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btsmosphere · 3 years

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Lost in a Book | JHS

~summary: you and Jung Hoseok don’t exactly see eye to eye. but when you (literally) fall headfirst into a whole other world, that becomes the least of your worries ~pairing: hoseok x reader ~word count: 8.5k ~enemies to lovers, college au, fantasy au ~rating: g ~warnings: naughty freudian slip, sexual tension, arguing, fire

~a/n: this is my gift for the wonderful @moccahobi‘s birthday! I am so lucky to be friends with someone as funny, hard working and gorgeous as you and I hope you have a great day!! and no, of course I didn’t choose the biggest bingo square only to forget and write this in a week.. (okay, I did, so pls go easy on any errors!) as always the lovely admins at @thebtswritersclub came up with a fun challenge to prompt this story, so I will be including my makeup palette bingo square at the end so you can see what prompts I used for this! enjoy x

The moment you had seen Jung Hoseok coming through the door, your eyes rolled.

Almost entirely made of large windows, the front of the coffee shop you worked in allowed you to see all the passers-by. So when you spotted your classmate coming down the street, laughing loudly with a couple of friends, you had prayed that he would just pass by.

Of course, you could never get what you wished for.

“Yoongi-“ you tried in vain to capture your friend’s attention, but too late. Yoongi hadn’t even looked around from where he was scrubbing coffee cups when a familiar voice reached your ears, making you groan internally.

“Y/N! Hard day at work? You look frazzled.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” you drawled, resigning yourself to serving him.

He simply leaned on the counter, sagging with laughter.

“Always service with a smile with you, isn’t it?”

“I’m sure you’d be just as tired if you even tried to focus in class,” you fired back.

His grin didn’t even falter. But at last, he dropped his teasing. With a scoff he ordered a tea and turned around, scrolling on his phone with his back to you as you got to work.

It seemed you had grabbed Yoongi’s attention after all, judging by the poorly-hidden snort from the washing up area.

Scowling, you chucked together a cup of tea distractedly, only too relieved when you pushed it over the counter to be rid of Hoseok. So when he sipped it only to wince in disgust, your heart sank.

“Jesus, where’s the caffeine? This is so weak.”

Your desire to argue back lost its short-lived wrestle with your customer service training, and you were reluctantly offering to make a new one. This time, you forced yourself to pay more attention. You knew that way, you could actually get rid of the nuisance on the other side of the counter.

“You see Y/N, the bag goes in the water,” Hoseok remarked, leaning over to see what you were doing.

Shooting the most passionate glare you could muster had the undesirable effect of sending him into peals of laughter.

Eventually, after making a point to leave the teabag in for much longer – at least until you noticed his fingers begin to tap on the countertop – you passed over his second cup with a sarcastic smile. His mood didn’t seem to have dampened that much, but he left without a fuss.

“You have great chemistry.”

The dry remark from behind you had you whirling around to glare at Yoongi instead. He stood in front of his stack of clean washing, observing you with a smirk.

“I don’t think Jung Hoseok knows what chemistry is,” you grumbled.

But as you set to work, a little aggressively, on scrubbing the counter, you never would have guessed how right you were. Or that it would soon become your responsibility.

“So when we sleep, what part of the brain transfers memory from white to grey matter?”

“…what’s grey matter again?”

“I think you could do with some more of it,” you muttered in lieu of an answer.

Hoseok lifted his head from his arms just enough to fix you with reproachful puppy eyes. Sighing, you tugged the textbook back across the table towards you, flipping a few pages back and jabbing your finger at the relevant passage.

Raising an eyebrow, he read it for the second time today with a growing frown.

“Long term…” he said at length.

“Long term memory!” you groaned, dropping your forehead against the heel of your hands.

Behind you, you knew Jungkook and Yoongi were watching this unfold with amusement. You weren’t sure you could take much more of this.

If you had envisaged this when you had signed up for your college’s mentor program, well, you may have changed your mind.

At last, the hour dragged by. Apparently Hoseok wanted to be there as little as you, collecting the books and leaving very quickly once you were done. Though your shift was over, you were sure you might explode if you didn’t get to rant about the guy right now.

Huffing, you marched over to the counter.

“He’s such a jerk!” you threw your hands out, “his ego’s so big, it’s like he thinks he’s too good to even try! And now it’s up to me to make sure he isn’t so behind, but there is so much to do!”

Your coworkers weren’t helping. Both had given up suppressing their laughter, openly enjoying your pain.

“You guys are no help,” you grumbled, folding your arms.

“Just be patient,” Jungkook offered, “it might get better in time.”

“Patience is not something Jung Hoseok inspires,” you retorted, “and I’m being good enough as it is! I even had the generosity to lend him my textbook!”

“You’re a saint,” Yoongi chuckled.

A withering glare later, you slung your bag over your shoulder and bid your friends a tired goodbye.

Much as you hated to admit it, there may have been some truth in what Jungkook told you. Patience did seem to be the key after all. A lot of patience.

A few more meetings had passed, and Hoseok remembered a lot more now. You weren’t sure whether it was due to the quality of your teaching or just a desire to avoid your constant scolding, but it didn’t matter too much. The result was what counted.

You were to meet again today. As always, he came as your shift finished so that you could work in the café.

“You like him really.”

Jungkook’s voice tore your eyes away from the clock you had been watching.

“I’m sorry?”

“You like him,” he repeated, “I’ve never seen you so impatient to get off work.”

“What? I’m not,” you scoffed, “it’s just-“

The little jingling bell above the door interrupted you. Never finishing your thought, you left Jungkook to meet Hoseok at the counter.

“Tea?” you asked him.

“Not if you’re making it,” he quipped, eyes already skimming the menu on the wall behind you.

You scoffed with a roll of your eyes, but said no more. Hoseok’s teasing eyes returned to you as he said,

“Think you can manage a hot chocolate?”

“Of course I can make hot cock-“ your eyes widened at your momentary slip “-chocolate. I can make hot chocolate-“

But for all your correcting and muttering, there was no hiding your embarrassing moment from Hoseok, whose eyes lit up with surprise before laughter spilled out of him in reams.

“I didn’t mean to make you so flustered, Y/N!” he cackled.

Biting your tongue, you hid your burning face from him as he half-collapsed against the counter with the force of his laughter. You angrily set to work on the drink, milk sloshing in the jug as you thrust it under the machine.

“With whipped scream on top too, huh?”

Hoseok’s incessant mocking didn’t stop until you had handed him the drink. If anything could prove to Jungkook just how wrong he was, this should do it. Still, you didn’t dare to turn around and see what your friend made of the situation.

Mixing the powder into the hot milk forcefully, you glared down at the cup.

Damn Jung Hoseok! He couldn’t be any more infuriating if he tried. It wasn’t your fault he was so annoying it made it hard for you to think straight. No one else managed to rile you up so much as him.

You gave him the drink with a side of deathly glare. It only served to amuse him more.

Safe to say you were dreading the next hour.

Clocking off soon after, you hung up your apron regretfully and headed across to your usual table. Thankfully Hoseok was a bit more subdued now.

Unfortunately, you were about to find out why.

“So, Y/N,” he started as you were sitting down.

This brought your attention to him straight away. Your eyes narrowed as he toyed with his mug on the table, avoiding your eyes.

“So, uh, that textbook you lent me-“

You had a bad feeling already. Looking around, you didn’t notice it on the usual pile of books.

“Where is it?” you cut him off.

At last he raised his head to meet your eyes, and you didn’t like what you saw.

“It’s not like we need it that badly anyway,” he began, though you weren’t sure you had ever heard him sound so hesitant, “we finished most of the stuff in there anyway…”

“You lost it, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah. And I think I also spilled some-“

Not waiting for him to finish, you exclaimed your frustration.

“I can’t believe you! Just because you don’t see a use for ever picking up a book, I need that! I don’t have that kind of money spare either…”

As you raked a hand through your hair, Hoseok decided now was the time to be helpful.

“Gosh, I was afraid you would do this. We have a library for a reason, you know?”

Stopping your train of thought abruptly, you lowered your hand to glower at him.

“And now you’re going to make me go in the library? Ugh, you really have it out for me.”

Incredulous laughter followed. Hoseok leaned back in his chair, observing you with raised eyebrows.

“You’re telling me you believe in those stupid rumours?”

Shifting uncomfortably, you shrugged.

“Well, you’ve got to admit the place is creepy, right? And my flatmate said she knew that girl Cindy-“

As you spoke, Hoseok’s laughing grew louder, steadily filling the café until you were forced to stop.

“What?” you hissed.

“We’ve all heard about “Cindy”,” he made quotation marks in the air, “but that’s just a story! The older students made it up to scare newbies – and it would seem it worked. But everyone knows the scariest thing in the library is just the course reading.”

Biting your tongue, you didn’t muster up a response. You would only face more ridicule if you argued about this.

“Don’t forget the librarian,” you joked half-heartedly.

Hoseok chuckled lightly, and you were glad he dropped the topic after that.

But still the issue of your sorely misused textbook remained.

There was nothing to be done. You had to go to the library.

It may seem a ridiculous thing to be scared of, especially for someone who loved books, but, as Hoseok had kindly refreshed your memory of, there were… stories. The campus library at your college warranted a degree of wariness.

Most commonly told was the story of Cindy, supposedly a student at the university many years before. No matter how dramatic the story was made, the essentials were the same; she had gone into the library and never come out.

Logically, you knew that this was just one of those quirky urban legends that came to surround certain places.

Nonetheless, your nerves only worsened as you entered the grand building.

On your way in, you only passed one other student. Most people were leaving uni at around this time, but you needed to hang around anyway because your shift was soon. You had sent a quick text to Yoongi to let him know you would be there once you found the book, and somehow it comforted you a little that someone else knew you were here.

Moving through the first few rows of tall bookshelves, you had to pass by the main desk on your way to the section you were looking for.

Doing your utmost to tread with care, sandals making as little noise as you could manage on the wooden floor, you walked on.

As you drew near, the librarian looked up. Greeting them with a bright smile, you didn’t let it show that your heart was really thumping in your chest.

Hurrying along, you only slowed once you had entered the right section. Near the back of the library, it was dimmer as no light from the window reached all the way into the corner. Utter silence dampened the air. Not even the rustling of the librarian sorting papers could be heard from here.

Alone with the hushed sound of your own breath, your eyes flicked along the rows, searching for the right name.

Spotting it at last, you wasted no time in reaching for it. But as you tried to slide it from its spot, you were met with resistance. Perhaps it was very tightly packed in its place.

You tried again with both hands. It was still wedged in, but you felt it give a little so kept pulling. You managed to tug it out a little way, but this time, the book tugged back. Holding onto it as tightly as you were, you stumbled forwards, nearly slipping out of one of your sandals.

Gulping, your brow creased. More determined this time, you tried once more, but it seemed the book only retreated further among its companions on the shelf.

Breathing heavily, you stepped back. Books were not meant to do this. You swore it had moved by itself.

Maybe Hoseok would call you crazy if this was your reason for not getting the textbook. But, you thought, staring back down the empty row of shelves, a science textbook was less important than not getting involved with the strange happenings of the library.

Already you were questioning your sanity. Books didn’t move.

Looking back at it once more, it appeared perfectly unassuming. There was nothing unusual about the book. Maybe your mind was playing tricks, driven from the fear you felt about this place.

Breathing deeply, you reached your hand out for one last try. Picking up a book couldn’t be that hard. As long as you didn’t fear it-

Your fingers came into contact with the spine, and not a moment later, the book shrunk right back. But though it shot out of sight between its neighbours, your hand was stuck to it. Your intent to snatch it straight back at any sign of movement failed, and you were yanked forwards.

Flying clean off your foot now, your sandal clattered to the floor among the silent shelves behind you.

Your stomach jerked at the sudden movement. Now, as you plunged towards the shelves, you screwed your eyes shut, anticipating the imminent collision.

None came.

Instead, your insides seemed to be suspended. You had not crashed, but still your feet didn’t meet the floor; though your eyes were closed you were certain you were falling.

Rapidly upping its pace, your heart tried to punch through your ribs the longer you were in this state, fearing your landing. Panicked, you took great gulps of air, limbs flailing fruitlessly.

You landed.

It felt like you had been falling for a long time – too long – yet the force you hit the ground with was not painful. For a second, it expelled air from your lungs, but by the time you had rolled and tumbled enough to land on your back, you were sucking in a shaky breath.

Blinking, you turned to look around you. Your arms struggled to push you from the ground, but you heaved to sit up anyway.

This was like nowhere you had ever been.

No parquet was beneath you here. The ground was earth, sparse tufts of grass growing from it. But in places, the foliage was abundant, great swathes of vibrant grass surrounding a nearby rock which protruded from the ground.

These rocks were also plentiful, though not of regular size. They poked from the ground, rough surfaces being seized by moss of all colours.

Other plants stretched higher still, all in shades of purple, green and blue. Climbing slowly to your feet, your eyes traced up the stem of a slender tree whose leaves drooped downwards with their size.

The only thing you could hope to recognise were roses that grew in places, curved petals familiar atop their stems that wound around larger plants.

In the scattered canopy above you, there appeared to be vines as well. Climbers, perhaps; it appeared as if they were winding around ceiling beams above you, except that they were in open air, pale sky stretching above them.

Very deliberately, you blinked.

Nothing changed.

Jaw hanging open, you turned slowly around. This place continued the same everywhere you looked. You certainly weren’t in the library anymore.

Taking some effort to breathe evenly, you forced your feet to still.

Remembering your phone, you quickly reached for it. But as you repeatedly pressed the power button, the screen remained black. Either you had let it run down, or it wouldn’t work in this alien place.

You replaced it in your pocket with bitter disappointment and continued to stand still, observing this place.

Purposefully, you walked towards the nearest rock. Given the way you were transported here, you were a little wary of touching random objects, but you tentatively reached for the mossy surface. Briefly grazing it, you jumped backwards, expecting something to happen.

Nothing. Just the springy surface of moss, solid and very real.

Staring at the rock, your mind ran in uncomprehending circles. How had you got here? Why? How could you get out?

Cutting through your thoughts, a thump came from behind you.

Startled, you jumped around, eyes darting in panic around the world you had found yourself in. Nothing seemed to have moved…

A cough, followed by a groan, drifted from somewhere.

Frown deepening, you stepped forwards. A few paces brought you around the next rock, bigger than the last. Not only was it taller than you, it was bordered on one side by more of the tall plants, blocking your view of what was behind it.

This was definitely where the sounds were emanating from. As you cautiously rounded the boulder, rustling sounds reached your ears.

Reaching the trees, you peered between two dark blue trunks. Every muscle in your body was tense, ready to spring away at the first sign of danger.

Instead, you were greeted with the shape of a person. They wore a dark jacket, their hair also dark, but they were facing away from you where they sat.

For a moment you stood frozen. You were divided: should you announce yourself? Maybe they could help you? But for all you knew, they might not feel kindly towards you. What would another person be doing in this strange place?

Before you had the chance to decide, let alone move, the person slumped backwards to lie down, huffing a great sigh as they went.

Your eyes widened. Now you could see their face — and you certainly hadn’t expected this.

“Hoseok?”

Squeezing between the trees, you pushed your way into the small clearing he lay in. On hearing your voice, he twisted towards you with wide eyes.

“Y/N?” he jumped up, eyeing you suspiciously, “what is this place?”

“I have no idea,” you answered honestly. Then, “what are you doing here?”

Echoing your earlier words, he said, “I have no idea.”

After a moment, he seemed to remember something and looked around sharply.

“I found this,” he told you, pointing at the ground some feet away. There lay your sandal from earlier.

“Oh. Thank you.”

You flashed an awkward smile and went to pick it on, sliding it back onto the foot it had lost not long ago. Then your silence resumed.

Briefly, you did nothing but stare at each other. Then you stared again at the bizarre scenery around you.

Hoseok was first to move. Apparently becoming tired of your company so soon, he turned away with hands on his hips and began to pick through the undergrowth, which was thicker here than where you had first landed.

Even if this was all the company you were granted, you were eager to keep it, and so followed him.

A few minutes passed. Eerie silence was all around, save for the tentative brush of your footsteps against plants. He hadn’t complained about your presence, though, so you eventually decided it safe to speak.

“Did you… fall here?” you ventured.

His eyes snapped back to you. With a nod, he confirmed it.

“From the library?”

Slowing down, he allowed you to catch up and walk at his side.

“Yeah, why? You too?”

“That’s what happened to me,” you nodded, “but… what were you doing in the library?”

But Hoseok never heard those last words. A deafening, crunching crash resounded through your quiet conversation, drowning you out.

Both of you reacted quickly, spinning to the source of the monstrous sound in fear. Your hammering heart only sped up as you located a dark shape above the treetops.

“There!” you cried, grabbing onto Hoseok’s sleeve.

He spotted it as you pointed, for it was rapidly growing, soaring towards you.

“What is that?” he yelled, stumbling backwards.

You had nothing to offer in reply, instead watching with wide eyes as the creature flew closer still. Still grasping at Hoseok’s sleeve, you tugged at it, looking around for the nearest cover. He made no move. Struck dumb with awe, he seemed to be rooted to the spot.

Turning back to the sky, you were panicked to see the beast drawing closer. You could make out a long snout protruding from its head, spiny wings beating slowly and yet carrying it swiftly over the land.

The monster was enormous, blocking out a chunk of the open sky.

Not wanting to hesitate any longer, you pulled Hoseok forcefully with you as you retreated under the cover of a thick patch of foliage. He complied, still unable to tear his gaze from the flying creature.

You almost daren’t look, even now you were secluded among shadow. But curiosity overcame you.

It was near enough on top of you now. You held your breath, terror washing over you at the sight of it, close enough now that you could make out scales on the thing’s large belly. They glimmered a blazing red as it moved.

But its pace was fast, and it continued quickly, long tail etching a path through the sky behind it.

“Was that…” you breathed, after you felt enough time had passed to be safe. But your thought was too absurd for you to speak out loud.

However, Hoseok finished it for you.

“A dragon?”

Both of you slowly turned to face each other, matching expressions of perplexed shock painting your faces. You opened and closed your mouth, but no words presented themselves.

Your gaze was only severed by the return of the same cacophony to the air that had first heralded the dragon. Only now, it was louder.

Ducking by reflex, you whipped around. Above the treetops, the dragon was returning.

Still filling the air, the sound was that of treetops rupturing as the scaled beast flew low over them, snapping them like matchsticks. Once again, it seemed like the thing was coming straight towards you.

“Let’s move,” you shouted over the noise.

Hoseok didn’t need telling twice.

Side by side, you raced between trees, feet and clothes catching on leaves and vines that spanned the floor. Plunging on nonetheless, you kept your eyes set determinedly ahead.

By the time your lungs demanded you stop for breath, you were sure you must have gone a considerable distance from where you had first been hiding. But the deafening crashes from above had become no quieter.

Slowing down, you sagged against a tree as you gasped for air. Just in front of you, Hoseok looked around, finding you holding yourself up shakily against the trunk.

With a look to the sky and back at you, his face sank further, eyes wide and afraid.

“Y/N!” he cried.

Lifting your head, you met his eyes. Still panting, you turned to follow a finger he raised as he took trembling steps backwards.

Overhead, the leaves seemed to shake. A shadow was sliding along the forest floor as above it, twigs and branches rained down, bouncing from their lower counterparts until they disappeared into the shrubbery.

The dragon was following you.

“Come on!” Hoseok’s voice reached you somewhere among the din.

Spinning, you found him holding a hand out to you, gesturing maniacally for you to continue. You had barely caught your breath, but forced yourself to push away from the tree and run towards him once more.

What did surprise you was that he waited for you. When you came within reach, his outstretched hand was grabbing you, pulling you along at his side.

But there was no time to think of that. Chest heaving with exertion, you willed your feet to move faster underneath you in an attempt to flee the dragon.

All at once, the tall tree trunks you had been running between, almost dense enough to form a forest, stopped. Realising too late, the two of you shot from the cover at full speed, only to find yourselves utterly exposed.

Skidding to a stop, you looked to Hoseok in panic.

Before you could take another step, shadow fell over you again, but it was not cast by harmless trees. The roar of splintering branches grew to an overwhelming crescendo as the dragon caught sight of you and dived, uncaring for the insignificant wood pushed aside by its bulk.

Beside you, Hoseok screamed hoarsely. Together you fled backwards, knowing there was no hope of outrunning your pursuer.

In a few seconds, the beast had descended, giant nostrils flaring at your eye level. Curved fangs gnashed.

With horror, you saw a glow brighten the deep tunnels atop its snout.

In the corner of your eye, you spotted another rock, rough surface towering from the ground. You barely had time to think before you were shoving Hoseok to the side so you fell together behind the barrier. Not a moment later, blazing orange flared, obscuring all other sights as fire erupted from the monster’s jaws and nostrils.

You gave no thought to the position you had fallen in, your push having left you tumbling directly on top of Hoseok. His scream rang in your ears, only rivalled by the crackling heat in the air as his arms wrapped around you. You too were curling up, hands shielding your head in some attempt to shelter.

Thankfully, the rock you had chosen was one of the larger ones and took the brunt of the blast.

Not that it encouraged you much, considering the persistence the beast had shown so far. The dying away of the heat and fire only brought on dread, gnawing low and incessant in your stomach, of the next blast.

Barely daring to breathe, you stayed still, huddling against Hoseok, who did the same.

Any moment, you expected another massive roar to rip through the air. A swipe of the malicious claws or the sizzling heat of dragon flame. The longer you waited, the harder your heart rioted in your chest.

“Students.”

You jolted violently as a loud voice resonated through the air. But it was not the dragon.

Looking around showed you no one who the voice might belong to.

“It is gone,” the voice said.

Hoseok’s hold around you was loosening. Swallowing, you became aware of your proximity and carefully extracted yourself, not looking him in the eye as you moved to sit next to him instead.

It was true that no indicator of the dragon’s presence had made itself known, but you were not inclined to trust a faceless voice. You crawled to peer around the edge of the rock. Finding the space empty, you emerged further.

The clearing was totally deserted. The only evidence of the recent fearful moments was the debris of burnt leaves and broken branches scattered across the ground.

“Who are you?” Hoseok raised his voice, though it shook a little.

You returned to his side, the voice replying as you sunk down beside him.

“Students,” the voice repeated. It was level and calm, but awfully cold. The word was spoken with disdain. “I doubt you would recognise such a voice as mine. You young humans know not the value of words, of books. I am the librarian.”

You blinked in surprise. Next to you, Hoseok sat forward from the rock you leaned against.

“You are? Can you get us out of here?” he yelled, aiming his voice at the sky for lack of target for his pleas.

“Certainly not. I am the keeper of this land. You see, due to the neglect of your kind, my creatures are only kept alive through written word, and I cannot let them be endangered. Students are all the same. Careless. I do not appreciate those who vandalise or waste the knowledge granted them through books. And so, I cannot let you take another one.”

“It’s just a science textbook,” you muttered.

Meanwhile, Hoseok was growing more desperate.

“We won’t!” he called, “just let us out!”

Ringing silence was all he received in reply.

Eventually, he flopped back against the rock with a huff. Worrying your lip, you turned to him, though you had nothing to propose for what you should do next.

His hair was a dishevelled now, strands falling into his eyes which he now turned to you. To your surprise, his mouth curved back into a smile, breathy laughs bursting from him as he rested his head back on the rock.

He shook his head.

“This is crazy.”

You had to agree.

Turning your despairing eyes away and to the surrounding forest again, you were surprised to see movement among the trees. But this creature was not enormous or fire-breathing. A sandy-coloured tail waved, blurring in the air.

Bounding through the trees and coming to a stop at the forest edge, came a labrador.

Staring in bemusement, you found the dog looking right back at you. It was panting, mouth open in a smiley-looking shape. Its tail continued wagging enthusiastically behind it.

Just as you opened your mouth to tell Hoseok, the dog went rigid, body jerking as it barked across the space.

Sitting up straight, Hoseok spotted the dog as well, and together you watched it.

The dog watched back, standing still as if waiting for something. It reminded you of the way your flatmate’s dog used to wait for you to throw the ball when you played with her.

After another minute of stillness, it barked again, then turned and ran. You jumped to your feet as the yellow tail went wagging away through the shadows.

“What are you-“ Hoseok exclaimed as you started towards the trees, following the dog’s path.

Already tired, your legs lagged behind the dog’s pace and you nearly lost sight of the sandy fur. But you kept your eyes trained on it. This animal did not seem unfriendly, or angry. Something told you that you could trust it.

“Where are you going?”

You hadn’t noticed the pursuing footsteps until Hoseok was grabbing your arm, forcing you to stop. Looking around at him in annoyance, you shrugged him off and turned back around. But you had lost sight of the dog now, finding the forest empty.

Your shoulders slumped.

“I was trying to do something to get us out of here-“

“By getting more lost?”

Hoseok’s eyes blazed with anger and he threw his arms out to punctuate his yell with frustration. Opening your mouth, you returned his outrage.

“We’ve been lost since we got here! We don’t know anything about this place, but we can’t just do nothing!”

“What can we do? You heard what the librarian said.”

His volume had lowered and he took a step back.

Breathing out, you did the same, noticing only now how you had crowded each other’s space in your anger. Swallowing down your own frustration, you levelled your gaze at him. His words spoke of despair.

Sighing, you pushed a hand through your hair.

“There’s no use in fighting,” you muttered, “and I’m scared too. But we have to try.”

Lifting his eyes to you, Hoseok felt then as if he was seeing you for the first time.

You shared his fear, and had spoken that out loud, but still the steely glint never left your eyes. Rather than run or hide, you stood tall, resolved to find a way out, no matter how hopeless this crazy turn of events seemed.

“Hoseok?” you called, rendered hesitant by his silence.

Giving his head a quick shake, he averted his gaze from you.

“Hobi,” he spoke.

You frowned.

“I’m sorry?”

