force Asami to retreat a few feet.

“There were at least two times during that match in the courtyard when you should’ve beaten me,” Asami explained. “Why didn’t you?”

Korra tried her best to simultaneously avoid Asami’s offensive blows and remember back to Zaofu…they had been sparring in one of the courtyards, there wasn’t a lot of grass, or trees – Korra felt her face flush as she remembered the way Asami had…well…distracted her at the tree, and then once again on the ground. Butterflies reanimated in her stomach.

“That doesn’t count for anything,” she scoffed, throwing a combination punch and ignoring Asami’s searching gaze. “You…cheated.”

Asami caught Korra’s wrists and twisted them, forcing Korra to remain still as the CEO stepped forward, so they were almost chest to chest. “Oh, I cheated?” her voice suggestive.

Korra glared at her and tried to free her arms, but for the moment, they were fully stuck. “Yes,” she replied dryly. “You cheated.”

Asami stepped forward again. “And how exactly did I cheat?”

Korra swallowed, all too aware of the height difference between them and trying in vain to ignore the pounding of her heart. She growled in frustration. “You distracted me!”

Asami raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying herself, which only served to frustrate Korra even further. “I distracted you?” Asami repeated. The corner of her mouth twitched, as if she was fighting down a smile.

Korra twisted and freed her arms, quickly grabbing Asami’s right one instead and pinning it behind the taller girl’s back. Instead of turning Asami so that they would face each other, Korra pressed forward against Asami’s back and kept her arm there. It was a much harder position to get out of, and if Asami now couldn’t see her blushing face, well, that was just an added bonus.

For a moment, Korra debated how she should reply, before she decided it’d be best to conceal the full truth. “Maybe,” she managed, which didn’t sound very convincing but also wasn’t as vulnerable as a ‘yes.’

“Well,” Asami said softly, still facing away from the Avatar. “Did you ever consider the fact that I fully knew what I was doing?”

Korra felt her grip on Asami’s forearm instinctively loosen before she tightened it again. “What, distracting me to cheat?” she asked, “or cheating to win?”

Korra felt Asami’s body tense up a second too late before the other girl had easily swapped their position, rendering Korra immobile with her arm tucked behind her back. Asami held her there, pinned closely.

“And here I thought you said you were a fast learner,” Asami joked before trailing off. There were a few beats of silence. Korra shuddered as Asami’s hot breath puffed against her ear as the taller girl continued quietly, almost uncertainly. “Korra, I…the thing I’ve been thinking so much about is y–”

Korra felt as though her entire body was on fire. What Asami might be suggesting…no, it couldn’t be…Korra had fought down those feelings for the past three years for spirit’s sake…was it possible that Asami, well…returned them? Was there a chance that they both wanted the same thing? Because if Asami wanted what Korra wanted, well –

Korra panicked…and promptly flipped Asami over her shoulder and onto the mat where she landed with a grimace and a grunt that sounded a lot like “you.”

As Asami lay on the ground in front of her, Korra took a few steps back, both to properly resituate herself to continue fighting and also to try to clear her mind. How was it that it always seemed to be during sparring matches that she and Asami had some of their most intense discussions? A voice, sounding strangely of Katara’s, responded quietly in Korra’s mind: your body will reflect your emotions and your emotions will reflect your body. Korra huffed and tried to ignore the response, which she was pretty sure was a reminder Katara had repeated often when first teaching Korra waterbending. It didn’t even make sense, it was just more of the philosophical mumbo-jumbo that Tenzin was always telling her…at least that’s what she would’ve thought three years before, but now, well – now it made sense. Of course it was during sparring matches.

Coming back to reality, Korra looked down at Asami, who was gazing up at her from the ground with an expression full of incredulity mixed with embarrassment. Korra felt herself panicking, and in a desperate effort to steer their conversation back in a safer direction, she blurted: “why didn’t you ever mention sparring?”

Asami just blinked owlishly. “What?” she managed.

Korra fidgeted with her wrapped forearms, this was decidedly not a safer direction. “In your letters,” she explained. “You never said anything about our sparring matches – which is completely fine, I just…” she sighed. “Why not?”

Asami looked at her for a moment before standing up and taking Korra’s hands with her own, effectively pausing Korra’s anxious fiddling. “Honestly? I didn’t know how to bring it up, I mean…you had so much going on when you left and I didn’t want to add any stress,” Asami huffed, absentmindedly brushing her thumb along Korra’s knuckles in a surprisingly calming manner. “Really what it was is that I missed it too much. I couldn’t handle you being gone and remembering how much I enjoyed getting to spend this time with you. I’m sorry.”

Korra gave Asami a sad smile. “Don’t be sorry, ‘Sami,” she squeezed the CEO’s hands. “I missed it a lot, too, probably more than I’m willing to admit.”

Neither girl spoke for a moment, before Asami broke the silence. “I know you said don’t apologize, but I am sorry that our sparring conversations always seem to go this way.”

Korra’s smile was brighter this time as she chuckled. “I was just thinking that, but not in a bad way!” she clarified as Asami’s eyes widened. “It reminded me of something Katara would tell me when she was first teaching me how to waterbend, ‘your body will reflect your emotions and your emotions will reflect your body,’ which I used to think was stupid, but honestly makes a lot of sense now.”

“It does make sense,” Asami nodded, before smirking slightly. “So that explains why the Fire Ferrets’ performance plummeted after Bolin saw you and Mako kissing, right?”

Korra shoved Asami’s shoulder playfully, glaring at the taller girl. “I really regret telling you that sometimes,” she sulked. “But, yes, that would be an example of it, I guess.”

“And you judo-flipping me a minute ago was what, then?” Asami asked.

Korra choked on air. “W-what?”

Asami took a deep breath. “Well, I was admitting that I’ve been thinking about you a lot and then it seemed like you maybe panicked based on that brutal flip that ended with me on the mat?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Korra scoffed, trying to ignore her increasing heartrate.

“No?” Asami asked, gentle and a little nervous. She carefully extracted her right hand from Korra’s grip and brushed a few stray strands of Korra’s short hair back behind her ear. The Avatar gulped.

Pull it together, Korra admonished herself. I can be smooth…I think. Steeling her nerves, Korra brought her free hand up to lightly grasp Asami’s right wrist, holding the girl’s palm against her cheek. Korra turned ever so slightly and brushed her lips against Asami’s palm, watching with pride and amazement as the engineer’s eyes fluttered closed at the contact. Finally, Korra let herself think back to some of the most notable moments of some of their previous sparring matches: the jolts of electricity from Asami’s touch, how flustered she would get at close-contact with the taller girl, the way she had completely given in to Asami’s distractions in Zaofu, and most importantly…the growing realization over the past few years that she wanted to kiss her best friend.

It was about time she did something about it, what, with the impending doom of Republic City and a dictator quickly approaching. Three years had been too long already, why wait now?

“Asami, I…” Korra trailed off as Asami’s eyes opened and met hers, warm and inviting. Korra swallowed, and Asami smiled softly. “Can I ki –”

“KORRA!” Bolin’s voice shattered the moment with even less grace than Ikki’s question to Asami years before at Air Temple Island: “did you know Korra likes Mako?”

The two girls jumped apart as if they’d both been electrocuted, which – with Prince Wu running around the Sato mansion trying on random clothing, including the retired electric gloves – was entirely too possible.

Bolin rounded the corner into the sparring room a second later, barreling in at top speed.

“Bolin!” Asami recovered first. “What are you doing! What’s wrong?”

Korra just glared and tried to settle the heat of annoyance and disappointment in her stomach. “Bolin, I swear to the spirits if this isn’t good I’ll –”

“Mako just got back with our big special delivery of Narook’s noodles! There’s enough for all of us, even Grandma Yin and the extended Mako-Bolin fam! I just thought I’d let you guys know,” the earthbender explained excitedly, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room.

Korra growled. Asami put a calming hand on her shoulder.

“That’s great,” Asami managed a smile. “We’ll be right there.”

Bolin grinned, offered two thumbs up, and raced back out of the room, off to alert the next unlucky group he’d intrude upon.

Asami slowly turned to Korra. “Well, I guess we did talk about getting Narook’s once you got back,” she offered, fighting back a wide smile.

Korra groaned, dragging her hands down her face. “I cannot believe him sometimes.”

Asami laughed, loudly and fully, and bent down to kiss Korra’s cheek. The Avatar flushed.

“C’mon Korra,” Asami offered her hand, and Korra took it immediately, lacing their fingers together. “Let’s go get some food before Bolin and his cousins eat all of it.”

Korra allowed herself to be led out of the room despite her disappointment. Yet this time, Asami’s hand after a sparring match finally felt different. No matter what happened in the next few days with Kuvira and her Earth Empire, Korra was excited. She and Asami had plenty to talk about, maybe over their own dinner date at Narook’s.

#my fic #korrasami #korrasami secret santa 2020 #and they were SPARRING partners #fluff #big time pining #a little angst or just talking about feelings/hard experiences?#this was so fun to write #spikings #korra #asami sato #:))

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

Text

Stark Spangled Banner: Stab Me In The Front

Part 1: America’s Asshole

What could possibly go wrong?

Warnings: Bad language. SMUT (NSWFW)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Square Filled : “Mistaken Identity” @avengersbingo A/N: So, here we go. An Avengers/Knives Out Cross Over where Katie and Steve come face to face with America’s Asshole! The tongues are sharp and the knives are out! This is set in 2015 so way before the KO storyline so therefore contains no spoilers! You don’t need to have read SSM to understand or enjoy but please do so if you wish.

Main Masterlist

**Shout out to @icanfeelastormbrewing for being my Insult Partner when I was writing this!!**

PLEASE PLEASE REBLOG and COMMENT, This is probably my fave part of this fic I’ve written to date!!

October 2015

“So, Mr Thrombey, that’s all confirmed.” Katie said, tapping at a key on her computer to lock the meeting in her calendar “11 am, Next Thursday, the 15th ”

“Thank you.” Katie smiled as she spoke into her phone, “I look forward to meeting you on Thursday Sir.”

“Oh, less of the Sir, Harlan please. And the pleasure is all mine Miss Stark…I mean, Mrs Rogers, my apologies!” The man chuckled “And thank you for accommodating my need to pull this meeting forward by a few days.”

“It’s not a problem.” she assured him. They exchanged pleasantries again and then she cut the call and leaned back in her chair, cracking her neck, before she double checked the travel arrangements. The hotel was booked, flight was sorted, hire care was confirmed. All that she needed to do was not forget the annotated manuscript or the cover ideas.

The door to her office opened and she looked up to see Tony leaning in the doorway, waving a Starbucks cup at her one of their familiar brown paper bags, clearly bearing treats.

“I love you bro…” she smiled at him as he wandered in, chuckling, placing the drink and paper bag down in front of her. She looked into the bag and gave a moan when she saw it was a rather large, gooey looking brownie, and gave a bigger moan when she sipped her drink and found it to be a Pumpkin Spiced Latte. “Perfect Elevenses!”

“Well thought you might need one, you’ve been locked in here since 7 this morning…”

“You got FRIDAY spying on me?” she narrowed her eyes at him.

“No.” he said at the same time the AI affirmed her suspicions.

“He has indeed had me watch you, Mrs Rogers.” “Traitor.” Tony rolled his eyes and Katie chuckled

“Well I had all this Harlan Thrombey stuff to sort, Steve’s still in Copenhagen with Sam chasing the alleged latest sighing of Bucky.” she shrugged “Not much point in lying in when you’re wide awake is there?”

“True.” Tony nodded. “Are you going back to the Compound tonight?”

“I dunno.” she shrugged “I might just stay here again if that’s ok?”

“Kiddo, you own part of this Tower, it’s always gonna be your home too.” Tony shrugged, “You can stay as long as you want.”

“I haven’t forgotten what tomorrow is.” Tony said gently, looking at her.

“Funnily enough me neither.” she sighed “I should be celebrating, a year to the day Bucky broke me out of that fucking shit hole in Canada.” she pulled off her glasses, another remnant of her time with HYDRA. Since she’d been kept for 6 weeks in that horrific cell she’d needed glasses for anything that required a long period of concentration on a computer screen or monitor if she wanted to avoid migraines. Bruce seemed to think it was something to do with the fact that her cell had been painfully bright all the time and that continued exposure to artificial light in such a way triggered a subconscious response.

She swallowed “I’ve been trying not to think about it.” she said gently.

“Which is why I booked you and Pepper into the Dominick for the afternoon.” he smiled at her “Well, Pepper has, I’ve just given her the credit card…full deep tissue massage, facial and then Franco’s booked to do your hair…and don’t bother telling me you’re busy as I had your diary cleared and everything reschedule to next week” he watched as she opened her mouth before shutting it,, shaking her head softly. “You leave in 30 minutes.”

“You spoil me.” she smiled softly.

“Anything for my girls, plus I thought it might keep you busy whilst Spangles is otherwise engaged.”

“He was hoping to be back but when I spoke to him before he doesn’t know if he’s gonna be.” she shrugged “it is what it is.” Tony smiled at her before he stood up “Yes, it is. And this afternoon is your pamper time so get your shit together and meet Pepper downstairs.”

“Yes sir.” she said, saluting him with a grin.

As with anything Pepper or Tony booked, the spa was off the scale. Katie had been meaning to go for ages, and now, as she sat in the chair in Franco’s salon she was already searching available dates to go back with Natasha and Wanda. She laughed and joked with the stylist and Pepper, the pair of them enjoying yet another bottle of champagne as they had their hair done. A couple of hours later, at just gone 7pm, Pepper dragged her out over the road and into a ridiculously expensive wine bar.

“Feeling better?” Pepper asked as Katie took a huge gulp of her Sancerre.

Katie smiled “Much, thank you.” “You know, I’m always here if you want to talk to someone other than Steve about stuff.” Pepper looked at her “And it won’t go any further.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t wanna talk about it…” Katie sighed “You know, Pep, I see all these women out there, read their testimonies and things and I just wonder how they’re so strong, like, how can they can just stand up and talk about what happened to them?” she trailed off, shaking her head “And me? I just wanna pretend it never happened. So much for being an Avenger huh?”

“Hey…” Pepper shook her head, looking at her sternly. “Stop that, right now.” “Well it’s true.” Katie shrugged “I mean, I’m a public figure right? But all people know is I was missing for 6 weeks, but it was put down to a mission gone awry. I just..well, I feel like I should be out there, trying to make a difference, helping people.”

“Kiddo, what you went through…” Pepper swallowed “I can’t even begin to imagine. And how you’ve dealt with and processed it, well, frankly I don’t know how you’ve been so strong. There is no shame in wanting to simply move on and leave it in the past.”

“I know.” Katie said softly “Thank you. Having everyone around me makes me realise how lucky I actually am. I’ve got a huge support network. Not everyone who goes through...” she swallowed, not quite able to say it “not everyone has that to fall back on.” Pepper pondered something before she looked at Katie, “You know, we haven’t picked our Partner Charity for the Stark Relief Fund next year…we could make it one that deals with Sexual violence. No need to go into details as to why.” Katie considered that for a moment, before she nodded “That’s not a bad idea.” she clicked her nails against her wine glass, thoughtfully “It would make a difference, right?”

Pepper nodded. “Absolutely. Give it some thought, see how you feel.” “I will, thanks.” she smiled.

****

“Good Evening Captain Rogers…” FRIDAY greeted him as he pressed his palm to the access pad at the rear entrance from the underground car park “Mrs Rogers is in your apartment.”

“Thanks FRIDAY.” he said, as the elevator began to rise. It stopped a few floors up, and when the doors flew open he was greeted by Tony who was undoing his tie.

“Oh, you’re back.” he said, looking at Steve appraisingly.

“You’re up late.” Steve looked at him.

“Just working on a few things.” Tony said vaguely. “How was the search for Tin Man?” “Well, it was him alright.” Steve said, running a hand down his tired face “Few more leads to work on. We could have stayed out there for a bit longer truth be told but, well, I wanted to be here tomorrow, you know.” Steve said, shrugging.

The two men shared a moment of understanding, both of them having experienced unsurmountable raw pain and anguish over the 6 weeks Katie had been missing and it wasn’t something they were likely to forget any time soon. If ever.

“She know you’re home?” Tony looked at him again. Steve shook his head.

“Wanted to surprise her.”

Tony smiled softly, “She’s probably asleep. Her and Pep have been in the Spa all afternoon and they’ve drunk a lot so…”

Steve gave a huff of a laugh “Yeah she messaged me before saying you’d sent her there out for the afternoon. That was really thoughtful of you Tony.” “Well it happens occasionally.” Tony said as the elevator stopped at his floor. “Listen, Steve…”

Steve turned to face him.

“She’s not been herself the last few weeks.” Tony scratched at his beard and Steve took a deep breath.

“I know.” he said gently “I think she’s just, well, processing, if that’s the right word. We only got back from our honeymoon 3 weeks and it kinda hit her when we got back just what time of year it was. Whilst we were away she didn’t have time to think about it.”

“Just…well, take care of her for me ok?” Tony said, looking at the Soldier.

Steve nodded “Always Tony, you had my word on that when I told you I wanted to marry her, and I meant it.”