“Call me Hobi,” he repeated, “if we’re stuck here forever, I won’t be able to stand it if you call me Hoseok all the time.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Taking that to be some odd form of agreement, you turned around and started to pick your way again through the forest, no matter how blindly. The only vague thing guiding you was the notion that the dog had left this way, but that certainty grew weaker with time.

The only thing bolstering you were the steady steps of Hobi right beside you. A reminder you weren’t alone here.

“Sorry for losing your textbook.”

Smile quirking your lips, you turned to Hobi. He was steadfastly ignoring your gaze, kicking his feet through the low undergrowth while his hands were buried in his pockets.

“If you hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be here now,” you hummed.

That caught his attention.

“Hey! At least I’m apologising!”

“Doesn’t fix the fact we’re lost in… well, wherever this is,” you chuckled, “though I’m sure it’s worked out well for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I hadn’t come here to replace my textbook, you would be here all alone.”

Hoseok simply tilted his head in vague answer.

After a few short moments of quiet, you resumed the conversation.

“So, what were you in the library for?”

He let silence stretch out for longer than you expected, and you slowed your steps to look at him. His eyes were wide, and when he spoke, it was with a nervous smile, as if he wasn’t sure he should be smiling.

But he was too quiet, and all you heard was something that sounded like ‘yuzbook’.

“Sorry?” you frowned.

With a long-suffering sigh, he finally spoke up.

“I was looking for your science book as well.”

Your eyebrows shot upwards.

“You were?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you had decided it was my responsibility? Even though you lost it.”

“Exactly, I had lost it. I felt bad.”

“Ha!” you exclaimed, jumping around to dance in front of him, “Jung Hoseok admits remorse! What is the world coming to?!”

“I told you to call me Hobi,” he grumbled.

A smile was still bursting at your lips, but you calmed down and returned smugly to his side.

“My bad. Hobi wanted to do something nice! For me, of all people! Maybe this really is a dream…”

“You dream about me?” he grinned, teasing right back.

“Eugh, of course not,” you scoffed.

His laughter filled the forest, and you were glad of it. At length, it faded and you walked on.

“But, turns out you were right to be scared of the library,” he admitted quietly.

Simply nodding, you kept going. By now you had lost all hope to have remained on course with the dog you had seen earlier, but there was little use dwelling on that.

Most of the way, you had been trekking through forest, but now the trees were thinning. Once again, they began to be clustered in patches near protruding rocks.

Coming between two waist-height boulders, you found a pond lying cradled by short grasses and more rose plants.

Agreeing on a break, you and Hobi slumped down at its bank, though you also agreed not to drink it. Hobi seemed much more distrustful of everything you came across in this curious land than you, but there was no harm in caution, you supposed. It was true that, on getting closer to the water, it appeared to glimmer silver.

What that meant, you didn’t know, but didn’t care to investigate.

Reclining on the ground, you breathed deeply. The pond was in a large clearing, similar to the first place you had crash landed in. You couldn’t escape some dread that all this time had brought you in a mere circle to the beginning, but there was no way to be certain.

Forest lined one side of the oasis, while the other stretched away, obscured behind that rocky landscape dotted with an array of foliage.

As you scanned the area idly, a familiar blur of motion had you sitting up with a yelp.

“There! Did you see that!” you cried, but began running without waiting for a reply.

Twisting to attention, Hobi clumsily took to his feet after you.

“You sure?” he called after you.

You kept running. You had seen it – it had been right here. You were certain it was trying to lead you somewhere, and you felt compelled to follow it.

Plunging between rocks, Hobi’s slower steps faded behind you. Uncaring, you continued, eyes alert for any sign of your goal.

And there it was: another brief glimmer from just beyond the next clump of plants. You were so close. This time, you were going to reach it. It would get you out of here.

Still running, you didn’t care that the way wound deeper through the terrain, nor that the world around you darkened as you went. No, your mind was set. You kept moving.

When you finally reached what seemed to be the midst of the darkness, it never occurred to you that this was never what you had been looking for. All you were filled with was delight; in the middle of the dark clearing stood a grove of roses. They were taller than the roses you had seen so far, growing thickly and close together.

In the blackness, the petals emitted a soft glow that shone through their delicate veins.

A smile curved your lips. But as you took a slow step towards the luminescence, something emerged from behind them. It became clear that the roses themselves were not glowing, but the creature. A unicorn.

White coat shimmering with its every move, it seemed to glide over the landscape. The slender horn protruding from its head appeared crafted by the finest silversmith, with hints of colours dancing along it even in darkness.

All breath was stolen from you. Your startled exhale left a cloud lingering in the air beside your lips which glittered as the majestic animal walked in front of you.

Either it didn’t see you, or didn’t mind your presence, because it proceeded perfectly calmly. Keeping your eyes fixed on it, your feet stumbled after the serene creature without you willing them to.

You barely blinked as you followed the graceful unicorn, desperate to keep your eyes on it. You couldn’t have torn them away if you wanted to. Just watching the animal had all your tension melting away: legs feeling heavy, mind fogging. All your worries dissipated as easily as smoke in the wind.

The world was silent. It was as if your ears were plugged as you reached out, somehow confident enough to touch the noble beast.

Another step closer.

Your fingers stretched out, ready to meet the sleek, glowing coat-

“Y/N!”

A blow knocked you sideways, a weight falling with you as the shout of your name rung loudly in your ears. For a split second, you winced, expecting to be crushed on the ground, but already a hand shielded your head. Instead, you landed on a body, held securely in the person’s arms.

Gasping, you found yourself breathless. Your gaze had been severed on being tackled, and now that you blinked, dark clouds seemed to lift from your vision.

Looking around wildly, you were slow to come to your senses, but the person was already shifting.

“We need to move.”

That voice was familiar. Looking around, you found Hoseok’s eyes trained on you as he struggled to stand with your weight against him.

Clumsily getting your feet underneath you, your mouth opened, but a shriek filled the air before you could speak.

Clapping your hands over your ears, you winced at the piercing wail splitting the air.

Hoseok, however, wasted no time. He grasped your wrist, pulling you stumbling across the clearing behind him as he sprinted away.

Wide-eyed and breathless, you twisted to look behind you. The unicorn was still there, but it wasn’t glowing, just plain white. But your eyes only caught it for a second, before a darker shape was swooping from the sky.

Feet pounding, you fled the shrieking beast as it descended in a rush of feathers.

Glinting talons flashed, inches in front of your face as the bird-like shriek reached its peak.

And then you were plunged into shadow, squeezed between leaves and petals.

Hoseok slowed, dropping your hand, but you were practically frozen. You staggered backwards, eyes trained on the spot those razor sharp claws had been.

Above you, the shrill cry was quieting, echoing around the land as your attacker circled higher once more.

“What… what was that?” you panted.

“That was close,” Hoseok responded, no humour in his voice. “I was calling to you! Why didn’t you move?”

“You were?” you frowned, “I-I didn’t hear. I don’t know what happened.”

Light frown creasing his brow, Hobi looked seriously down at you. Swallowing, he looked you over. Your heart still trembled, trying to take in what had just happened, and you looked up at him fearfully. Was he angry?

Fixing his eyes on your own, Hobi stepped forward, bending to draw your faces closer together. Holding your breath, you stiffened, heart rate rocketing as his breath fell warm over your cheeks.

Then he reached his hand out. You forced yourself to hold his gaze, not sure why your face was growing hotter under his scrutiny.

His fingers met your hair. They pulled gently at a strand.

“You had this in your hair.”

Blinking, you found him holding a rose petal up, the hint of a smirk playing on his lips.

“Right. Thank you,” you spoke awkwardly, snatching it from his hand.

“Let’s stay here for a bit,” he said then, turning around as if nothing had happened. However, you didn’t complain. You didn’t want him to see your burning cheeks.

Hobi had pulled you into the grove of roses you had seen earlier, which grew some way above your heads. The bushes were close together, providing the perfect cover. You heard no more of the shrieking monster as you walked after him through the plants.

Beautiful flower heads were nestled everywhere, the graceful bundles of petals peering at these strangers walking through their home.

Eventually, Hobi came to a halt. When you stopped at his side, he pushed aside some leaves to show you what lay beyond.

You had reached the other side of the grove and a new clearing lay before you. Unlike the other places you had been, there were no tall trees or wide rocks rising from the ground. At last it was flat.

But, most noticeably, in the middle of the clearing there was a building. Deep blue walls rose from a gold base, thin pillars winding upwards to support the corners of the many-sided roof. Small arched windows were set high up in the walls, through which you could see a silvery glow from inside.

Hobi looked around the space before emerging. No longer impatient, you wholly agreed with his caution and also peered out carefully.

As you remained mostly hidden by the roses, something came running around the house.

The dog.

Same as before, it stood looking at you, smiling mouth and wagging tail welcoming.

First, you looked to Hobi.

“What do you think?”

“You were right,” he replied, “the dog seems alright. We should give it a shot.”

Smiling, you felt assured now you were in agreement. Not stopping to think too much about the action, you placed your hand resolutely in Hobi’s and stepped forwards.

This time the dog did not begin running away, waiting for you by the blue house wall instead. As the two of you drew closer, you bent a little, holding your hand out to the creature.

“Hi!” you cooed, ignoring Hobi’s light scoff from beside you.

The dog poised as if it would bark back, but instead it looked towards the house. Following its gaze, you looked through the window and instantly fell silent.

Inside, a figure was sitting, though you could only see their head and shoulders – and a pair of wings. They fluttered lazily, glinting in the silvery light.

“The librarian,” Hobi murmured.

Nodding, you looked back to the dog.

“Will you help us?” you whispered.

Its tail wagged harder.

Smiling, you reached out to give it a gentle pat, ruffling the soft fur between its ears.

Satisfied, the sandy blond animal turned around, tail blurring all the while. It trotted away, leading you around the house. On passing the windows, you both ducked, fearing what the faerie would do if they discovered you here.

A short dash, looking over your shoulders, and you finally reached a thick row of trees. Squeezing behind the large trunks, you were surprised to see large wooden doors waiting for you.

If not for the lingering worry of the librarian somewhere nearby, you would have laughed out loud.

Hobi rushed forwards, grasping the dogs ears and ruffling them enthusiastically.

“You got us out!” he whispered happily.

You were amused to see the dog’s smiling mouth grow wider, tongue hanging out with his praise.

Jumping up with a brilliant grin, Hobi walked to the door. Waiting by the handle, he let you also say goodbye to your four-legged saviour.

“Thank you,” you told it with a loving pat. For a moment, you looked into the dog’s eyes, wishing you could somehow convey your gratitude.

Then a thought came over you. Tilting your head, you frowned slightly.

“Cindy?”

The dog’s tail whirred back into motion, hopping up and down a little at the name.

Breaking into a smile, you patted it affectionately.

“Good girl, Cindy,” you grinned, “thank you.”

Then you stood to join Hobi’s side. He lifted the great handle, which made a concerning thunk in the quiet.

Hurriedly slipping through, you fell against the other side of the wood as he followed and shut it firmly behind him. You were back at the entrance of the library, the glass doors at the front of the foyer showing the road beyond it, no different than ever as cars and pedestrians hurried along.

“Who let someone like that work in a school?” you laughed, incredulous.

Hobi laughed loudly at last, the sound bringing a bigger grin to your face.

You had made it out.

All of a sudden, a pinging sound rang from your pocket, soon over taken by at least five more.

Pulling out your phone, you found it alive again, the screen lit up and full of messages.

“Yoongi’s wondering where I am,” you muttered, “my shift…”

Hobi pushed away from the wooden door, starting to walk with you across the entrance hall. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he nodded.

“Yeah, um, I should get going too, I guess.”

Opening the main doors, you stood outside on the steps, at a loss. A bus rumbled past.

“Okay,” you spoke at length, “yeah. Er, see you around.”

Smiling briefly, Hobi took a few hesitant steps back before he committed to walking away. One last wave and he was engulfed by the crowd on the street.

You sighed and set off in the opposite direction.

The bell clinked, swinging wildly above the door as you hurried over to the counter.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” you spoke as you set your stuff down.

Turning to lean against the counter, Yoongi shrugged.

“’s’alright. Where were you though?”

“Ah…”

What were you meant to say? Your head was still spinning from everything that had passed, but you knew no one would believe you if you told them the truth. Shifting a little, your teeth nipped at your lower lip while you tried to come up with a reasonable excuse.

Meanwhile, a knowing look was sliding onto Yoongi’s face.

“I see,” he grinned, and then, to your mortification, winked!

“No, you don’t- that’s not-“ you protested, but he was already snickering and turning back to the washing up.

Shaking your head, you concluded that whatever his belief was would make as good as excuse as any. At least he had made it up for you, saving the hassle.

You got to work.

Over the next couple of days, everything ran like normal. Except for you, nothing was normal.

You still had no idea how such a small amount of time had passed while you and Hobi were busy running for your lives in fear of the librarian and their crazed world. You had barely been late for your shift afterwards; when it was time for bed you had collapsed straight in, feeling as if you had been awake for two days straight.

Of course, you had never gone back for that textbook.

In college the next day, you had taken a detour to class, stubbornly avoiding the building that had all but kidnapped you, wondering at the fact no one else seemed to realise.

At the café later on, you waited impatiently for any sign of Hobi outside. He was the one person you desperately wanted to see. Surely he must be feeling the same? He would understand.

But you waited and waited, serving countless other customers without much thought. He never came, and so you were left to question your own sanity by yourself.

Nothing about your impromptu adventure made sense.

If it had been real, why didn’t Hobi act like anything had changed? You certainly couldn’t pretend that nothing had been altered between you while you had been trapped in that strange world inside the library.

Perhaps it had been a dream. All of it seemed so implausible that even recollecting it sent you spiralling with more questions.

But there was one hope. Even if Hobi remembered nothing of what transpired, you were still supposed to tutor him. You would see him next week, and try to assess what he might remember.

So when your phone buzzed that night, screen lighting up with a message from him at last, you had expected to arrange this week’s session. But all it said was: come outside.

Though you frowned, you weren’t going to pass up this chance.

Sliding off your bed, you quickly stuffed your feet into your slippers and tried your best not to break into a run on the way to the door. Collecting yourself first with a deep breath, you pulled it open.

The first thing you took in was empty space outside your door. Blinking at it, you couldn’t prevent the disappointment from creeping in. But then your eyes flickered downwards.

There at your feet lay a rose.

Your lips parted in wonder as you stooped to pick it up. Taking it between your fingers, you rolled it gently there. It was the exact same as those delicate flowers that had filled the grove where you sheltered together in the library.

A smile tugged at your mouth. It only grew as you remembered the identical petal Hobi had pulled from your hair.

He remembered.

The relief that washed over you was dizzying. Clutching the flower to your chest, you smiled out of your doorway once more, silently thanking Hobi.

But you wouldn’t have to be silent for long. Your eyes landed on a figure leaning against a lamppost a few metres away, smiling right back at you.

As your eyes met, Hobi stood straighter. His mouth shifted to a radiant grin. He had come back to you.

Thank you so much for reading!! And again, send lots of birthday love over to @moccahobi!! As promised, here is the beautiful bingo card I used for this story:

taglist: @aianloveseven @preciouschimine @un2-verse @ddaechwita @taegularities

#thebtswritersclub #j hope imagine #jung hoseok imagine #bangtanarmynet #btscreatorscorner #purplearmynet #hoseok imagine #jhope imagine #jhope x reader #j hope x reader #bts fantasy au #j hope fluff #hobi fluff #bts enemies to lovers #hobi enemies to lovers #bts college au

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thedelusionreaderbitch · 3 years

Text

Kaz Brekker x fem! Reader - Dark Grey

A/n: So this was request but I couldn't find who requested it (and it wasn't anonymous!) So whoever did just give me a hey! This is literally the longest fic I have ever written.

Warnings: Blood, gore, death, sad Kaz, language, torture, Parem I think that's it? You have been warned!

Summary: Your a double agent for the dregs

"Come on you little shits, we have a job to do." One of the higher ups of the Dime Lions yells at some men at some tables at the Emerald Palace in the back.

Little birds have told me that people have been raving about this place being extravagant, but it's really just extra dramatic if you ask me. The green of the building is like someone drunk from the Crow Club wandered over here and puked on it and someone just decided the color looked pretty, so they mixed some glitter and red and pow. There you have it.

That may just be me though.

I start to get up with all the others but the man who just yelled, jets hand in front of me, fast like I'm going to run off.

"The boss wants to talk with you about getting you higher status." The man growls obviously not happy about someone who could be possibly taking his spot and he's probably not happy it could be a girl. Well sucks too suck.

I almost nod and have an emotionless face on but I realize that's the real me would do that, have have to be Cozbi and she's a little naive. But she's good enough if Pekka wants to notice her.

I let a smile crawl on my face; "Well I guess your just going to have to tell Mr. Rollins I would be delighted." I say nearly flirting with an accent, but more taunting like as I twirl my tailored unnatural bright red hair (like it's VERY bright) around my finger and I grin like a popular school girl.

"I'm not your messenger." The man scowls.

"But boss wants you up there in five minutes." He snaps and goes off face all red.

I barely even manage keep into place long enough as the men walk out to start their job. As soon as they do I speed off to a bathroom and I write on a piece of paper in a stall.

Giving me higher status, think he's getting suspicions though. Their going on a job tomorrow night to take out the Blacktips. Amush. Pekka also got a stash of Parem. Don't know why. Stay Safe, don't give clues. Frame someone.

-Your favorite person from the barrel

I open the window above my stall and I do a low whistle.

Fweet. Fweet.

A crow comes and lands on the window sill I grin slightly and my (also tailored) e/c eyes touch down on the raven haired bird. I'm reminded of Kaz's raven hair and his dark brown eyes as I hand him the folded note and the bird tilts it's head and takes the note and fly's off.

I flush the toilet and hurry out heading to Pekka's office.

I open the door slowly priding myself for being exactly a minute late, it works really well for who I'm playing. I see Pekka siting in his chair but instead of waiting for me like I thought he would be. Right now though he's reading something with a almost confused look on his face.

Shit.

"Well, well, well Cozbi your finally here." Pekka smiles not a nice smile - though he is a barrel boss.

The door shuts behind me and someone shoves me to the ground and people surround me and hold me in place.

"Or should I say Y/n." And then everything goes black.

_______________Time skip a few hours in a random warehouse (not that you know that)😈😈😈___________________________________

I slowly open my eyes and I look around the place. I'm tied to chair there's no light in the room so it's hard to make out anything but I think the floor is concert but the walls are wood.

Cheap.

"I didn't think you would be up so soon Y/n... Well this is a surprise." Rollins says and then in flash stabs a dagger into my stomach.

My scream fills the air as he pulls the knife out. I make my voice quiver I can still be Cozbi, I can still be Cozbi.

"I-I don't know who Y/n-Y/n is sir-sir." I stutter but my entire body is on fire from being in enough interrogations before. It's telling me to be harsh to not get to the point, but I might be able to get out of here if I play the part.

He takes my jaw and shoves it forward harshly. "We already know who you are L/n. Y/n L/n the dregs notorious double agent that never gets killed or even better caught."

Pekka smiles sadistically.

"I'm going to make sure this story ends in red." He laughs.

He goes to leave but he puts his hand up.

"And make sure she's can't see." His henchmen put a blindfold on me as I hear the door close. I can feel them coming closer and I hear one smack something on the ground that must have been a bat.

"Let's have some fun girly." I tug at my bonds hopelessly and helplessness fills my body.

________TIME SKIP_________________________________________

My screams ring this room for the next week.

Or what I at least think is a week. There's no windows in here so it's hard to tell when time pass's. Pekka doesn't come back again but I know his coming soon because his henchmen have been worse than usual because they want a raise or something.

I gave up thinking Kaz would come. I remember what he told me last time I saw him before I went on this mission.

We won't come for you if you get caught and it's only a matter of time before you do.

I messed up the last mission we were on with the crows, I got Inej hurt and he wasn't happy. So I did this job.

Because maybe then I would get what I deserved.

My hands have knives through them sticking them to the chairs, there's blood all over my face from the daily beatings. My one leg is twisted and broken in ugly places and cuts and bruises litter my body.

I know it's only a matter of time before my body gives out and Pekka finally wins.

The door to my (what feels like) cell opens and there's Pekka and six more henchmen in the room.

Those are new.

They might not be henchmen though I think we're past that at this point, I think their assassins.

Or something like that anyways.

Their hoods are up but I can clearly see that there's two girls and four guys. My vision blurs a little. Maybe death will grant me mercy sooner than I thought.

"Meet my new friends Cozbi." Pekka mocks and jesters towards the cloaked figures.

"Ironic that you choose the name Cozbi. For did you know, it means liar? I thought maybe I should call you that now, liar. It fits perfectly you know?" Pekka spits in my face.

"Anyways..." Pekka drawls on for a bit and I realize the lack of movement in the halls. But before I can question that one of the male hooded figures gives a box to Rollins and he opens the box. Rollins grins like someone just made his day.

Fuck.

He advances on me with a small packet and I stay deadly still.

"Do you know what this is Cozbi." I keep my eyes trained on the packet.

"My name is Y/n."

Pekka laughs and grins evilly.

"You wanted to be Cozbi so you will be called as such." He growls and calls for is henchmen.

Two men come to tip my head back and hold my jaw in place. I try to shake them off by moving my head but it's no use.

"It's Parem." I freeze. No, no, no.

"For grisha you suffer by always wanting it not inculding the rare cases. But for normal humans."

He takes a step forward and he opens the packet and holds it over my mouth.

"It kills you terribly and so, so, so painfully." He crouches down and looks at me.

"Your going to die as Cozbi. Your going to die a liar, and I will make sure all of Ketterdam remembers that."

He gestures towards his henchmen and instead of trying to prier open my mouth like I expect them too.

They go and pull up my hands.

My hands go through the hilts of the blade and it hurts so much I can't do anything but scream.

Pekka shoves the Parem in my mouth.

My body feels like it's withering away and Pekka laughs as I vibrate against my seat. I feel my eyes widen and the only thing going through my head is that Rollins is a foul.

The knives.

And I'm not going out without a fight.

I pull the knives out of the handles of the seat and I scream as the hilt of the blades touch my skin but I quickly cut the bonds around me and I stab one of my knifes into the first henchmen.

I leap towards the other and I barley manage the scrap him before my body hits the floor and I can't move anymore.

Searing pain stabs through my body like multiple knives just stabbing me over and over again I expect Pekka to be the last face I see and I murmur something about the saints but then I see it.

The hooded figures.

It's the Crows.

The henchmen are down on the floor and Pekka is tied up and gagged to the chair. I feel my vision start to blur and the Crows go to check the area.

"We have to get her a healer!" Someone yells. But I'm on my back looking up and I barley even recognize that things are happening around me. It's like I'm watching from a different world but I can't do anything.

"Y/n!" Someone yells and picks me up from my spot on the ground.

"Come on Y/n!" Someone whisper-yells.

I groan as the person starts walking and I let out a rattling breath, that I knew that should concern me but I couldn't care less.

I just wanted it to end.

"Your not dying on me today Y/n."

Kaz, I think it's Kaz.

Everything shifts back into focus, Kaz is running (even with his bad leg) and somehow the searing pain from the parem in my body has started to subside. Noticing the many, many yards of guards running after the crows and some group of them has so, so, so many guns pointed right at Kaz.

Then it happens.

Suddenly I feel above the others, like I have powers that no one has ever had. The universe was bending to my will and I gasp as I'm lifted up into the air by something shadowy, and dark blackness surrounds my legs all the way up to my waist. I don't quiet know what I'm doing but it feels natural, like I knew how too do it all along.

I raise my hands into the air and shadows burst out into the open.

Guards are being cut in half, some are being chocked to death, some look like their getting stabbed multiple times as wounds just show up. Others look like they have a disease as darkness spreads across their bodies. And some just fall to the floor and die silently.

Their dead.

The power, and the need to protect everyone I care about is gone.

I don't even scream.

I hit the ground with a thud and I try to open my mouth as Kaz frantically pulls me into his arms cradling me. No, that couldn't be right though.

He yells for someone but I can't make it out I try to blink, but even that is hard and it's so slow and I can feel Kaz bring me closer too him but I don't really know what's reality anymore.

"Y/n." The voice (although it tries not to show it) lets concern and fear run through the words. I gasp.

"Kaz." I manage to say. He pulls me (somehow) closer as he lifts my face up to look into his.

He says something, but I can't comprehend anything he's saying. The edges of my vision start going black and everything else is going fuzzy.

"You'll live!" Kaz says, trying to reassure me but it sounds like he's trying to reassure himself more.

I place a hand on his and I want to say something, but the words are all mixed up and it feels like concrete is holding my jaw shut. Everything starts slowly turning black and I'm internally screaming in my head;

No! I have to say something! I can't go like this!

It's useless though, because everything slowly fades away the last thing I see is the dark brown of Kaz's concerned eyes.

_______TIME SKIP_____________________________________________

The light bulb of whatever room I'm in flickers off and on as darkens seems to try and cover it. I take a look around to see all the Crows tied up to a chair each, they have gags in their mouths and they look like they have been tortured out of their minds.

I run over to Wylan trying to help him out, but he let's out a muffled scream as I go towards him. I quickly turn to Jesper but he's so still in his seat not even looking at me.

Nina and her confident demeanor is gone, her aura is laced with panic and Matthias is with her on that one.

Inej can't seem to stop shaking, making her presence known to everyone. Then I turn to the last chair and my heart must have stopped.

Kaz's corpse lays, in the chair. Bubbles of darkens, are around his mouth and it looks like it chocked him to death.

Dirtyhands was finally beaten.

Then darkness shoots out of me, and I can't seem to stop it as it kills everyone else.

I sit up and a scream rips through my throat. I breath in heavily trying to get the air into my lungs. Everything in me burns, pain course's through me like a parasite on steroids, but at least time I succeed at muffling my scream.

I hear someone running from another room and the door fly's open. On command darkens shoots out from my hand and starts chocking the person- Holy shit! That's Kaz!

"No!" And it all appears to fade away into the shadows.

Tears start to fill my eyes, what will happen when I'm in a real state of panic? Could my nightmare eventually come true?

I feel the bed dip beside me and despite my hardest efforts, my eyes wander over to Kaz.

He looks like he hasn't slept a day in his life, with the essentially black moons under his eyes. His skin looks chalky white, contrasting his red rimmed eyes that looks like he had been crying just a few minutes ago.

Concern fills my shadowed heart, something must have happened for the Kaz fucking Brekker to be like this. My fears about being a shadow summoner disappear, they do stay at the back of my mind but finding out what's up with the bastard of the barrel is more important.

I carefully place a hand on his cheek. He tense's up a bit before relaxing into the palm of my hand and even leaning into it a bit.

"What happened?"

Kaz looks at me in disbelief. "What happened?" He lets out a chocked laugh that holds a sob in the background.

"You died." My breath hitches in my throat, wait... That can't be right. Can it?

"Matthias had to do chest compression's on you while Nina tried to restart your heart. All because I couldn't fucking do it."

He takes in a breath and rips my hand away from his face.

"Your heart stopped Y/n, we thought you were dead. But they kept going and somehow saved you!" A sob tears through his throat and Kaz Brekker breaks down in front of me. His walls that he has tried so hard to keep strong have had a boulder thrown at it. Smashing it with so much force that he couldn't possibly rebuild it.

"I'm sorry." I whisper. "For all the pain I caused you." I somehow manage to speak as my own tears start to come up.

"Seriously? Your sorry?" Kaz turns to me and grips my shoulders.

"Your the one who died, damn it!"

"Hey I have something to hold over Jesper?" I try to joke and it gets a small, very tiny tried smile out of Kaz.

"And the fact that your a shadow summoner."

"I didn't know." I say quickly and I pull back defensively, Kaz just sighs.

"I know."

He lets his hands run down my arms and his hands make delicate patterns on my skin. Then I remember the parem. Fuck.

"What were the effects of the parem?" If anyone would know, it would be Kaz.

He pause's for a second seemingly in thought before opening his mouth the speak.

"Well your life span was shortened to a normal one." I exhale in relief at that news, I really didn't want to live for centuries.

"But your powers could surpass the Darkling's, and the only reason you don't have the opposite of what you have now is because you pushed it down for so long. The healers somehow purged the parem out of your body before it could make you a mindless addict."

"That better news then I thought I would get." Kaz nods but there's something else lingering in the back of his head.

He thinks I'm going to leave.

I intertwine our hands together, and I turn my head to look him right in the eyes.

"I'm not leaving." I blurt out.

"If I went to the little palace I would get hunted, if I went anywhere else I would get hunted. I might go into hiding for a bit, but I'm not leaving you."

A smile that's even bigger than the last one by some means crawls up on his face.

"Good, because I just got you back."

Words 3021

-thedelusionreaderbitch

Shadow and bone taglist: @kaqua

(If you want to be added just comment taglist)

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bopbopstyles · 4 years

Photo

TEMPTATION IN ITALY

RATING: R/smut (overstimulation, light spanking, bit of choking, pure tender filth)

WORD COUNT: 9.4k

CATEGORIES: fratboy!harry, italy!harry

MASTERLIST | INSPO TAG

a/n: it’s a Temptation extra for @bfharry ‘s boyfriendathon!!!!! i’ve been mulling this concept over since i finished Temptation, and I’m so excited to finally have it written and done. s/o to liv for the push to write it, @harrysclementines for checking out my italian and inspiring many parts of this, and to my best friend a***** for being the one to take me to lucca, where this fic is set. harry’s house in this fic is based of hers.

if you haven’t read TEMPTATION, you can do so here: part one | part two | part three

“Cherry,” he mumbled, her nickname falling from his lips, dripping with desire as he stepped towards her. “You have to let me buy this.”

She leveled her gaze to his, trying to play with him, her favorite activity. “And why is that?”

His fingers ran over the see-through lace, the pebbles of her nipples visible through the material. “Because I can’t promise I won’t rip it off you later, and I know how much you hate it when I ruin your underwear.”

Nora’s breath caught in her throat at his words, body keening under the his touch. “I’ll allow it,” she replied, voice hoarse in her throat. “As long as you let me choose where you fuck me.”

Harry buys Nora some lingerie and it leads to some overstimulation on countertops in Italy

pls reblog and share with your friends 💕

Nora’s eyes swept across Harry, the sight of him curled up next to her on the bed bringing a lazy smile to her face as usual. Sometimes she was overwhelmed by how much she simply wanted to spend every waking moment with him, even doing things as simple as this: lying in bed next to him, the sheets pushed down to his waist, one of his arms across her torso, his face pressed into the pillow next to her, breath fluttering from his lips.

The lack of air conditioning in Italy had taken her a while to get used to, but she had finally adjusted and now loved lying in bed, completely naked with Harry, breeze from the open window next to the bed blowing across their bodies. Their other friends had been there for the first two weeks, Nash, Niall, Maddy, Lauren, Taylor, and a couple of Harry’s other frat brothers who Nora had gotten to know in recent months. It was August and they’d all finished their summer internships and decided to take advantage of Harry’s family house in Lucca, which was empty and waiting for them. Everyone had packed up left the morning before, and now it was just her and Harry left in the big house for another week. After that, they were heading back to campus to move into their rooms for senior year and back to reality.

Being there in Italy, with him, the simplicity of life, made her love him more than she could ever imagined and the last thing she wanted to do was leave.

Suddenly, she felt pressure on her side and Harry’s eyes were fluttering open, his green irises meeting hers. “Morning, baby,” he mumbled, lifting his head to press a kiss to her shoulder. “Been awake long?”

She shook her head and rolled over so she was facing him, and traced a finger down the side of his face. A lazy smile flickered across his lips at the feeling. “Not too long. Using the time to watch you without you getting all antsy.”

He tugged her body flush to his and she giggled as he licked at her neck. “Mhm, you’re sweaty.”

“H, that’s gross.”

“No it’s not, just sweat.” He licked at her neck again and she squirmed. “You sweat when I fuck you and have no problem with me licking at you then, so what’s the difference?”

How did the words fuck you make her want him immediately. “Your brain is disgusting,” she said, pushing at him. “Come on, I’m hungry and it’s your turn to cook breakfast.”

His hands pulled on her as she tried to get up, but she slipped through his grasp and he fell back against the bed. “You just like watching me make you breakfast.”

Nora shrugged, and pulled an old DSig shirt out of their chest of drawers, which had become a mixed mess over the weeks. He had ended up in one of her shirts without realizing it, much to the amusement of Nash and the boys, but Nora found it endearing, watching him pull at her oversized button down before realizing the reason it didn’t fit right was because it wasn’t his, but not taking it off. “You’re a good cook.”

Finally, Harry pushed at the sheets and stood up, his completely naked body drawing her eyes in. “Thanks, baby. Pass me some pants?”

She threw a pair of briefs at him and he pulled them on, the material barely covering any of his body, but she didn’t mind in the least. “I’ll start the coffee.”

“As if you know how to work the machine.”

“It’s not my fault it’s all in Italian!”

He laughed and followed her downstairs to the kitchen. She flicked the radio on, Italian ballads filling the room. She loved the kitchen, the simple white cabinets and granite countertops, wooden table and chairs pushed to the side, an island that she usually sat at as Harry cooked. There were windows all the way around, which she opened and let the sunlight in, birds chirping outside.

Harry’s family home was up in the hills outside Lucca, a narrow one-way road winding past houses and an abandoned old church. The house itself was white with multi-colored stone, tall and slim-shaped trees outside next to a small fountain that had a table next to it where they ate dinner most nights. Inside, the house was two stories plus a basement, five bedrooms to properly house Harry’s extended family during the holidays, and two small living rooms overstuffed with books and comfortable couches for mid-afternoon naps. Outside, there was a pool that overlooked the rolling green hills, and a bathhouse with an extra bedroom. All in all, it was heaven and Nora never wanted to leave.

Harry hummed along to some Italian Top 40s song while he scrambled some eggs and toasted two pieces of toast and Nora put together some fruit to go along with it, grabbing some fresh peaches from the bowl. Harry’s neighbor had a peach tree in their front yard and had brought by some the previous day and they were delicious. She managed to get the coffee machine working after bugging Harry for reminders on which button did what, and poured two cups for them, setting one next to the stove for Harry as he finished up cooking.

They ate outside on the patio, a pair of sunglasses balanced on Harry’s curls as they basked in the morning sunshine. “It’s so quiet,” he said to her after setting down his fork, a finished plate in front of him. “Like our friends, but it’s nice to be just us for a bit.”

“Mhm,” she hummed, scooting closer to him on the bench at the table so he could place his arm around her shoulders. “Now I can love on you any time I want.”

“Oh?” Harry ducked down and looked at her, a coy smile on his face. “And you couldn’t before? I seem to remember plenty of loving—“

“Shut up,” she said, swatting at his chest, and he chuckled. “They just always made fun of me, or you. Now no one is going to be whining about us making out in the pool.”

Harry kissed her temple, and then lifted his coffee cup to his lips. “Right about that, love.” She picked up her abandoned peach and took a bite, the juices dribbling down her chin. “What do you want to do today? Swim or go into town?”

Nora considered the options, before deciding on town. “Can we rent bikes again? And I want a gelato.”

“Sure, baby. Want to go get changed and I’ll wash up?” She nodded, pressing a kiss to his lips chastely before scampering into the house. She took a quick shower, wanting to start the day fresh, and put some sunscreen on her skin which had grown darker from the sun over the past few weeks. Harry came into their room as she was fumbling through their clothes, trying to find a pair of specific pair of shorts.

“Have you seen my denim shorts?” She asked him, not even looking up. “The ones with the longer fringe at the back?”

She felt his hands on her hips, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder. “No, not since you wore them last. Gotta be here somewhere—you didn’t put them in the wash, did you?”

His longer hair tickled at her cheek and she smiled at the feeling. “I didn’t. Fuck—I’ll find them. Go get ready, you menace.”

With a squeeze to her hips, he moved away to the bathroom so he could wash his face and brush his teeth. Nora found her shorts at the back of the drawer, and pulled that and a white tank top on, keeping her clothes simple and light so she didn’t sweat through them immediately. Harry ended up in a white t-shirt and grey trousers, a hair clip attached to the waist for his longer locks, a handkerchief tied around his neck that she tugged on to bring his lips to hers.

He fiddled with her hand on the center console as he drove into town, the radio on low volume filling the silence in the car, windows open as they passed houses on the hill. She watched the sights go by, wondering how such a beautiful place could exist. They parked the car right outside the old city walls and walked the distance to the bike shop where they had rented them before.

“Due biciclette per favore,” Harry said to the man in the shop. Nora thumbed through a guidebook on the counter as Harry spoke to the man, their conversation in Italian passing right over her head.

“Per te e la tua ragazza?” The man replied.

“Sì.”

“Lei è piuttosto bella.”

“Tieni le mani lontane da lei!” Harry laughed as he said the words, some joke probably passing between them.

“Sì, sì, certo. Lei è troppo buona per te, lo sai.”

“Lo so.”

Nora swung a leg over her bike and pushed her sunglasses into place, waiting for Harry to get himself together behind her. “What were you two talking about?” She asked as he adjusted his pants so they didn’t get caught on the chains.

“You,” he responded nonchalantly.

“Me?”

He looked up at her and nodded. “He said you were gorgeous, and I told him to keep his hands off my girl. He said you were too good for me.”

Nora scoffed and pushed off the street, pedaling with Harry next to her. “Got that the wrong way ‘round.”

He gave her a smile, and then moved into tourist mode, pointing out the landmarks he had shown her. He knew how much she loved history and that she wouldn’t mind hearing it all again, so he told her stories about the old jail cells and the city walls, the wide gravel tree-lined paths full of other pedestrians and dogs on leashes. They talked about Italian politics, since Harry actually read the newspaper and kept up on the news. He told her old stories about his family visiting and Harry getting lost in the streets, before finally finding his mom at a gelato shop where he went because he wanted something sweet. When they had made a loop around the city, they turned into the streets, carefully maneuvering through the crowds and avoiding the streets with the expensive shops, where people gathered. Instead, they stuck to the back roads and they’d stop every once in a while so Harry could take photos on a film camera he had bought before they’d left the States. He wanted to take it up as a hobby, and thought where was a better place to try it out than Italy?

Nora sent photos of the yellow and tan exteriors of the buildings to send to her mother, one in an endless stream of photos that made her mom jealous of her trip. When they got hungry, they stopped for gelato, and sat outside at a shop next to a bunch of kids who were speaking rapidly in Italian. Harry kept stealing bites from Nora’s, but she shoved his hands away, reminding him that he got his own for a reason. His fingers were sticky when he pulled her chin towards him to kiss her, and his lips tasted like his lemon gelato.

They ditched the bikes in favor of walking around, and they wove in and out of the shops, Nora trying on clothes that Harry picked out before objecting to the price and refusing to let Harry pay for them for her. They tried on sunglasses at one of the street vendors and Harry got some, a pair of brown wide-frame glasses that he tucked into his shirt. He bought a leather notebook that resembled the ones that he wrote lyrics in, and Nora decided to get one of her own, telling Harry she needed to start journaling to remember all the good memories they shared. He took photos of her against a pink building, smelling flowers in a courtyard, and just walking in front of him. In his eyes, it was impossible to not feel beautiful, Nora thought to herself.

Somehow they ended up in an Italian lingerie shop, much to Harry’s joy. “Baby, pleaseee…” He held a white lace set up in front of her, the material mostly mesh and lace, basically full see through. Most times, Nora might have refused him, but after a day spent solely in his company, Nora was wrapped around his finger, just as he was around hers. And the look in his eyes of desire and mischief had her smiling at him.

“Fine,” she replied, and tugged him back to the dressing room with her, much to the amusement of the saleswoman.

He stood outside of the room while she changed, pushing off her shorts and shirt and toying with the delicate material. “Got it on?” He asked, voice low through the flimsy door.

“Almost.” She tugged at the bra straps, situating the cups on her chest. In the mirror, her hair was a mess of sweat and wind, cascading around her shoulders in curls, her face flushed from the sun. She pushed a strand behind her ear and hoped Harry would like it. “Okay,” she said, unlocking the door.

“Thank god, didn’t know if I—fuck.” His words stopped the moment he stepped inside and set his eyes on her body. Quickly, he shut the door behind him, locking it, their bodies close in the narrow dressing room. Nora stood there as his eyes criss-crossed over her body, taking in the sight in front of him. Her shy smile, her sunkissed skin, brown eyes that stared up at him. “Cherry,” he mumbled, her nickname falling from his lips, dripping with desire as he stepped towards her. “You have to let me buy this.”

She leveled her gaze to his, trying to play with him, her favorite activity. “And why is that?”

Harry’s lip tucked between his teeth at her words. “Yeah? Want to choose where I take you?” She nodded, and his fingers drifted over her skin, barely touching it and raising goosebumps in his path. “It’s a deal, baby. Now take it off so I can buy it and get you home.”

Harry followed Nora on her heels, her laughter bouncing off the walls of the house as he kept trying to grab at her hips as she moved through the hallways. Her curls bouncing as she swept your head back and forth, scampering away every time he got closer to her. Seeing her dark hair flutter against the white walls had Harry feeling like he was in a movie, moving in slow motion after the love of his life, barely able to keep her in his grasp.

They didn’t bother closing the doors or the windows in the bedroom, Harry pressing her against the wall with a gasp from her mouth. His lips danced down her neck, sucking and pulling at her skin, his name wet on her tongue. Hands pulled at his hair and fell to his shirt, her fingers scrambling push it up before he leaned back to help her, his handkerchief going with it. When it was off, her mouth attached to his skin, hot lips searing through Harry’s nerves, a rush of adrenaline at the feeling of her on him.

“Nora,” he begged, fingers digging into the curve of her ass, tugging her hips towards his. Without hesitating, her teeth brushed over the mark she had made on him, making him hiss. “Baby, please.” His words were raw and rough, desperate to have her. He could never get enough of her, the way she made him feel, the sounds she made in his arms, the way she looked up at him under long eyelashes, a coy smile that begged for more.

“I need to go change into my new lingerie,” she said, nudging at his chin. It was a soft movement, one that just asked him to stay close to her, and he loved it.

“I know I said that,” he replied, pulling at her skin with his hands, loving how she gasped at the cold of his rings, “but now I really don’t give a fuck.”

“Hmm,” she murmured, running a finger down his chest. “But I do.”

With a sigh, Harry let go of her waist, letting her drop to the ground. She kissed his jaw before turning away, the bag from the lingerie store in her hands as she went into the bathroom. Harry ran a hand down his face, heart fluttering in his chest. He just needed her. It was a carnal need, something beyond reason, the very same feeling that had lingered inside of him since the moment he first touched her. It never left him—the desire to have her close, to touch her skin, to make her moan his name. He was addicted to it, and he had no plans to quit.

He fell to the bed, head hitting the pillows, and stared at the closed door. Behind it, he imagined Nora naked, fumbling with the straps and the lace. He easily conjured the image of her in it earlier and he cursed himself for not taking her in that dressing room. Who gave a fuck if anyone heard them.

“Taking forever in there,” he called out to her, getting antsy from his spot on the bed. He had propped his head up on the pillows, giving him a perfect view of the door.

“Somebody’s impatient.” Her voice was music to his ears, sweet and rough.

He scratched at his hair, pulling at the long strands as he waited. “What can I say, love? I’m—holy fucking hell.”

She kept doing that, interrupting his stream of words by opening the door and standing there, naked and bare for him except for the flimsy material covering her body. The white lace clung to her skin, the picture of innocence that he knew she was anything but. Somehow that made it even more alluring, the dichotomy of the delicate lace and the coy smile on her face. Harry sat up and let his eyes trail over her skin, the rise and fall of her curves, the way her breasts strained against the edge of the bra, gaze following the V of the underwear to where he wanted her most.

He swallowed with difficulty, throat suddenly dry at the sight of her, sunlight from outside making her skin glow in front of him. “Cherry…” He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence, completely overwhelmed by her.

But then she opened her sinful, delicious mouth, and set Harry’s body ablaze. “I want you to fuck me on the kitchen counter.”

He practically choked. “What?”

She shifted, moving towards him like an animal prowling its prey. “I want you to fuck me on the kitchen counters. The same ones where you make me breakfast every morning. You said I could choose where, right?” When her fingers drifted across his forehead lightly, Harry keened into her, desperate for her touch. She bent her head and whispered low in his ear, “Well I want it on the counters. Every counter.”

That had Harry in motion. He stood, pulling her up so that her legs were around his waist, feet clasped at his lower back. Her hands threaded through his hair and pulled, making his neck tip back as she kissed him. Harry moved through the house blind, unable to see anything but her, but somehow he made it down the stairs without tripping, through the narrow hallways, and finally to the kitchen, the afternoon sunlight hitting the tile perfectly. The windows were open and you could hear the breeze, the soft chirp of the birds, the hint of cicadas. He was going to give her her wish—to fuck her on every one of these counters, fill this kitchen with memories of her moaning against him, let anyone who neared the house hear her call his name.

He dropped her to the counter closest to him, her bare bottom except for the lace panties she wore hitting the smooth granite with a thud. “Want me to fuck you on the counters?” He mumbled, lips tugging at hers, hands cupping her face as he kissed her. Without even meaning to, he pushed his hips into her clothed center and he was suddenly thankful for the lower height of the counters, because it meant she was the perfect height for him. “I can do that, baby.”

Nora’s lips were a dark pink when he pulled away, eyes blown out with desire, hair a mess behind her shoulders from his hands. “H,” she breathed, pushing at his pants, “please.”

“‘m coming, love,” he told her, pushing off his trousers so he was in nothing but his briefs. Then, he dropped to his knees. He wanted to taste her first, he decided. And then he was going to make her come until she physically couldn’t anymore, barely giving her time to recover. They’d talked about it before—overstimulation. She had mentioned that she liked it, like being able to barely think as he touched her, like it when he fucked her from one orgasm to the next without pause. He had been rolling it over in his head, considering a time to experiment with more, to see how far she could go.

Now, he decided, was the time.

His fingers danced up her legs, and Nora gasped at the feeling. “As much as I love this set, it needs to come off now.” He punctuated the sentence with a searing tug at her inner thighs with his lips, sucking her skin into his mouth and making a pop sound when he let go. It made her squirm on the countertops and her hands were beginning to get wet from sweat, the combination of the heat and the feeling of Harry’s hands on her making her body temperature rise.

The lace slid against the granite as he pulled it off of her, Nora lifting her hips just enough for him to be able to clear the curve of her ass. When her panties were on the floor, Nora let her thighs fall open and she just sat there, skin aflame from Harry’s gaze.

“Beautiful,” he breathed, fingers brushing around her pussy; a whine leaving her lips that made Harry smile. “Squirmin’ for me, hmm?”

He knew she loved it when he talked, she’d told him many, many times, and so he had thrown his filter out long ago. Now, he said whatever popped into his brain, and usually it was a mess of compliments and teases about how much he wanted her, because none of it was lie. Hands clasped around the back of her knees and tugged so that her pussy was on the edge of the counter, the cold granite on her hot skin. She looked utterly delectable, pink lips waiting for him, the soft rolls of her stomach fluttering with each breath, her breasts heaving in her bra. “H…oh, god.” When his lips attached to her clit, one of her hands threaded through his hair and tugged his face closer to her, the stubble on his chin brushing across her slit. “Fuck,” she panted, rolling her hips for more of the roughness, needing anything she would give him.

Harry kneaded her hips in his hands, loving the weight of his rings on her smooth and sensitive skin. “Feel good?” He asked, licking over her nub and listening to her keen, wet and breathy echos of yes floating through the air. Then he couldn’t torture her anymore, the sight of her hole clenching around nothing just sending him into a tailspin. So he moved one of his hands and pressed his index finger to her slit, the callused touch rough against her but just what she needed. She sighed at the pressure and Harry watched in delight as her wetness let him slide right in, all the way up to the ring on his finger.

She bucked against him, demanding more, and Harry dove back in, pumping in and out of her with his one finger and curling inside of her as he devoured her clit with his mouth. He rolled her nub with his tongue and then sucked, letting his teeth brush against it and smiling as she shook against him. “More,” she begged, pushing towards him, her one hand on the counter barely able to support her quivering body.

So he added a second finger, his middle finger joining his index inside of her, and she sighed at the stretch. “Fucking drenched,” he mumbled as he watched her eyes flutter shut at the feeling. “So wet for me, baby. Can you hear it?”

All she could do. was nod, the sensations overwhelming her—his fingers inside of her, the slickness of her juices as he pumped hard and fast into her, curling at her rear walls. The way he played with her clit, torturing her as he licked over her, sucking and pulling, the stubble on his chin rough against her skin. It was fucking heaven, and she never wanted it to stop. “Gonna come,” she whined, clenching around his fingers and in his hair, fingernails scraping against his scalp.

“Want it,” he mumbled against her clit, the vibrations making her back arch. “Come for me, princess. Please? Want to feel you come on my fingers. Want to watch it drip out of you. Come on, baby.”

Nora couldn’t control it anymore, and she was coming in a second, her body shaking and stuttering on the counter, hand sliding for hold on something, but failing. Harry held her hips in place so she didn’t slide off the counter, and anchored her there as he pumped her through her orgasm, licking at her clit until she was begging for him to stop. Her walls fluttered around his fingers and he loved it, but what he loved even more was removing his fingers from her and the strands of her come that he saw when he pulled away. He moved his lips from her clit to her slit, and licked over her hole, the sight of her quivering exactly what he wanted. When he pulled his lips away he watched a bit of come drip from her hole, weepy and red, and could barely look away.

Then he moved his fingers to her mouth, tapping them to her bottom lip to ask her to open. Which she did. Happily. She bobbed her head like she would on his dick and Harry about came right there and then. But he couldn’t—he had a task at hand that he hadn’t completed.

His head swiveled around the kitchen, counting quickly. “There’s four open counters in here,” he said eyes finding hers again. “Want you to come on every one of them.”

Her eyes widened, processing what he was saying and asking of her. Permission for him to go more intense than he had in the past. But instead of fear of discomfort running through her body, all she felt was desire. “Only if I get you inside of me for all of them,” she replied, taunting him, seeing how long he could last for her.

“Oh baby,” he said, coming to full height and brushing her sweaty hair off of her forehead. “As if I’d pass up the opportunity to feel you come around me.”

In an instant he was moving her to the next counter, the dreaded coffee machine to the right of her and the fridge on the left. Their lips found each other in a mess of teeth and tongue, Nora’s hands pushing at his briefs and Harry unclasping her bra, desperate to see her bare for him. When her breasts fell, he traded her lips for her nipples, rolling them into his mouth. At the same time, Nora had gotten his briefs down enough for his cock to poke out and her hand was on him immediately, tugging at a pace that was going to make him come if he didn’t stop her.

“Nor,” he said, pulling on her hand so it wasn’t on his dick, but instead on his back. “Goin’ to make me come if you keep that up.”

“Then how about you fuck me?”

She knew how to push all of his buttons and adored doing it. It drove Harry crazy, that she could make him beg for her with just a handful of words—the control she had over him was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before, and he loved every second of it. “Legs up, baby,” he told her, tapping on her knees. She followed his directions immediately, shifting closer to him and pulling her knees up and clasping her feet around his middle.

Harry knew he wouldn’t need much lubricant, but he decided to add a bit more just so he didn’t hurt her—he knew she was sensitive. So he let spit fall from his lips, the slickness of it landing right on his dick. He pumped it one, covering his length, and then he nudged his tip into her. Nora gasped his name immediately, and his eyes moved to hers, not wanting to miss his favorite moment—when he pushed into her. Which he did, in one fluid motion that had her curling into him.