Tony nodded and clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a look of thanks before he left the elevator on the Part Floor level. It began to rise again and Steve let out a soft sigh. Tony was right, the last 2 weeks in particular Katie had been a little quiet, less vivacious, almost withdrawn even. At first he had put it down to post honeymoon blues but Natasha had pointed out that this time 12 months ago she had been at the mercy of Hydra, with those bastards brutalising her in ways that he couldn’t even bring himself to think about. For this reason, he’d been reticent to go on the latest mission but Katie had insisted, pointing out that they couldn’t not carry on with their lives and that she would be alright.

The fact she had basically moved back into the Tower for the 3 days he had been gone, however, made him think that she wasn’t quite as alright as she had told him.

“Hey sweetheart.” he said softly, kissing her again, his hand cupping her face.

“You’re home.” she said, reaching up to lay her hand over his. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?”

“Wanted to surprise you.” he smiled.

“Well it worked.”

“I missed you.” he said softly, his thumb caressing her cheekbone.

“Missed you more.” she shot back and he chuckled.

“Doubt it. How was the Spa?”

“Oh it was amazing.” she gushed, her eyes shining “I had this deep tissue massage and the guy hit spots on my back I didn’t even know I had. The facial was great, and my hair…”

“I like the colour.” he said smiling, gently moving his hand so he twirled a piece around his finger. The ends were slightly lighter than usual, almost a dark honey blonde, and it extended a little up the strands before evening out.

“It’s called ballayage.” she smiled at him. “I just fancied a bit of a change.”

“Looks good on you.” he smiled “I’m glad you had a nice time, you deserve it.”

“How was the mission?” she asked “Worth it?”

“Yes and no.” he shrugged “We have a few more leads we can chase up but…” he took a deep breath “I’m beginning to wonder what the point is. He clearly doesn’t wanna be found.”

“The point is he’s your friend, your brother.” Katie smiled, moving her hand to run her fingers over his jawline, the pads scratchings lightly against his 5-oclock shadow. “Maybe he just needs a bit of time to find himself first, that doesn’t mean you have to give up on him. Besides, I need to give him back his jacket.”

“And I need to thank him.” Steve said, “For getting my beautiful girl out and safe.”

“I can’t believe it’s been a year tomorrow since he found me.” she said softly

“Is that what’s been bothering you?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“The last few weeks you’ve not been yourself.”

She licked her lips and nodded “Yeah, I just…well, I didn’t give it much thought when we were on our honeymoon, you know, but since coming back and ramping up the Thrombey Campaign it’s kinda hit home a little.” And suddenly Steve understood. SIP were publishing the man’s latest book, “The Colour of Revenge” which was all about a Detective on the trail of a killer who was hunting down and dispatching of 6 men who had been acquitted of a gang rape and murder.

“Shit…” he let out a groan “Honey I…I’m so stupid not to realise that…” “Hey.”she frowned, “Don’t…” She reached up and smoothed the lines that had appeared on his brow and he let out a sigh, gently reaching up to lace his fingers with hers, bringing her hand towards him and placing a soft kiss on her wrist.

“It’s better now you’re home.” she said gently. He smiled and gave her a gentle kiss again.

“Is that everything?” he pressed and she hesitated again.

“I’m scared.” she said eventually, looking at him.

“Scared of what?”

“Going away, on my own.” she sighed, tears brimming in her eyes “I hate that they made me like this Steve.”

He let out a sigh, he hated that she was scared too. She didn’t deserve it.

“Why don’t I come with you?” he asked, the idea suddenly forming in his mind. She stilled for a moment and he continued “Not to the actual meeting, but I can drop you off and pick you up, hang around, whatever you want me to do.”

She looked up at him smiling softly, not even trying to pretend she wasn’t relieved he had offered. “Would you?”

“Of course.” he nodded, wiping the tears off her face. “You only had to ask.” “I didn’t want to.” she admitted “I know how busy you are here and…” “That can wait.” he said, holding her face in his hands as he drove his message home “you’re the most important thing in my life and if me coming with you makes you feel better then…” he shrugged “Besides, I’ve always wanted to go to Boston.”

“We can make a little trip out of it if you like?” she said, somewhat hopefully “Come back on the Saturday?”

“Sure.” he smiled at her. “Let’s do it.”

“Oh Stevie you’re gonna love it.” she beamed, and he smiled at the way her face had gone from being furrowed with worry to alive with excitement. “Massachusetts is amazing in the fall and Boston is just stunning…” “Well I’ll make sure I bring my sketch book.” he smiled “Give me something to do whilst you’re in the meeting.” “Thank you.” she said softly. “I’ll book us somewhere nice to eat one night. Give us an excuse to wear something pretty.”

“Like you need an excuse.” he teased, and she nipped him harshly on the arm. He chuckled and then with a groan he unwillingly pushed himself up off the bed.

“I need a shower.” he said, almost apologetically. “I won’t be long.”

“You better not be.” she muttered and he smiled, dropping a kiss to her forehead before he headed into the bathroom.

True to his word, he wasn’t long. 5 minutes, tops. But by the time he came back, the TV was off and Katie was fast asleep. Thinking back to what Tony had said, he found himself wondering if she had actually slept much at all whilst he was gone.

****

And Steve was quite happy to let her nap for longer, using him as her own personal cuddly toy.

He dozed in and out of consciousness again, drifting off for another 10 minutes or so, before he felt Katie stirring in his arms, and a soft kiss gently being pressed to his jaw line. He smiled at the contact and tightened his hold on her again, his eyes still closed.

“Morning beautiful.” he said softly, his voice still thick with sleep.

“Morning soldier.” she said, her cheek returning to his chest as she basked in the safety and warmth of his hold as his hand crept up the back of the stolen shirt she was wearing, his rough fingers ever so gentle against her skin as he trailed the pads up and down her spine.

“Sleep ok?” he asked, his eyes still not opening.

“Yeah.” she assured him, truthfully. It had been the best night sleep she’d had in days.

“Good. What do you fancy doing today?”

He felt her still and then she pulled back slightly, and at that he opened his eyes and blinked to see those gorgeous emeralds locked onto him.

“Are you not needed at the Compound?”

He shook his head “Kitten, I’ve not seen you for almost 3 days so I figured we deserved one together.”

She groaned “I have meetings this morning.” “That’s ok, I’ll meet you at lunch.” he said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She didn’t argue. She knew full well why he’d taken the time out, and frankly she adored him for it. Without saying a word she leaned up and captured his lips in a gentle kiss that quickly became heated…but was shattered by the piercing noise of Katie’s alarm.

She gave a groan, and made to move.

“Don’t you dare…” Steve mumbled against her mouth, his grip on her tightening.

“Stevie…” she sighed “I gotta…”

He reached over, his large body flattening her into the mattress making her giggle as he swiped across the screen of her StarkPhone silencing it.

“You ain’t gotta do shit…” he said, hovering over her on his elbows. “Except me.” he added as an afterthought.

“Oh so you’re gonna to explain to the board why I’m late?” she looked at him.

“To be honest...” he said, dipping his head to trail hot kisses up the side of the next “...they probably won’t even notice you’re not there. I mean, are you really that important?”

“Fuck you.” she giggled back.

“Believe me, I’m tryin’” he quipped, his mouth nipping at her ear lobe. That made her giggle even more and she felt his lips curve into a smile against her skin.

“I love it when you do that.” he said gently, using his leg to part hers, leaving a large thigh pressed against her mound.

“What?”

“Laugh.” he said, his mouth moving up her jaw line “Makes me happy.”

“You’re such a sentimental sap.” she mumbled, as his lips claimed hers again, the heat between her legs intensifying as the kiss grew deeper, tongues lashing against one another. Steve pulled back for long enough to pull his shirt over her head before his lips returned to hers and Katie’s hand slid into his hair, one hand gently winding into the longer locks on top, her nails on the other dragging against the hairline on his neck. His hands moved, one gently cupping the side of her face, the other, gently skimming over her breast, her nipples already hardened. He gently teased one with the pad of his thumb and his mouth moved down to the other, his tongue and lips working in tandem. She gave a little involuntary twitch against his thigh and once more his lips quirked up into a smirk.

“You want something baby girl?” he asked, peeking up at her and she nodded.

“Stevie, don’t make me beg, please.”

And when she asked so nicely like that, how could he ever refuse? He hooked his fingers into the sleep shorts she was wearing and worked them down, before flipping down the waist band of his boxers. Katie bent her legs, as he shuffled upwards and worked into her, the pair of them letting out a groan each at the contact. Steve’s hands fell to either side of Katie’s face as he held himself up on his forearms, kissing her deeply as he flexed his hips forward, again and again, picking up a gentle rhythm.

It was soft, it was gentle, it was loving, everything she knew her soldier to be and it wasn’t long before he had her writhing and groaning loudly, his lips assaulting that spot on her neck.

“So good…” he groaned, his thrusts getting deeper. “Feel so good kitten…”

“Keep talking.” she keened, arching into him as her hands raked down his back.

“You were made for me, God I love you Mrs Rogers. So fucking much…” he said, his words punctuated by his heavy breaths as she gave a soft cry, her head falling backwards, eyes fluttering shut as she tightened around him, her legs shuddering slightly as she came.

“Atta girl.” he said, his hips becoming faster as he thrust through her orgasm, chasing his own. It wasn’t long before he felt the ribbons in his belly unravel and he came with a cry of his own, his head buried in her neck, hips slowing, thrusts going deeper before he eventually stilled, a loud contented sigh escaping his mouth.

After a few moments of them simply basking in the afterglow, Katie’s hands trailing through Steve’s ruffled hair as his nose slid against hers, she gave a sigh and pushed on his shoulders gently.

“Baby I really do need to get up.”

The idea had sprung to Katie as she’d headed out for lunch. The local shop was donating a percentage of its earnings that month to a homeless charity, and it set her mind whirring.

“So you want to donate, all the profit we make, from what is going to likely be the biggest book SIP will ever publish, to charity?” Tony looked at her.

“In a nutshell, yeah.” she said, nodding “We can split it across various charities, all those that help victims of sexual assault, abuse or crime…”

“Isn’t that what the Stark Relief Fund is for?” Saul, the SI Finance Director looked at her, and she nodded.

“Yes, but it isn’t just about the money…it’s about raising awareness.” she pressed “A lot of people don’t know those charities existed. Hell, I didn’t know about half of them until a year ago. If we do this, think of the publicity and the press and…”

He shrugged and looked round the table “SIP’s vision was never about making money.” he said, and Katie beamed at her brother as she realised he was backing her “It was always about helping those who needed a hand to get their work out there…I don’t see why in this case, where they author is already so well-known we can’t use that to help those who need it.”

There was a pause and she looked expectantly round the table. One by one the board members seemed to concede, all of them that is bar their Legal Manager, Dan Robertson who was frowning.

“You’re going to have to bring Mr Thrombey on board Mrs Rogers.” he said, looking at her. “We can’t just use his book as part of a campaign without his permission.” “I know.” she said, nodding. “I’ve already realised that. I’m meeting him on Thursday next week, I’ll have a full proposal and pitch ready.”

There were a few murmurs around the table before Tony spoke “Is that it? Are we settled?”

Everyone looked at one another, nodding, and Katie leaned back in her chair, smiling.

But, she wasn’t smiling now. She had less than 24 hours before they set off for Boston and her pitch was only half way through completion.

“I know but…” She sighed, “This means a lot to me Steve…I need it to be right.”

Steve knew better than to argue. Instead he leaned over and kissed the side of her neck. “What are you stuck with?”

“I dunno it just…it all seems so impersonal.” she removed her glasses and wrinkled her nose as he sat down in the arm chair in the corner of the room “Facts and figures on sexual assaults and stuff…we all know it happens, it’s about making people want to do something about it.”

“Are you ready to make it personal?” he asked gently, taking a deep breath. He hated thinking about what she had gone through, he truly did, and if he had half a chance he’d rip the bastards limb from limb. But if she was ready to confront what had happened to her, he had to be there to support and back her all of the way, regardless of his own feelings.

“I don’t know.” she said softly “I was talking to Pepper about this the other day. I should be able to, I should be someone other women can look up to, being an Avenger and all but…maybe I’m just not strong enough.” “You’re the strongest person I know.” he leaned forward and locked eyes with her.

“I don’t feel like it when it comes to this.” she sighed.

“Honey…” he scratched at his head “Without wanting to sound flippant, since January this year, you’ve been, ok…well maybe ok isn’t the word but you’ve gotten on with things. You’ve moved forward, we both did.”

“Because we were busy, and we had no choice…”

“Well maybe…” he shrugged “But chasing down a sceptre, fighting Ultron, mobilising a new base, planning a wedding, running a business…it’s all time consuming, stressful stuff that if you really weren’t strong enough to deal with what happened, then it would have all gone to shit and probably tipped you over the edge into a nervous breakdown.”

She brushed a piece of hair behind her ear as she considered what he was saying.

She smiled softly and looked down at her hands before she glanced back up at him “When did you get so wise?” He chuckled “Well I am 97 years old.”

She laughed “You don’t look a day over 28.”

He smiled and stood up “I’m gonna make you a hot chocolate, and you’re gonna stop overthinking that and come relax, we’re up early tomorrow. You can do the rest at the hotel tomorrow evening.” “No can do, we’re going out.” she grinned at him “I booked the Chef’s table at Menton…”

“The what?” Steve frowned.

“You never heard of a Chef’s table?” she looked at him, and he shook his head “oh my God I’ve let you down…so badly. Check this out.” she tapped on her computer, bringing up the website and showed him the photos “It’s a private table with a glass wall that gives you a direct view into the kitchen. Totally impossible to get a reservation unless you book like a year in advance…or name drop.”

Steve groaned “You seriously dropped the Captain America wants a table line?”

“Yup” she popped the p as she smirked, closing down the browser page.

“Pain in my ass.” he grumbled, standing up. But as he left the office there was a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

One that his wife had seen.

*****

“So, was it worth a name drop?” Katie asked as they walked back into the Fireside Lounge located in their hotel.

“I’m happy to overlook the fact you acted like a total brat to make that reservation, yes.” he grinned as he went to remove her coat from her shoulders. He looked her up and down, the jump suit she was in was driving him crazy.

She grinned, and shivered slightly.

“Cold?” he asked, frowning.

“A little, don’t wanna sit in my coat though.”

“Do you want me to nip up to the room, grab your cardigan?”

“Would you?” she asked, even though she knew perfectly well he would.

“Course.” he said, dropping a kiss to her cheek “You get the drinks in, be right back.”

She headed over to the bar. The bartender, Will, was the same one who had been on before so he greeted her with a smile.

“Mrs Rogers. How was your meal?”

“Fantastic thank you.” she grinned “Can I get 2 Bourbon’s please? I’ll leave it to your choice, I’ll be back in a second, just need to nip to the bathroom.”

She excused herself and once she’d finally had the pee she’d been dying for since they left the restaurant, she set about touching up her make-up, smiling to herself. She’d deliberately picked this jumpsuit as she knew it got Steve’s blood pumping. It was a simple, plain black one with a V-neck line, but it was tight. Teamed with a thin red leather belt, red leather Jimmy-Choos and a matching bag all set off by the bright red lipstick she was sporting, she knew she looked good. Not that Steve had much room to talk, she could happily perve on him in the dark grey suit he was wearing, teamed with a black dress shirt, his collar left open…he looked good enough to eat, which she was planning on doing later.

She headed back into the bar and spotted Steve perched on one of the stools.

“Hey handsome” she said, slipping her arms round him from the back. But the moment she did that she realised something was off. He felt different, he was softer than Steve was. He smelt different, there was a really heavy woody scent to his aftershave whereas Steve’s preferred Hugo Boss or Gucci, depending on his mood, were both a lot lighter. And when the man spun to face her, although the likeness was indeed uncanny at first glance, his eyes were cold and calculating, his jaw line wasn’t quite as sharp as Steve’s and the smirk he wore on his face was nothing like the cheeky one Steve would sport. It was almost a sneer which spread across his face, every feature laced with disdain.

“What the fuck?” the man glared at her as Katie stepped back, holding her hands up in apology.

“I’m sorry, genuine case of mistaken identity…” she said, taking him in. His shirt was the wrong colour too, only she hadn’t been able to see that from the back.

“Yeah well if you’re touting for business I already got some today so get lost…” the man drawled in his light, Boston accent. “Like I just said I thought you were…hang on…” She frowned as his words registered “You already got some?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” he said, looking her up and down.

“You think I’m a hooker?” Katie snorted.

“Pretty high end one though, I’ll give you that.” the man said, nodding at her.

“I’m not a hooker.” she shook her head, laughing in disbelief.

“Oh, sorry. Do you prefer the term escort?” he raised an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes, flashing her left hand at him. “I’m married, this was a genuine mistake….” she said, her temper rising slightly. She moved away from him to the side, nodding at Will who slid the check over for her to sign to charge the drinks to their room.