She was wet, insanely wet from her orgasm and the build-up, and tight, her walls clenching around him as he sat inside of her, flush to the hilt. Nora’s arm wrapped around his shoulder and pressed her head to the crook of his neck, unable to hold herself up anymore, which Harry didn’t mind in the slightest. He loved it when she hung onto him, her trust in him enough to let him control their movements. Harry’s hands moved to her hips and he held them steady as he pulled back and slid back into her, a guttural groan leaving his lips at the feeling of her fluttering around him. “God, baby, you feel so good. Made for me, you know? How did I get so lucky?”

His words were a mess and he didn’t care; he knew she wouldn’t judge what he said. When her fingernails dug into his skin he took it as a sign for more, and so he set about his task—making his girl come again. She liked it fast and hard, loved it when he hit her back walls and made her scream. So he would give her exactly what she wanted.

Harry drove into her at a pace that would probably leave bruises on her thighs, but she didn’t care in the slightest. She panted into his ear, his name echoing around them as his dick pushed in and out of her. Ever since they’d gone bare the first time they had never gone back, them both adoring how close it made them feel. And in moments like this, with Nora draped over his body, all of her weight balanced on him, him pushing into her fast and deep, it was as if they were inside one another.

When Nora clamored at his back, hands pulling at his taught skin and a scream ripped through her throat, he knew he found her g-spot. “That it, baby? Hmm?” She nodded furiously into his skin, teeth coming down on the muscle of his shoulder and Harry grunted from the feeling. “’S mine, yeah?”

“Yours,” she moaned, and then she rolled her hips in a slight circle and Harry faltered at the feeling. “Yours, Harry, I’m yours.”

His head hung on her shoulder, and from there he could cast his eyes down and see his dick entering her barely, their skin slapping against each other. “Holy shit,” he said through clenched teeth. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold off.”

Nora took the situation into her own hands, finding the ability to hold herself up. She pulled away from his neck and rested on one hand, shifting her weight so that she could slither her hand down the length of her body. Her fingers rubbed at her clit and Harry was captured by the sight, her fingers rolling across her wetness as he slammed into her, chasing their orgasms. “I’m close,” she said, walls bearing down on him.

“Me too,” he said, head tilting back. “I’ll come when you do.”

She nodded, knowing how much he loved it when she came and that it usually made him come immediately. It was just one example of how much his body was obsessed with her, his own desire intrinsically tied up in hers. “Come on, love,” she looked up at him, capturing his attention. “Make me come?”

He pulled her lips to his and drove into her at a pace unmatched by his previous one, slamming into her with his full force, sliding into her so fast he could barely keep himself up. He was pushing his weight into her, the hand not on her waist clenching the edge of the countertop. “Come for me, baby,” he mumbled, “want to come in you. Please, Nora, please.”

With one more circle of her hand on her clit she faltered, a scream of his name ripping through her lips and he let it, loving how it reverberated in the room. That she didn’t have to hide it, that he could have it all. She clenched around him and it made his breath choke in his throat, hands curling as he came. Ropes of come inside of her, coating her walls, panting against her lips as he kissed her messily, just wanting to be close to her.

When he regained his normal breathing and feeling in his body, he leaned back slightly, not enough where he pulled out from her, but just enough to where he could look at her. “Gonna move ya,” he said, arms coming around her back. She nodded and held onto him like a koala as he lifted her, moving to a countertop a few paces away, on the other side of the stove. He stayed inside of her the whole time and even though he was softer than before, he wasn’t fully soft because the feeling of her walls fluttering and his tip shifting inside of her as he stepped had him hissing through his teeth.

“Sensitive?” She asked, running a hand through his hair.

“Worried abut me?”

She smiled at him, a soft one full of love and adoration. “Not worried. Just want to make sure it’s not too much.”

“Fuck no,” he replied, shaking his head. “’S perfect. Gonna make you come around me as I get hard,” he told her, and she bit into her lip at the thought. “Like the sound of that?”

“Yeah,” she said, elbows resting on his shoulders. “Like it a lot.”

Harry kissed her, licking into her mouth and savoring the taste of her, sweet like honey on his tongue. The way her hands pulled on his hair, not minding that it was sweaty and a disaster, just wanted something to hold onto. “Wish we’d brought some toys,” he mumbled when he pulled away, the idea of making her come with him inside and vibrator on her clit suddenly filling his imagination.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Why didn’t you?”

“Had to fit all your goddamn swimsuits into our bags that didn’t quite fit, did it?”

Nora laughed, her eyes crinkling at the sides. “You love my swimsuits, you ass.”

She was right. He loved them, the way they barely covered her body, the different colors and patterns on her skin that he got to pull off after their time in the pool—or if he was lucky, while they were in the pool. He decided he’d see if he could fuck her in the pool tomorrow. He planned on taking her every day of the week while they were here. “I do, baby. Love ‘em almost as much as I love you.” Then, he pushed two of his fingers into his mouth, wetting them on his tongue and letting her watch him, eyes never leaving him.

With that, his fingers pushed between their hips, her softening her back so that his hand could slide against her. And he set a brutal pace immediately, the wetness from his spit meaning he could move against her furiously. The feeling of her clenching around him as he began to draw her closer to her high, her body beyond sensitive after two orgasms, was enough for him to be nearly hard immediately. “H,” she breathed, head lolling back on her neck at the feeling of him rubbing against her.

She was shaking as he rolled her clit between his fingers, and then made a counter-clockwise circle, finger tips brushing above her slit where they were connected. That spot in particular made her moan, a desperate sound that made him want more. He was desperate for her to come, wanting to see her fall apart around him again, the sight one that he wished could go in a museum. Every museum in Italy should have a photo of her when she came.

He made a mental note to grab his camera the next time they had sex—he wanted to immortalize the sight.

When she sharply yelped, hips bucking into his, his eyes flickered across her. “Too much?”

She shook her head, lifting it so she could look at him. “Need more. Please, H.”

“What do you need baby?”

Nora’s hand drifted from his bicep to his neck, securely fastening to its side, the pressure making him zero in on her. “Need you to fuck me again. Can you do that?”

“Fuck me.” His groan was drawn-out and low in his throat. “Yeah, I can do that.” It was like her demand had made him hard again, his body wanting to do nothing less than please her. “Want me like this again, angel?”

“Mhm,” she hummed, unable to form words, but the sound was enough for him to know she did.

“Your wish is my command.” And then he drew back, using their come from before and the slickness of her juices as lubricant as he slid back into her, the feeling of him moving inside of her making her let out a sudden cry. After just sitting inside of her, moving against her was everything he needed. “Goin’ to go slower, okay? Need to last for you.”

She nodded furiously, body tightening in his hold. Her fingers pressed into his throat more and he didn’t even think she was doing it on purpose, but he wasn’t complaining. Her thumb was on his Adam’s apple, her other fingers clasped around the back of his neck. He shifted his hand away from her clit, ignoring her whine, and adjusted her hand so that her palm was situated squarely around the front of his neck.

Her eyes widened. “Too much?” He asked, checking in with her as he returned to her clit, rubbing against her bud with his thumb.

“No,” she replied, tensing her hand experimentally. “It’s hot, actually.”

Harry smiled, pulling her clit with his thumb and forefinger in response and her hips jumped. “I like it.”

“Just...stop me if it’s too much, okay? I don’t want to hurt you.” Her voice was sweet, and Harry loved it—how she wanted to make sure she didn’t hurt him.

“I will,” he promised. She squeezed again, a bit tighter that time, and he let out a strangled moan. He’d never tried this with anyone else, but he had to admit, he liked it more than he had expected. He pulled his attention from her hand around his neck and to where his dick pushed in and out of her, trying to hold back his tempo so he could last for her. Instead of going fast, he settled for going deep, pressing every inch of her pussy, and rolling her clit fast. The combination had her squirming, hips almost pushing away from him. “Good, baby?”

“So good,” she breathed out, squeezing happily at his throat. “Might come soon. It’s so much—fuck, H—I can’t…”

The sight of her eyes fluttering and breasts bouncing as he pressed into her was tattooed into his brain. “That’s it, love. Come for me.”

Nora swiveled her hips slightly, chasing his touch, fingernails cutting into his skin at the back of his throat. “I—“ she choked on her words, head falling back as she came, it creeping up on her this time. The intensity of it, though, was unmatched, her whole body shaking so much that Harry had to pull her against him and hold her so she didn’t bang her head. He continued to push into her slowly, eyes clenched to try and hold back from coming at the feeling of her holding his dick inside of her like a vice.

When her body had calmed, Harry still hadn’t stopped, making good on his promise to fuck her through her orgasm and into the next one. “Can I bend you over for the next one?” He asked her, lips on her ear as he spoke, words low and rough.

“Y—yes,” she said, words chalky in her throat. They both needed a different position, something to change things up.

So Harry pulled out of her, both hissing from the loss of him, and he quickly carried her to the second to last countertop. She stood unsteadily on her feet, so he held her fast, not wanting her to fall. Nora bent over on her own, the cold granite on her bare breasts making her gasp. Harry ran his hands down her back, pushing her hair to the side so he could see her skin. “You okay?” He asked, kneading her sides to calm her down.

“Mhm,” she hummed, reaching her hand back to hold onto his. “Want you.”

The desire she had for him matched his, and it was in moments like these that he was thankful for it. He brushed his dick over her slit, it weepy and puffy from her multiple orgasms, their mixed come coating her skin. With his eyes on her face to make sure it was okay, he pushed in in one motion. The new angle had him hitting a different spot inside of her, one that made Nora dig her fingers into Harry’s hand and her toes curl. Harry’s head flopped back, panting heavily from the feeling. “So wet,” he rasped, “feels so good. Shit, baby, you feel so good.”

He swept his hands across her skin before he started to push in and out of her, his pace picking up as he fucked into her. She was still reeling from her last orgasm, much less the two before it. There were two more that he wanted from her, two more that she said could give. He wanted them here, like this.

All of a sudden, her hand moved his, relocating it from her side to her ass, his palm landing on one of her cheeks. “Want me to pull on you here?” He asked, kneading into the skin. He loved her ass, loved how they pressed against his hips when he pushed in and out of her. “Want me to spank you, baby?”

“Please,” she pleaded, voice raw. “Please, please, please.”

They’d done it a few times before and each time she’d loved it and he hadn’t gone too hard. So he decided he would give her a few, just to help bring her closer to her orgasm. “Okay, angel.” He had his rings on, so he decided not to go too hard, not wanting to hurt her. After rolling her skin in his hand, pulling her towards his hips as he pushed into her, he raise his hand and let it fall. The slap made her mewl, a delicious sound that had Harry bending and pressing kisses down her back. She shivered under his touch and Harry thumbed at her sides, trying to settle her. “Good?”

“Good,” she answered. She pushed her hips insistently against his and hummed.

“Sensitive?” He wanted to know where she was, how to make her come, how to give her what she needed.

“Yeah.” Her words were shaky as she tried to focus on him. “I—I don’t know if I can do two more, H.”

Harry didn’t mind, he just wanted as much as she could give him. “That’s okay, love. I’ll take as much as you can do.” With a tender kiss to her spine, he pulled her hips towards him, creating a bit of space between her thighs and the cabinets below them. Just enough to be able to sneak his hand between them and rub at her clit.

It had her shrieking, the sudden additional pressure sending her into overdrive. Harry was about there himself—he was an orgasm deep and barely fighting off a second one, trying to focus on anything other than his own pleasure to try and hold himself at bay. Instead, he watched her face contort with pleasure, her flushed cheeks rest on the counter tops, her arms unable to keep her body up anymore. She was holding onto the side of the counter for dear life as he fucked her, and he just hoped he wasn’t hurting her, pushing her too far. “Are you okay?” He asked softly, checking in with her.

She bobbed her head in a nod. “Good. Close. Can’t—can’t hold on.”

“Don’t need to, baby,” he reminded her, rubbing his fingers into her shoulder blade to release some pressure. His hips pushed into hers at a steady pace, his other hand forming circles on his clit. Another spank, he decided, would send her over the edge.

Perhaps it was the shock of it, or the intensity of the pleasure coursing through her, because she came immediately. She choked on air, knuckles holding onto the counter top that they turned white. Harry pulled his hand away and shuddered, barely containing himself as he fucked her through it. He truly didn’t know if he could last enough for her to come again. He was dribbling pre-cum into her, weeping into her, his body taught and ready to come if anyone asked him to. Could barely hold himself together, much less for long enough for her to come again.

So he bent down, pressing his chest to her back, loving kisses to her skin. “What do you want to do, baby?”

Shakily, she uttered a single word. “Another.”

He picked his head up, shocked. He thought it was too much for her. “Really?” She just nodded, and so he pulled out of her slowly, the ridges of his dick brushing against every nook and cranny of her pussy. She whimpered at the emptiness, but Harry picked her up, her pliant in his arms. “Gotcha, love. I’ve got you.” Her cheek rested on his shoulder, exhausted, fingers crawling all over him like she always did when she was fucked out. “Are you sure you want to keep going?”

“H,” she mumbled, “told you I want another. So give me another.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at her bossiness, it never failing even when she was tired. Or perhaps it was stronger when she was like this. “Anything for you.” The last countertop was the island, and so he could lay her out flat, let her body stretch in front of him. Her hair cascaded across the granite and he didn’t know if there was a single more beautiful sight in the world. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold off,” he expressed honestly as he thumbed at her clit, the feeling making her hiss.

“Give me whatever you have left,” she said, reaching for his cheek. Softly, she brushed a thumb across it, and the tenderness of the motion grounded Harry.

“Love you so much,” he breathed out as he looked at her. “So much that I don’t even know how to express it.”

A tear leaked from the corner of her eyes and Harry brushed it away. “Love you too,” she told him. “Just as much.” Her fingers pulled at his hand that was resting on her belly and slowly she kissed each of his fingers, a smile drifting onto his face.

Outside, the sun was setting, and the orange hues dances across Nora’s skin like a painting, coating her in evening light. She was breathtaking in front of him. “Come here,” he mumbled, reaching for her, “want you close.”

Shakily, she pressed herself up towards him and Harry helped her. As much as he loved seeing her stretched out in front of him, he wanted to hold her for this last one, to have her as close as possible. He gathered her up in his arms, and then he nudged his tip, which was so sensitive that the mere touch of her slit made him growl, into her. She scratched at his shoulder blades, angry red marks that he would look at later left on his skin as he pushed in fully.

Harry bit onto his lip, it being the only thing that could anchor him. Just one more, he reminded himself, and then he could come. She needed one more.

“Not going to last long,” she mumbled, her words wet on his neck as she licked at his skin. “Too sensitive.”

He swept her hair into a ponytail so he could smooth kisses across the top of her shoulder. “Me either.”

Her knees squeezed at his hips, anchoring him against her as he pushed into her. She was wet and hot and clenching down on him so tightly that Harry was panting each of his breaths. He was going tor remember this for the rest of time, he thought to himself, this feeling of her around him. “H.” His initial was a prayer on her lips, uttered over and over again as he drove into her. His hands held her close, covering her in his touch, pressing her as close as he could get.

They were making love, sex long forgotten, focused only on how they felt for each other. Nora pulled his lips in for a kiss and they lost themselves in it, passionately nudging at one another with tongues and teeth. Harry pulled on her bottom lip and she giggled, before surging forward, kissing his hot and heavy.

It was overwhelming, the feeling of her everywhere on his skin. “Love you,” he mumbled, thoughts spiraling, “love you so much. God, love you, Nora. Love you. Fuck, I love you.” It was all he could process, the only words he could conjure up.

She didn’t care though, she just wanted him. As he rocked into her, she held his head close to hers, their foreheads resting against one another. She could feel her orgasm rising inside of her, it barely far away after how many she had experienced. Her body was exhausted, but yet she wanted one more, she constantly wanted more with him, for it to never end. This feeling of being absorbed in his body, the closeness of him to her, the way he touched her and said her name and panted in her ear as he pushed into her. “Kiss me,” she whispered. “Kiss me and I’ll come.”

Harry found her lips immediately, reconnecting them in a promise. And when he did, Nora lost it, her body shuddering and sighing in his arms, legs shaking around his waist. She was pliant, putty against him, sinking into him, and he loved every second of it.

And that’s when he let go, coming inside of her harder than he ever had before, unable to hold back for one more second. He couldn’t move against her and just held her to him as he came, painting her walls with ropes of come that left him with a growl in her ears. It overtook his entire body, the feeling of coming inside of her after waiting for so long, his bones rattling from the sensation.

When he finally stopped, they were both shaking from sensitivity and the nips of cool air that passed through the room, nighttime settling outside. “Want me to pull out?” He asked, not knowing which would hurt more—being in or out of her.

“No,” she said, shaking her head against his chest, where she rested. “Just…stay.”

So he stayed there, holding her to him, still inside of her, as they both caught their breaths and came down from their intense highs. The cicadas chirped and trees rustled, the sounds of the hills of Italy floating through the room. The air was heavy with sweat and desire, and Harry adored it because all he could smell was her—her sweat, her perfume, the shampoo they shared because he had run out. The smell of her on his skin, his favorite scent in the world.

“Okay,” she finally said, words dry on her tongue.

“Pull out?”

“Yeah.”

Slowly, he pulled his hips from hers and his dick left her. She felt empty without him there, but at the same time it felt good, her body finally calming fully. “How about a bath?” He asked her, brushing at the sweat on her forehead, pushing away her hair that fell into her face. “Soothe your muscles a bit.”

She nodded, and Harry picked her up, her body still sore and exhausted. With her attached to him, he climbed the stairs, both of them fully naked, but he didn’t have a care in the world. Just wanted to make sure she was okay. When they reached their room, he kicked open the door to the bathroom, and set her on the toilet.

“You should pee, angel.”

Nora nodded. They’d long ago gotten over the discomfort of peeing in front of someone else. He turned to the tub, messing with knobs to get the temperature just right as she peed next to him. “Want it hot,” she told him.

He looked back at her, her cheek resting on her palm as she watched him. “Like, really hot? Or kinda hot?”

“Somewhere in between?”

He didn’t know what that meant, but he’d endeavor to find out for her. The temperature was about as good as he could get it, he decided, and so he turned back to her. “Done?” She nodded, and he pulled her leg towards him. She flushed the toilet, and then let him tug her into his lap, her legs fastening around him again as he rose to full height. Gingerly, he stepped into the filling tub, and when he finally sat, the water reached midway full. “How’s that, baby?”

Her head rested on his chest, right over the swallows, and she sighed. “Perfect.”

Running his hands up and down her back to calm her, Harry thought about nothing but her. How she consumed his every thought and moment. Was that normal? Did everyone feel like this? “I’ve never felt like this about anyone else,” he mumbled, lips resting on her temple.

“Me either.”

“Is it…normal?”

Her fingers danced up his biceps, across his tattoos like she loved to do. “I don’t know. But I don’t want it to change.”

He reached forward and turned off the water, before settling back, letting her body follow his. She rested against his chest, fully flush against him. “I won’t let it.”

She kissed his swallow, a tenderness that made him almost sob. It was moments like these, the small ones of her curled up against him, their minds and bodies quiet, consumed in nothing but one another, that his love for her overwhelmed him. “Who thought I’d fall in love with a frat boy.”

Harry laughed, picking her wet hair up and massaging her neck. “Not just any frat boy,” he reminded her.

Nora shifted her chin up, so that they were looking at each other. “Harry, my frat boy.”

“Nora,” he replied, her name his favorite word, “my love.”

They sat there until the water grew cold, and then he picked her up and carried her to bed, not bothering to dress themselves in anything. And then they fell asleep, bodies intertwined in the sheets, the clear Italian night wrapping around them like a cocoon, not wanting to disturb them from their world. A world filled with nothing but one another.

#boyfriendathon #Harry Styles Fan Fiction #harry styles fic #harry styles smut #harry styles one shot #harry styles drabble #college harry styles #fratboy!harry fan fiction #fratboy harry styles #frat boy harry styles

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captainsimagines · 3 years

Text

To Topple A Giant || Chapter Seven

Summary: You had made it your mission to destroy even the smallest evils. When the opportunity arises to finally take down your own family after years of gaining their trust, you reach for it. And so does Steve, the man who represents a symbol of everything you hate.

Pairing(s): Steve Rogers x Reader || Avengers x Reader

Part 7 of 10 ~ Mini-Series

Warnings: This story contains mature themes and discussions such as extreme canon violence, strong language, emotional angst, mentions of Endgame deaths and recoveries, sexual situations, and emotional/physical abuse. This is purely fanfiction.

Warnings in this Chapter: abusive parental relationship; strong language; canon-level violence (explosions); mentions of alcohol poisoning; mention of Infinity War/Endgame deaths; perceived domestic partner abuse (no such thing actually happens!); concussions and minor injuries; mentions of arranged marriages; mentions of drug smuggling and human smuggling; lying; ANGST!

Word Count: 14,100+

A/N: So close to the finish line...

Spain, 2024, 5:07 pm.

“Get the damn ice cream, Peter. I’m not holding you back.”

The kid sped down the sidewalk as fast as his feet would let him, skips in his steps and ignoring the chastising yells from Bucky.

“You’re letting him have sugar?” Bucky whines, sluggish in his own steps. The Spanish summer sun was blaring, burning your forehead and building the same cold craving in your throat. It was just the three of you, carefree but melting, happy but annoyed with the constant proximity of each other. The villa (if you could call it that, it was more of a cottage) was listed as having three rooms - not the two you were stuck with. Bucky was at the last inch of self-control, begging you to switch with him - if only for one night - because ‘the kid fuckin’ talks in his sleep, doll! One more night and I might smother him.’

It was Bucky’s idea to take a little vacation. A year after the blip and only a few months after Peter’s world was turned upside down, a vacation seemed like the best choice. Preferably somewhere that was quiet and somewhat rural - somewhere you guys won’t be easily recognized.

So the three of you packed and flew across the pond. In all honesty, you hadn’t even told the rest of the team where you were going besides Wanda. One day you were greeting them in the common room and preparing lunch, the other you were throwing your suitcase in one of the two vacant rooms in this little Spanish cottage. The three of you were truly off the map in terms of late notice.

“Let the kid live. He’s having a mid-life crisis at eighteen.”

“I’ve had more mid-life crisis’s than his age combined. He’s not special.” The pointed look on your face had Bucky sighing in small defeat. “Okay, okay.”

These past two weeks in shared solitude, even if this trip was supposed to be relaxing, was beginning to melt into a tiresome routine. Well, just nights. The days were mild at best. And to make matters worse, you and Bucky had been dodging the team’s calls, messages that you left for voicemail. Bucky had clicked ‘end call’ more times than he could count and his excuse was always, ‘ the kid doesn’t want to leave, doll.’ Even annoyed with Peter, Bucky wanted only the best.

It was only a matter of time until your phones were tracked and you were forced to come home. Everyone probably knew where you were anyway - you weren’t exactly hiding. But since you already got a good two weeks in, you figured they had taken some sympathy.

“Think we can get him to visit a museum today or something?”

Bucky shrugged, lining up at the coffee stand near the ice cream cart. “Saw him checking out banana bread recipes last night. Seems more like a baking day.”

You could go for some banana bread. Ordering two iced coffees and making more miscellaneous small talk while waiting for Peter to order, you studied the streets of Spain. The country had suffered greatly when, cruelly, more than half their population disappeared. Left in proper ruins, no one believed it would ever recover. But then there was an election, a change in the structural government, and it just… did. They rebuilt themselves better than any country had, in your opinion.

It was a rather calm day with minimal people out and about. It was exactly what you guys deserved after every mission - in your case, after a long month of PR recovery after that bar fight alongside Sam.

“You bake, Barnes?”

He smiled fully, “Any chance I get.”

“You guys want anything?” Peter yelled out, bouncing lightly on his heels as he waited. You waved him off. “You sure? It’s pretty cheap for summer prices!”

After rejecting Peter’s dozen ice cream questions and offers, the three of you decided the heat was a little too much to bear, even with sunscreen. Peter spoke most of the way. Something about that banana bread.

Bucky, being the baker, helped him choose the best recipe of the four Peter had bookmarked and soon the kitchen was only half dirty with eggs and mashed bananas.

“What do you mean a cup of baking soda, kid? Use your eyes,” Bucky yelled in second hand embarrassment. “I don’t think a cup of baking soda goes in anything.”

“Read right here, dude,” Peter poked at his tablet. “A cuuuu... okay. Okay, I see what I read wrong.”

“You two better be making me some good ass banana bread today. I don’t want to throw up!” You had opted to let the two men have their fun in the kitchen. You tried to bake, but you were more of a cook than anything else.

“You could be reading out the directions.”

“I could do a lot of things,” you respond with the emphasis on “could”.

The doorbell interrupted your no-so-real argument. Peter snickered, “You could get the door.”

With a displeased grunt and a straightened middle finger to the kid, you opened the door to find two people who were definitely not invited. Clint, with this magical and massive smile on his face and Steve, with his eyebrow cocked and arms crossed.

“Oh, would you look at that. Guests! Welcome to our humble abode!”

“Now, how and why?” Bucky groaned. But his actions contradict his words as he went to give Steve a hug, covered in flour and all.

“Hey, Clint,” you mumbled, purposely ignoring the super soldier side-eyeing you. “Care to tell us what you’re doing here?

Clint returned your warm smile, “See, Cap? They’re safe. Can we go now?”

Steve rolled his eyes, arms crossed over his chest in a rather demanding way. “We’re here to take them home, Clint.”

Bucky scoffs.

“Eh, you might be. But I’m here to soak up some of this Spanish sun.” A low grunt sounded in the back of Clint’s throat as he spoke. He was already making his way to pick at the mashed ingredients.

“You heard the man, pal,” Bucky slaps Steve’s shoulder, leaving him at the door as well. Awkwardly left alone, you blow a small raspberry and step aside to let Steve in. Bucky continues, “We’re here to soak up some sun. And I’m not done soakin’.”

With great protest, Steve maneuvers Bucky away from the kitchen and into the hallway beside the master bedroom. With both super soldiers out of the way, you finally go to help Peter with mixing. “Why did he come, really?”

Clint shrugs, arms deep inside your cabinets and collecting whatever desserts you had pre-packaged. “Honestly? I think he missed you guys.”

“All this drama because he misses Bucky? He could have just shown up declaring truce and had a nice little vacation,” you mumbled, glaring at Steve from behind.

“Think he felt like he needed an excuse to even show up. But they really are asking for you guys back home. Threatened to arrest your ass.”

“Lucky me.”

You could make out snippets of their tiny argument up ahead.

‘You could have called.’

‘You haven’t been answering the phone, Buck.’

‘I’ve been relaxing.’

A heavy sigh.

‘I just thought we told each other everything.’

‘Believe it or not, Steve… but I’ve got more friends now. Isn’t that what you wanted? I’m not trying to ignore you, I - I just needed to help another friend out this time.’

Peter, with great care, washes his hands and makes sure there aren't any random mashes of banana on his clothing before he side-steps you and Clint to interrupt the very ‘private’ conversation between the super soldiers. “Hey, Mr. Steve- Cap, hey.”

Steve immediately lets his hard gaze falter. “Hey, kid. You doin’ good?”

Peter nods in response.

“He’s doing great! Much needed vacation that still isn’t over.”

“Buck.”

Inserting yourself may not have been the best option. “Give it up, Rogers. We’re on vacation. And until the kid says he’s ready to go home, we go home.”

Peter fumbles, “Oh, please don’t put me on the spot like that. I’m not good with confrontation.”

Bucky quickly answers before Steve can, “It’s not confrontation, Peter. We love being out here and if it’s helping your mental health, we’re not going to take that away from you.”

Steve blinks and his expression looks like one of hurt. “You think I wanna do that? The literal president has been asking for your location. You’re not allowed to leave the country.”

You shrug, “Well, no one told me that.”

“Buck, you were just granted immunity three months ago. And you go and drop off the face of the earth?”

“I’m literally in Spain.”

Steve blinks again. He really can’t believe he’s got to deal with two people with similar personalities. “Your point?”

“On Earth…?”

Clint decides to make his presence known. He has even inserted the poured batter into the glass tray for you guys. “Why don’t we just stay with ‘em, Cap? God knows you need a vacation, too.”

“We have two rooms. You’d be bunking on the floor,” you say, pointing to random areas on the floor.

Clint waves his hand in the air, “Not the worst place I’ve slept in.”

“I’m being hounded day and night to bring you three home.” Steve looks about ready to burst into tears of frustration.

“Turn off your phone?”

Steve whips his head and stomps to close the few feet of distance between the two of you. “You really think it’s that easy? You really think I wasn’t worried when my two best friends just disappeared one night and didn’t tell me?”

Two.

Best.

Friends.

Before you could even comment, Bucky puts on the dramatics. “We ran away together, Stevie. We meant to tell you.”

Steve takes a moment, just staring at the ceiling and piecing together his thoughts. “Joke all you want, Buck. I’m bringing you home.”

“Ste-”

“No!” He’s stomping back to the front door now. “I’ve had enough! I can’t stand not knowing where you guys are all day when bad things keep happening in this world. Just… just come home.”

All is quiet besides the quiet munching of Clint and his rogue cookie. Steve’s face did this thing when he was at war with himself, anxiety crawling up his arms or panic weighing his empty stomach down. His face drained color and that perfect renaissance oil lost its blush, blended paint that turned a murky gray. A masterpiece lost in storage.

“I can take the couch,” you whisper, arms erupting in goosebumps. “You guys can stay the night and we’ll go home tomorrow, okay? Or somewhere pre-approved, I guess.”

Bucky didn’t argue. Neither did Peter.

Steve's imaginary painter adds the softest pink back to Steve’s cheeks as you compile a mess of blankets and pillows for him.

Present Day, 2025, 7:15 am

There’s a warmth near you as you begin to lazily shuffle against the sheets, heavy on your chest but comfortable all in all.

There are no worries, no sudden bursts of Avenger business, no fights needing to be fought. Simply Steve warm against you with sunlight draping over his bare and freckled shoulders.

The serum enhanced for the sole purpose of strength and survival. And sure, it healed the body quicker than the average human body could naturally, but the one thing it couldn’t do was strip personality.

Steve had freckles splattered along his broad shoulders and down to in between his shoulder blades, light in color and all similar in size. Something a lot of people hated about themselves and tried to cover up while others tried to mimic. The serum was supposed to heal damaged skin, sunburnt areas, birthmarks, and even moles - at least, that’s what the official 1943 report had claimed.

But over the years, Steve had continued to age and grow into his new body. And while he couldn’t get dangerously sick anymore, anything unknown could still occur. No one had the same serum as Steve and last Tony had heard, Peggy had spilled the last remnants of Steve’s original DNA (blood they took before the procedure) in the Hudson. Bucky seemed to be experiencing the same natural changes as well.

It had been proven that neither Steve nor Bucky could carry or transmit diseases, experience abnormal cell production, nor could they develop a lifelong ailment without severe reason.

So imagine everyone’s surprise when Clint called one morning while deep in a routine mission (somewhere in Africa, you really don’t remember) to relay the news that, ‘you guys aren’t gonna fucking believe this - yeah Rogers, I’m telling them the hilarious news right now - Steve’s appendix just up and exploded last night - hey! He just stole - hold on. Give me back my hearing aid, you abelist fuck!’.

Steve had stretch marks on his back from the procedure, his elbow still hurt from time to time after he had snapped it a year ago, and the white scar above his right hip reminded him that even super soldiers are not exempt from the wonders of the appendix.

His breathing was slow and his eyelids flickered. Seemed he was enjoying his first deep sleep in a while. You craned your neck to try and read the cable box across the room, slightly making out a seven in the front before you gave up. You were due for your annual eye appointment, anyway.

Steve did have perfect eyesight though, so damn him.

You shrugged the sheets from your arms. He was on his stomach, cheek planted on your chest and right foot dangling off the side of the bed. His left arm was draped over your middle and his right was tucked inside a pillowcase. His hair draped over his forehead and some of it was still tucked behind his ears.

Careful to not wake him, you gently traced the ridge of his nose with your index finger, resting it on the tip that always turned bright pink regardless of mood. Once at the end, you went back up to trace it again.

“Beak,” you whispered more to yourself, and you bit your lip to suppress the overwhelming urge to giggle.

Steve was here, next to and near you, and he was so warm.

You could have stayed in bed for hours, sleeping and cuddling and fucking, and you would bet your left kidney that Steve wanted that too. It was impossible to question it, it had to be, because Steve was too genuine. You had met hundreds of men in your life: some the literal devil, some cowards, some reserved, and rarely, some genuine at heart. Steve fit some category that didn’t even exist.

You wanted to love him and hate him. You wanted to make love and fuck him. You wanted to kiss him and annoy him. He checked a box that didn’t exist but that you would just have to reserve for him. The annoying little shit who could lift Thor’s hammer.

The door almost ripped off its hinges by the brute force of someone’s leg. You didn’t even fully register being crushed by Steve until his elbow stabbed you right in the gut.

“Rogers!” you groaned in pain and half trying to reach for your pistol on the bedside table.

There was a collective gasp of surprise (and maybe terror) from the people that just broke down your door. After yesterday’s unplanned run-in with Ramirez, no doubt this was called-for.

“Oh, hell…” Sam grumbled, lowering his gun the second he realized two of his friends were sharing one bed. “Lemme guess, the other bed’s mattress was too firm but this one’s just right.”

Bucky stood behind him, a knowing smirk plastered on his smug face. He looked between you and Steve, ignoring the way Scott was practically pulling his shoulder down in pure fits of laughter. Didn’t take much for Scott to tip himself over and almost drag Bucky down with him.

“Couldn’t you knock?” Steve nearly yelled, body still trying to shield yours even though you were fully dressed. You were struggling to push him away in pure embarrassment, but he seemed intent with this form of protection.

“You weren’t answering your phone! We changed our check-in times to seven instead of eight, remember?”

Steve, ever the gentleman, brought the sheets up higher for you and finally lifted himself out of bed.

And Bucky, ever the gentleman who has been spending way too much time with Clint, nodded his head toward you. “You two fuck?”

Mouth dropping in humiliation, you pulled the sheets up over your head and screamed into the temporary cover. Steve sputtered over whatever explanation he was thinking of pulling out of his ass.

“You two fucked,” Bucky smugly confirmed.

Steve pulled on the nearest shirt and went to kick Scott, who was ‘criss-cross apple-sauced’ on the floor and laughing way too loudly. “Is it really any of your business?”

“Man, that’s an answer!” Sam was about to fall into the same fit as Scott.

Annoyed, and fueled by that annoyance, you ripped the sheets off and marched for the bathroom. “You really want to know, you nosy little fucks? We did fuck and he made me come three times. Ask him how, I’m sure he’ll teach you a thing or two, no matter how embarrassed he may seem right now.”

You left him alone. You literally just exposed him and you left him alone with the wolves.

All was quiet until Sam blew a small raspberry. “Three times?”

Bucky didn’t need to speak to show he was about to tease the hell out of you. He simply sipped his coffee until he emptied it, and then refilled it. You couldn’t even finish a single mug yet because you were waiting to break the tension.

Looking around the hotel bar because he still valued your privacy, Bucky made sure to keep his voice low. “Three times?”

Half wanting to slap the smirk off his face and the other half wanting to announce Steve’s naughty accomplishment, you settled for pouring more coffee into your mug.

“Don’t you dare hold what I said against me, I literally had just woken up.”

“Mm, yeah. I remember how you literally moaned Thor’s name when you were startled awake from a nap in the living room.”

“Bucky!” you yelled, turning your shoulders inwards when you received a few odd looks from other early risers. Well, some were early risers. The person closest to the door was an agent, as was the other eating breakfast at the bar. “You promised you would never mention that again!”

He shook his head with amusement, “I can’t believe you swore me to secrecy when Loki basically told everyone.”

“He-!” Choking on your own spit, you slid lower into your booth. “That mischievous, conniving, son of a bitch.”

“In all honesty, I think that was his way of flirting with you.”

“Telling everyone I had a wet dream about his brother?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t be the first.”

You smirked, “Oh, trust me. I know.”

Bucky squinted, guilty in his spoken words. “All I’m saying is, it’s nice that you didn’t just write Steve off with us, as if nothing happened.”

It made your heart swell that even in a moment with you, Bucky would still always protect Steve.

“I would never. We actually talked last night and he really apologized.”

“Really?” His eyes were hopeful.

“He did. And as cliche as it sounds, one thing led to another.”

You realized your earlier words were contradictory when Bucky sighed sadly, “This better not have been a one time thing. I’ll strangle you both.”

You scoffed and finally took a piece of that blueberry muffin on your plate. “Screw you, Barnes. It’s Steve we’re talking about. I’d give him the world if I could.”

That made Bucky blush. “God, I’m stupidly happy for him. I always said he’d need to find a dame who had as big of a mouth as he does.”

Rolling your eyes, you offered him some of that muffin. He gladly broke off a piece. “Don’t go marrying us off just yet.”

“Doll, he almost imploded when we discovered you slept together. Teasing him about proposing might just kill him.”

You laughed at that. Although Steve had admitted he regretted the time you lost, there wasn’t any chance he would push you any further. He was probably comfortable with taking things slow, no matter the history. You had that in common.

“Seems we’re all just gonna have to make sure we don’t cause his demise.”

Smiling as he chewed, Bucky played with your feet under the table. Safe moments like these always occurred before a mission, no matter how simple or heavy they were. And like people love to say, you never fought with each other before. Just in case.

Going to bed angry was another thing entirely. That, the whole team was proficient in.

“You ready for tonight?”

Yesterday had definitely turned you against the very concept of family reunions, what with the small ache between your shoulders. You were angry with Seda, with Ernesto, disappointed with Ramirez, and neutral toward your sister.

God, your sister. This would be the first time since you left Mexico for school and SHIELD that you would be seeing her, as well as your other siblings. Jackeline was perhaps the only sibling you had some real memories with. Everyone else was already deep in the business or far away from the chaos. The team only knew of two other siblings who rsvp’d. The others: radio silence.

“Part of me just wants a normal family wedding. I’m kinda hoping we can just end it all tonight.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Bucky chuckled, finishing off your muffin for you. “You’ll get some closure soon enough.”

There was no such thing as closure. Just less of a constant sting.

“Bucky,” you spoke seriously now. “My father made Steve sign something yesterday.”

“He told us at the debrief yesterday.”

“When did you have a debrief?”

Bucky scooted in his booth, quickly explaining. “Uh well, it wasn’t so much of a debrief as it was a simple overview. Just a heads up.”

You tilted your head, somewhat unconvinced. “Uh-huh… but we could void it, right? He had a fucking notary there and everything.”

“We can declare it void, yeah Y/N,” he grabbed your hand over the table. “He won’t get tangled in this.”

With a heavy sigh, you gripped Bucky’s hand tighter. “I’m really glad you guys are gonna help us.”

He returned your smile. “Anything for family.”

Family.

After all these years of self-hatred and despising your own blood, you blinded yourself of the simple truth that you already had a real family. Whether you were accepted after Sokovia, or after you helped Steve escape with Bucky, or after those long five years, you were accepted. And you accepted them right back.

The briefing goes as expected. Didn’t seem like anyone was going to live down the now obvious fact that you and Steve had slept together after years of unnoticed pining. You simply took the teasing in stride, better than Steve even, who stuffed his face full of chips in embarrassment.

The plan was simple but ever-evolving. The three of them will hang back: Bucky at the hotel, Scott and Sam at the nearby base with Torres. The base was fifteen minutes from the estate, hidden behind those same pine trees but the perfect cover - it was a nearby diner. Steve will still take the shield, FRIDAY was installed on your personal phones, and any weapons you attached to your person were specifically made to deter metal detectors. Once in, it was mingle, mingle, mingle.

There were going to be a thousand questions to answer: What in the world is Captain America doing here? Is he here to cause trouble? Are you two seriously dating? So, Captain America being one of us means holding Thor’s hammer was a myth, aye?

Then you would move on to the more important guests. Jackeline’s greeting would be more of a reunion. But flying under and over the radar had to walk the same line - you needed to mix in with the crowd and make sure they see you participating, but then escape for a little while to continue the mission.

Once in, the task was to electronically and physically retrieve everything Scott didn’t have time to yesterday, plus the new information Ernesto got for today and tomorrow. His latest emails, list of contacts, checks, birth certificates, video evidence.

“Do we all know our duties?”

You wanted to wrap up Steve’s commanding voice and keep it a special secret, a secret that was yours and the team’s to share.

“We got it, Cap. For the tenth time this week - you two okay?”

Sam was rewarded with a slanted smile. “Everytime you ask me that, I’ll lie.”

He nods, “At least you admit it. You’re not alone in this.”

“For years,” you continued, “It’s been that way. I guess I’m both ready for it to end and not. I want them behind bars. I don’t want the repercussions.”

“Makes sense,” Bucky agrees. “At least part of the fight will be over.”

Beside you, Steve clenches his jaw. “We’re always fighting.”

Bucky grins at him, “Yeah.” There’s a sparkle in his eye as he leans forward to squeeze Steve’s thigh. “At least it’s not with each other anymore.”

They weren’t lying when they said vibranium was lightweight. Felt different from nano-tech and was an obvious change from your regular body suit. You felt protected and stylish. Good, because even though you weren’t obligated to impress those vultures, there were still a few cousins and extended family members you wanted compliments from. And?

The black turtleneck was warmer than you expected and didn’t strangle you. You were a bundle of velvet bliss right now. The cuffs were a golden brown, completely made from vibranium. Modeling in the mirror, you whispered a few ‘pew-pew’s as you blocked pretend bullets. C’mon, golden bracelets? You were basically Wonder Woman.

The tights were your own, thin and black and you could still see there were faint bruises on your knees from training. Once all that was situated, you pulled on the long skirt and tucked in the bottom of your shirt, glad the way the high-waisted design sucked everything in. The skirt was the same golden brown as the cuffs, shorter in the front and wavy as it draped down the back, barely reaching your ankles. You tied the skirt’s belt in a tight bow and pulled on the black boots Shuri had also sent you. The heel was thick and short, and the boot was pretty tight around the top of your ankle.

Time was ticking on that well-deserved goody basket you were meaning to send to the royal siblings.

Hoop earrings, three rings dressing your left hand, a simple golden necklace - now you need to do your hair and make-up.

Steve was just patiently waiting for his turn in the bathroom, bless his heart.

“Scott said the files are in his personal belongings. We suspect he’s planning to smuggle over fifty people tomorrow. Their records should be hidden away in those belongings, too.”

Sam always kept a leveled head in dire situations like these. He was rational and helpful, always waited until the job was done and everyone was safe before he had a drink or a cry. It was safest, perhaps the most fair thing the Avengers could do for the public after destroying half the cities they fought in. The media didn’t need to know about the late-night fights, alcohol poisoning, or frequent therapy sessions. Your coping methods were all different - Steve has no doubt Sam will immediately pack an overnight bag and Bucky to visit his sister and nephews once the wedding concluded.

Steve? Well, Steve was surprisingly calm, all things considered.

“You get any hits yet? Anything from Ramirez that could help us find those people sooner?”

Sam sighs sadly, shaking his head. “It’s looking like we’re heading into a full-on fight.”

That’s not what Steve wanted to hear. A ‘full-on’ fight almost always had accidents, misfires, innocent casualties, and a few cuts and scrapes to add to his own personal collection.

“Sam,” Steve puts down the files in his hand and shuts off his monitor to signal he’s done researching for the night. “I really don’t know how to thank you.”

“You know,” Sam smiles at him, “I’m gettin’ real tired hearin’ you say that.”

Steve huffs out a laugh. Sam gently exhales - Steve can feel it.

“You two really are the same.” Sam points at Steve and to the bathroom door. “Always apologizing for shit you can’t control.”

Steve looks down to his feet, a blush in his pale cheeks. After failing to clip his cufflinks on his own, he holds his arms out to Sam who happily clips them for him.

“Is it real?”

Steve pauses. He doesn’t really need to think about it because he knows. He’s known for a while even if he was on autopilot. The pause only serves to help him catch his breath from the happy prickle that crawls up his spine. “As real as second chances go.”

Sam laughs and claps his shoulder, “I get it. We seem to get a hell of a lotta those.”

Now that the mission was truly kicking into gear, fucking full speed ahead, Steve had no other choice but to pull shreds of Captain America from that metaphorical attic of his. Took everything in him to revert back, never fully, and each time would be different from the last. Sometimes it was mentally draining being responsible for a whole team and creating the plans, other times he regretfully felt like a colonizer, an intruder who followed orders from the top and was forced to execute them. This time around, he was stepping into uncharted territory, but still familiar, and he had a million roles to mime.

“Steeeve.”

His smile was instant and he gravitated to your voice. “Hmm?”

“So, I have an idea for a hairstyle,” you reply, throwing open the bathroom door with a brush in one hand and the other holding the top layers of your hair up. “I got enough hair for it.”

“Tell me about it. It gets in the way of everything.”

“Haha.” You rolled your eyes, still trying to shovel more hair higher. “I curled it, so all I gotta do is tug this upper half up into a ponytail while the rest stays down. But can you help? My shoulders still hurt and I haven’t taken my advil yet.”

Steve shuffles back into the room to grab you two pills before he replaces his hands with yours. “So, just lift it up?”

You hum confirmation, watching Steve in the mirror as he pulled your thick curls higher, snapped the hair tie between his teeth, and tied it all. He pulled the strands outward so the high curls still fell around your face. The hairstyle would have been easier with extensions (for a much fuller look) but if you had to throw your body around these next two days, you’d rather save yourself the embarrassment of having them pulled off.

“Thank you,” you blush. These moments were so intimate, so sweet, just you and Steve. “You need any help?”

Steve looks down at himself. He had already tied his own tie. He could style his own hair and comb his beard. “I think I’m good. Forgot to pack cologne, though.”

“I’ve got some perfume in my suitcase. There should be one in there that isn’t too flowery.”

Steve rolls his eyes and turns to leave. “Not really a problem, doll.”

Pulling on his suit jacket and reaching for your suitcase to set it on the bed, he miscalculated the balance he was so obviously lacking. Instead of toppling head first himself, he fumbles your suitcase and spills its contents on your bed. He stills for a second, looking to the closed bathroom door to see if you popped your head through to ask what the hell that sound was. But it remained closed, and Steve silently groaned because of his clumsiness.

He tries his best to roll the clothing items back in, cursing whenever he would accidentally squeeze a perfume bottle you had hidden in there. He counted three. The one he picks smells like roses.

Amongst the ruins he finds your passport, multiple IDs, and two pairs of sunglasses. He chuckles to himself and thinks, we’ve been here for four days and she hasn’t worn these once.

A torn piece of paper stood out from the pile, folded neatly in its own envelope but still damaged.

CLINT

Curious, Steve opens the envelope, wholeheartedly expecting to find the written contents from the archer himself, but pauses when he reads the simple sentence, in your handwriting.

‘After careful deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that I want you to have all my video games.’

If Steve didn’t know any better, and judging by the multiple other letters peeking through the torn tape from the corner of your suitcase, it sounded like a goodbye letter.

“What’s taking so long?”

Startled, Steve shoves the letter under the pile of clothes. “Uh, my clumsy ass spilled your clothes everywhere so I’m being good and fixing everything.”

“...annoying.”

Still, you stayed inside the bathroom.

He glanced back just to make sure. And he knew he shouldn’t be snooping, the guilt was already eating away at him, but he now noticed the lump under the torn tape and another envelope poking through.

They were all signed for different people. Bucky, Wanda, Peter, Rhodey -

The devil on his shoulder drowned the cries of the angel.

Opening his, he prays for his quick reading skills to aid him before you realized what he was doing.

Steve,

Believe when I say that I thought I would put a bullet in my father before he could. Whoops…

I don’t really know why I’m writing these letters besides the thrill of morbidity for my untimely death or because I’m an amateur writer on the side. I never know what to say to you, anyway. Whether it’s in person or on paper. I’ve got a hundred drawn-up speeches in my head I almost say to you. But they don’t come out when I want them to and it seems a bit much to write out the words to several imaginary crumpled pieces of paper.

This will have to do.

Steve, I know for a fact, deep in whatever soul I have left, that you are a good man.

When the world fell apart, I held on to you. I don’t know why. Natasha bugged me about it, sent me those signature smirks of hers whenever we did anything remotely weird. She believed something was going on between us and I would get so angry with her because it was like she saw something I couldn’t. And I wanted to see it. Wrap it up for myself and live in the softness.

You slept by my side when I would ask, you let me look through your private sketchbook to help ease my mind, and you would jump at every chance to shield me from danger. Even when you know I can take care of myself. I don't know how many times I have to remind you.

I don’t understand why you shut me out after we brought our friends back. And at the time, it hurt like hell. I literally wanted to kill you and then myself. It made no sense, it still doesn’t. I won’t lie and say it still surprises me or that it no longer hurts. ‘Cause I’m numb to it now and the pain is more of a dull ache.

But I guess you had your reasons, no matter how hurtful, how ridiculous, no matter how stupid.

Fuck, why didn’t you get some of that life Tony had always wanted for you? The question eats me alive. Maybe you did move on, maybe you would miss us too much, I truly don’t know. When you confessed to wanting some form of that life when we rescued Wanda, it just confused me more.

Then my father basically declared war and you cut me out. I can’t help but think you stayed behind to help me finish this, what with that righteous streak of yours, but if it is the case, then I am so sorry.

You deserve to live, Steve.

Guess what I really want to close with is this: find that life you always wanted. Buy a boat, or a cabin in the secluded woods and become a lumberjack, travel, open your own art museum - hell, erase all traces of your identity and sell painted landscapes for a living.

In any form you find it, just try. You know I’m always rooting for you, and I’m always by your side. No matter how annoying and smart-mouthed you may be.

There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here, there, and everywhere with you.

With as much love in me,

The swirl of your name leaves him disoriented, and slightly paralyzed. Steve licks the envelope closed.

Steve puts the very existence and contents of your letter to the back of his mind for the time being. He doesn’t have time to dwell on it, no time to dissect it word for word. He’ll focus on it later. He still doesn’t know what reaction he should be experiencing. The letter was unexpected, yes, but it’s the matter of you writing a goodbye letter - as if you weren’t going to make it out of here alive. And that about saws Steve in two.

Steve thinks the elevator comes too fast and wonders what he could do to stop time. The mics on your neck generate enough noise for you to hear the static on the other end. No one is currently online, and Steve cherishes the little moments he’s getting before having to transition into ‘Captain America’ mode.

There wasn’t much time today to truly bask in the afterglow. The moment the elevator opens Steve literally drags you inside and captures your lips in a rather chaste kiss. It surprises you momentarily but you’re responding, and it’s fluid and familiar. The kiss is brief, but it feels as if your years mold into this single act, and Steve’s smiling wider than he has today when the first thing you say as you part is that maybe you chose the wrong shade of lipstick because it looks too damn dark on his lips.

The elevator reaches the ground floor and he looks over at you one last time in the privacy you’re afforded. He’s got that good ache in his chest again and it’s both calming and a little bittersweet, because staring at you is like staring at the sun - it hurts to look at for a long time but oh, so tempting.

The lawn was separated into two halves with only one fully decorated and the other still under a tarp, hidden because it was mid-construction and to not spoil the surprise. Over to the side, just left of the large lake, there was an extra tarp the workers were manning in case the clouds in the sky decided to cry.

Jackeline had chosen violet as her main color scheme, with golden hues stitched alongside. The flowers, soft lights, marble floor, and desserts were all violet; the curtains and tarps, plates and glasses, flowers on the wall, and Jackeline’s rehearsal dress were all gold. Ernesto must have spent over a million dollars in the decorations alone.