Ransom observed her for a moment, fighting the smirk that was threatening to break across his face. After another row with his stupid Libtard cousin and his mother who had been at his Grandfather’s house before, he’d come out with the sole intention of getting laid and then so drunk he could hardly remember his name. After a visit to one of his usual fuck buddies he’d achieved the first part, now he was concentrating on the second. He’d been initially irritated by this woman’s interruption, but now she was getting sassy back, and he wasn’t about to let it drop. He could tell she had money, that much was clear to see. The way she talked, held herself, was dressed. Whilst she wasn’t a hooker as he had originally thought (although to be fair to her, she was pretty hot, he’d consider fucking her if the opportunity arose) she was probably living off some 70 odd year old rich banker husband. A trophy wife. Huh, maybe she wanted a fuck after all…hell, he might not have to pay for it. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and all that.

“And does your husband know you’re here trying to tap me up?” he looked at her.

“You know, if I was trying to errr…tap you up, you wouldn’t be able to afford me” she shot back, signing her name on the cheque with a flourish.

“Try me.” Ransom shot back, making a show of looking her up and down. “How much for that ass?” “I’ll kick yours for free you self entitled dick.” she said, sliding the signed paper and pen back to the bartender.

Ransom gave a bark of a laugh “I’ll pass thanks.”

Katie snorted and glanced sideways at look at him, scarlet red lips pursed as she eyed him over her glass of bourbon. “Good decision, because I’ve dropped bigger men than you for fun.” “Sure you have Dollface” Ransom quirked an eyebrow, elbow leaning on the bar, angling his body towards her. She kept hers facing forwards, arms resting on the bar top, her head shaking slightly.

“Why should I?” he snorted “I don’t know all the little bitches in Boston.”

She felt her mouth drop open and she was about to retaliate when Steve gently appeared by her side, dropping her cardigan over her shoulders.

Ransom recognised him straight away. He’d had it quite often, been told he looked similar to Captain America. So this meant the woman he’d been baiting for the last 5 minutes was his wife, Katie Rogers, sister of Billionaire Tony Stark, the Avenger, Supernova.

He’d called Supernova a hooker.

Ransom looked into his glass of scotch, turning away back to the bar, snorting with laughter.

“Sorry baby, Sam called and…” Steve stopped, frowning at the look on Katie’s face. “You ok?”

“Fine.” she said, looking up at him, smiling and nodding towards a cosy sofa over at the other side of the bar. “You wanna go sit down over there?”

“Sure.” he said, picking up his glass of bourbon he held out his free hand for her and she jumped down off the stool.

“I’d like to say it’s been a pleasure.” She snarked to the man next to her “But I don’t lie so…”

“Pal, you should keep that bitch on a leash.” Ransom spoke, his eyebrows raising and in front of him Steve stiffened.

“What did you just say?” he frowned, pulling himself up to full height.

“Seriously, man. You save the world from Nazi’s, get frozen for 70 years and then end up marrying that.” Ransom smirked, enjoying baiting the Captain “I’d ask ‘em to put you back under…”

Steve’s nostrils flared and he felt his neck getting warmer. “Don’t you dare talk about my wife like that...”

“Steve, leave it, come on.” Katie said gently, patting Steve on the chest “The guy’s a complete ass hole. If brains were dynamite I doubt he’d have enough to blow his head off.”

“Well if we’re talking about blowing...” Ransom looked Katie up and down before locking onto her eyes. “You up for the job?

Katie let out a bark of a laugh, her hand still on Steve’s chest which was positively humming with anger as she turned to face Ransom, contempt etched across every single inch of her face.

“Go jerk yourself off and wipe it on a curtain like your father should have done with you.” she said.

“I’d rather wipe it in your hair.” came the quip back.

And that was it. That was the point that Steve Rogers snapped.

“Steve!” she said, pulling on his arm. “Baby he really isn’t worth it, let go!”

“Captain Rogers!” Will behind the bar was desperately trying to talk him down as well “Please, don’t make me call security.”

Security! Steve wanted to snort. Like that would do any good.

“Baby, come on…” Katie tried again, pleading to his reasonable side. “Look, we’ve had such a nice night. Don’t let him ruin it.”

“I would tell you to apologise.” Steve snarled stepping back. His voice was steely, eyes carrying none of their usual warmth “But I suspect it’s pointless”

“Yup.” Ransom nodded “Totally pointless.”

Ransom’s nostrils flashed angrily as he looked at the man “’I’m gonna be banned? Eat shit, he’s the one that just attacked me! He ripped my shirt!” he gestured down to where Steve had grabbed him, two tears either side of the buttons of his shirt “This is a Fendi!”

“Ransom, just shut up and apologise.” Will pressed again, “Or you’re gonna have to leave.”

Katie rolled her eyes, deciding to let him have that childish one without any fuss. But Steve didn’t.

“Sorry.” Steve turned, apologising to Will.

“He’s a dirt bag and a cretin.” Will shrugged, as he waved the apology off. “No redeeming features whatsoever. Well, none that I’ve seen and trust me, I’ve seen him a hell of a lot.”

“Is your hand ok?” Katie asked Steve gently. She turned his right hand over to see that there were no cuts at all from the glass, which was good.

“Yeah, fine, don’t worry.” Steve looked at her, frowning. “Honey, what on Earth just happened?” he asked her softly, as she took a deep breath, blowing it out of her mouth.

“I went to the bathroom and when I came back, well, I thought he was was you from behind so gave him a hug.” she shook her head “Soon as I touched him I realised I was very, very wrong. I tried to apologise and he called me a hooker.”

“A hooker?” Steve repeated, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, so I told him even if I was he wouldn’t be able to afford me.”

At that Will, who had been busy pouring them both another drink, laughed as he slid 2 short tumblers of bourbon back over to them. “He won’t have liked that at all.”

Steve nodded his thanks to the man as Katie looked at him. “How come?” she asked.

“Well, Ransom’s mother likes to claim she’s a self-made millionaire. Fails to mention the million dollar loan her dad gave her to start up her business like, but that’s by the by. Simply put, his family one way or another are loaded, and Ransom likes to be the flash bastard if you get what I mean.”

“What do his family do?” Katie asked, “I’ve never even heard of the Drysdales, and I’m pretty well connected…”

“His mother and father run some real Estate Company.” Will shrugged, “A local one round Massachusetts, but you’ll have heard of his grandfather, or if you haven’t you’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 years.” “Who?” she asked.

“Harlan Thrombey, the crime fiction author.” Will said, and Katie felt the colour drain from her face. She turned to look at Steve whose eyes had also widened, and she gave a groan.

“Shit.”

@the-omni-princess @momobaby227 @geekofmanythings16 @angelofhell-666 @thewackywriter @marvelfansworld @cobalt-gear @asgardlover75 @jennmurawski13 @jtargaryen18 @saiyanprincessswanie @navispalace @patzammit @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @icanfeelastormbrewing @djeniiscorner @ayamenimthiriel @coldmuffinbanditshoe @disneylovingal @madzmilllz @sgtjaamesbaarnes @sweater-daddiesdumbdork

#stark spangled banner #knives out #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers #captain america #tony stark #iron man #ransom drysdale #mcu #mcu fanfiction #marvel #marvel fanfiction #avengers #avengers fanfiction #cross over #americas asshole #americas ass

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keelywolfe · 4 years

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FIC: Not What It’s Cracked Up To Be ch.5 (baon)

Summary: Edge and Stretch are finally getting back on an even keel. Edge’s broken leg is healing well, Spring is finally here and the flowers are close to blooming.

Be a shame if anything disturbed their domestic bliss.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Kustard, Established Relationships, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Fluff, Chickens, Depression

Notes: As a heads up, this chapter includes a depiction of depression.

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

~~*~~

Read Chapter 5 on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

Before Edge was willing to leave the house on what was likely a fool’s errand, he went back upstairs to peek in on Stretch. It was difficult to tell what was going on beneath the tangle of the blankets, but he seemed to be more relaxed from his tight, fetal curl of earlier. Probably sleeping and that was good.

Back in Underfell, his brother’s supposedly laziness used to drive him mad, but coming to the surface world brought a few humbling realizations. Depression was exhausting and so was low HP, and he no longer questioned the need for plenty of rest from any of those he cared about.

A closer inspection showed the blankets rising and falling in even rhythm, deep, slow breaths and Edge let out a near-silent, relieved sigh of his own, hoping that Stretch came out of the other side of sleep at least a little improved.

Edge hesitated at the bedside, wondering if he should leave a note. He decided against it. Stretch had his phone, he could text if he needed anything. Enough dithering about, whatever it was that Red was dragging him out of the house for must be at least a little important, the cameras Edge knew were hidden outside their house surely showed him what happened last night and—

Edge went stock-still on his way out the bedroom door, his hand still on the doorknob as suspicion along with sudden anger welled up in his soul. He closed the door with care and with slow deliberation, he pulled his phone out of his pocket to send a curt text back to his brother, Tell me what this is about.

No response and just as he was about to shove his phone back into his pocket came, awful slow these days, bro. hurry up and you can see for yourself.

His phone creaked in his hand and Edge forcibly loosened his grip, shoving it back into his pocket before he could give in to the childish urge to throw it against a wall. It wouldn’t change a thing except give him the extra headache of being without a phone until he could get a replacement. Red would have his fun and there wasn’t an angry text message in existence that would change that. There was only one way for his niggling suspicions to be confirmed and that was to play the game.

But he would have a thing or three to say once they were done, of that he was certain. Edge snagged his keys on the way out the door and headed out to his car.

The address Red sent him wasn’t more than a ten-minute drive to the mostly abandoned neighborhoods of Old New Home. As he pulled up to the abandoned lot, Red stepped out of a shortcut on the curb, hands in his pockets and his semi-permanent grin wide.

It set Edge’s emotions into a roiling conflict. On one hand, he was very annoyed with his brother, verging on furious if this turned out the way he suspected, and on the other…

On the other, the last time he’d seen his brother, it had started with him lying on Edge’s kitchen floor, bleeding out in his arms, and ended with Sans carrying him away. He looked tired, but that was more normal than not with Red.

Interesting to note that he was not wearing a matching collar to Sans, which meant either Sans had no idea what a single collar relationship symbolized, or he knew all too well and Edge wasn’t taking that thought any further. Brotherly concern was one thing, but he was not interesting in knowing the minute details of their relationship, so long as they were happy.

Speaking of happiness, Red’s grin was practically gleeful as Edge got out of the car. “awful slow, there, bro. gimp leg holding you back?”

“Shut up,” Edge said automatically, even as he limped over with cane in hand, “and start telling me why you dragged me out here.”

The mocking pout was all the more disturbing for being on Red’s face. “what, no hug?”

“I’d attempt it to prove a point,” Edge told him dryly, “but I have enough injuries without you literally stabbing me in the back. What. Do. You. Want.”

Red only shook his head, sighing as if with deep disappointment, ah, he was in a cheerful mood, wasn’t he. “all those years of you harping on manners and i ain’t even getting a how’s it going, how you been feeling, looking a lot better without all your marrow leakin’ out. no love at all, boss?”

If he wanted to play, Edge did still remember the rules. “Very well. How is Sans doing? He looked well when he brought me your report the other day. Is he taking care of any more of your work?”

That smile slipped a fraction. “he’s doin’ fine.”

Edge only looked at him, brow bone raised. If Red wasn’t going to discuss the elephant in the room, Edge would be more than happy to allow it to step on his foot. “I’m only asking as the Director of Operations, literally your boss, as you so enjoy pointing out. I’m sure you understand that it’s important for me to know what work my people are handling. In case there are any liabilities.”

That wide grin turned faintly wry, Red’s crimson eye lights gleaming his amusement. “yeah, fuck you, boss. he’s doin’ real good. decided for some dumbass reason he needs to move in. stupid fucking cat is having a fit.”

“Ah, yes, fuck you, only the very best comeback in your arsenal for me, I’m sure. And I can’t even begin to imagine why he’d want to move into that garbage pit you call a home.” Edge crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at his brother. “All right, you’ve had your fun. Now, where is she?”

Red barked out a laugh. “oh, very good, little brother, already figured it out, didja.”

“Your puzzles haven’t improved since Junior Jumble, it was not that difficult.”

“not for you.” As far as he was out of his childhood years, hearing that rare tinge of pride in his brother’s voice still made him want to preen. Edge squashed the urge, following as Red jerked his head towards overgrown field behind him. “come on.”

The terrain would have been aggravating even with two perfectly working legs. Having one that sent up threatening warning twinges with every step made it all the worse and the soil was loose and muddy, hard for feet and the tip of his cane. Grimly, Edge follow his brother through the hip-deep weeds, taking sour enjoyment in the fact that they were nearly above his brother’s head.

“she was a bitch and a half to find, i tell you what,” Red said conversationally, shoving his way through the vegetation. Edge supposed he should be grateful Red hadn’t either gone all-out jungle trekking and brought a machete or worse, offered to shortcut them, if only to force Edge to refuse. The very thought of taking one of Red’s shortcuts made his gorge rise. His brother tromped on obliviously, or at least giving a remarkable appearance of it, “this little gal has some tricks. little chickie crossed a lotta roads to get here.”

“Care to explain how you even knew how to look for her?” Edge asked sardonically and it was just as well Red wasn’t looking at him, because Edge couldn’t hide his surprise when he answered.

“sure. i was the reason she was missing to begin with.”

Edge stopped, “What? What the fuck does that mean?!”

“keep your hair on, you want me to explain or not?” Red kept moving and after a moment, Edge followed him, hands clenched into painful fists to keep from reaching out and strangling him. All that would do was waste time and amuse Red all the more, and Edge was trying to keep his contributions to his brother’s sense of humor at a minimum. “motion sensor went off at your place in the wee hours last night.”

“Motion sensors that you are not supposed to have.”

“huh, strange thing,” Red mused aloud, “don’t remember anyone sayin’ i couldn’t.”

“I didn’t think I had to!”

“anywho, went over to check it out.” He paused, swearing under his breath as he picked several dried-up thistles from his jacket without even bothering to flick any in Edge’s direction and utterly ignoring Edge’s visibly simmering impatience. “and i saw some kinda animal with too much fur and not enough feathers to be in your coop. your little lady was outside in the fenced area and close to bein’ a midnight snack. so i scooped her up, but before i could deal with the toothy lil’ problem, your liability came swooping in like a fucking bare-ass bat out of hell, firing bones every which way. i shortcutted out before he could turn me into a kabob. didn’t really mean to take her along for the ride, but i didn’t exactly have a wide selection of options.” Red craned his head to look over his shoulder slyly, “’least the view wasn’t bad. he musta felt me getting ready to clean house and hightailed it down. honey bun has pretty good reaction time. better'n yours."

Edge ignored that. “And you didn’t bring her back afterward because?

Red only shrugged. “couldn’t. she weaseled her way loose the second we hit grass again and took off. spent half the night and all morning lookin’ for the little fucker. once i figured out where she was holed up, i messaged you.”

Edge exhaled slowly, struggling with his temper. “And why didn’t you simply tell me all this earlier? Stretch is sitting at home mourning her and you—"

“and if it turned out she got hit by a car or some shit?” Red countered sharply, “really wanted to go there? figured it’d be better to make sure she had her feathers intact before i got his hopes all up.”

That was surprisingly valid as excuses went, and yet, “You could have told me! At the very least I could have helped you search!”

“think so, little brother?” Red looked at him with enough scorn that Edge had to suppress a flinch, “or you think maybe you woulda told stretch, try and cheer him up a bit? i wanted you to look her over, make sure she's all right first, but hey, you go on and call him right now if that’s what you think is better.”

Edge ground his teeth and said nothing. All the arguing in the world couldn’t make Red understand that this might have been the last thin, straw that broke the back between Stretch and a very dark day. His brother coped with his issues in much different ways, in Edge’s experience usually copious amounts of alcohol. Perhaps Sans would have been able to explain it better. Or perhaps he would have already given in and slapped Red upside the head, it was a fair chance either way.

They kept up through the tall grass. It shushed around them in the light breeze, that rustle the only sound, surrounding them, and his car growing small and distant behind them. Red was panting when they came to a small clearing, leaning over with his hands braced on his knees as he panted out, “here we are.”

There, sitting happily in a trodden down area of grass, was Nugget. She cackled out a greeting, loud in the muffling hush of the grass, but concerningly she didn’t move when normally she would be dancing flirtatiously around Edge’s legs.

“Is she hurt?” Edge demanded. He reached for her, ready to carry her back to the car and straight to a veterinarian.

Red scratched at the back of his skull, “see, that’s the thing—”

Before Edge could pick her up, she let out a warning screech and tried to peck at his hands. He snatched them back, staring down at her in bemused shock.

“—she seems to be in a mood of some sort,” Red finished, “can’t figure it out, she ain’t bleeding and she hadta walk all the way over here on her own. i woulda brought her back to your place when i found her, but she was pretty insistent on stayin’ right there.”

Baffled, Edge ran a Check on her, ignoring how ridiculous it seemed to do on a chicken. Her HP was fine, and he thought it better not to question why she had a LV of 2. “She doesn’t seem hurt.”

He reached out again cautiously, ignoring her pinching little beak attacks against his gloves, and lifted her up. Beneath her, the grass was torn up and arranged into a sort of nest and inside it—

Red crouched down to peer into it, mouth twisting crookedly. “huh. where you figure she got the golf balls?”

“I have no idea.” Standing in a field questioning the intentions of a chicken was not where Edge ever expected to find himself.

Red reached in and pinched a small, white object between two sharpened fingertips, lifting it up from the pile to inspect it despite Nuggets increasingly loud squalls of betrayal. “there’s one egg, anyway. least she’s still layin’ for you.”

Tucking Nugget against his side to stop her squirms, Edge only stared at it, perplexed, and said slowly, “That isn’t one of her eggs. Nugget’s eggs are a pale green.”

“huh.” Red set it back gently into the pile of grass and golf balls, and scrubbed hand over his face. “lemme get this straight. your little mini liability found a random egg in a pile of golf balls and decided to settle in and play momma? that’s what we think’s happenin’ here?”

“Would you like me consult my crystal ball? I don’t speak chicken and you’re the one whose been spying on them.” Nugget was getting increasingly difficult to hold and her forlorn and angry cries were either too heartrending or too annoying for Red to ignore. He heaved a sigh, shaking his head.

“hang on to the little shit,” Red ordered, even as he stepped sideways into a shortcut. Leaving Edge alone in the tall grass with an increasingly distraught chicken.

“Hush, hush, come on now,” Edge soothed, gentle petting what he could reach of her feathers. Her loud clucks dissolved into unhappy coos, looking up at Edge with mournfully beady little eyes. How was this his life, Edge wondered, with weary amusement, catering to the whims of a bird that once he would have seen more as lunch than a pet. He gave her a gentle scritch underneath the chin and she crooned softly, her small eyes closing as she finally settled.

Only to squawk loudly as Red abruptly reappeared, “here we go.”

In his hands was a hanging basket with a spray of flowers only just beginning to bloom from the leafy tendrils. It was rather lovely, definitely expensive, and absolutely did not belong to Red.

“Where did you get that?” Edge demanded.

Red shrugged, “only thing that matters is they didn’t see me.” He dumped the flowers out onto the ground in a sad splatter of leaves and potting soil, then crouched down and began filling it with grass. “c’mon, the joke’s getting’ old and the crowd’s restless, let’s get the show on the road.”

Edge made a mental note to have a much nicer replacement sent discreetly to anyone who complained about a missing floral arrangement and started to crouch down to help. Only for his brother to brusquely wave him back.

“hold the fucking chicken, i got this,” Red snapped. He didn’t look up at Edge, stuffing grass into the basket furiously. “you been standing long enough, last thing you need is to get down here and not be able to get back up. bet that leg is singing an ava maria by now.”

Slowly, Edge straightened, watching silently as Red filled the basket and he didn’t protest his leg was fine, didn’t try to reassure him, only let him make a messy little nest in the basket. He added the golf balls, nestling them into the grass, then hesitated over the egg, finally giving Edge a side eye. “uh. so do we take it or leave it?”

“Take it,” Edge decided. “Perhaps Stretch can do some research and find out what kind of egg it is.”

“it’s your funeral, don’t blame me if you end up with pet crocodile or some shit.”

“Nonsense, crocodiles aren’t native to Ebott. Snakes, however—” He trailed off as Nugget renewed her struggles and leaned down to set her in the basket. She settled immediately, fluffing out her feathers and nestling in. “I suppose that’s that.”

“yep, take ‘er home.” Red stood and stretched, both hands pressed into the small of his back as the joints popped. “by the way, i saw you doing work on the coop. ain’t a bad idea, but you don’t have a fox problem, boss.” His brother straightened and tucked his hands into his pockets, his grin colder, sharper, and in that moment, he could have stepped dusty and damaged directly from Underfell. “’least not anymore.”

He was gone before Edge could even open his mouth to ask.

He was alone again in the tall grass with nothing but a contented chicken for company and his car a painfully long walk away, particularly when lugging said chicken along.

“Thank you, brother,” Edge said, with an equal measure of sincerity and sarcasm. There was nothing for it. Edge heaved up the basket in his free hand and started to struggle his way back through the field.

Time to head home. Home, yes, home, where Stretch was hopefully still asleep, and Edge could only hope that seeing Nugget would shake at least a little of his depression loose. The thought of even a faint smile from his love was enough to make the growing ache in his leg well worth it.

tbc

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #by any other name

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abdicatedarchive · 3 years

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Dinner Party at the Bishops || Wren, Chanel, Rory, Jonah

@chrysolites @missrory

Wren jumped up when he heard the doorbell ring and smoothed out his clothes before going to the door quickly, but his mother had already opened it. "Chanel Hampton, as I live and breathe" she said with a kind smile. She was happy that her son was finally together with the girl he never quite shut up about, even as a kid, but she wanted to know what this girl was like. She'd done her fair share of sleuthing online.

Chanel didn't realize how hard it was to find a family-friendly outfit in her closet until tonight. She picked out a cute pink, two piece set (she loved her two piece sets) and made sure to wear the new perfume she bought. Wren had told her to wear something new and she didn't think too much on it. Once she knocked on the door, she straightened out her skirt and took a deep breath in. She shouldn't have been so nervous, but she was. She hadn't seen them in so long so she needed to make a good impression. "Hi Chrys!" she spoke with a big smile on her face. "How have you been? How's work going?" she asked, before looking behind her to see Wren.

Jonah on the other hand was just a ball of stress. This was the first time he was ever meeting Rory's parents, the first time he was in a situation like this at all. Rory was his first and only girlfriend and though they had been seeing each other on and off for years, this news of her parent's coming to town scared him. He knocked on the door and said a little prayer in his head to the gods. Please don't mess this up. Please don't mess this up.

Chrys gave Chanel a tight hug and caught a whiff of the girl's perfume, not what she had been expecting. Wren's room smelled a particular way, and she assumed it had been the girl. She was very suspicious of all that Nana let go down here. "You've grown up so much!" she said kindly, "and work has been great, I just spent the last 3 months in the most interesting location. It was great for my writing and I really connected with the locals" said Wren's mom before Wren came over and took Chanel's hand to lead her into the living room along with his mother. "Mom, Chanel's team is heading to qualifiers soon" Wren added to the conversation, "Very exciting stuff, the teams really good".

Rory was upstairs when she heard the doorbell ring, she got up and saw Chanel at the door. Giving the girl a sweet smile she went to say hi. Wearing the scent Chanel usually wore she was hopefully not to feed any of her mother's suspicions. Then she heard the knock she ran to her fathers side as he opened the door so he wouldn't embarrass her in front of Jonah. "Hi." Rory smiled happy to see him." You must be Jonah." her father moved to the side to let boy in and fixed his glasses to get a better look at him.

Chanel hugged Chrys back with a smile on her face. She missed them a lot, they were always so kind to her when she was younger. Maybe they just felt bad for her cause her parents weren't exactly the best, but she pushed the thought out of her mind quickly. "It's must be so fun traveling everywhere! I'd love to do that someday. But I'm glad you're back, it's been so long since I've seen you both." she looked over at Wren as he grabbed her hand, and nodded once he mentioned cheer. "Oh yeah, super exciting. We won nationals last year, so hopefully we can deliver again. Wren's season just started too. You'll get to see him play, he's like, so good. The best on the team."

Wren blushed a little, "I'm not the best, it's just that no one can tell anyone on the team apart except for me" said Wren being modest. He had been working so hard to really kill it this season, he wanted to push himself. "Jonah!" said Wren going to give his buddy a good dapping up. It was nice that they were all together.

Jonah jumped a little when the door opened, but seeing Rory instantly relaxed him. She looked so beautiful. "Hi. Your hair looks really nice." he repeated back to her softly before looking over to her father. "Yes. Hello sir." he slowly put his hand out to shake her father's hand. "That's me, Jonah Keller. Nice to meet you." he said, hoping he didn't come off too awkward. Jonah smiled at Wren and dapped him up like good bros do.

Chanel smiled back at Rory and said hello. "Ooh you look so good!" she said excitedly to the girl. She turned back to Wren and nodded with wide eyes, "Oh yeah, everyone on the team looks a lot a like. Kinda confusing when you see them running around everywhere, but Wren's the tallest so you can spot him out easy. And he makes the most shots so he's totally the best." she nudged her boyfriend as she explained to Chrys. "It's a fun time."

Rory blushed as she touched her hair, she didn't know why she did that she knew it looked good but him noticing made her blush."Thank you I just got it done." She watched as her father took his hand and gave him his special handshake that's suppose to tell him everything he knows about a man. 'Chanel that outfit is everything." she complimented. Her mother making her way to greet Jonah."So this is the one huh?"she nudged Rory. 'Hello I'm Rory's mother it's nice to finally to meet you."

"I love it." Jonah said truthfully looking at Rory with a big, dorky smile on his face. He kept a smile on his face once her father shook his hand, but he was already mentally freaking out. Turning his attention to her mother, Jonah nodded his head in response, "Hello Mrs. Bishop. It's nice to meet you too." he spoke politely. "Thank you for inviting me tonight." It was nice to be around an actual family, it felt comforting.

Nana came in and pinched her son on the cheeks, "Oh my sweet baby boy is here, I am so happy to have all my favorite people in one place" she said looking around the room. "We have some good southern food, but also a little bit of savory kugel to keep with the Hanukah spirit" Nana announced to the room. "If y'all will join us in the dining room"

Chanel looked down at her outfit and smiled big at Rory, "Oh my god, thanks hun!" she said before Nana came in. She walked to the dining room with Wren and took a seat next to him as everyone was sitting down.

When Nana came in the attention went to her, both Rory and her Mother rolled their eyes at the interaction between him and his mother. "Yes let's go and get to know each other." Her mother said happily as she began to walk. Rory took Jonah's hand and followed suit. Sitting across from Wren and Chanel so they could silently communicate. Her hand still holding Jonah's under the table.

Alex was in blissful ignorance, he was just super happy to be home. He honestly did not even notice his wife or daughter roll their eyes, everybody loves Nana. They were all seated, "So, Jonah ... Chanel. What are your plans for college?" he asked as they started to pass food around. Chrys keeping a watchful eye on Wren's plate. They had been watching him like hawks the whole time they had been home.

Jonah smiled to himself once everyone was seated and he still had Rory's hand in his. The question shouldn't have really came as a surprise, but it did. College was honestly something Jonah didn't think about too much. He was too busy thinking about what was going to happen once he turned eighteen. His foster parent's were super sweet and he hoped they would actually adopt him and his brother one day but that wasn't certain. If they didn't, he'd have to move out and live on his own. He needed to make sure he had enough money. "College?" he asked, trying to come up with some kind of answer that was good enough. "I would like to be a writer." he said. "So hopefully if I have the money I'll be able to go to college and see that through." he answered, regretting how much he said.

Chanel looked over at Wren and Rory's parents and smiled, she also was little stuck when it came to the topic of college, but for different reasons. She just simply didn't know what she wanted to do. "I keep going back and forth with what I want to study. I wanna make sure it's what I love, you know?" she tilted her head to the side, "But I've sort of been thinking about culinary school. I've suddenly got this passion for cooking. Who would've thought!" she said, leaving out the part where she was sort of forced into cooking for herself back at home. Luckily she actually started to enjoy it, but she hadn't talked to Wren about her plans of culinary school. It wasn't for certain.

''Oooh A writer and a possible chef in the family hun, we could be so lucky." Chrys nudged her husband."Mom please." Rory whined. She could see the wheels in her moms head turning and planning their whole life together. "Oh hush, ignore her she's cranky." Chrys never let her smile falter. "Would you guys like wine? or tea to go with this delicious food." Rory gave Wren a what is she doing look before shaking her head and putting food on her and Jonah's plate.

Wren moved his hand to Chanel's knee and looked up at her and gave her a look that said please dear god do not fall for it. He prayed that Rory shot Jonah the same look, and he returned his gaze to Rory. "Nana the food is delicious" said Wren as he picked at what was on his plate, taking a big bite for everyone to see.

Chanel knew what was up. Her own parents would have asked the same question, but they would be serious about it. Or at least her mother would have. But Chanel knew not everyone was like her parents. "Oh I don't drink, but thank you for the offer. Tea for me please!" she said casually. She looked over as Wren took a bite and smiled. Jonah nodded his head in agreement with Chanel, "No thank you. I'll have tea as well." he smiled as he looked down at the food. "It does look delicious." he said before taking a bite.

'Tea it is." Chrys said getting up. Rory was relieved but that lasted a few seconds as Alex decided to speak."So how did these friendships." he did air quotes. "Happen. I want all the deets. I'm saying that right or is it tea, never mind I want the tea guys." he fixed his glasses as nana and Chrys came back with tea and more food.

"Dad" said Wren with a laugh, what a quirky man. Him and his sweaters. Wren smiled at the question though, "I thought Wren and Chanel were going to date when he moved here" said Nana, "and I thought those two were going to get back together. But it seems ... the Bishop children are a little slow paced" Nana added as she tried to put more food on Wren's plate from her seat. Wren shook his head to the food, "Hey now, it's not that we're slow. It's that we like to wait for the right moments" said the boy as he defended the fact that they were both total weenies.

"Look at my little baby of course she was smitten, look at that face." Chrys smiled pointing her fork at Wren. "Rory is absolutely stunning no way he could stay away from my sweetness." Rory shook her head at the comments that were being made." We had to do it with style, you know unforgettable moments?" she wasn't wrong the hoops they had to deal with wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.

Chanel laughed along with Wren as Alex spoke. He hadn't changed one bit. "He is a cutie." she said with a single nod. "I was a little slow though. Guess I just thought he saw me as just a friend, but I feel really lucky. He's been nothing but sweet to me." she spoke truthfully. "I mean, he's always been sweet to me but he's an amazing boyfriend! Best I've ever had." she let the last comment slip and quickly took a bite from the food. Hopefully they didn't think too hard on that. Jonah looked over at Chanel, feeling nervous for her. "Huh? Oh yeah, Rory's amazing. She was one of my first friends when I got moved out here. I-I guess I was just too nervous to ask at first." he said, keeping out obvious details as to why they just started dating again. "She's incredible. I'm really happy I met her."

Wren smiled when Chanel said he was the best boyfriend she had ever had. It made him feel really good about himself. "Oh, so the Rorster made the first move? That's my girl" said Alex with some pride. He had raised a headstrong daughter, he could not exactly say the same about his son. They were all looking at Wren picking at his food, he had eaten a fair amount for him. "Wrennie, do you want seconds?" asked Chrys with the sweetest smile, "You had a big practice earlier" she added. She looked over to Rory for a little support. "I ate a late lunch, but I'm gonna go refill the water pitcher" said Wren as he got up from the table and went to the kitchen with the water pitcher to avoid having to talk more about his food. "Chrys" said Alex sternly, "We're not doing this right now, we have guests" he said quietly.

"Babe." Rory smiled at Jonah, before groaning internally at the nickname he let slip. Rory had also been watching how he would handle the food. She looked over at her mother then dad before speaking."We were pigging out at the salon, I don't even know how I'm making it through this first place." she lied. "See leave the boy alone." her father spoke waiting for Wren to come back." So are we in love or just infatuated?" he asked trying to put on his serious voice.

Chanel kept quiet once Wren left the room, she didn't know what to say. She didn't like to bring up that subject to Wren, she didn't want to upset him if everything was okay. Chanel believed what Rory was saying and tried to think positively on the situation.

Jonah smiled at Rory once she said babe, but actively chose not to look at any adults in the eye. At least not right now. He started to become incredibly confused when Wren left and it seemed like he was the only one that felt that way. He just sat and awkwardly continued to eat the food before Alex asked that question. He could tell his face was heating up as he chewed on his food. He had just told Rory he loved her at the ski trip, but was he supposed to say it out loud right now? "I-I-I... Yes." he answered, completely flustered. Idiot!

Chanel looked over at the parents and stayed quiet for a moment, "Love? Oh, we... we haven't... I mean I really like him, of course. But yeah, ya know?" she let out a forced laugh.

Wren came in at what felt like the worst time, Jonah was clearly flustered. Chanel was word vomitting about how they hadn't said that yet, "Chanel and I have only been dating like two weeks" said Wren as he put the water pitcher back down on the table and poured himself a glass. Why did his dad have to ask this right now? "Wow, these are some exciting developments" said Chrys as she took a sip of her wine. Jonah and Rory had said I love you, this was ... interesting information. She wondered why she had not heard more about this already. Wren ate some more of his food to please everybody at the table and put his hand under the table to hold hands with Chanel and smiled at her. Nana thought about how excited she was for a nightcap at the end of all of this, a stiff drink seemed very much in order.

Rory sighed eating some more food on her plate. She had lied about eating and she was starving but she knew if she ate too much her mother would catch on. She could already see the conversation about how she didn't tell her about being in love. "May I ask about your parents? What are they like? Where are they from? Is a family dinner with all of us in a future I make a delicious lasagna." Chrys prided. " she does, its what she made for the first date and I was hooked. I knew I was going to marry her then."

The mention of parents instantly made his stomach knot up. He hated bringing the mood down with his problems, but he wasn't even sure what to say. "P-Parents?" he repeated back, feeling pressure on his chest. "Uh right yeah, so Corey and Melissa are really nice. My... my foster parents." he specified, the words just kind of came out. It felt wrong to call them his parents. Jesse had already started calling them mom and dad, and he had been here less than Jonah. He wished he was that comfortable to call them that, but it still felt weird. "I'm um, not exactly sure where they're from... but Corey is the principal of the school and Melissa is a therapist. They've been amazing the whole time, I'm very grateful for them." he said truthfully, trying his best to make eye contact with everyone at the table.