Everyone donned their best designers and since only family was in attendance today, the little amount of people were easily outdone one right after the other. In total, there were fifteen guests, and that included you and Steve: Ernesto, Seda, the groom’s father, Jackeline’s mother, two of your half-brothers, three aunts (sister’s of Ernesto), two cousins, the maid of honor, and Marcus White.

They have already fawned over Steve, some with a major guard up as expected, but as Ernesto explains the specifics, everyone becomes more pleased than weary. ‘It was just too good to be true that the Avengers were all good’, someone announces. Steve grips your hand just a little tighter.

The mere absence of Ramirez was enough of an answer: he really was going to be eliminated.

Across from your private corner, cheers and claps sound as the happy couple finally emerges. Even your father leaves mid-conversation to go greet her.

She’s a fifties masterpiece. Her dark hair cascades in uneven but gentle layers, framing her face and she’s both glossy and matte. Her skin is darker and her eyebrows are fuller, widow’ peak and strong jaw, thin neck and perfectly rounded shoulders. She has a painted blush on her high cheekbones, dark eyeshadow and a faint cat eye, and the reddest, fullest lips that are already spitting wit as she greets her more serious guests. Her voice is high but steady and she’s so obviously the center of attention, she’s the literal bride, but you bet she could take over the room even if she wasn’t. Her fiancé, surprisingly enough, trails behind her as if he too is in a trance, greeting the same guests and attempting to match her enthusiasm. She’s making herself known, and she’s succeeding.

It isn’t until she locks her sight on you that Steve finally mumbles a quiet ‘woah’ underneath a shaky breath and you can’t blame him, dear god you can’t, because seeing her for the first time in six years is eating away at you. She’s nineteen, young and sweet, and still trapped in the world you were planning to destroy.

Her first reaction is to run into your arms and hold you tightly, the force swinging you from side to side. Her giggles are contagious and you find yourself reacting similarly, grip tightening as she begins to ramble about how much she missed you and how proud she is that you have saved the world ten times over. The statement is overwhelming, but you find yourself nodding along in place of anything verbal.

Steve is patient as he witnesses this family reunion, standing at your side with respect and a tint of scarlet staining his cheeks. Finally, Jackeline turns to greet him and for a scary second, Steve sees Peggy.

“No way!” She keeps her voice low. “I could have sworn my bit-... uh, my bunch of tias were lying about you really being here.”

Steve shakes the fifties image from his head. The resemblance, even if Jackeline has more slanted eyes and a larger forehead, is uncanny. “Thank you so much for inviting us. The ride up was a bitch but we made the most of it.”

Jackeline stutters over her own laugh. “Oh.” She looks to you with a wide grin. “Oh, he’s a keeper.”

“Thought so myself,” you grin back. “You should hear him swear during a football game.”

“All men turn into animals when their teams don’t live up to expectations.”

Her accent is thicker than yours. Living in New York for over 10 years definitely helped smooth over some dialect and create your own voice. But Jackeline’s, considering she had never lived outside of Mexico, was thick and silky and resembled a place you no longer called home.

She pulls the man behind her forward, effectively interrupting and ending the conversation he was having with one of your cousins. “This is Julian. Julian, this is my one and only sister and her boyfriend!”

Julian, bless his heart, holds out a slightly shaking hand for you to shake. You do so, and try to convey calmness through it. When you watch his glance fall to Steve and feel his hand start to shake yours more rapidly, you can’t help but stifle a laugh.

“It’s an honor!” Julian finally says, voice deep and wracked with some nerves. He shakes Steve’s hand when he gets the chance. “Captain.”

“Please,” Jackeline rolls her eyes. “He’s just like us! You should be swooning over my sister, who is probably going to be the one to kill you if you ever hurt me.”

Julian blinks. His eyes go from Steve to you, contemplating his next move without wanting to seem rude. He nods in your direction. “I don’t doubt you would. Excuse me if I came off as rude. I’m just starstruck by this one here, is all.”

His accent matches Jackeline’s.

Steve waves his hand through the air. “You are not the first tonight, son.”

Sometimes you forget that Steve is an old man. Biologically, he’s in his mid-thirties. Ever changing and growing old as normal, but his soul is old. From a different time and out of it. The mere nickname he just gave Julian, no doubt because of his young age, leaves you averting your eyes and turning away to smile up at one of the many golden chandeliers.

“I really hope you enjoy tonight. The party may seem small right now, but trust me, half of Mexico will be dancing with us tomorrow night.” Jackeline bounces in place, hand intertwining with Julian’s, and she leans in to speak more clearly with you. “Meet me later? We have so much to catch up on.”

Agreeing, you watch the happy couple leave to converse with the few other guests.

Steve turns toward you, eyes squinted in amusement. “Is she really cheating on him with a man of the cloth?”

You can’t help the involuntary snort that leaves your nose. “The photos were watermarked, right? Time stamped? Maybe they’re old.”

Steve huffs a laugh and grabs two champagne glasses as the tray flies by him. “She’s got a way about her. Reminds me of a dame from this book I read a while back.”

Sipping your drink, you ponder. “What book?”

“The one where the dude gets shot at the end.”

“Oh, you mean every book from the 20th century?”

Steve laughs, “That twenties one!”

Mouth dropping, you push at his chest and turn to walk away. “You did not just compare her to Daisy from The Great Gatsby!”

Steve follows. “That’s the one! Honest! She has this way about her!”

It’s not long after a few dances and photographs that you’re all seated for the actual dinner. There are three long tables, two parallel to each other and the main one perpendicular. You don’t know if it’s a power move or whatever, but your name cards are placed on one of the parallel tables. But it doesn’t bother you much since you have a front view of Seda and your father.

Dinner is a six-course meal. Not that you assumed any different - Ernesto really went all out for his youngest child (that you know of). Your mics are picking up conversations left and right so you’re actually able to enjoy the meal. Salad, soup, a weird looking appetizer that’s actually quite delicious, the main course of either chicken/fish/or steak, and two desserts. All throughout, Steve is actually having the time of his life being fed so well.

“Answer me this,” Steve leans in to whisper in your ear. “Are those hearts or paper airplanes hanging from the ceiling?”

You smiled against the ridge of your champagne glass, “You mean those clay flowers?”

“Is that what they are?” He pauses for a long second, squinting.

“Are your eyes going bad?”

“Eyes don’t go bad.”

Your mouth falls open. “Your eyes are going bad!”

“Again,” Steve holds up a finger. “My eyes are just fine, not bad.”

Something else to add to that list you had made in the morning.

“This is fucking fantastic.”

Steve, still trying to casually squint, huffs. “Annoying...”

You bump his shoulder and lean in to whisper quietly. “Turns you on.”

Steve just blushes.

It’s like he forgets where he is for a second, what with the great food and surprisingly good conversation with one of your brothers beside him. Steve’s already built a much stronger rapport with the thirty-something year old man than you have. There’s a stab of guilt for a second, a need to duck and drown in shame, when you realize you can’t even remember his name.

Ernesto stands to announce toasts. His is brief and not all that fatherly, but it’s the longest you’ve heard him string some nice words together. Seda follows, brief as well, and includes a childhood anecdote about her. Jackeline’s mother is a young woman, somewhere between forty and fifty, and her toast is only a sentence long - ‘Solo quiero que estas contenta, mi amor.’ For the first time tonight, Bucky voices his thoughts over the mic with a quiet and sad sounding hum.

Ernesto lifts himself from his chair, swatting away his men who go to help him. He has the microphone again and he’s walking toward you, face neutral. You know better than to refuse in front of this big of a crowd. Steve squeezes your hand before you stand and he remains beaming up at you from his seat.

You’ve seen it in the movies - raise the glass, say some words, end it nicely. It’s what you do. But it feels surreal, almost unnerving when you don’t recognize the faces looking back at you.

“Here’s to you,” you lift your champagne glass, looking around at the happy yet solemn faces at the small table.

“You deserve all the happiness available to you. You are so lucky to have each other,” you finish the toast and drink your whole glass. There is no applause, just sad smiles in response. You’re not asking for much, you never had.

Tony and Pepper share a quick kiss, thanking everyone around the table quickly as the two cakes are being cut. Their wedding was limited, with only a few people in attendance. Whoever was left. Tony’s cabin could obviously accommodate more people, but he had only requested the gathering of those he could stomach to see. But when that turned out to only be Pepper and Happy, he was forced to open the doors to more.

So, you accepted your chocolate cake from Rhodey as he handed it to you. Shared some quick chit-chat with Steve and Natasha; greeted Thor as he made his first appearance in a while, hair now longer and baggy clothes hanging from his body, a tortured smile on his aging face; and sat through Happy’s own speech, enjoying his refreshing and joyful attitude.

But now you stood in front of the kitchen sink, staring at the hidden picture frame behind the mugs - a reminder of what was really missing from this special day.

You studied Peter’s awkward smile and demeanor, his expression youthful and frozen in time. He became foggy, silver clouds blotting his cheeks and his hair went white, and soon the sink sounded with a tiny ‘clunk!’ as you wept silently.

You felt a hand slide into your own, squeezing with care and understanding. You looked up to see Steve, his eyes watching your face. He gave you one more gentle squeeze, the same tortured smile as Thor’s on his beautiful face, and walked to his room to retire for the night.

Glass raised in the air, you swallow in hopes of not choking over any word because of your nerves.

“Here’s to you,” you start, already deciding this was going to be like pulling a band-aid. “May this world treat you kind, and that you are kind to each other, and that it’s all that matters.”

Steve forgets to drink. He can’t seem to shake the feeling of wanting to cry.

Everyone watches as Steve leads you onto the dance floor which is intimidating with its glittering violet light and marble that resembles polished glass. If these were the decorations for the rehearsal dinner, Steve can’t even begin to bet on how tomorrow’s going to look.

Steve holds you close, one arm wrapped around your waist and the other framing your spine. It’s like a tight hug. “Do you enjoy dancing?”

You step on his foot once again. “Shut up, Steve. Tell me your real thoughts.”

“Who, me?”

“Steve.”

“You suck at dancing.”

“There it is.”

It isn’t hard to sneak away once everyone piles onto the dance floor. Steve shares a few dances with your aunts before excusing himself to use the bathroom.

The mission itself goes rather smoothly. Infiltrating and collecting information was childsplay. Amateur. You’ve done it a thousand times and your father isn’t exactly a tech wizard. Neither is Seda.

You find the electronic bank records Scott couldn’t yesterday, as well as a detailed spreadsheet (more like a hitlist) dating ten years back. In the same file, this actually only slightly encrypted (slightly), are the names of high-level players involved. It’s color-coded, some names familiar because of their involvement with Hydra, and it’s only a matter of seconds before you notice that red means eliminated, black means still at large, and blue means ally.

There’s a lump in your throat as you scroll through and find Steve’s name, thankfully in blue. It’s expected, so you simply move on, until you find yours. And it’s in black.

It should terrify you, have you running for the hills and tucking your tail between your legs but you’re won’t because Steve’s name is blue.

That’s all that matters.

There’s still no concrete information about the shipment, nothing online or on a loose post-it note. It’s non-existent and that’s suspicious and you don’t know why you don’t voice that to Steve. He’s listening at the door and responding to Sam’s questions. You and Scott are the hackers of the group after all.

You scan through drawers and cabinets, snapping photos of things you can’t take just yet and filing the papers you can. Papers detailing contracts and miscellaneous connections: lawyers, doctors, politicians, police. Once that’s done, you shrink the evidence to the size of a fingernail with the help of Scott’s tech and hide it in your bra.

Surprisingly enough, the two of you are able to slip out of the office and the first couple living rooms undetected. Until Jackeline herself appears, pulling down her dress as she exits the bathroom. Steve, stunned by the presence of anyone, pulls you toward his chest with unfocused strength. You hiss loudly and naturally go to cup your injured elbow. It takes a moment for Steve to realize what he’s done and who he’s done it to.

Jackeline nearly stumbles over her heels out of pure clumsiness but her mouth parts as she notices you and the harsh sound you make. If she truly saw or heard anything, she’s keeping it to herself it seems.

“Ernesto wanted to see me before we called it a night,” Steve says, letting go of your arm and taking a step back. He doesn’t outright say he’s sorry; he doesn’t know if he’s allowed to. So he braves a smile, sends you a look, and excuses himself.

No conversation ever comes naturally - or, rather they take at least minimal effort from either party. You say the first thing you can think of and that’s to congratulate her again.

Your rambling sort of sounds like the toast you gave earlier, but Jackeline either doesn’t want to embarrass you or simply doesn’t notice. She waits for the pause in your voice before she finally speaks.

“Before I start, don’t hate me for this.”

“That’s not a good way to start a sente-” Your face is smacked to the side absurdly hard and you can feel the sting at the base of your neck. You look back at your sister with wide eyes.

“You couldn’t leave the world dead? He was finally dead!”

Baffled, you rub at your sore cheek. “Why am I the one getting the most blame for that? I followed a fucking raccoon around and I didn’t even snap my fingers!”

“Sorry,” she blinks, eyebrows scrunching as she thinks of the next thing to say. “Sorry, I just… it was that easy to kill him and then he just… wasn’t.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but you were also dead.”

“I was.”

“And we brought back trillions.”

“I know.”

Never once did you wonder what your siblings might have thought. More than half of them were separated from this life, while a few remained and conquered their allowed sectors. Ernesto had never discussed which of his children would take over his seat. But when he was dusted and Seda assumed power, it was clear not one sibling wanted anything to do with it. Or they were just too scared to outright disobey Seda and his tyranny.

Jackeline stands tall, shoulders straight and chin held high. She didn’t seem to worry about the repercussions of her actions - she knows who you are and what you are capable of. The smack seemed deliberate but restrained.

“So?” It’s the only word you can muster up.

“Please don’t judge me.” Her confidence falters and her eyebrows push down even further. “I know you know.”

“You gotta spell it out because I know a lot of things.”

Sighing deeply, she grabs the hand you’re using to rub at your cheek. She grips it tightly as she speaks. “I love him. But he’s impossible to love now and I can’t do anything about it.”

“Oh, Jackeline…”

You could have contacted her. You were on social media - you could have followed her, maybe messaged her annually - hell, called her once in a while to simply check in. The ticket you got was always a temporary one: go to school and find a way to make the trade routes easier to travel. School finished, you found Fury, and you created an alternate identity and background plan to trick your family into doing just what they ordered. And during all that time, Jackeline was barely in her pre-teens, probably scared and alone and missing her only sister. This was just you throwing that smack out of proportion but there was truth in it all. Wasn’t there?

“Julian’s okay. I agreed to this arranged marriage. I’m sure I can grow to love him,” she shrugs, biting her lip as it begins to quiver.

Her eyes are no longer happy - perhaps that was the wrong word to use after she had just confided in you about the reality of her upcoming union. But they definitely seem more dull in comparison to the joyfulness she presented earlier tonight.

“Jackeline, you don’t have to-”

“No, I was gone those five years. He had to move on.” You drop your shoulders and lean forward to give her a hug. No matter how badly you wanted to wrap your hands around Ernesto’s neck, they had more use tenderly wrapped around your sister.

Relishing the feeling for only a moment longer, Jackeline is ignited once again. “Besides, I should be telling you that! I saw the way that… that fascist pulled you. If he’s hurting you, I’ll kill him.”

Your eyes must be bulging out of your head. “Oh.”

She looks at you as if you’re going to admit abuse and confide in her like she did you. “No, it’s okay. Steve’s perfect, he’s… wonderful.”

Jackeline shakes her head rapidly, “Don’t you lie to me. I know what I saw.”

“I’m not lying. But you gotta trust me. I’ll explain later-”

“Explain what?”

Seda breaks the conversation and you forget to curse inwardly. Instead, a mumbled ‘fuck’ is heard. It only serves to fuel the flame. Jackeline flashes a rehearsed smile, and she truly is your sister because for a sad moment she looks exactly like you.

“Explain why she never returned my calls to be my maid of honor! I swear, this one is always so busy she forgets I exist!”

“She is,” Seda agrees, grinning like he already knows what the original conversation was about. “Always busy.”

Jackeline keeps the same smile and is about to continue fanning the flames when Seda interrupts again. “Jackie, your father wanted me to speak with your sister alone for a moment. It has to do with tomorrow’s shipment.”

“Yes, of course. Don’t keep her for too long, okay? Tomorrow’s a late start but we all need our beauty sleep.” Jackeline leaves and fails to look over her shoulder to double check on you.

Seda steps closer, arms swinging casually like he’s pondering the possibilities of what he could do without Steve present. But instead of focusing solely on him, you listen to the soft sound of Bucky’s voice through the mic as he tells you that he’s listening in and he’s here.

“What did she say to you?”

“Is it really any of your business?”

He snaps immediately, gripping your cheeks in one hand so you can’t move your head. “When will you learn to keep your goddamn mouth shut around me?”

“You asked.” Smacking his hand away would have been frowned upon before, but not anymore. Free reign if need be. “Besides, when will you learn that that will never happen?”

“You can’t believe anything she tells you. Ernesto’s only two daughters are mistakes, both threats to his reign. Never submissive, always asking questions-”

You grunt almost comically, “Men and their irrational fears of women… What did I ever do to you?”

He pauses and you notice how his angry eyes always seem to water from his frustration. “You brought him back.”

“I also brought back trillions.”

“You know,” his face does something unpleasant. “Before Jackeline was dusted, she had been seeing that priest.”

“How could you possibly know-”

“He was so devastated by her loss. Found God, became a changed man.”

“Seda, what are you playing at?”

“She came back.” He lifts one finger. “He couldn’t resist.” He raises another. “Didn’t take long for Ernesto to find out.” The third one is the last, and he mimics a small explosion as he concludes. “But don’t worry, we took care of him.”

You never once believed the Devil was this angry, red demon with horns atop his head and a sharp tail, voice booming as he ruled the underworld with the weapons of pain and suffering. He didn’t possess or haunt random places. If anything, the Devil himself was simply a metaphor, a representation of the evil in a living world. It only made people comfortable to create an image, no matter how ridiculous.

Once you even thought the Devil was Hades, and he wasn’t all that bad when it truly came down to the root of all problems. He oversaw the underworld but he didn’t take life, he didn’t cause the pain, he simply watched and ruled. That maybe Hades was real considering Thor was, and he was just chilling in the underworld bored out of his mind.

But the evil the Devil represented was a constant in this world already, in your life from start to finish, and Seda’s eyes held something unspeakable. Dark brown eyes almost black, left cheek twitching with the urge to smile grotesquely, the tense nature of his broad shoulders. He was no massive man, a few inches taller than you, but he was a giant in a world in which Hades lacked and the Devil persisted.

“But Julian-”

Seda scoffs, “Julian was her rebound. Got mixed up in the business, with Ernesto - but I don’t doubt he loves Jackeline.”

You’re this close to breaking the man’s fingers. He doesn’t stop counting his supposed triumphs. “When were the pictures taken?”

“Don’t do that,” he laughs as he finally steps away from you. “Ask your real question.”

Your smile was involuntary. So was Seda’s. It was the one thing you had in common: smiling at things that weren’t funny. “Did you threaten him? Torture him? Kill him yet?”

“... Jackeline will never know.”

Your mouth parts slowly like you’re still digesting his words. “You unimaginable bastard.”

If you had to bet, you would have placed all your money on Ernesto being the giant to fear. He had hurt you in countless ways, used you and discarded what he didn’t like, put you in the line of fire for his own gain. He had taken pleasure in knowing you hurt, in knowing what you had lost and suffered. He mocked your sacrifice time and time again. And there was a sentence you had never uttered out loud for fear of what you might do, or what anyone hearing you might do, that Ernesto had said one chilly November night only a year after the world returned. It was a thought so suppressed you almost always forgot it had been real. ‘A shame the Widow did what she did - what an unbelievable asset wasted over something pointless.’

No one outside your circle could possibly understand. They didn’t have to - but to dismiss the main reason he was retaking his tainted throne... insanity.

But something in Seda’s voice moved even the most dormant areas in your soul. The giant was a man with nothing and everything to lose but with the power to choose which. Staring at him for too long prompted an uncomfortable sting across your waterline like his glare burned. Such a normal looking man with short dark hair and an aging face. He stared at you with a set look, one that told you he knew something you didn’t. Like he controlled giants even bigger than him. He wasn’t Hades, who restrained himself and hid in the shadows of a world he was forced to rule - he was the Devil’s metaphor, with red strains licking his tan skin and eyes sharp enough to puncture.

With a small tilt of his head and a strangled grin, he finally turns to leave. “Have a safe drive home.”

After saying a quick goodbye to Jackeline and securing the estate, you hurried to get to your car and leave. Ernesto had just sent you a quick nod of the head and reminded Steve he needed to see him again before the wedding started. All your leftover energy literally went into pulling open the passenger door.

Out of instinct now, you wait until the car is past the gates and a good mile from the hidden entrance before speaking freely.

“We get everything?”

The night is dark and you can barely see the outline of the trees. The sky is covered with gray clouds and there are no lampposts to provide light. It’s really just your headlights. “I think so. I think.”

Steve can sense the hesitancy in your answer. “What’s wrong?”

You shake with an exaggerated shiver, “Seda was being creepy… just more than usual.”

“What do you mean?” Steve was probably communicating and online with Sam during his conversation with Ernesto and completely missed the one you had with Seda.

“Fuckin’ didn’t think it could get weirder, but Jackeline mentioned how this was basically an arranged marriage and then Seda,” you stop suddenly. The uneasiness was creeping back.

“An arranged marriage? Fuck, what else is this mission going to throw at us?”

‘Captain?’

Steve’s hands accidentally swerve the steering wheel as response to the small fright. “... Was that your phone or mine?”

You fumbled through your mini purse for your phone. “Me. Hey? Friday?”

‘The one and only. I hope that didn’t frighten you because I really need your attention right about now.’

Steve chuckles, eyes straight ahead as he drives. “That doesn’t sound ominous at all.”

‘My readings are picking up something strange. The vehicle, even if I’m not able to virtually connect, seems to be stalling.’ Torres did curse you two before you left for renting a car made before 2013.

“What do you mean? It’s working just fine.”

You set your phone down on the dash to start looking around the interior of the car.

‘The pedal, yes Captain. But I’m afraid my readings are focused on the brakes.’

You bite your tongue and scrunch up your nose. What else could possibly happen tonight? “That’s always fun to hear, great. Greaaaat.”

“Friday, what are you picking up?” Steve’s voice is more stern and even if he’s not doing it on purpose, he’s trying to ignore your coping mechanism of joking during dire situations.

‘It seems that when they took the vehicle for parking, they attached something to the brake lines. Sort of like a trigger sensor. Do not slow down.’

“We’re stuck? We can’t stop?”

‘Everytime the Captain de-accelerates, the sensor heats up. That’s what my readings are.’

“Fuck,” you unclipped your seatbelt and turned your body toward Steve. “Fuck!”

“Friday, what do we do?” The least Steve could do is be the level-headed one here.

‘Exactly what you’re thinking, Captain. The shield’s in the trunk.’

“We can’t exactly get to it!” You don’t mean to scream at Friday. You’re sure she’s used to adrenaline induced attacks guided toward her and never about her.

‘The burners were produced by Stark Industries for our very own spy unit. They are equipped with a taser, flashlight, and laser.’

Jumping so your feet were planted firmly on the passenger seat, you make sure everything is in place: the stolen files, your gun, your phone, and earpiece. “Keep your foot on that pedal, Rogers. I don’t feel like blowing up tonight.”

He releases a shaky breath, hands turning pale from the grip he has on the steering wheel. “You and me both.”

“Friday?” Your voice is only slightly timid, but you manage to move your body out from the front seats and to the back.

‘The laser, Agent Y/LN. Cut through the seats.’

Nodding along to her instructions, you search for the burner under your skirt and unstrap it from the holster. Pulling its ancient antenna outward, Friday verbally guides you through the very simple instruction. The laser blasts out unexpectedly at first making you squeal, which in turn causes Friday (a literal AI) to chuckle. You’re thankful the antenna was facing the back seats already.

“Doing good back there?”

You respond with a low grunt as you carefully carve out the largest rectangle you can create. “You better have shoved the thing close. Any stop signs up ahead?”

Steve’s getting worried now, but instead of putting you more on edge, he hides it pretty well. “Thank god this place is in the middle of nowhere.”

You don’t even give his response acknowledgement as you finally pull the leather, metal, and weird cushion filling away and spot the shield. “I got it, got it, got it.”

‘My sensors suggest you’ll have a good five seconds to escape the vehicle once the Captain releases the pedal.’

You make sure your hair is in the tightest ponytail known to man and that your skirt is bunched up in your free arm. You strap the shield onto the other. “Steve, you gonna be alright?”

His eyes are still focused on the road, but he braves a look in the mirror back at you. His voice is stern but not demanding. “I know you hate the damn shield but bend your legs, jump sideways, and tuck your head.”

“Yeah,” you nod along. Damn straight you’ll put your hate aside for one second if it’s here to save your life. “You better jump on time, you understand me?”

“Sam,” Steve keeps the speed steady and tries to ignore the way his heart is pounding from the sound of you kicking open the back door. “Sam, Widow. Widow.”

Before you jump, the asphalt a never ending, rapid glare of absolute darkness, you leave your phone on the seat in case Steve still needs her. “Friday, send Sam and Torres our location. They’re the only ones who can fly in undetected. Tell them what you told us.”

‘Will do, Agent Y/LN.’

“Be careful.”

You smirk at him, “Don’t be a hero and crash this one into the ice, yeah?”

You don’t wait for his reaction and instead take the plunge. The shield makes a hard impact with the asphalt down below, screeching for what seems like an eternity before slowing down. You did as instructed: knees tucked into your chest as far as you were able, head doing the same. By the time the ride finally ends and you’ve gone partially deaf, you can make out the sound of a loud explosion a close distance away. The heat from the sudden burst of wind nips at your face. You’ve also gone partially blind.