Chanel also wasn't too excited to bring up her parents. Chrys and Alex knew her parents already, but she didn't exactly want to talk about them. There wasn't anything good to talk about. "Oh they're doing good. Mom and dad are the same." she lied. More like a half-lie. They pretty much were the same, but things had been very different. "I'm sure my mom would love to see you guys again." she forced a smile on her face, hoping they wouldn't bump into each other while Chrys and Alex were in town.

Chrys and Alex felt instantly bad for what they had asked when Jonah was answering. "Well, your foster parents sound lovely" said Chrys kindly. No one was going to ask any more details from Jonah, they had clearly taken the conversation in the wrong direction. They had no clue. He seemed well adjusted though, clearly he had been through a lot, but he didn't show it too much. Luckily Chanel came in with the distract, "Well, any time your parents want to come by there are welcome here. They've always been excellent company" said Alex in response, was it necessarily true? Not exactly, but they had no idea about the ongoings of the town right now. It hadn't been something Wren had mentioned in their phone calls. "Jonah is an excellent writer, mom" said Wren, "the school paper is great, and it's all thanks to him" Wren added to gas up his pal.

Rory sighed pushing her plate looking at her parents. She knew they meant well they usually did but sometimes they missed the ball. "Mmhmm I have a few issues upstairs if you want to take a look."She was sure her mother had been through every nook and crannie to see what she was up to maybe she read one of the papers. "Chanel is killing it as a cheerleader and with Wren they are the ultimate power couple." Rory said proudly making herself aware that she didn't participate in any school activities and if she caught on. Her parents were already planning a speech of being more social in their head.

Jonah awkwardly laughed and waved his hands from side to side, "I wouldn't say excellent." he shook his head. "Oh but thank you." he corrected himself. Jonah appreciated the compliment, but he never viewed himself as a great enough writer. It's why he put himself as an editor for the school paper. "I'm more of an editor, but I write up some issues every now and then." he explained to Chrys and Alex with a small smile on his face. "But I mean if we're talking about talent, Rory is the best at designing clothes! I wish I could do that. She's so creative, but I'm sure you all know that already." he said, more relaxed. He could gush about Rory all day.

Chanel nodded her head and continued to eat, "I'll let them know." Another lie. She did not want her mother embarrassing her, she'd already done enough of that. She then smiled at Rory once the girl complimented her, "Aw thanks!" she said cheerfully. "You and Jonah are super cute though. Just a bunch of power couples here." she said, hyping up Rory. If Rory was into Jonah, he must be great.

"Mom, I showed you that jacket that Rory made me the other day. That's just the tip of the iceberg" said Wren thinking about the dope jacket that she had made. Rory was so talented. Sure, Wren had a full resume of high school experiences but Rosy was just so talented in something that could actually be used beyond a resume. "Well, I'm glad you all get along so well, happy that the twins still have such a good bond" said Chrys extending her hand to squeeze Alex's. Nana smiled, "They've really taken well to returning to White Lake" she said confidently. She felt like she was doing a good job, and proud of herself that two very successful parties had been thrown here with no one going to the hospital, thank the Lord himself.

For the most part they were right on the outside it looked like they were striving and adjusting well. "Of course the only time we fight is when he eats my food that he knew I was saving for later.' Rory sighed dramatically. Chrys nodded happy to hear Wren being associated with food. " It's a Bishop man thing your father does that to me also. You got to be quick dear." She smiled. "So what plans do you have for the winter vacation? Or any hopping parties that are happening?" Alex sat back proud of his lingo even though his daughter looked less impressed.

Chanel wasn't sure if she was doing anything with her parents for Christmas. It was one of few holidays they sort of celebrated together, and that was only because it involved gifts, and Chanel's mom loved gifts. "You know my parents, they love to live in the now." she said, putting it nicely. "I'm not exactly sure what we'll be doing, but I do love a good party." she said without too much thought. Hopefully they wouldn't think she's some kind of crazy party girl, even though she sort of was.

"Corey and Melissa like to go all out for the holidays. The kids really love it." Jonah explained with a small smile on his face. This was also going to be the first Christmas in a while that he was spending with Jesse. "I'm sure they have a bunch of family stuff planned for Christmas day." He then turned to Rory, "I'm sure they'd love if you came over during the break. They've been asking about you like crazy these past few days."

Chrys and Alex knew that Chanel was putting it very kindly that her parents were the flakiest people of all time. They had had their fair share of cancelled plans with the Hamptons. "Yeah the Hampton's big Christmas party" said Nana, going in for that fun correction so that Chanel could save a little face, "I go every year" because Nana also liked to have a good time. "How many kids are your parents fostering?" asked Chrys as she took another bite of food. Alex also turned to Jonah, very interested in his living situation.

Rory nodded, she didn't know what to say and if she didn't say anything then she couldn't incriminate herself or anyone else. "Have they?" She was a little surprised. "Whenever you want me to come over I'm there. " she smiled before scanning the room, everyone was almost finished eating and if she knew her parent's that meant they would separate them and talk to them privates.

Chanel looked over and nodded her head, "Yep. It's always a fun time when you're around." she responded to Nana, giving her a face to show she was grateful for the comment. It was always so hard to make her parents look good.

Jonah was pretty much finishing up his meal when he got asked about Corey and Melissa. "The number changes every now and then, depending on if someone get adopted." he started to explain. "Jesse and I, oh my brother, we're the oldest. But there's always a pretty big group of kids there. Kinda feels like Cheaper by the Dozen." he chuckled. This house was the best one he had been in so far. He nodded his head at Rory, "You can come over sometime this week?" he suggested.

Wren was also nervous about everyone being separated and talked to, so he devised a plan for himself. "Chanel will you help me clear the table?" he asked as he started picking up plates for people and heading to the kitchen with a stack. Chrys corrected him, "Chanel's a guest" she instructed her son. "Mom, she eats here like 3 times a week. She's basically family" he said, he almost let it slip that it was like she lived here. She had been basically for weeks. There was a ton of her stuff that he had just dropped off at her house before his parents got home. Chrys allowed the two to head off to the kitchen with plates to start cleaning. Wren put the plates down and gave her a quick kiss, "You look really pretty tonight, I meant to tell you that earlier. Sorry my parents are ... well them" he said looking down at her.

"No problem, im Christmas shopping Monday and mom daughter day is Wednesday so any other day works." She glared at Wren when he took her idea. Rory couldn't think of anything else they could do. "Do you want to get some fresh air before my dad and you have a talk?" Rory said getting up. " Be back in 10 minutes." Chrys stated and keep the backporch light on." She wasn't sure if Jonah and Rory had started having sex but she wasn't going to take any chances

Chanel nodded her head instantly, she was already so used to helping with the dishes, "Don't worry! I don't mind help out at all." she said with a sweet smile on her face. Once she set the dishes down, Chanel got on her toes as she kissed Wren, "Yeah? I haven't worn this in like, forever! Forgot I had it. Wish you could take it off of me." she spoke quietly before giving him a wink. "What's to apologize for? They're great. Everything good with you?" she asked, trying to make it casual as she referred to him leaving for a bit when his eating became a subject at the table.

"Maybe Friday?" Jonah asked before he got up from the seat, "Uh yeah." he smiled and walked outside with Rory. By the time they were outside, he let out a sigh of relief. "Oh god, I feel all shaky. Do I look shaky? Are my palms sweaty? Sorry that's a weird question. I just hope I'm doing fine." he rambled as he paced a bit back and forth. "Do you think they like me? Or, oh shit, do you think they hate me? Don't answer that. Wait no, maybe you should. Be honest."

Wren wanted to take the outfit off her too, he preferred their casual dinners with Nana where they weren't stuck at the table for so long. He put his hand on her waist but didn't say anything, he knew once he opened that door it would be impossible to shut and his parents were in the next room. But then, then she asked about how he was doing. She totally meant the food thing and the little outburst at the table about seconds, and who knows what his parents said when he was refilling the water. "I could be better" he said, moving her against the fridge and kissing her more deeply and moving his hand down from her waist onto her ass. It was a fool proof way to keep Chanel distracted from whatever his parents had said about food at dinner.

Rory watched him as he started rambling, he had done so well at the dinner table she was sure he was nervous on the inside but he hid it so well. She took his hand and pulled him closer to her,fixing his hair. " I love you and my parents adore you and you look so good tonight." She wrapped her arms around him. "You're doing amazing babe,really." She kissed him softly. Jonah was a good guy and she was sure her parents saw that. " I hope they haven't made you uncomfortable in any way?"

Wren knew Chanel too well. She'd take any opportunity to get a little physical and this was no exception. She smiled against his lips as he began to kiss her, moving his hand down her ass and up her skirt. Once she got started, she didn't exactly know where to draw the line. She wasn't thinking about how they were literally in an open kitchen with his family in the next room.

Jonah blinked a couple times as Rory pulled him closer to fix up his hair. "I love you too." he said with a genuine smile, practically forgetting everything he was thinking about before. Jonah just wanted to make a good impression, this was such a big deal for him. He couldn't mess this up. Hearing Rory's reassurance did help though, he trusted her. If she felt like he was doing a good job, then he'd take her word. Jonah kissed Rory back before shaking his head at her question. "No, I like them." he answered. The only question that caught him off guard was about his parents but that answer was bound to be a little awkward. It shouldn't have even surprised him. "Your dad's pretty funny." he said with a smile.

"Chanel Hampton, the things I am going to do to you later" whispered Wren into her ear as he moved down to kiss on her neck. A few moments later Nana came in and Wren immediately removed his hands from Chanel and went over to the kitchen island, "Nana, hi" he said with a deer in the headlights look. "You two better keep it together, your mother is nothing like she was when they were young. She's forgotten, so keep your hands to yourselves" she warned. Chrys walked into the kitchen, "Keeping our hands to ourselves?" she teased almost. "Mom, it was just a kiss. Nana's just making sure we're not grossing anyone out" Wren lied.

It was nice to have a minute alone with him, she was on edge hoping her parents didn't totally embarrass her, or catch him up with a question that would land them in hot water. Jonah was doing an amazing job with her parents, and they seem to like them so it seemed like the hard part was over. She let her lips touch his once more." Aww young love." Alex interrupted clasping his hands over his chest. "Is it really love or lust, They may mirror each other sometimes." He said." i know i have to..what do kids say curve the ladies." he said with a corny smile.

Chanel quickly straightened her skirt out and stepped away from Wren, unsure of what to say. All she did was nod at Nana in response. She had known Wren's parents since she was young, but a lot has changed, she's changed. She didn't want them to hate her. Chrys's voice made her jump a bit. "Yep. Uh, oh right! I should finish cleaning these dishes." she quickly said as she turned around to the dishes they placed on the counter.

Jonah kissed Rory back before instantly turning his attention to Mr. Bishop as he came by. "Lust? Nonono. Just... love." he said awkwardly. He of course did really love Rory, but he wasn't sure if talking about love the first day he met her parents was right. Was there even a right answer to any of this? Jonah chuckled and nodded his head, "Ah right. It's that winning personality of yours, can't be beat." Maybe complimenting was the right answer.

Wren was deeply uncomfortable to say the least, and he was hiding the most poorly timed boner behind the kitchen island. "Oh Chanel, you don't have to do the dishes, we can just hangout" said Chrys, "I'm still fun old Chryssie" she said with a smile that was all too kind. She was trying way too hard, "Nana and Wren would love to do the dishes, wouldn't you two?" she asked. "Wren would love to do the dishes, of course" said Nana as she was poured herself some whiskey and sat down, "My old bones, ya know" Nana joked and Wren laughed. He felt bad that Chanel was about to be whisked away.

Chrys took Chanel on her arm and led her to the living room, "So Chanel, that instagram of yours" said Wren's mother, "you're such a pretty girl" she said. She meant it as a compliment, but it all came off as vaguely threatening.

Alex nodded," Good love is always better." He said proudly before looking over at his daughter and smiled. " I'm going to let you in on a little secret." He paused and Rory had already started rolling her eyes. " sweater vest, woman love them. Got one for everyday and my wife loves every single one of them." He boasted and rory rolled her eyes again. " im going to go help nana." She excused herself after kissing jonah's cheek.

Chanel smiled back at Chrys, her wanting to hangout must be a good sign. "Sounds good to me." she said, trying to move on from what just happened. It wasn't like his mom actually saw anything. As she walked to the living room, her smile slowly faded. "My instagram?" she asked softly. This was definitely not what she wanted to talk about with her boyfriend's mom. Yeah, she showed a lot, but she was Chanel. Of course she would. "Uh, thank you." she said, forcing the smile back on her face. "That's very nice of you to say."

Jonah relaxed a bit when he got the response he was given. He was doing good. Once Mr. Bishop said he had a secret, Jonah raised a brow, unsure of where this was going. He hadn't even noticed Rory rolling her eyes. "Oh wow, very fashionable." he said with a small smile. Jonah did like this man. He was a goober, in the best possible. "I'll have to make a mental note. Guess you'll be seeing me some sweater vests." he turned to Rory, but that was a lie. He was not going to do that. "O-Okay, yeah. See you soon." he smiled before looking over at Mr. Bishop, the nerves kicking back in. "Um, thank you for inviting me." he said automatically, even though there was a good chance he had already said that. He couldn't remember in this moment.

Chrys was being kind, and Chanel was a beautiful girl .. but there was something to be worried about. "I'm just concerned what colleges are going to think, no shaming or whatever. I'm just saying ... those archaic bastards are not exactly empowering" said Chrys. There was a reason she had chosen writing instead of teaching.

Wren was doing dishes when Rory came in, "Guess we both have to do dishes. I tried my best to get you out of it" said Wren laughing as he tossed her the dish rag to be on drying duty. "So did Dad catch you too? Because Nana had the delight" he joked.

"Don't worry She'll never admit it but she gets her fashion sense from me." He stood in front of the younger man. "I wanted to have a little chat." Alex said not really sure how to do the questioning thing. "I see that you love my daughter and I know she loves you, but are you both past the problems that caused your previous breakup?"

"We were just kissing, no grinding." She smiled. " You lucky it was mom, I can see her now. Oh Lawrence what is going on here..then 2 hours about the birds, bees and everything in-between."

Chanel crossed her arms around her chest, feeling uncomfortable in the outfit she was wearing. Maybe this was even too revealing. Chrys and Alex must have already talked about her before she came, they must feel so disappointed in Wren for being with her. "I didn't really think of that..." she spoke softly. "I guess I do some things without really thinking it through." she shrugged, feeling embarrassed just talking about this. "I must get that from my mom." the words came out before she could stop it. She hated thinking about any kind of similarities between her and her mom, and she did not want to talk about her mom with Chrys, so she simply tried laughing it off.

Jonah's eyes widened a bit but tried to keep his composure. He wasn't expecting Rory's father to bring up their previous breakup, he wasn't even sure how much he knew. Thinking about it made his heart start to race. He just hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt, "Um yeah, y-yes." he corrected himself. "We're... uh, we're working on our communication." he tried to explain. "I was really in my head about our relationship, but I'm just like that." he tapped his forehead, trying to laugh it off. "We're doing really good. Yeah."

Chrys and Alex had most definitely talked about Chanel before she came over, and they had been keeping up with her through the years online. How could they not? They worried about her, her parents were not exactly inspiring role models. They wanted to see Chanel succeed. "Well, we don't need to talk about your mother. We can just talk about Wren" said Chrys taking a deep breath, changing out one hard conversation for a harder one, "How much had Wren told you about his recovery?" she asked, doing her best to pry in an unrevealing way. It was not working that well, but at least she didn't ask outright how much Chanel saw him eat or when. She was deeply worried about him, especially getting into a relationship which could be another stressor.

"I think she might be giving Chanel the birds and the bees talk right now" said Wren, his heart rate picking up. "I love having them here, but why are we doing this? This is so stressful. They're being interviewed. We're not some book mom is going to write or some seminar that dad is going to teach for gods sake" Wren added with a laugh. Their parents were well meaning but also absolutely ridiculous sometimes.

Alex nodded as he listened. He knew his children and he knew them well they both developed a habit of keeping everything to themselves or just between them. Must be a twin thing because he always talked about everything to his mother and Chrys. "I'm glad that's very important. And are you to intimate? Like having sex?" he threw the question in there like his wife asked him to. He hoped his angel was still pure, most girls didn't stay virgins this long but she had,

"I could see the title now. How to relate to your teenage twins, school, clothes and sex." Rory grabbed a rag and dried a few of the dishes." I have no idea what dad could be saying, you know he tried to make sweater vest cool." she couldn't belover her father sometimes, she just wantedvto hang out, eat and make out maybe.

"Dad just doesn't understand that we are a turtleneck family" said Wren with a laugh, he did enjoy a good turtleneck. "We should go check their room for a manuscript. I really wouldn't put it past mom at all" said the boy as they finished up the last of the dishes, "Shall we... go snoop?" he asked with a grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Our heights and length of our necks make us look so sophisticated. " she raised her brow with a devious smile. "Yes and they left their phones upstairs, we can see what they've been up to." she folded the rag and put in the counter confident they won't get caught.