Your poor boots are definitely ruined and there’s a faint tell of a bruised ankle in the works. The arm attached to the shield will also need to be popped back into place - it shouldn’t feel this loose. Luckily, your head and torso were completely unscathed.

Lifting yourself up the best you could without straining anything too much, you noticed the car still in flames but driven off the road.

“He jumped, he jumped, he jumped,” you repeat, limping as quickly as you could, shield still attached to your arm. The closer you get the clearer everything becomes, regardless of the smoke. “Steve.”

You squint through the orange light and the dark of night. The fire wasn’t all that loud in its crackles and it doesn’t take you long to realize while tapping your ears that you lost your earpiece.

“Steve,” you try again, adrenaline still pumping but panic seeping in. As if on cue, you can make out his body laying far away from the car relatively unharmed. “Ah, shit.” You drop down on your knees and wince involuntarily. Slapping his cheeks doesn’t wake him up, neither does gently shaking him. You don’t want to do anything to hurt him more.

The sound of gravel popping kicks you back into spy mode. Hide. This was a hit, of course it was, and they were coming to see their job done.

“You so owe me,” you groan as you unstrap the shield to throw it into the woods, the faint tell of it hitting a tree enough to make you work faster. You hook your arms underneath Steve’s armpits and bend your knees, breathing in deeply and out a few times before pulling him with all your strength. There’s pain shooting up your arm but you try to ignore it. Small whimpers escape you as you pull harder and finally make it a good distance from the wreckage. You sit Steve, still unconscious, behind one of those massive pine trees and sit next to him after retrieving the shield.

It’s only two black SUV’s that come to check their hard work. They’re bending down and using their own fire extinguishers, snapping their own photos, the works. It isn’t until Seda walks over to admire the wreckage that you have to bite your bottom lip to keep from screaming.

You’re seated in front of Steve now with the shield in front of you when a sudden movement to your left startles you. Before you scream, however, a hand covers your mouth.

“Shh, shh.” Sam. Your eyes fill with tears.

“I’ve got him. Torres is coming for you, alright? I’m the only one who can carry him out.”

It doesn’t take much to convince you. You’re silently helping Sam strap Steve against his chest as Seda and his men are now investigating the woods. You can hear them close, cursing and yelling about finding you.

“Go a little further. Down there,” Sam points in front of you. “Torres is parked and waiting. Go.”

“Don’t drop him.” Sam stifles his laugh.

You follow his directions, limping as quickly as you can, and finally find Torres, your second knight in shining armor of the night.

After an all clear from the medical team, Steve is left alone in your hotel room to rest. He still hasn’t woken up but Helen isn’t worried since his scans show no major damage. Small talk with the rest of the team fills in the time but it’s like you’re not really there, merely a participant on a loop. There’s a bitter taste in your mouth and you’re covered in scratches and smoky ash and you can’t shake the feeling of wanting to kill something.

Your father wanted you dead. And showing up to the wedding was just going to anger him more but it had to be done. But you were tired, so fucking tired, tired to the point where you couldn’t sleep or rest.

You let your hair down but stay in your tattered clothing, making yourself useful as best you can. You answer questions, you review footage, you draft up some reports. Bucky tries to sit you down at one point, but he backs off when you simply shake your head and give him that famous broken smile.

You’re sitting at your desk trying to save some of your phone’s cloud through the connected email. Sam has already ordered you a new phone. On the computer to your left, you’re scanning and uploading the files you stole tonight. On the right, your little butterfly is transcribing conversations from yesterday.

The transcription is finished before the uploads. It prints.

SEDA: ‘Ernesto needs to know how many more women we can get from Jonathon. I thought you said your Italian contact was up to date?’

UNKNOWN: ‘He is. But the women are coming from here instead. Got a load of ten just now.’

SEDA: ‘The shipment goes out during the wedding. Not before, not after. We can’t fuck this up for Ernesto and we cannot have the stars and stripes finding out.’

UNKNOWN: ‘Ernesto plans to mention it to him tomorrow.’

SEDA: ‘Then make sure he keeps quiet about it.’

The bitter taste in your mouth returns and you have to run to the nearest bathroom.

Steve wakes just an hour after, disoriented but able to discern who he is. “What happened?”

You’re standing at the foot of his bed, having just got there a few minutes before, practically on the verge of tears. “... Did you know?”

There it was. Any hope of truly coming to terms with this new world order or his role in it, any hope of feeling like he did before he succumbed to the American war propaganda and became a science experiment, crumbling before him. The heavy weight that were your shoulders, crumbling like shaky mountains. His own, tense and straining and urging him to get out of bed.

He’s been in the trenches when the smell of gas and blood clogged his nostrils and made him dizzy. He’s experienced loss a thousand times over, just heinous instances of despair where he swore he was torn in two. He’s lost on his own accord and pretended like the world was still on its axis.

And he knew his time was up. He just thought he’d have more than a day to enjoy it. “I was going to tell you.”

It’s like the air is punched out of you. “You knew?”

“Please, listen, please,” he scrambles out of bed.

“What the fuck, Rogers?”

“Ramirez told us yesterday. I swear I only found out yesterday. Yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” You’re stepping away from him. He’s almost on his hands and knees and you’re stepping away from him. “Before?”

Steve makes a pained noise. “Yes, but please-”

“No! You kept this to yourself and you had the fucking audacity to share the same bed as me?”

“Please, let me explain-” He tries to reach out but you side-step him. He reacts like you’ve shot him.

“Don’t touch me, Steve!”

“Please, just let me explain. We all know - Bucky, Sam, Torres, we all know.”

Your face does something he’s never seen it do. “Fuck?”

He’s talking faster now, words just spilling on the floor and into the air and he doesn’t know what else to do. “We’re tracking it. We have a plan set. We were supposed to tell you tomorrow before the wedding.” He stops to take in a breath. “I was going to tell you.”

“You went behind my back.”

“If I would have told you, you would have done something horrible tonight! We need your father alive to find those people!”

Eyes wide in shock and anguish, you step further away from him. Each step was the equivalent of a dagger plunging deep into Steve’s heart, twisting and burning its way to the depths of his vulnerability. He wanted to succumb to the pain - after all, he deserved it.

“That would have been my choice to make!”

Now he pushed forward, shoulders hunched and palms turned upward as if he was pleading for a crumb of understanding. “I was gonna kill him.”

He drops to his knees, arms wrapping around your waist. You remained perfectly still, a tree stump with no cover. “I was gonna shoot him between the eyes when I first found out. But if I had done that, then we would never know the location of those people.”

His weight was pulling you down and you felt his wet cheek against your stomach. “I deserved to know.”

His grip tightened, “You did. But if you would have known-”

“I would have known. Period.”

He had to know how much he weighed. But Steve leaned his body onto yours harder, afraid you would vanish and god forbid turn to dust. It didn’t really register in his mind that, even though he was holding you in place, you weren’t exactly trying to escape his hold either.

He had let you go once and he’ll be goddamned if he let you go again.

“It ate me alive. I hated doing this-”

You pushed against his shoulders and sensed his reluctance to let go. Instead, you look down at him and tense your jaw. “Steve, you don’t hate me, do you?”

His face dropped and his grip loosened. You should just slap him across the face, Steve thinks, because how in the world were you thinking that at this moment? Never did he think you would find a way to twist this - to somehow blame yourself for his mistake. Took a long time to see it, but you were just as righteous as he was. It would get you both killed someday.

“Why do you think that? What in the world would make you think that after all this time? After everything?”

He lets you push him away so he could stand but he makes sure to keep his hands on you. A tangible promise that you are real.

“You agreed to help me catch a drug lord. You didn’t sign up for this extra mess.”

“We may not always know what we’re up against,” Steve began, sniffing and wiping at his wet face. God, he felt like such a mess. “But I could never fucking hate you. Don’t even think that.”

“You sure?” your voice cracks, hands slightly shaking from the need to touch him too. “Captain America didn’t sign up for this.”

He shakes his head almost violently, “No, no. Don’t go there. I am not him, I haven’t been him in a long time.”

“Steve-”

“No! I’ve hated the title for a while now. I’m done. I’ve hated my reflection for years and years.” The tiny whine in the middle of your throat gurgled and your hands moved instantly to cup his cheeks. “I represent no one but myself. I’m tired of others thinking I’m the same man from ten years ago, or the same man from the forties, or the same man from last week just because they’re enamored by that star on my chest.”

He tilts his head to lean into your touch, “I am helping you because it’s the honorable thing to do. I signed up for this work, I intend to finish it. Not Captain America, but me - Steve, me.”

“You’re still making me feel like it’s something you have to do.”

“I admit that I was never overly fond of the idea of being wrapped up in this,” Steve admits, hands now cupping yours over his cheeks. “But toppling this empire will keep you safe.”

As heartwarming as that sounded, you broke the fantasy. “The minute we take the giants out, they’ll elect someone new.”

“But we take the giants out. The giants that hurt you.”

He’s right, like always.

“Steve,” you say quietly, bringing his face closer to kiss away his tears. You’re struggling to keep the tippy-toes and your ankle is screaming for a break, but you persist. “You should have told me.”

“I know.”

“No more secrets.”

“None, I swear, I promise.”

Biting your lip to keep from crying, you make sure his eyes are locked on yours before you speak. “I’m not walking away this time. I’m not leaving you. Not again.”

Steve’s mouth releases a big burst of air like he was holding it in, and he wraps you in a hug that promises the same.

TAGLIST: @dumb-ass-writer @justab-eautifulmess @supraveng @mycosmicparadise @missnighttigress

A/N: Wooooo that took forever lol xxMoni

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babyflossy · 4 years

Text

i promise | m.l

gif credits to owner

pairing: mark x reader

requested: yes! my requests are open!

summary: you and mark had been inseparable since birth, you had done everything together. that is, until he starts ignoring you in your senior year.

genre: highschool au, angst, fluff, best friends to enemies(?) to friends to lovers au i guess

warnings: underage drinking

word count: 3.1k (i got carried away)

mark lee had been a constant in your life since your first memory. in fact, your very first was of him; you were in preschool and you had laughed as he was told off by the teacher for breaking a toy plane. it was hard for you to remember anything big in your life that hadn't included mark. your first day of elementary, middle, and high school started by the two of you catching the bus together, talking excitedly about how this was going to be the best school year yet.

he was always there. until he wasn't.

at first it didn't bother you; it was well known that friends naturally drifted apart as they grew up. but when he started avoiding you in the hallways, gaze shooting away when you met eyes, you couldn't deny it hurt you. it hurt that the one person you thought would be with you through everything, the person that had been with you through everything, seemed to be growing tired of you.

it was the first time mark lee didn't sit with you on the bus on the first day of school. instead, he slumped in the seat next to donghyuck, a tanned boy with a fiery personality who had adopted the name haechan throughout highschool. he was rowdy and disruptive and everything you weren't. it may have been the first time mark sat with someone else, but it wasn't the first time you found your thoughts clouded with him the whole day.

as the year progressed, your relationship with mark deteriorated into nothing. the only word to describe him now was a stranger. whenever he wasn't avoiding you, he was laughing loudly with his new friends, a group of six others from varying year groups. you wondered what about them was special enough for him to basically exile you. you decided you didn't want to know.

the only link you now had to your ex-best friend was a boy named jaemin who you partnered with in chemistry, and who flirted incessantly without fail. you were used to it now, avoiding burning cheeks and shy smiles unlike the start of the year. it wasn't that jaemin was a bad person, you just couldn't help but notice how completely and utterly different he was to mark. then again, you guessed time changed people in ways you wouldn't understand.

the school buzzed, as per usual, with the news of hwang hyunjin's upcoming party. the only difference about this particular one however, was you being invited due to your friendship with his friend minho. you had never been one for parties, finding the obnoxious mix of loud teenagers and bass-heavy music unenjoyable at the best of times.

but that was then, and this is now. this is now and as you pulled up your black jeans and looked at yourself in the mirror, you couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. the dark brown you had smoked around your eyes made you look far more confident than you felt, eyeing the skin-tight outfit with slight apprehension. it wasn't over the top, but it showed your figure in the most flattering way and you made a mental note to thank yeri later for helping you pick it out.

the first thing you remember thinking when you first entered the house was that your eardrums were gonna burst. the second thing you remember thinking was that mark lee looked really good leaning against the wall opposite, even if his eyes were focused on his drink. your eyes followed his gaze to a blonde stood next to him, and you looked away immediately once you realised she was trying to get his attention. her giggling fell on deaf ears as he watched you head straight to the drinks table, stopping to talk with hyunjin on the way. a dark leather jacket clung to his arms as he slung one around your shoulders, smiling down at you and handing you an empty red solo cup. you surveyed the options on the table, equal parts impressed and concerned at the wide array of spirits and beers. deciding now was as good a time as ever to find out what your favourite alcohol was, you picked up an unnatural blue bottle, filling your cup to halfway. it was sweet and slipped down your throat with surprising warmth, enticing you to finish the cup.

you should have known there was no coming back after the first drink.

time had lost meaning to you hours ago, your head swimming as you swayed with yeri on the dancefloor. you had lost count of how many drinks you had consumed quickly after you entered, finding it much more enjoyable to just try everything. from across the room, a blue-haired boy slinked his way through the crowds of people, a devilish smirk on his face. jaemin slid behind you, resting his hands on your waist to stop you moving so he could lean down the whisper in your ear.

"we're doing shots in the kitchen, wanna join?" under any other circumstance, you would deny straight away, but something about his hands on your waist and the loud music made you forget your worries, grinning at him and letting him lead you away.

the kitchen was the only room in the house with sufficient lighting to see people properly. it was white and blinking and it hurt your eyes momentarily, your vision swimming. it was only when he let you go that you realised jaemin's hands had remained around your waist the whole journey to the kitchen. after your eyesight had recovered, your gaze swept across the other people jaemin had deemed worthy to do shots with. donghyuck stood whispering something to a boy you knew as lee jeno, the school's star quarterback. on his left was huang renjun, the person who had tutored through your chinese class in freshman year. at the end of the countertop was the only pair of juniors deemed worthy enough to be invited to senior parties. park jisung and zhong chenle.

the last person in the small gathering stopped talking to renjun when he saw you and jaemin enter. mark lee stared at you wide-eyed, a shot glass halfway to his mouth. he shot jaemin an exasperated look over your head, rolling his eyes in a way that made you feel somewhat undeserving to be stood with his group. donghyuck's smile when he saw you was teetering on diabolical and you watched him cautiously as you reached over the cool marble to grasp the clear shot glass he offered.

"this is y/n, she's my chem partner," jaemin's voice was accompanied by the loud clink of glass bottles bumping together. jeno nodded in recognition, smiling at you as he pulled two clear bottles from the centre of the table, reading both labels before choosing the bigger one. as if instructed, everyone placed their shot glasses into the middle of the counter and you followed suit. some of the liquid spilled over the edge of the glasses as jeno filled them all.

right before you lifted it to your lips, haechan spoke up, "well, y/n, i hope you're not a lightweight." you shot him a fearless grin before downing the liquor, allowing yourself to revel in the way it burned the back of your throat.

despite the fact you were halfway to wasted, you found yourself regretting judging mark's new friends so early on. they were all so welcoming to you and you fit into their dynamic easily realising over many shots and glasses of cheap alcopops they were all actually really cool people. haechan matched your humour and made you laugh so hard you thought you were going to throw up; renjun relived all the memories you had shared from tutoring lessons, telling you through near tears how bad your pronunciation had been; jeno had indulged you with embarrassing stories of the whole group, jaemin hitting him on the back of the head when he spilled jaemin's crush on your spanish teacher. even jisung and chenle had joked around with you, mainly make fun of you for being so much shorter than them.

it felt like you had known them all for years, except the only one you actually had known for years. mark had expertly avoided every attempt from the others to prompt the two of you to so much as acknowledge each other. you couldn't help but think there was something they all knew that you didn't, but the dizzying mix of laughter and the alcohol in your system distracted you swiftly.

the first time he outwardly mentioned you was to stop jeno from filling your shot glass again. you pouted in response and mark nearly froze, the unpleasant skipping of his heart making him feel ill. "guys stop, she's already wasted." it wasn't untrue, but the blatant concern in his voice swirled up a bewildering mix of emotions. joy that he obviously still cared about you deep down but anger that he thinks he can ignore you for the better half of a year, pretending you don't deserve the time of day, and suddenly control your actions. you would have fought back if your vision would stop betraying you and leaving you with an inability to focus on much.

when donghyuck had joked about you being a lightweight, he hadn't taken into account the fact that you were much smaller than all of them. it was stupid of them to think you would be able to drink as much as jeno, the football star for christ's sake. when you tried to walk to the sink for a glass of water, you had swayed so much on your feet jaemin's hands returned to their earlier position on your waist, steadying you with a chuckle.

you listened to them chat back and forth as you focused on the pleasant coldness of the water. it soothed the growing ache in your head but did little to clear the haze over your eyes. "you wanna dip? we could go get mcdonald's?" you think it was jisung who spoke. but maybe it was chenle. their voices blended to one as you refilled your glass.

unaware of their silent debate, you looked up in surprise to see them all staring at you. it was donghyuck who voiced their question. "do you wanna come with, y/n? we're gonna get food and then probably go back to mark's house." the first sensible thought in a while enters your head. do you really want to leave all of your friends here and leave with a group of boys you barely know while intoxicated? maybe it wouldn't be a very good idea–

"guys, i don't think it's a good idea, she should stay here." there mark goes again with his concern, his attempt to exile you again. it was pathetic really, but this was the first time in so long you had been able to see him, and you didn't want it to end.

"yeah i wanna come." as you followed jisung out the party to the front door, you missed the icy glare mark shot haechan, and the amused quirk of the younger boy's eyebrow in response.

mcdonald's is deserted at nearly three am on a saturday. the walk from hyunjin’s house had involved haechan pushing you on his skateboard to stop you falling over every fifth step. he laughed loudly at your screams when he pushes you too fast, his strong grip on you not letting you fall. jeno and jisung skated in front of you, their balance much more impressive than yours. inside, you all crowd around one of the touchscreen machines and add more and more food to the order, playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who has to pay and cheering in triumph when hyuck is the loser. he grumbles about how he shouldn't have lost when it was his idea to play as he pushes his card into the reader.

it takes fifteen minutes of you all giggling like toddlers for your food to be ready, trying to all fit into one booth. you end up balanced on jaemin's left thigh and mark's right and you can almost feel the differences in their personalities from the way they sit. jaemin's free hand is rested on top of your black jeans, his chin coming down periodically onto your shoulder so you can feed him fries. mark is stiff, sitting in any position that means he doesn't have to touch you. you're unaware of his heart hammering in his chest.

the food helps sober you up enough for you to be able to walk unattended, still sipping on your strawberry milkshake – you had nearly coughed it over the table when renjun playfully choked chenle over a joke he made. the remaining alcohol in your system helped a warm feeling of belonging settle in your chest, your words still slurring together slightly.

the group decided to take you to one of their favourite "hang out places" as jeno had so ominously put it. you were curious to see where you ended up, but seeing as you had had more fun in the past six hours than in the past six months, you didn't really care. a skate park happened to be the mysterious location they were taking you to and you shouldn't have been so surprised considering it seemed to be their main mode of transport.

jisung shot in front, still on his board, flying down one of the ramps and hooting in glee at the feeling of the warm night breeze through his hair. jeno and haechan followed close behind, leaving the rest of you to sit on the edge of one of the ramps, dangling your legs over the edge. chenle and renjun sat on your left talking light-heartedly in rushed chinese. they snickered at your confused face, chenle telling renjun he must have been a terrible tutor, receiving a swift slap to the back of his head in return. you simply laughed at their playful arguing and turned to face jaemin and mark.

jaemin sat separating you two, his eyes watching the others skate around at insane speed, heckling them every now and then. at some point, a speaker had been turned on and a lazy beat echoed through the deserted the park. you let yourself fall back, spine resting against the grass. it was a clear night, not a single cloud obstructing your view as you stared in awe at the sky. your eyes sparkled and the stars twinkled back at you, spreading a calmness through your veins.

eventually, jaemin had stood up and run quickly down the slope to avoiding falling, meeting the others and laughing as he nearly toppled into jisung. with chenle and renjun engrossed in their own conversation, it left you and mark unaccompanied. you hadn't expected him to say anything, to even notice you. shock filled you when you saw him shimmy next to you, lying back so you were sharing the same view.

"i'm sorry, y/n, i really am," his voice was quiet and heavy, choked up. when you said nothing in return, he leaned up on his elbow, looking down at you so he could read the expression on his face. it made him hard to ignore and as you met eyes, you couldn't help but think he looked breathtakingly beautiful from this angle.

"why'd you do it? what did i do wrong?" the vulnerability in your voice made him drop his eyes, scared to look at you. you returned your gaze to the stars and he returned to his position lying next to you.

"i was scared," a sniffle follows his words and your eyebrows furrow slightly. scared? scared of what, exactly? you thought, scoffing in your head. "i was scared that i would ruin our friendship by thinking of you as more than that." oh, is all you think. "i know it's been a long time, but seeing you tonight made me realise i would rather have you as a friend even if i can't have you as more, even if i still love you."

it was overwhelming. maybe because of how pretty the stars looked tonight, grounding you and making everything seem slightly more in perspective, or maybe because of the alcohol still pumping around your system, or maybe just because mark lee is finally sat next to you again and he's describing the feelings you've had since sixth grade but before you know it you're facing him again.

"promise you won't do it again?" there's a childlike innocence in your voice, and he's taken back to the time you made him promise not to steal your candy anymore. as if to punctuate, you bring your pinkie finger up between you, grinning when he wraps his around it and shakes.

"i promise."

you wait until he's facing away from you to speak again, "you know i've loved you since we were, like, ten, right?" he whips his head back to face you so fast you think he'll get whiplash, the stunned expression on his face causing a soft smile to spread on your lips. his eyes are lit up like this and you have a fleeting thought that they're way prettier than the stars above you.

the others melt away into the background, their shouts and laughter going unheard by the both of you and it strikes you suddenly how close your faces are, and you're unable to stop your eyes dropping to his lips where a sad smile rests. it feels as if you're the only people in the skate park, the only people in the city, in the world as your eyes meet once again, an unspoken agreement passing between them. you think your heart is gonna stop as he leans in slowly at first, then more desperately when you don't move away. his lips are warm and safe and more than you had ever imagined. you're so close together now that his cologne invades your senses in an intoxicating mix of familiarity and yearning. the hand that comes to rest on your waist instils a dizzying effect much different and stronger than the shots had earlier and you lean further into his touch.

when you separate, the air is different. your friends are still shouting and joking, you and mark going unnoticed by them. mark looks at you like you hold the answers to the universe. "maybe we could start over as more than friends then?"

"i'd like that."

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supimjustwriting · 4 years

Text

Halloween Dress Up Fun!

Author’s Note: STORY TIME! As an Asian with long black hair who takes showers at night. I have made the mistake of wearing a white night gown, soaking it with my hair because I like air drying my hair. Then scaring myself in the mirror as my hair covered most of my face. All I wanted was a glass of water ;w; I was what I was scared of the most. An Asian horror ghost.

I also couldn’t see how headcanons could work for this request. So, I ended up doing scenarios with a sprinkle of headcanon. I hope you enjoyed the way this flower patch bloomed!

Dorm Leaders REACT!!

Reader Dresses up as Sadako or Kayako ~!

Riddle Rosehearts

Let me paint you a scene ~

The strawberry headed male let out a deep sigh as he looked down at his watch. ‘Being late is unbecoming of a person. What on earth is taking them?’ Riddle thought to himself, clicking his tongue.

A shiver ran down the young male’s back, goosebumps tingling his skin while a cool breeze blanketed him. “Now, now, Riddle. Don’t let your imagination get ahead of you now. That was a simply a horror story from Y/N’s world. No, need to get worked up over fiction now.” He reminded himself, cursing at how run down the Ramshackle dorm was. Riddle knew that ghosts resided in the dorm but why did this feel so different?

“Y/N?” He called out curiously to the sound of creaking floorboards. Slowly a low croak echoed through the air, closely followed by soft thumps. “Hardy, har Y/N. I know it’s you. This is all too cliché. Of course I won’t fall for-” a stone formed in his stomach as a disheveled woman crawled head first down the stairs.

- To say that Riddle screamed is down playing his reaction. This boy shrieked with his two ahoges sticking straight up like a Saturday morning cartoon. It was safe to believe that those within earshot thought someone was being murdered.

- After failing to cast ‘Off with your head!’ upon the ‘ghost’. Laughter tickled his ears as his grey eyes met with your familiar gaze. If looks could kill, you would’ve fit your costume perfectly. Luckily for you, a boyish giggle filled your dorm as Riddle offered his hand with a smile.

“I heard that Halloween is the time for tricks. I hope you didn’t fall too behind on your studies to plan all this out. Thank you for the scare,” his smile twitched with annoyance as you grinned widely at him all the same.

Leona Kingscholar

A knowing smile painted the lion’s lips the second he set foot into Ramshackle; the stale air, the chill breeze blowing the front door behind him. The voicemail that simply hissed “7 days.”

“‘Like a cub learning how to hunt,’ he thought to himself, tail swishing side to side behind him. Leona couldn’t help but be reminded of Cheka and his attempts to pounce on him.

Making his way to the living room. The brunette already caught a strong whiff of your scent coming from the TV. He raised a brow as he saw water slowly pour out of television all the while you crawled into the scene.

Chuckling, Leona walked up to you unfazed, offering his hand to help you up. “I must say. You really outdone yourself to hollow out a TV and wait there until I arrived. Though,” he pinched the bridge of his nose, frowning. “I would make one change. The makeup you use has a strong chemical scent to it. If people get too close, they’ll find out it’s you right away.”

Mission failed. We’ll get em’ next time.

Azul Ashengrotto

“Y/N?” The silver haired male questioned, humming to himself curiously as no one greeted him at the door. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m letting myself in. You’re the one who called me over. The least you could do is welcome me,” he teased softly entering the dorm.