Chanel almost sighed from relief once Chrys said that they could just talk about Wren instead, but then she heard the question and it felt like a punch to the gut. She couldn't catch a break. "His recovery?" she asked back, only to get more time to answer the question. Chanel didn't know how to answer this. The past few times she wanted to bring the topic up to Wren, she didn't. Maybe she should have talked about this with him. "We don't really talk about it. He told me he went to a clinic." she answered, still pretty flustered. "He's been doing good. I mean, I think he has." she had to add in the last comment, Chanel should have been more on top of this but she didn't want to seem overbearing. "I haven't noticed anything since that time he came over my house after one of those workouts." she let it slip out, referring to the time when Wren came over to "fight" with Chanel but only resulted in him almost passing out. Fuck, why would she bring that up? She didn't want to have any problems with anyone, especially not with Wren.

Jonah stared at Mr. Bishop in silence for a quick moment. What do I say? Did Rory already tell them? Maybe she didn't. Unless this is a test. She might have told them and he's asking me to see if I'll lie or not. Oh god oh god oh god. his mind was racing. "Sex? Oh no, sir." he answered, hoping he was convincing enough. Jonah wasn't the best at lying, especially when he was internally panicking. But he couldn't possibly say yes. They had sex when they weren't even together, and then the rest of that night got him in a lot of trouble. As it should have. "I haven't uh, brought that up yet. We just got back together so... you know." he laughed nervously. Please believe me, please believe me. I don't want to get my ass kicked.

Wren and Rory raced upstairs to their parents room and started opening cabinets. Wren slammed a door shut, "Ew, sex toys drawer" said Wren faking a gag. It was deeply unfortunate, "Why was that the first one, and why isn't it in a bedside table drawer like a normal person??" Wren said as he looked at his sister.

Chrys put her head in her hands before pulling up and pushing her hair back, "Just keep tabs on him, he takes everything so seriously but this" said Chrys. They had been good parents, they had really done all they could to build him up, but it wasn't enough. "It's something he's going to have for the rest of his life, but that doesn't mean that it's always going to be bad" Wren's mother added, "And it's by no means your responsibility. Just be patient with him and tell Nana or a hospital if things get really bad again" she warned.

Rory was happy she wasn't the one to open the cabinets she was sure that's not what she wanted to see. "I don't even..." she shook her head. "Our parents don't know what normal is." She said looking under the bed and pulling out a suitcase. "I'm scared to open this."

Unlike Chrys, Alex was a bit more trusting. If the boy said he didn't deliver his daughter then he believed him. More importantly he wanted to believe, he didn't want to think of her as anything less than his little girl. And if Jonah was lying he was happy to hear it. He wasn't like Chrys when it came to that part of his daughters life" Good you guys should wait until never, you know just to be safe." He said half jokingly. " no but seriously as long as my daughter is happy and you're happy i approve the relationship."

Chanel was feeling overwhelmed by the conversation. She wanted to make sure Wren was okay but she didn't want to piss him off either. She needed to find some inbetween but all of this was so much. "Was it like, really bad? Back in California?" she asked softly.

Jonah relaxed a bit once Mr. Bishop spoke. Maybe he shouldn't have lied about it, it felt weird to already be lying about something. But it was sex. It would have been weird either way. "I am happy. Very happy with her." he spoke truthfully with a genuine smile on his face. "I want to make her happy too. I really care about her." Jonah nodded, he really wanted this to work out this time. "She is in good hands, promise."

Chrys could see the care and concern in Chanel's face, "Yeah, he passed out during one of his srping basketball games and we had to take him to the hospital" said Wren's mom, "But he can tell you that story in his own time" she added. She put her hand on Chanel's shoulder, "Just watch him but don't make him feel like he's watched, me and Alex are pretty bad about it" she admitted.

Wren was now more curious than ever for Rory to open the suitcase, "If it's bad then you just shut it and put it back seconds after opening it. How bad could it be?" said Wren as he kneeled down next to her, "Just open it, I have to know now" the boy said as his heart rate started picking up for no reason. He had no idea what was in there.

Rory nodded her curiosity usually got the best of her so why would this time be different. Undoing the latches she opened it."Drug test." she groaned handing her brother a box. What do they think we do here, party and get super lit." she said a little annoyed. "I wonder if all parents do this or is it just ours?"

Alex could tell he was telling the truth which made him all warm and fuzzy on the inside."Good because I will do absolutely nothing but my wife, she's the scary one out of us and you don't want to have to go against her because of her children." he said softly."I have one more inquiry if you don't mind young man.

Chanel nodded slowly once Chrys explained a bit. Thinking about how they were in basketball season right now made her panic a bit. These were already stressful times for Wren. "Watch him but don't make him feel watched. Right, okay. Got it." she forced a smile on her face. That seemed way easier said than done. "So I shouldn't ask him about it? Maybe not... He seemed good on Thanksgiving which is nice." Oh was she wrong about that.

Jonah could already feel the nerves coming back, "Oh okay... I-I-I'll make sure not to get on her bad side." she nodded a bit frantically. "I uh, don't mind at all." he responded back, but he very much minded. He thought the worst was over, but how bad could the question really be?

"He'll talk when he's ready to talk" said Chrys, her guard coming back up. She didn't need to divulge all her son's secrets to his girlfriend. "And make sure you keep up with Rory and Nana, I've read a lot about eating disorders and lying is a huge part of keeping up appearances. So if he says he ate with Rory, or Nana gave him dinner. Just check up later" she suggested. "Other than that, please don't get pregnant. You both have a lot going for you right now, and I'm just going to put that thought out there".

"Drug tests? What are they going to test Nana too? What the fuck" said Wren rolling his eyes. "This is so annoying" he said, "If anything they should be happy I get high and have the munchies".

"I would love to see that exchange between those three." she chuckled." I really don't see the point of these." she shook her head, Rory knew some kids their age had drugs problems but they had to know the twins weren't like that.

"How is Wren, is he doing well?" Alex wanted to see without asking, he didn't want to push their son but if something was wrong he highly doubt Wren would come to him or Chrys would be the first ones to know, shit he might be surprised if he was the last one to know]

Chanel listened carefully, trying to take in everything at once. She knew she could go to Rory or Nana about it, but she always felt kind of weird doing that. It was like she was going behind Wren's back, but everyone just cared about him. "I will." she promised. Chanel couldn't help but laugh after Chrys's last statement. "My mom already told me the same thing, and my now my dad. A few times." she sighed. "That's definitely not gonna happen, trust me. Gotta keep my body like this a little longer. More like a lot longer."

Jonah furrowed his brows at the question, he wasn't expecting to be asked about Wren. "Wren? Oh yeah, he's great." he answered with a smile. Jonah had no clue what was going on with Wren and he was still thinking about what happened while they were all eating. It seemed like he was the only person that was confused about it. "He's really good with basketball from what I've seen and is class president. Oh he's also in a band, he really good on the drums." he went on, not sure if this is what Mr. Bishop meant by his question. "Is everything okay with him?"

"I always liked your parents" Chrys half lied, they were fun but they were not the best people. She should probably get coffee with Tiffany anyway, "I'll try to catch up with your mom while I'm here, but Chanel you know you are always welcome here. I know your parents aren't home often and Nana is more than hospitable to you and Taron and all Wren's new friends that he magically made when he got here. Not that he isn't great, but the kids here were so mean to him when he was little" said Wren's mom, "I'm so happy to hear he is doing as well as he is" she added with a kind smile. She was thankful her son had so many people looking out for him, it made her feel better about being away all the time.

Wren got up and looked out the window carefully to check on Jonah and Dad, "We need to wrap it up" he said as he double checked that everything was back in place. "Getting caught isn't going to go well" Wren added nervously, "they're probably not even going to test us".

"Of course, im just checking in on him to making sure he's doing well. He seems very active in school I just want to make sure he's not overdoing it. He needs to have fun too." Alex smiled. The twins were the independent types of something was wrong they never knew until it was too late and he didn't want that to happen again...especially with Wren. "Thank you for looking out for them. We should head back my mom made brownies."

Rory nodded closing the suitcase and pushing it back under the bed and getting up. "I really hope not." She made her way out the room. Closing the door. "Let's go save our beaus."

It was nice to hear that someone liked her parents, even if it was a lie or not. They definitely brought mixed feelings out of people. But even though Chanel had a complicated relationship with her parents, it hurt when she heard people talk negatively about them. She could cause they were her parents, but it was different when it came out of someone else's mouth. "They like you too." she said back. Chanel parent's at least remembered Chrys and Alex after all this time, that meant a lot in itself. "Thank you, that means a lot. Really." Once Wren left, all she had were Taron and Sophie's family. She appreciated everything they did for her, but she knew she had to be such an annoyance to the Bishops and Hayworths. "Everyone loves him, I can't think of one person that has a problem with him." she shook her head, it was about time people saw how amazing Wren was.

"I understand. We have a little friend group that hangout and play video games." Jonah explained with a smile, hoping that would somehow show that Wren was having fun and not overworking himself with school. "Oh you don't have to thank me. I just really care about them." he said truthfully before heading back inside the house. "I do love brownies."

"That is so good to hear, really" said Chrys with a smile across her face, not that Wren being liked was difficult. It was just a worry when they sent him back to White Lake. "Well, Nana made brownies" she said getting up, "So grilling session is over" she said with a laugh, "Just be careful with him, he's ... delicate" said Wren's mom as she led them back to the kitchen where Nana was waiting with a whole plate of brownies.

Wren and Rory headed down the stairs and into the kitchen before anyone came back, "Oooh, brownies" said Wren enthusiastically picking one up and taking a bite before putting it down and distracting people with conversation, "So, Chrismukkah?" he said to the room, "What are we thinking? Divide the house in half this time? Or mix the decorations?" he asked.

Rory followed her brother and picked two up but she actually ate the first one.She closed her eyes and enjoyed the chocolate goodness"I say we mix the decorations. Last time we did half and half everything clashed." Rory said putting the rest of the brownie in her mouth.

Alex made his way to his wife and whispered the information he found out. " Wren is doing well here and Rory is still a virgin but most importantly someone thinks my sweater vest are cool. So its obvious you and Rory were wrong."he said happily grabbing a piece of brownie.

Chanel smiled and followed Chrys to the kitchen, "I will." she answered with a single nod. "Brownies!" she exclaimed as she skipped over to Nana. "Your brownies are the best!" she said cheerfully as she took one of the brownies from the plate.

Jonah walked into the kitchen and smiled at Nana, "Thank you." he said as he grabbed a brownie and took a bite. He turned over to Chanel and gave each other a look. They were both winded from the separate conversations they just finished having.

Wren put his hand around Chanel's waist at they had the discussion, worried about whatever his mother had said. "Mixed decorations for sure" he nodded in agreement.

Chrys gave Alex a look, "Wren is doing well, Rory ... I'm on the fence about that virgin claim but he looks nervous enough, and ... do not get me started on the sweater vest. That is coming off as soon as we are upstairs" said Chrys with a quiet laugh as the two conferenced.

"You okay?"Rory whispered as she moved closer to Jonah. She wasn't sure what her father had said but she wanted find out. "We can go tree shopping...and find a theme." She said excitedly.

" I'm too scary to lie to babe." He shot a her a smile." If you want me naked then thats all you have to say." He turned his attention back to the kids. " Okay. Okay you two or more than welcomed to join so they don't go overboard.

Chanel wrapped her arms around Wren for a moment, hugging him from the side before taking a bite out her brownie piece. "Rory's great with decorations, but I can't pass up an opportunity to tag along. It helps me get into the holiday spirit!"

Jonah placed his hand on the small of Rory's back and leaned in closer to her to speak, "Yeah, I'm fine." he answered with a smile. "But I told him we didn't have sex so if they ask you, right now, we're holy virgins." he whispered quickly, looking around to make sure no one heard. "I'm happy to join." he told Mr. Bishop politely.

The evening ended with decorating and Christmas music. A lovely evening at the Bishop house.

#wrenxrory #wrenxchanel #wrenxjonah #wrenxfamily #threads || rory and wren #threads || chanel and wren #threads || jonah and wren #rory and wren || 006 #chanel and wren || 009 #jonah and wren || 004

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weebiewrites · 4 years

Text

Are You Sure We’re Talking About The Same Person? Chap. 4

AO3

Previous — Next

Adrien didn't sleep that night. When his alarm went off at 6:30, he didn't even stir. He just kept staring up at the ceiling. Eventually, Plagg floated up from his spot on the pillow and hit the snooze button for him. When it went off again at 6:45, Adrien still made no moves to get up, despite being wide awake.

"Ok, kid. Come on. You can't mope forever." Plagg said, slapping Adrien's cheek. Due to Plagg's tiny Kwami arms, though, the slaps felt more like aggressive taps to Adrien.

"I'm so stupid." He said, turning away from Plagg and curling into a ball.

"I'm not gonna deny that, but if you don't get up soon, Nathalie's gonna come up here and drag you out of bed whether you like it or not. Better to avoid a scolding."

Adrien groaned. He felt like trash. He abandoned bro time to go confess to a girl, and while he wasn't completely rejected by her, she still didn't say yes (he probably should have expected that, but Adrien wasn't one to think before he acted). And then, of course, he had to go and try to play wingman for himself as himself, instead of just quitting while he was ahead, because he never knew when to stop and he would never learn, and now Ladybug hated him and Nino probably hated him too and everybody else would hate him when they found out what an awful friend and partner he was and he would never make friends ever again and it was all his fault and-

"Adrien!" Adrien's eyes refocused as he blinked the tears away. Plagg hovered in front of his face with his arms crossed. "You're over-thinking. Snap out of it. I'm hungry."

"Oh," Adrien said. Moments later, he was up, fetching a piece of cheese for Plagg to snack on. Minutes later, he had thrown some clothes on, and rushed into the bathroom to fix his hair. He couldn't really do anything about his bloodshot eyes, but it wasn't exactly a rare sight to see him with such. Nino had once suggested that he and Marinette make an "always tired" club, as they both frequently had visible bags under their eyes when they showed up for school.

"Fresh picked roses, huh?" He mumbled as he reached for his deodorant. It was extra strength. His father got it for him shortly after he became Chat Noir. He always thought it smelled more ocean-y, but he never had a good sense of smell to begin with (he wouldn't be able to handle Plagg's cheese addiction if he had).

Once he was done in the bathroom, he thumped downstairs to breakfast, which he was late for. Nathalie began to chide him, but she stopped when she got a good look at his face.

"Do I really look that bad?" Adrien whispered into his shirt when she left the room.

"Like absolute shit, kid."

Adrien braced for it, but he still stiffened when his father entered the dining room, Nathalie tailing behind him.

"Adrien." He said, looking the boy up and down. "You're not sleeping well, again?" It was a question, but it didn't really sound like one.

"No, I slept fine. I just poked myself in the eye putting my contacts in this morning." His father looked unimpressed with his answer.

"Both eyes?" He asked flatly.

"I guess I just have bad luck." Plagg stirred inside Adrien's shirt at his response. Adrien's father narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but said nothing else, and walked back out of the room. Nathalie followed, mumbling something about doing another sleep study. Great.

Ever since Adrien had decided that he wanted to go to school, his father demanded that he be there a half hour early every day in order to "become familiar with the material to be covered" and "make the most of time." His father didn't seem to realize that his classroom door was locked until the teacher arrived, so he usually spent the first 10-15 minutes of his day dawdling around in an empty hallway. Most of his classmates didn't start to show up until 10 minutes before homeroom. Mylene was usually the earliest (besides him, of course), followed by Nathaniel, and then Kim and Max. Sabrina sometimes came in early too, to prepare Chloe’s seat (this consisted of her dusting, disinfecting, and then polishing her bench and desk). Eventually, everyone started showing up one after another. Today was no different, of course. Nino used to be one of the later ones to show up, but since he had started dating Alya, they had been walking to school together, and he had been decently on time. When Nino walked in, Alya in hand, Adrien suddenly froze.

He very quickly realized that he hadn’t thought about Nino since earlier that morning, and he had no idea what he was going to say to apologize. Nino, as if oblivious to Adrien’s horrible betrayal, smiled widely as he entered the classroom and plopped down in the seat next to him.

“Hey man,” he said, seemingly without a care in the world. Adrien flushed.

“About last night,” he managed to start. Nino perked up immediately, a sly smile spreading across his face.

“You manage to go see your little lady?” Adrien stiffened.

“Uh… how did you..?”

“A mandatory photoshoot at 3 AM is unbelievable, dude. Even for your dad.” Adrien chuckled nervously. He was never really good at coming up with believable excuses. It was a wonder no one had figured out he was Chat Noir by now. “Besides, I just know you too well.” Nino added, nudging Adrien’s arm with his elbow.

“So you’re not mad at me?” Adrien asked.

“Bro! Of course not!” Nino said. He seemed offended by the very notion of being mad at Adrien. “You had to leave in a few hours anyway, right?”

That was… true. Adrien and Nino’s “sleepovers” were never actually sleepovers. There was no way Adrien’s father would ever let him sleep over at a friend’s house. Nino still didn’t know how he did it, but ever since Adrien accidentally let it slip to him that he snuck out of his house with ease on a near nightly basis, Nino insisted that he should come over every once in a while. Adrien would show up after curfew and leave at 6 AM, so he could sneak back into his room before he had to “wake up.”

“Yeah…” Adrien finally admitted. “But still-”

“Nah man, don’t worry about it. I just want to know how it went! Did you tell her?”

“Uhhhhh…” All of the events of the previous night suddenly crashed violently into his head. “Tell her what?” He asked, his mind drawing a blank as to what exactly Nino was referring to.

“Dude! What we talked about!”

Oh, right. Direct and sincere, or whatever.

“Yeah.” He said, feeling his cheek, the one Ladybug had kissed, warming up. Despite everything else that had happened, thinking about that kiss made him smile.

“And?” Nino seemed to be growing more impatient by the minute. “What did she say? She likes you back, right? Like I said?”

“I think.” Nino stared at him flatly.

“You think?” He asked.

“I’m… pretty sure.”

Nino beamed.

“So,” A grin lit up his face. “You guys are a thing now, right?”

Adrien sighed.

“Unfortunately, no.” He admitted, sinking into his chair. While Ladybug didn’t outright say no, he didn’t have a chance until Hawkmoth was defeated (and a small voice in his head whispered that he wouldn’t have a chance even then, but Adrien ignored it). Nino’s face fell for a moment, before becoming frantic.

“You… asked her out, right dude? Like, on a date? Don’t tell me you forgot to ask her out!” He said, his voice rising to a volume that Adrien wasn’t quite comfortable with in his current setting. He looked around, and caught a few stares.

“Of course I asked,” Adrien said in a hushed voice. Thankfully, Nino seemed to catch on, as he widened his eyes, and quickly scanned the room before moving closer to Adrien to hear. “I may be a little inexperienced, but I’m not clueless, dude!” Nino stared at him in disbelief.

“You asked her, and she said no ?” He said, carefully keeping his voice low.

“I mean… Kinda ?” Adrien involuntarily scratched the back of his neck. “It’s… a little more compli-”

“Wait, wait, wait, dude.” Nino interrupted. “Let me make sure I’m getting this straight. You asked Marinette out, and she said no?”

“Marinette..? No, I-”

Oh.

Everything happened all at once.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

[“I know who you’re talking about.”]

["Baby blue eyes and pigtails? Passionate? Driven? Like a superhero? C'mon, man!"]

[“I had a crush on her too, before I met Alya.”]

Nino thought he was talking about Marinette. Nino thought Adrien had a crush on Marinette. Which meant that Nino had encouraged Adrien to ask Marinette out, because Nino thought that Marinette—

Someone gasped loudly from behind him. Adrien turned around, and, to his horror, found Alya leaning in closer than she should have been. Close enough to eavesdrop. Adrien met eyes with Nino, and found that he seemed just as shocked as he was. Of course, Nino had kept Adrien’s secret. Even from his girlfriend, like a true bro. At this particular moment in time, however, Adrien wished he had told her. Adrien opened his mouth to speak, but it was too late.

Alya slammed her hands down on her desk, stood up, and yelled.

“Adrien asked Marinette out,” she started.

Everyone’s eyes were suddenly on him.

“And she said NO?”

…

Oh God.

Nearly every person in the room gasped in disbelief. Even Ms. Bustier. And then, he was bombarded.

“No way! Is that true, Adrien?”

“Everyone knows Marinette is head over heels for you! What did you do to her?”

“She has worse taste than I thought if she rejected you. You’re way too good for her anyways, isn’t that right, Adri-kins?”

Adrien felt like laughing, crying, and screaming, all at the same time. Nino noticed his distress and immediately turned to face the crowd.

“Guys, guys, guys, guys!” He said, trying to calm everyone down. “Hold on! Give him some space!” However, Nino was far too soft spoken to be heard over all of the yelling. Eventually Alya stepped in to help him.

“EVERYBODY SHUT UP!” She screamed. Her voice was scarily loud and commanding. It frightened some, most notably Mylene, but it was nonetheless effective in making everyone quiet down.

And it was at that exact moment that Marinette walked into the classroom.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous #are you sure we're talking about the same person?#adrien agreste #Nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous fic #ml fic #miraculous ladybug fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #ladrien #adrienette

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pastelgrungewrecker · 4 years

Text

Living The Lie

Dom and Forge looked to each other, and then back out into the living room at the man who stood too straight, too clean in his lines and the cut of his lapels.

Minimus Ambus- their youngest uncle.

Magnus sighed through his nose as Rodimus looked worriedly at him in the kitchen. Magnus went through the motions, finishing the last few dishes in the sink and nodded at the peering faces of the twins to begin carrying food out to the dinner table.

Rodimus reached out, squeezing Magnus’s forearm lightly with a weak smile.

“I know it’s been a long time- but he’s your brother, and he’s the uncle of the boys. It’ll be alright.”

Minimus watched, green eyes hooded but sharp as he took quick but silent steps around the room. He adjusted the cuffs of an obviously silk shirt absently as he scanned over the pictures on the wall. First Birthdays, First Christmases; all the marks of a family.

He came to a family portrait, organized in its loving chaos as Magnus laughed and Rodimus smiled with a roll of his eyes while each held one of their boys, who pulled faces at the camera. Minimus tilted his head before he spoke softly.

“I can feel you watching me young man- it is rude to avoid introductions to guests.”

Dom swallowed hard, “Oh, er... Sorry sir. I was just... curious, is all.”

“Oh?”, was Minimus’s answer, turning sharply on his heel to stare holes into the teenager behind him before being taken aback. He recognized those eyes; eyes he remembered crinkling in laughter, ones so often compared to his father’s.

Ones he had seen go cold, once upon a time.

“I’m Dominus, Forge is my brother. We’re uh, we’re twins- is everything alright?”

“Dominus... Named after the eldest Ambus, I am assuming?”

“Heh, uh, yeah.”, said Dom awkwardly, “I guess so.”

“You guess?”

“I don’t really know much about him- Dad doesn’t talk about his family much. He gets kinda tense when we ask about anyone other than his parents.”

Minimus smiled, a winning grin under his perfectly kept mustache, “Interesting- what do you know then, young man?”

“Well. We know you and and Uncle Dominus were secret agents, kinda. And that you both had gone undercover like, a million times-”, Dom winced slightly, “And... That Uncle Dominus passed away during the war.”

“Indeed- he died in the line of duty, infiltrating the DJD.”, was the smug answer as Minimus lifted an arm, beckoning Minimus to stand close enough for it to rest on young shoulders, “He was the best of the best, you see- Calculating and brilliant, unstoppable, uncatchable; why, we often joked about him being a fox among hens because he was so difficult to pinpoint or catch.”

“Then.. what happened when he-”

“It’s... not an appropriate story for young ears.”, said Minimus quietly, “I am quite certain your father would be against me regaling you with war-torture.”

Dom’s face paled slightly.

Forge, setting the table and breathing deep of the scents of hot food, froze. Rodimus watched in confusion as Forge turned and stared like a deer hearing a predator before he crept away.

Magnus frowned, his eyes heated and fists clenched, “...Rodimus, where is Dom.”

“The living room, I think- He wandered out there after carrying the dishes to the table.”

Forge slunk into the living room, narrowing his eyes as he heard Minimus speaking before he saw anything. He knew that tone, he knew those words- the same kind of storytelling voice he’d heard other ex-warriors use when regaling others with stories draped in gold foil to hide the copper and brass underneath.

Dom listened, feeling his stomach clench as Minimus described Dominus- Wise, cold, vicious, strong. Unbeatable, unfindable, unstoppable.

All things that he... was not.

“Hey Dom!”

Minimus jumped slightly, turning to eye Forge with his icy green gaze.

“Sorry Uncle Minimus- but dinner’s ready, I figured I should come get everyone. C’mon Dom, let’s get drink from the fridge while Uncle M takes a spot at the table.”

“G-Good idea, bro.”, said Dom far too quickly before he pardoned himself from Minimus’s company, wriggling free of the arm around his shoulders.

Forge looked over his shoulder, hooking his arm through his brother’s and guiding hims quickly to the kitchen. Neither noticed Magnus’s angry gaze follow them as Dom whispered in hushed tones what he’d learned, what he’d been told.

Rodimus watched his husband warily, leaning away slightly like a hound sensing a storm.

“...You alright Mags?”

“For now.”

Dinner was in content quiet. A few bursts of conversation here and there, mostly from Minimus asking the boys about their homelife, or asking Rodimus about marriage to the middle son of the line Ambus.

Dom and Magnus both remained quiet, merely eating and focusing their sight downwards.

Dom glanced at his father’s for a moment before returning his gaze to his plate. He felt the returning blossom of Responsibility in his stomach; the nagging suspicion that Common Sense and Reason were expected- no, demanded, of him.

His name was suddenly a vise, clamped around his throat and beginning to tighten until he quietly said, “I think I’m finished for the night.”

Minimus looked over, mid conversation with Rodimus, and frowned slightly, “Not much of an appetite, that one. How out of character, considering his namesake.”

“My boys have finicky appetites, Minimus- they get it from both of their parents.”, said Magnus coolly. He looked over to Dom, who seemed to refuse to look up, and he frowned heavily.

“Dom, have you taken your medication today?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I took the morning dose a little late, I haven’t taken the evening dose yet.”

“Hm, perhaps its just a passing fancy of your stomach.”, said Magnus with a sharp nod, “Make sure to get something gentle to drink, and put your dishes by the sink.”

“Yessir.”

Minimus watched in surprise as Dom slid off his chair, took his plate and silverware and glass with him into the kitchen. There was no sound but running water and the clinking of forks against plates for a moment before Forge hiccuped softly and groaned.

“Oof- too much.”

Magnus couldn’t help the chuckle, “I sweat, the two of you are quite the pair. Rinse your dishes then, and check on your brother for me; I heard something about a bug going around the high-school again, and you two always manage to catch the plague once a year.”

“That would be my genetics.”, snorted Rodimus, “When I get sick, I get siiiiick; minimum week of misery.”

“And dodged responsibilities.”, said Magnus dryly.

“Look, when I’m actively dying of a biblical-grade disease I’m not in the mood for paperwork.”

Minimus watched the pair as Forge left the table, doubling back with a “Whoops.” before grabbing his own dishes and heading into the kitchen with a soft “Hey Dom, don’t turn off the faucet yet-”

Dom shuddered, a hand over his mouth as he pushed the faucet’s water to run faster, and Forge winced. He lowered his voice, setting his dishes in the sink.

“Sick, or afraid you might get sick?”

Dom held up two fingers.

“I’ll cover you, sneak around the dividing wall and head to the bathroom okay? I’ll be there in a minute to check on you. It’s my turn for dish duty anyway.”

Dom noddled, scuttling away and stumbling slightly as his stomach clenched. Forge stepped up to the sink, rinsing the dishes present and sticking them in the dishwasher as he whistled the tune of a cheer from last week’s game.

Magnus, Rodimus, and Minimus sat in silence before Minimus spoke first.

“Odd, Dom hasn’t returned from being in the kitchen, do he and Forge often share duties?”

Magnus looked up, narrowing his eyes, “Not often, no- they tend to divide them by what they call Twin Rules. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Forge looked up when Magnus walked into the kitchen, and immediately glared.

“You have to get that guy outta here, Dad.”, he whispered.

Magnus tilted his head in confusion.

“He was talking to Dom about Uncle Dominus when I went out to the living room to get them.”, Forge continued, “And Dom looked gross-pale, like when his anxiety flares up. I don’t know what stories Uncle Mimsy out there told Dom, but DOm was fine until they talked; and now he’s probably chucking in the bathroom. Get him. Out. Or make some boundaries, or something. He rubs me the wrong way.”

“He is family.”

“So is Mimi and Dani and Chrona but THEY don’t make my brother so anxious he pukes.”, was the returned hiss, “And you’re weird around him too, don’t try to hide it. I’m gonna go check on Dom, you and Pops do your dad-thing.”

Magnus nodded, the water shut off, and the dishwasher closed. Forge strode out of the kitchen by way of the dining room, forcing a short laugh at something Minimus murmured before speaking, “Yeah, Dom sometimes just has a rough stomach day, y’know? We get it from both sides. It’s nothing too big, I’m just gonna go check on him.”

Magnus was clearly angry upon exiting the kitchen; bristling slightly as Minimus once again cocked a perfectly shaped eyebrow and his green eyes cooled like northern seas, “Your boys are a bit odd, brother.”

“They’re teenagers, what can you do?”

“Well, I’ve no say over Forge but with Dominus-”

“You have no say over him either, little brother.”

A pin drop would have sounded like a thunderclap in the silence that followed. Magnus rested his elbows on the table, not breaking the lock between his and his sibling’s eyes.

“So I heard you were regaling Dom with tales of the man he was named after.”

“I certainly was- the boy deserves to know the title he is expected to live up to-”

“There isn’t one.”

“You named him after Dominus, Magnus.”

“Yes, because I loved my brother when he was alive, and Dom has his eyes; and, oddly, his love of adventure and science fiction novels.”

Minimus sniffed, “Foolish simplicities, Magnus- He deserved to know his place in our honorable line. How could you have neglected telling him of your brothers, your parents...?”

“I told him what was important, and what I could managed at the time. Some grief never ends, brothermine, and my grief for our oldest brother is one of those. I’ll never forgive father for sentencing him to death based on a lie.”

Rodimus felt the temperature drop, and rose sharply from the table as Minimus’s eyes grew wide.

“Gentlemen, I think you should take this discussion somewhere that there AREN’T breakable dishes.”, said the Prime, making a shooing motion. Minimus and Magnus rose slowly, seeming to size each other up as they traversed out o the dining room.

Rodimus sighed, putting his face in his hands and groaning quietly at the thunderstorm he could feel coming.

Dom sat in the bathroom, Forge upon the counter and taking the rag from the back of his brother’s neck and dunking it in the half-full sink of cold water, “So... What did uncle Mimsy out there say to you?”

“R-Remember when you asked if I felt anything about my name?”, rasped Dom, “And I told you not really, because I just... didn’t know enough to make any judgements?”

“Yeah.”

“Apparently Uncle Dominus was some... super high level secret agent, like, borderline weird action movie superhero. Minimus was going on and on about how wise and smart and focused Uncle Dominus was and then kept asking if I was like that.”

“It’s a yikes from me.”

“Tell me about it. I guess when he said that I had a lot to live up to it just. Stuck in my head and I realized what was probably sitting on my shoulders.”

Dom let his head droop and rest on his knees, “Dad’s probably so fucking disappointed in me, no wonder he’s been so tense since Uncle Minimus got here.”

Minimus and Magnus sat in the living room, facing each other over the coffee table with narrowed glares and grinding teeth on either side.

“Our father helped Dominus achieve his TRUE potential, Magnus, and you would do well to remember that.”, gritted Minimus.

“Our father, if you can call him that, sacrificed our brother to his own gloryhound bloodlust and I’ll never forgive him for extinguishing that light.”, was Magnus’s ice-lined answer, his hands clasped together with elbows resting against his knees, “Dom and Forge are my pride and joy, and Dom was given our brother’s name because of the light in his spirit.”

Minimus rolled his eyes, “You do a disservice to the name; Dominus was a pinnacle of strength and intelligence, Magnus- does a youth barely able to finish his dinner strike you as a bearer of our family title?”

“Do not make me forcefeed you those words, Minimus.”, said Magnus slowly, levelly, “Because I will snap each of your teeth out of your mouth and force them down your skinny throat.”

“You betray our brother’s accomplishments by not telling your sons of them.”

“And you betrayed our brother’s memory by licking the boots of those who let him DIE.”

Minimus inhaled through his nose sharply, jumping to his feet and curling his aristocrat’s hands into bony fists, “How DARE you accuse me of such things, you who turned your back on our entire HISTORY-”

“I WOULD GLADLY BURN DOWN OUR HISTORY IF IT WOULD SAVE OUR BROTHER FROM DYING.”

Magnus’s bellow rang in the house, making Rodimus jump in the kitchen as he flicked the dial for the dishwasher on; making Forge nearly tilt into the sink as Dom yelped quietly from where they hid in the bathroom.

Minimus sneered at his brother, “What do YOU know, Magnus- You betrayed our family name, you abandoned us ALL- you became a second rate enforcer, a DESK JOCKEY of all things-”

“I became a soldier.” hissed Magnus as he got to his feet, towering over his brother, “I became an Enforcer of the Accord, I became the SIC to a Prime and I became an officer to the Wreckers- while you sat in your silk pajamas and pretended to be a movie star secret agent you scrawny little weed.”

Minimus jolted as though struck, opening his mouth to speak-

“Not a word, not from you. I do not tolerate sugarcoating in my household, Minimus. I do not tolerate liars or mouthpieces and you, now- the thing you’ve become? Is all of that combined. You dared try and put a burden on my son’s shoulders, you dared to come into MY DAMN HOUSE and act high and mighty...”

Magnus reached out, snatching the lapel of the silk shirt and hauling Minimus up and forward so his feet dangled over the furniture.

“I was too young to protect our brother- but my sons? I’m quite big and brutish enough to defend them as long as I must. You would do well to remember which of us brothers has the ability to bend steel barehanded.”

He held his arm out, and dropped his youngest sibling into a heap on the couch, staring down at him with glacier and volcanic fire in his eyes.

“Get the fuck out of my house, you slimy agent-turned-politician.”

Rodimus chose then to walk out; to see Minimus angrily straighten his shirt and smooth his collar down once again. He looked to Rodimus, gave a curt nod, and stomped his way out of the now-silent home.

Magnus sat down heavily, a hand over his eyes as he felt Rodimus’s war-rough hands on shoulders.

“Roddy, can you get the boys? We... need to talk.”

“Sure thing, babe.”

A kiss to the ex-Enforcer’s cheek, and Rodimus was padding through the house and peering into rooms until the bathroom door creaked open and two sets of eyes looked out.

“Boys? Your father needs to talk to ya.”, sighed Rodimus, “Don’t worry, no one’s in trouble, just... Well. It’s time to learn some family history.”

Dom went to speak, and Rodimus held up a hand.

“Minimus is gone. He... probably won’t be visiting anytime soon until he’s nagged by someone about it. Don’t worry.”

Magnus heard his sons sit down before he swallowed hard. He moved, sitting with elbows against his knees before he reached one hand out to open the small sliding cabinet door at the front of the coffee table- and pulled out a photo album. An album with a burnished sigil affixed to the front, that made Magnus’s eye twitch as he looked at it before setting it on the table top and opened it.

“Dominus was my eldest brother. Minimus is the youngest.”, he said quietly, “I was the middle. Minimus was young when Dominus left for service, but I was old enough to understand what was going on.”

Dom swallowed weakly, “Uncle Mims said he died from the DJD.”

Magnus closed his eyes, “Yes, he was tortured by the DJD upon discovery. And he died far away from home. Alone.”

His eyes opened, and he flipped through a few pages of stuffy gentlemen and tired gentleladies to a debonair man who smiled crooked with foxfire in his eyes.

“But that is nothing of who he was.”, continued Magnus, “My brother was... He was the best man I ever knew. He was a troublemaker, and painfully honest- terribly oblivious and always daydreaming. A lot like you, Dom.”

The smile he sent his son made Dom’s heart ache, and he hung his head.

“I must... be so disappointing. He was some secret agent and here I am- just a nervous wreck who watches sci-fi in my boxers.”

“That’s exactly how he was too.”, said Magnus with a chuckle, “Minimus only knows the... shell Dominus became after he saw death the first few times. But the Dominus I remember was the best big brother a snot-nosed little brat like me could ask for.”

“Snot-nosed brat? You?”, said Forge incredulously, “Now that’s a stretch.”

“I was a crybaby too.”, said Magnus with a laugh, “While Dominus would do things like turn our beds into pillow forts or tents and would plot out our make-believe adventures.”

He tapped the pictures, “See?”

Rodimus smiled softly, watching his husband teach their rapt-faced sons history he’d shied away from for so many years.

“After he disappeared... Everything changed.”, said Magnus, “My father, your grandfather, had grown used to glory. He was addicted to being spoken highly of, and he pushed the responsibility for that onto his sons. When Dominus vanished, he turned on Minimus and I. I was already big and grown enough he couldn’t badger me- Minimus takes after him in that department, obnoxious little-”

“Dad.”

“Apologies. But, my father pushed Minimus hard to live up to the ‘glory’ of the line Ambus, and Minimus sadly ate up the attention. He was barely old enough for training when he announced his plan to follow in Dominus’s footsteps. I was heartbroken.”

“Why?”, asked Forge, “I mean, I know why, but it was his choice.”

“I wanted to believe that- but with our father whispering his demands in his ear, demanding he carry the family name... And then, after our falling out, suddenly Minimus was advancing far faster in the ranks than was safe.”

“Falling out?”

“I broke my father’s jaw with a right hook when I found out he pulled political strings to push Minimus into espionage.”

“Nice.”

“Niiiice.”

“Boys, just because I used it to answer a moral question does not mean you can use it to fill in every blank on the test.”, was Magnus’s stern words at the twin grins looking back at him.

He cleared his throat, “Anyway.... I left my family behind in every way I could manage. I became an Enforcer, then an Enforcer of the Accord- And then went further.”

“Yup, he started dicking around with Wreckers and then got stuck with the like, Worst Prime Ever.”, laughed Rodimus, easily perching on the arm of the soft chair Magnus sat in.

“Well, not the WORST....”, mused Magnus, “....But definitely the most obnoxious, sometimes- Like when he tries to pretend to be ASLEEP when receiving ORDERS-”

“Who DOESN’T pretend to sleep so Prowl shuts his fucking trap, Mags.”, groaned Rodimus with a roll of his eyes as the twins cackled on the couch.

“But, all that aside...”, said Magnus, his smile fading down to a soft quirk of his mouth, “I named you Dominus not because of some... stupid family debt, or some idiotic concept of glory.”

Dom blinked.

“There is no mantle to live up to, Dom. I named you after my eldest brother for three reasons: One, I looked up to him and hoped that maybe giving you his name would give you tat kind of spirit. Two, because it is a good, strong name- perfect for the son of an Enforcer and a Prime. And three... Because you and your brother are the most precious things to me, as I was to my brother once upon a time.”

He reached out and ruffled Dom’s hair, then Forge’s.

“You both carry Rodimus’s fire, I can see it in your actions, in the way you behave. Forge carries my temper; and, well, I hope it doesn’t get him in as much trouble as it’s gotten me-”

“Oh, it has.”, said Dom dryly, “It sooooo has.”

Rodimus snorted as Magnus sighed and shook his head, “But.. Dom, you have a little of Dominus in your mosaic- in your science fiction marathons and your stories... and in the moments you forget that I can hear you gripe at your brother about young Quickdraw.”

“Whoops.”

“But every day I thank Primus that a little piece of Dominus lives on, in you. There is no name to live up to, youngling- just by living you do a greater honor to the name I gave you than anyone could have ever hoped.”

“But... But Minimus said-”

“Minimus will also cry like a toddler if you stomp his foot hard enough; the idiot has yet to figure out that patent leather’s have no place in a strategy room.”

“...Mags, how often did you stomp you baby bwudder’s tootsies.”

“Every damn chance I got.”

Forge and Dom sputtered into laughter at the pouted frown on Magnus’s face as Rodimus sighed heavily.

“And they told me Ambus boys are always soooooooo uptight.”

“Only when people are WATCHING.”

#pastelwrites #tf #humanformers #ot6 au stuff #magnus #minimus #rodimus #dom and forge #crim made rodimags boys and listen: i love them

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stellar-imagines · 5 years

Text

SCENARIO REQUEST: ❝loss of remembrance.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: Bakugou Katsuki ]

「Bakugou accidentally hits his head during training and wakes up not remembering anything but his name. Lucky for him, his problem doesn’t last forever. But when he sees you, he thought you were so pretty and couldn’t help but fall in love at first sight.」

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

“....Is he alright?”

Aizawa and Kirishima were sitting inside the infirmary as Recovery Girl slowly made her way towards the two concerned individuals. Resting on the bed was Bakugou who had his head bandaged up around the forehead, his hair falling over the bandage while it still remained spiked up. He was sitting upright, having woken up from his sleep earlier. The ash blonde looked a little confused and dazed, unaware of the presence in the room he was in. Recovery Girl looked back at the male before turning her attention to the two.

“He’s hit in the head and appears to have lost some of his memories. But I think its temporary. Aside that, there’s no major injuries so he’s still fit to continue with school, just don’t make him to anything too strenuous.” she advised.

“All we have left for today is English and Maths so nothing to worry about. But what if it lasts for more than a day?” the red head wondered.

As soon as the normal check up was over and done with, Bakugou returned back to classes like usual. It was overwhelming for him to be in an environment that he wasn’t familiar with. Most of the time, he stuck close to Kirishima whom he had most trust in at this moment. People were curious of his situation and Kirishima explained it to everyone before classes started.

Everyone was still started to get used to Bakugous’ different behavior. He was normally explosive, loud and always snapping at anyone who dared to get close to him. But today, he wasn’t being himself. In fact, he was the pure opposite. He was much more quiet than usual, even apologizing when he said something wrong and being more polite. This behavior made everyone feel disturbed and act a little bit cautious around the male. It was just because they weren’t used to this. Even Midoriya who was Bakugou’s main target of yelling, was nervous around the ash blonde.

Sitting behind him didn’t help either, Bakugou would be the one passing him printouts every times the teacher handed them out. And every single time he would do that, the ash blonde would give him a small smile that send shivers up his whole body.

“Well, it can’t be helped, Bakugou-chan was injured and its the effect of that.” Asui stated as everyone entered the dorm building together. Now that classes had ended, everyone went back to the dorms to rest after a long day at UA.

“But it’s still a little bit unnerving to see Bakugou acting so out of character.” Sero pointed out.

“Do I really act that different?” the mentioned male questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Everyone, welcome back!” you called out once they all reached the common area.

“Oh, [First Name]-chan! You finished earlier than us, didn’t you? Good work today.” Uraraka waved at you. A few of your classmates began to gather around you, asking you about your day. You had been called out by one of the teachers to help out another class with their training.

Bakugou found himself standing there, a little dazed. He knew the names of his classmates already and was surprised to see that there was another one in 1-A. A girl with [Hair Color] hair and [Eye Color] eyes, someone he had never seen before. There was something about you that drew him in, you looked friendly and pretty. Sure the girls of the class were pretty but you were different. It was like love at first sight. That night went by fast, you all ate together and retired to your own rooms. Bakugou found himself sitting inside Kirishima’s room.

“Hey, Kirishima. Who was that girl? The one with [Hair Color] hair and [Eye Color] eyes.....” he questioned, fiddling with his fingers as he sat on the bed. Kirishima who was sitting on the ground looked over his shoulder to see his friend looking a little bit nervous.

“Oh, that’s [First Name]. She got in from recommendations but she’s usually in the infirmary during Hero Lessons because her quirk is healing so.....why you ask?” the red head replied.

“My heart is racing a bit.....I’ve never felt like this. She’s pretty and kind to people. What kind of feeling is this?” Bakugou muttered, clenching onto the fabric of the shirt he was wearing.

Kirishima blinked a few times upon hearing that. He has suspicions of his friend having a crush on you before but he was never able to prove his suspicions right. The ash blonde had originally been really good at hiding his emotions too, so that didn’t help. Even though Bakugou hit his head, there was no way for him to hide his feelings for someone. The red head smirked to himself and sat on the bed, slinging an arm over the ash blonde’s shoulder. Bakugou eyed him with eyes wide with surprise, wondering what has gotten over the red haired teen.

“It’s love, bro.” Kirishima pointed out with confidence.

“Huh?” Bakugou mumbled.

“Your heart is racing right? You think she’s nice and sweet, right? She stands out more than the other girls right? Sometimes it’s as if everyone else just disappears, right?” the red head questioned enthusiastically with determination in his eyes. All Bakugou could do was nod in response because he couldn’t deny that.

“Listen, if you have a girl you like, you gotta appeal to them!” Kirishima advised as Bakugou looked at him with eyes filled with admiration. The red head could only mentally cheer at himself, thinking that his friend’s change in behavior was rather interesting.

The next day, you were surprised to see Bakugou in the infirmary. Being someone who had the ability to heal people, you often helped Recovery Girl with her job as you studied more about becoming a doctor. Bakugou had told you that he came for his medicine and all you could do was wonder why on earth he needed painkillers. You couldn’t say that you weren’t good friends with Bakugou. But you were one of the very few people that he didn’t yell at. As soon as you handed him the bottle of painkillers, he presented you something that he had been holding behind his back.

“Here. I made some lunch for you. I hope you like it.” he handed you a box that was wrapped in a blue cloth.

“....thank you, Bakugou-kun.” you accepted the box from his hands warily, unsure of what to make of this.

“Don’t overwork yourself, [First Name].”

You didn’t think much about his odd behavior but as he left the room, you couldn’t help but wonder why he decided to go through the trouble of making a boxed lunch for you. As the door shut close, you heard some noise from outside and the door opened again.

“That explosive kid was here, wasn’t he? What did he want?” Recovery Girl questioned you, entering the room with a small box of food.

“Oh, Bakugou-kun came for his painkillers. Wonder why he needed that....” you mumbled the last few words to yourself.

“You better run along now, don’t want you to miss out on lunch.” the woman ushered you out the infirmary.

You soon met up with your friends who were waiting for you outside with their own packed lunches. Even though you normally brought food from the Mess Hall, the girls would usually have one day where you would have a chance of pace, eating out instead of eating in the canteen. Asui had been the first one to point out the boxed lunch you had which was something you didn’t have earlier this morning. You had left at the same time and last night you immediately retired after dinner so there was no way you had time to make lunch.

“Where did you get that, [First Name]-chan?” Asui tilted her head as you settled yourself between Uraraka and Ashido.

“Ah, this? Bakugou-kun gave it to me earlier.....”

“Oh my gosh! He totally has a crush on you! That’s so cute!” Uraraka gushed. All you could do was tilt your head in confusion, unable to comprehend the current situation. He had presented you with what it seemed to be a homemade boxed lunch.

“Come on, it’s nothing to gush about. He probably just made too much and decided to give me some or something like that.” you laughed lightly before unwrapping the cloth and opening the lid. It was no ordinary lunch box, it was packed to the brim with various food. There were eggs, vegetables, chicken, tempura and rice. What surprised you was that there was another box at the bottom, filled with more side dishes.

“It seems a little bit packed, doesn’t it?” Yaoyorozu pointed out.

“Filled with love!” the brunette to your left said.

“Don’t say such things, Ochako-chan!” you fumed.

“But Bakugou-kun is acting weird.....did something happen while I was away yesterday?” you questioned the girls who were having lunch with you outside underneath the tree.

“Bakugou has been acting a little weird since he hit his head so this is just him being out of character. But who knew that the Bakugou we know can be this nice.” Ashido said, shifting closer towards you to have a look at what you were having. You rose an eyebrow at that.

“He hit his head? No wonder he was taking painkillers! Is he okay? Did he suffer from concussion? How did he hit his head?” you began to question worriedly. Hagakure giggled to herself, raising her hand to wave at you.

“Look at you, worried about Bakugou like that~” she teased. All you did was huff at them before you began to eat your lunch together.

He had gone and done it now. Bakugou wasn’t even aware that he just did something so out of character. He laid on the bed, thinking about what he had done earlier today. The feelings stirring inside him had bothered him a lot and with his memories temporarily gone, he was unable to act rationally and decided to follow the advice of his friend. He was surprised at how well things went. Maybe if things just continued this way, something might just happened. Thinking about you made his heart flutter and hearing Kirishima boldly assume that he had a crush on you.

But it was a familiar feeling for him. It was as if, being drawn to you was something normal. He shut his eyes when his head began throbbing. He had been warned about the impending headaches and always slept it away so that was what he did.

The moment he woke from his slumber, his head still hurt but it had dissipated a little. Bakugou could vividly remember that he had been hit in the head while training with Kirishima, blown back by the force of his punch and fought back using his quirk. He had miscalculated his step and hit his head. He rubbed his head in pain as the memories came rushing in. All the events of the past two days came rushing in and it made his cheeks flush and smile. As someone began knocking on the door, he got off the bed and quickly opened the door.

“Sorry to disturb you, Bakugou-kun.”

And there it was, the reason behind his flushed cheeks.

“I wanted to thank you for the lunch you made. It surprised me a little but it was really delicious.” you smiled softly at him.

“I made some tea for you. I heard from Recovery Girl that your head pains made it hard for you to sleep. Oh and about your injury, I will be―Your face is beet red! Are you okay?” you asked worriedly. The ash blonde snapped out of his gaze, lips parting open to reply. You were quicker, stepping forward to press your palm on his forehead.

“You’re not running a fever, right?” you mumbled. Bakugou grabbed your wrist and pulled your hand away from his head. You blinked nervously as he let go of your hand. Bakugou slowly raised his head until he was fully facing you. There you saw was his usual scowl.

“Don’t you dare tell anyone about this.” he snatched the box from your hands. Bakugou then proceeded to head back into his room.

“Wait, hey!” you stuck your hand out and caught the door before he could close it. Bakugou turned around and glared at you lightly.

“What do you want? Just say it to me right now.”

“Well, the thing is.....you made me lunch and acted so nice with me....but that was all because of your feelings right? I mean, your memory loss doesn’t have anything to do with your feelings right? So, does that mean that....you like me.....or something like that.....” you trailed off, fiddling with the hem of your shirt.

Bakugou pulled you into his room, earning a squeak from you. Your breath hitched at the proximity, your chests were pressing against one another and you could feel his breath fanning your face. He crashed his lips into yours and swallowed your gasp, moving his hands to hold your head and deepening the kiss. Too surprised to do anything, you stood there like an idiot until he pulled away. You brushed your fingers over your lips, mind still in a daze as you gazed at the ash blonde.

“Sunday, we’re going on a date.” he mumbled and leaned closer towards you would feel his breath by your ear.

“Don’t you dare tell this to anyone.”

Total: 2250 words Published: 05.04.2019

Thank you for requesting! (ㅅ•᎑•) This was really cute and it makes me squeal when I type Bakugou being nervous ;; Hope you liked it anon!! ― author Lou

Thank you for requesting! It was a really, really interesting scenario for the two of us. The idea was so damn cute!!! ― author Natsuki

We opened up an ask meme [?] If you’re interested please have a look here

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

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