To his surprise his eyes met a shivering incoherent Grim, cowering under a table.

“She got her! The ghost caught Y/N and-and- She’s gone! My beloved henchman is now gone!” yowled the cat, covering his eyes with his paws.

“Pardon?” The simple question was only answered with more groveling while Grim pointed upstairs. His whines never stopped, even as Azul made his way upstairs.

Upon reaching the final step, a gurgling filled his ears. Azul furrowed his brows, mouth becoming dry as he halfheartedly decided to investigate the noise. Hesitantly, he opened the door to your room grey eyes widening at the still figure that stood in the corner of the room. Then it rushed him.

- Azul screamed bloody murder. A dark blush painting his face as your familiar laughter tickled his ears.

- He swears you to secrecy. All the while his heart is trying to thump out of his chest. If the tweels catch wind of this, he’ll never hear the end of it.

- Bad news. They heard rumours of screams coming from Ramshackle around the time he was supposed to visit and the pair put the pieces together quickly. Of course, they only teased him away from curious ears. Azul still has a reputation to uphold after all.

Kalim Al-Asim

“You managed to get a hold of a horror movie from your world? Let’s watch it together! I can get Jamil to-” scarlet eyes gazed at you curiously as you insisted that it should just be the two of you. “Ahh! I see. It would be scarier that way, huh? I’ll be sure to tell Jamil all about it once we're done!”

Later that night you watched ‘The Ring’ with Kalim. The snowed haired male clung to you for most of the film, screaming at jumpscares and then laughing joyously at himself. The dorm leader gazed at you like an abandoned puppy as you said that you were gonna use the washroom.

Surely you wouldn’t leave him all alone after watching such a scary film. He teased softly before waving you off playfully. That’s all it was. A work of fiction made purely for the fun of it, right?

The chime of his phone caused Kalim to jump. Chuckling to himself, he thought it was Jamil checking up on him as he promised to be back in the dorm by now. A shiver ran down his spine as he saw it was an unknown number. ‘Maybe Sadako is calling me! How spooky,’ he joked to himself before picking up the phone with an upbeat “hello ~!”

“Seven Days”

Cue the boy’s phone flying across the room. It’ll be fine. He can afford a new one anyways. If he could survive the week. Kalim jumped to his feet to look for you, only to freeze in place at the sound of something wet hitting the ground.

“Y/N? Very funny but even if it was real, I’m supposed to have seven days. Can’t you give a guy a fighting chance?” He joked, a lump forming in his throat.

“Seven Days..” You hissed before being bombarded with pillows and blankets.

- Proud ghost hunter Kalim is proud. He was about to call Jamil about his incredible feet until he heard your familiar voice muffled by all the pillows and blankets.

- Quickly frees you from your cozy prison and questions you thoroughly, making sure you’re the real Y/N. Once you passed his test, laughter fills the room once again as he looks over your costume and makeup.

- He showers you with praise and even asks if you could try to scare Jamil as well. Tonight was so fun! Of course he wanted to share the experience with the person he grew up with. Jamil hates surprises. Kalim please don’t.

- Expect him to try to scare you throughout the week to get you back. It’s nothing malicious. Just harmless heart attack inducing fun!

Vil Schoenheit

“So, this is your costume, potato?” Vil’s gazed buried deep through your simple once pure white nightgown, examining each stitch and blood splatter. “It wouldn’t be something I choose for myself but I have to say, it isn’t the worst I’ve seen. I can’t wait to see you up yourself next year.”

- Surprisingly supportive.

- If you play your cards right. I do believe you can give him a scare. Though please be prepared for a heavy scolding. Stress isn’t good for the skin after all.

Idia Shorud

“A little girl that can travel through TV screens just because you watched a certain tape? Firstly, she needs to upgrade to downloads. Secondly, the 7 day buffer is such a huge lag spike. Isn’t there a way to make it faster? It does sound convenient though.”

- The origins of your costume interest him more than the costume itself. Can’t really blame him on that since Sadako is technology based. Though he doesn’t appreciate the drowning part. Water and electricity just don’t mix well.

- He’d hesitantly ask you more about her legend/movie and if there’s anything similar. It’s not like there are cursed video games out there, right? You’ve met with a terrible fate haven’t you?

Malleus Draconia

“What a tragic and gruesome tale humans can spin. Do you think you’ll end up the same as her?” A shy smile graces his lips, “I jest. There’s no way I’d let such a thing happen to you.”

- Like Idia he was more interested in the story behind the costume. After all, it’s quite interesting for humans to dress up as a ‘monster’ for a night. Just what counts as one anyways?

- The sight of you covered in blood is more unsettling more than anything. With how dangerous Twisted Wonderland is. Could this possibly be a sight he’d see one day? Shaking away the thought. Malleus simply complimented your costume and contently spent Halloween night by your side.

#Twisted Wonderland #Twisted Wonderland x reader #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #Azul Ashengrotto #idia shroud #vil schoenheit #kalim al asim #malleus draconia

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simsadventures · 4 years

Text

Paint Me Pretty

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You have an idea on how to spice up your sex-life with Bucky. Will he be down for one of your crazy ideas? Especially when it involves paint and naked bodies?

Warnings: fluff, smut (MUST BE 18+ TO READ THIS STORY), body paint(?)

Word Count: 1740

A/N: This idea was brought to you by a challenge thrown upon me by the loveliest Satan @official-and-unstable-satan. The first GIF for this challenge was Deadpool holding a bunch of paints, looking like Deadpool, and the second one was Loki saying “I’ll have that drink now”. I had to incorporate these two things and create a story and voila, here it is. Hope you guys will enjoy it :) xx

Bucky Barnes Masterlist __ Masterlist

Being the girlfriend of James Buchanan Barnes had its perks. Not only were you accepted between the Avengers and you even felt like a part of the team, you also dated one of the hottest, if not the hottest man in America right now. There were very few things not to totally adore about him.

He was smart, funny, beautiful, attentive, protective, and so much more that your heart was ready to burst whenever you were with him. Of course, there were things that needed improvement, but who didn’t have those, right?

When you met Bucky two years ago, he was very closed-off, he barely ever spoke outside of the comfort of his or your apartment, and to get him to kiss you took you a good 5 dates. Not that you complained. You hated when men tried to jump your bones on the very first date, and at least that way with Bucky, you could get to know his soul before you learned about his body.

And there was so much to learn! Because of Bucky’s past, he himself was pretty unaware of what he liked and disliked, what was something that he wanted to try or what was a no-no for him. You got to learn all these things alongside him, and you were eternally grateful for that. You still lively remembered the first time you called him “daddy” between sheets and the way his cheeks suddenly turned bright red, although his eyes grew three shades darker.

You then discussed it with him, asking him if he liked it, and although it took a lot of coaxing from you, he finally admitted that yes, indeed, he was a fan of this particular nickname, although he didn’t need you to call him daddy all the time.

With sergeant, that was a different story. It slipped past your lips after one of his mission when he got home to you still in his tactical gear. It felt natural, and the growl that left his chest just spurred you on in calling him that in the bedroom. He later said that he never felt such hunger in his life.

And ever since that, you tried to find other things that made his skin crawl with excitement and horniness. You knew he had some experience during the 40s, but you also knew that most of the experience was fairly vanilla, with a pinch of some bites and hickeys. Bucky even said that in those times these bites were generally frowned upon and he was seen as one of the naughtiest people in New York.

He then laughed knowing that a simple bite didn’t do it for you, and when he slowly found out all your kinks, he knew that his buddies back from the time wouldn’t even believe him if he told them about how you loved to be choked, denied orgasms, or how anal wasn’t a swearword in your bedroom.

He knew he had to expect new things from you because you loved to experiment, but what he didn’t expect was to come in in your shared bedroom to find you naked in the middle of the room with four bottles of paint in your arms standing on top of a canvas.

He perched an eyebrow and didn’t move from his position, just assessing the whole situation enfolding in front of him.

You patiently watched the circles in his mind turn, but because it took too long for your liking, you smiled at your boyfriend sweetly and beckoned him to come closer to you.

He did so cautiously, taking off his shoes and standing next to you on the canvas. His eyes took in your body, stopping at the arc of your breasts, licking his lips mindlessly. When his eyes met yours again, you could see he was already intrigued by whatever was happening in front of him.

“Would you like a drink before I explain what I had in mind for today?” You asked Bucky sweetly, wanting to make sure he was comfortable and maybe a little more pliable than usually. But he shook his head and kept staring at you intently. You scolded yourself for getting naked so early because you felt like he wouldn’t say no to you now. But you wanted this to be an enjoyable experience for both of you, and not only because it would involve raw fucking. But what could you do now, right?

“Alright, so I was thinking, and I came up with something I thought might be fun. It will be messy as hell, but I’ll clean up afterwards, gladly on my own, might I add. How about we make a painting with our bodies? While we’re fucking?” You said as quickly as possible and bit your lip, waiting for Bucky’s reaction.

You could hear the circles in his mind finally click, and the expression on his face changing from utterly confused to mildly intrigued.

“Why would we do that? I mean, can’t we just fuck as is?” He asked, putting his hand on your collarbone, drawing little circles there, knowing full well how much you loved when he did that.

“Ugh, Bucky! C’mon, don§t you think it will be hot to then frame a part of the picture, if it’s like, super pretty, and hang it somewhere in the house to show to everyone, but nobody will know we actually did it while fucking? I, for one, think it would be incredibly hot,” you countered and waited for his reaction.

Bucky obviously mused for a second or two, and when he finally decided, you could feel your heart beat a little harder. He would actually do it!

His clothes were sent flying across the room, and in no time, Bucky was standing in front of you completely naked.

“So, how do we do this?” He asked as he put some strands of hair behind your ear.

“It’s easy. I’ve already heated the colours as per the instructions. This is a paint specifically made to use for this body painting, so you don’t have to worry. And now all we have to do is to put some of the paint on the canvas, some on your bodies, and then we can fuck till we can’t no more. Sounds good?”

Bucky didn’t answer you. Instead, he kissed you passionately, revelling at the feeling of not yet being covered from head to toe in paint.

“What colours did you choose, doll? Something I’ll like?”

“Yup! I’m not stupid! I went for the classic: black, blue and white. I think it’ll look real pretty. Especially with our black sofa and all, you know? It will be super badass and hot!” You whispered into Bucky’s ear, and that was his moment.

He swiftly grabbed the colours and poured some on the canvas while squirting some on your chest and belly, doing the same to himself. You looked at each other, and although it would have been a funny scene under normal circumstances, there was nothing funny about it now.

Bucky grabbed you and pushed his chest against your, tangling his fingers in your hair and kissing you breathless.

In no time, you were sitting on Bucky, dry humping his thigh while rubbing his cock between your belly. The paint was all over both of you by now, different shades of blue could be found on Bucky’s shoulders and your thighs, while the rest was mixing in a beautiful fusion on both the canvas and you.

Bucky quickly grabbed your thighs and laid you down on the canvas, making his way between your legs, rubbing his achingly hard cock between your dripping folds. He took a quick glance on the sheet underneath you and then at you, and he could have sworn he fell in love with you even more than he already was.

You looked like a French model on canvas, all painted, moaning and dripping only for him, solely for your artist whom you allowed to touch you anyhow he liked.

Without a further warning, Bucky sheeted himself inside you until his pelvis was touching yours. Your back arched and your hands slapped the canvas in need to try and grab something to ground yourself from all the pleasure you were feeling.

Every movement was calculated and languid, the whole fucking session sensual but still somehow desperately hot. You could feel Bucky’s breath against your shoulder, the hot air hitting your burning skin sending shivers down your spine.

“More, I need more baby,” you urged Bucky on, needing to feel him all over your body. And Bucky was more than happy to oblige.

He picked up the speed, making your toes curl while your left hand pinched your nipple with your right hand drawing on the canvas.

It took Bucky only a few more thrusts before he felt you coming around him, your walls drawing an orgasm from him as well. You both chanted each other’s name like a prayer, never wanting to let go. It was, without a doubt, the most intense feeling you’ve ever had. You were drunk on sex, love, and art, and you couldn’t get enough.

Bucky kissed your forehead before he carefully pulled out of you and looked for the prepared slippers by the canvas before he helped you get up as well.

When you were both on your knees (although you needed Bucky to hold you close, you didn’t trust your legs just yet), you both looked at your piece of art.

It was mesmerisingly beautiful. It was the perfect combination of colours, and it was the perfect proof of your love and desire. You both stared at it silently, enjoying the moment passing between you.

Bucky then squeezed your hip, making you look up at him, and he smiled at you, lovingly.

“Thank you for this, Y/N. I didn’t think we could create something so bewitching. But here it is, and we’re hanging it up as soon as it dries! But to get back to you, I’ll have that drink now, if I may,” he smirked at you, and you just shook your head, laughing.

“Sure, let’s just have a hot shower to get the paint off of us and then we can get drunk as fuck, and we can try to have a totally wasted sex afterwards. Sounds good?” You smirked at Bucky and walked towards the bathroom, Bucky quickly following. He couldn’t wait for round two.

Forever Tag:

@eileenalone @sasbb23 @p8tn0lish @coffeebooksandfandom @waiting4inspiration @caswinchester2000 @mogaruke @justthatfangirloverthere @mushyjellybeans @livsheph @sebbbystaaan @notyourtypicalrose @itsunclebucky @rinkashirikitateku @leosandbuckysgirl @miraclesoflove @keithseabrook27

Bucky Taglist

@this-kitten-is-smitten @paradisiacalsparks @crazybutconfidentaf @owlyannah @lassini @s-trawberryv-eins @reniescarlett @bxrnsfeyson @the-soulofdevil @haru-ririchiyo @winterboobear11

Marvel Taglist

@voltage-my2dlove @kneel-begyourpardon @lumar014 @ptrs-prkrs

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streets-in-paradise · 4 years

Text

Battle Scars

Troy 2004 fanfiction

Characters: Hector, sister oc ( it can also be read as a reader insert since i haven’t named her yet and there are no mayor descriptions)

Word Count: 2101

Genre: Angst Comfort - Fluff

Relationships : Platonic - Family.

Summary: Paris is determined to fight Menelaus. His siblings are concerned with the high chances of his death and his younger sister wants to take his place. Hector comforts her and warns her about some less discussed consecuences of battle. ( I suck at writing summaries.)

Triggers: Mentions of war and typical war involved violence. (not much. Don’t worry because it is not gory)

Disclaimers: This is my first attempt of writing fanfict to post. English is not my native language, i translated it to english with the help of an online translator.

Tags: @hrisity12 (tag you because i think you will want to see this)

I hope you enjoy this and thanks for reading

The night after the start of the war had already fallen. The palace was quiet, a silent atmosphere that was nothing more than the mix of grief and exhaustion surrounded the entire place. Pacing around the hallways, Hector seemed to be the only person around, unable to allow himself to have some rest. He was looking for Paris, after the scandal created by his proposition of fighting against Menelaus and the lethal risks involved for him in that reckless idea he felt the need of having a serious conversation with him.

Unfortunately, his brother was not the only one who needed his words and company that time. In his way he crossed ways first with Helen, stopping a grief induced attempt of scaping in a desperate try to stop the war. After comforting his sister in law, he was approached by his younger sister. The young lady was rageful and worried in the same amount. Without hesitation, she let go all the thoughts that were troubling her and vented to her brother.

“Paris is the worst swordsman I have ever seen. How can you allow this? He can’t do that, i will not allow it. Why can’t I fight in his place?” she snapped.

Seeing her state, Hector decided to stop his search for Paris and have a talk with her. The last time they had a few words was that morning in the armory when she begged him to let her fight and stumbled across his refusal. He thought that,after that short altercate in which no one had the time to explain themselves and with the news about Paris worrying both to the core, they needed some time alone.

“You know you can’t do that. It would hurt his honour. He can’t let his sister fight his own battles “ he tried to explain.

“Do you really think Paris cares for his honour? He is doing it out of guilt. I can’t let him die.“ she asserted

“ It is his choice” he stated.

“ What about my choice of fighting this morning? I am the little girl so it is correct to take away my will to choose? “ she replied, her tone getting progressively more enraged.” Helen is a trojan princess now, let a trojan woman defend her freedom to choose her own fate. She is not a fighter but she has a sister willing to do it for her. I will be defending her freedom, not Paris’s right to possess her.”

“ I will not let you get involved in actual combat for the first time against the King of Sparta. That man fought all his life.”

“ But it is fine to send Paris to his death? It would be his first combat as well but with half of my training as backup. He never cared for this sort of thing, the only weapon he handles with a considerable talent is the bow. He can’t show up to a single combat with bow and arrows and he is terrible with swords.”

“Don’t put me in the situation of being the one who has to choose between you two which one of my siblings will be sacrificed.”

“ Of course, because you already decided it.”

That thoughtless reply was more of what the man could handle. Abandoning his conciliatory tone, Hector allowed himself to let his own concernings go and said exactly what was going through his mind.

“Do you think i want to burn our brother’s body?? I love him as much as i love you. I can’t allow you to fight, it is not your right to die in his place.”

“ How can you be so sure i’m going to die? Is your trust in me so small and weak?”she asked, confused by the switch in her brother’s approach.

“Real life is not like training in the safe space provided by the security of our walls. Battle is screams, blood,sweat, excrements and desperation. Nothing more. Your skills are worthy of trust but you are still very young and naive. You think you will go out there and end up crowned as trojan champion after doing some heroic act. That sort of attitude can get you killed.” he explained in the most honest and realistic way he could use without upsetting her more.

“Menelaus is a slow old beast. I’m young, fast and flexible. I’m a better choice than Paris for that combat and you know it.” she insisted.

“I may be aware of it but i don’t care. “ Hector replied. The only way to go with this sort of conversation, especially considering the stubbornness of his sister on the topic, was through full honesty.

He decided he was going to give her a complete explanation of his reasons on that choice.

“Since the first time you picked a sword i told myself i would let you have your fun but i would also protect you from what would be waiting outside if you actually tried to pursue that path.”

The princess listened carefully and, imagining the route the conversation was heading, spoke her mind.

“Death? That 's all? Your greatest fear is for me to end up dead in the battlefield? I am not afraid of it. I will die with glory if it saves our brother. Stories of my sacrifice will be tell all around our country and i will live in them. “

Hector was visibly angry this time. He wasn’t able to let himself believe what he was hearing.

“That is nonsense. Stories? You are asking me to let you die with stories as consolation? The songs of the bards are party entertainment, they aren’t worth your life “

“Even with the result of my death the outcome is good. If i leave my mark in history men will notice they need to change their ways. My death will save Paris and inspire more shieldmaidens.” she explained

“Had you realized who you are sounding like? That is exactly the sort of pointless nonsense i heard from Achilles. It is not what i taught you.” he warned her

“You taught me about sacrifice for my family and my country. That is your moral code, and it is the exact thing you don’t let me practice.” she complained, hurt by feelings of injustice.

Becoming desperate witnessing how nothing seemed to make her understand, he tried to show her understandment of her point of view and spoke from his own feelings and fears.

“I don’t want to lose you! I’m not even talking about death when i say it. That is indeed a big fear of mine regarding you but it is not the only one. I will not be talking about death now.” he said, lowering his tone trying to sound more calm to show her that his anger was not related to a misunderstandment of her point. “ Real combat, a battle in the middle of a war unleashed at our gates ... It is a terrible event to witness. I would not wish that to my worst enemy. It changes you, leaves scars on you that you would have to carry your whole life. Not just the physical ones, in your inside. Your mind and your heart are not the same after you survive your first battle. I hate to fight, it consumes you. Why would i want you to go through my same suffering? I don’t forbid you to fight because you are a girl and i am some traditionalist who can’t come across to understand your will to challenge our ways. You know i am not like that, i wouldn’t had let you get involved in combat training sessions in the first place.”

The girl seemed less upset in her approach after hearing him.

“You said it was a good way to wake some sort of interest in Paris and it was part of his formal education. We were very hard to separate back then.”

“And you still are. Menelaus would find you both sticked to each other in combat if i wouldn’t interfere in your choices.” he teased . She smiled briefly while hearing him.

“ Combat has a terrible effect on people.I don’t wish such a terrible fate for you.” Hector stated, going back to his point. “As long as i live i will protect you from it. I love your sweet enthusiasm, your kindness and concern for our people. I already know you sneaked out to help in the expedition I sent to look for people in the camps. I should be mad about it but i am not because in that action you showed who you are. You are caring, you are full of hope and life. I love you as you are, Troy loves you as you are. Don’t ask me to take that away from you.”

The words of her brother had a clear effect, she was on the edge of tears.

“ But i want to help you!! I want to share the weight of the war with you.” she yelled. “It is not fair for you to carry it all on your own and you know well Paris will not help”

“He is trying” he said, trying to comfort her

“He will kill himself!!” she shouted while tears started falling through her cheeks

“ I promise i will help him as much as i can.” he reassured her

“It is not enough, i want to help you”

“Your cheerful welcomes after every battle are more helpful to me than the strength of your arm.”

With her feelings overwhelming her, the young lady hugged her brother tightly

“I want to fight for you and for our people. I love you so much, it hurts me to see how you work so hard on your own for all of us.”

Hector caressed her cheeks to clean her tears.

“Do you want to know why it’s said that Achilles is a better warrior than me?” he asked in a trivial tone

“ Because it is said that he is the son of a sea goddess?” she answered in a slightly doubtful way.

“ That is what people who have never stepped into combat believe. What i saw in him today, he is so good because he doesn’t care about anything. It’s clear that the scars war left on him took over and at some point he stopped caring. He has no mercy, no respect. He talks of war like it’s a game. When he is fighting he stops existing as a man and becomes only the tool war requires him to be. He became desensitized to all the death surrounding him. His only concern is to win glory because, once this lifestyle takes everything from you, that’s all what’s left for you to collect. He is a broken man, an extreme example of what war makes on soldiers.” he explained

“ You are my moral guide, my example of behaviour. I would never allow myself to get lost like that because i have you.”

“ And i am not the almighty hero you see in me. I am another man changed by war. I fight hard to stay in my path, to remain as myself. I don’t want to look at you one day and see just a shade of the kind, lifeful girl you are now.” he confessed.

“ I have to assume you are protecting me from myself then?” she asked, without the connotations of assertiveness in her ways previously displayed. She felt regret for the rude ways in which her anger made her judge him

“I am, even when you don’t notice it.”

“ I don’t want our countrymen to die protecting my spirits.”

“I love you and i can’t allow it. Call me selfish if you want but even i have the right to a bit of selfishness on occasions.”

After hearing her usually selfless brother admitting he was incapable of an impartial view of the issue when she was involved she was done with the talking. There was nothing more left to say that could mean as much as that. Hector’s life was full of sacrifices, she felt unable to question him. She wasn’t going to complain about the first time she ever heard him thinking of himself to make a choice.

Instead, she thanked him for his concern and told him once more about how much she loved him. Hector kissed her forehead, wished her goodnight, and went to see their brother. He had brief thoughts about the very little time of sleep that was left for him but it didn’t matter. His siblings needed him that night and, as always, he was going to be there for them.

#troy 2004 #troy fanfiction #troy 2004 fanfiction #hector of troy #eric bana #hector fanfiction #eric bana fanfiction

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afterthelastreset · 3 years

Text

Rules Of One’s Soul Ch25 Ending

(Hey everyone. I just wanted to thank everyone who read this far and liked my story enough to read it to it's end. I had a lot of fun writing it and it makes me happy knowing some people loved it enough to read it fully. Thanks to everyone for reading this, adding it, or leaving a nice comment. And thank you to Toby Fox for creating such wonder characters for us all. Mak belongs to @alois-toussaint)

It was...just as they promised.

Rouxls took the last day off, with supervision of course. After that little scare both Seam and Jevil insisted that he stayed right there with them so they could keep an eye on him incase anything happened. So, Seam (forced him to sleep in) offered Rouxls his bed for the night, and he at first refused, but he was too mentally exhausted to argue for too long. So he took his offer, and fell fast asleep. Probably one of the most peaceful nights he had. He slept in rather late as well, because when he woke up he saw the blurry vision of Seam STILL sewing the black cloak he had been working on for a while now and Mak passed out lightly snoring on the couch, still wearing the small purple suit but now it was wrinkled in their sleep.

"So you're awake I see" Seam said with a smile, not even looking up from his sewing. ''I hope you slept well."

The worm groaned and reached up a blue hand run through his messy shiny hair. Slowly sitting up and looking to the cat with a tired grin. "...Yes. Thank thee." The blankets were tossed over, and his legs swung off the bed, And he slowly stood to his feet. Slowly stretching out his dark blue body and still Seam didn't look at him when Rouxls looked in his direction. "And howest didst thou sleep?"

"I slept rather well, thank you. But you must've been more tired than myself as you slept in rather late today, it's almost afternoon." Rouxls ground and reached to grab for his suit coat hung up on the bed post. Seam busying himself by doublechecking the stitching he had just done, bringing the black cloak up to his one good eye to peer at it. He was almost finished really, he just wanted to double check on everything before he decided to wear it. "So when does this celebration start if I may ask?"

Rouxls had just finished buttoning his coat shirt and sighed. "Tomorrow afternoon at five o'clock sharp. I musteth leave tomorrow to make sure all are according to plan-"

"After you're break today. You did promise us you would take time off today after all, and it would be rather rude to go back on your promise."

The worm paused what he was doing and despite him wanting to go and deal with the nonsense and chaos coming to prepare for the ball..He sighed in defeat. "Very well. Thoust shall havest mine word on it, but has thou been up to now?" He finally turned to the duke, who was currently running his hands through his head to try and tame his wild bed head but nodded to the cloak in his paws. "Thou haseth been working on that clothing for a longe time. What ever tis it for?"

"Oh this?" He held up the cloak and the duke nodded. "Oh, it's just an old coat I plan on wearing tomorrow on our little outing. It just needed some fixing from all these years, but it'll do in a pinch. But that also begs another question, what do you plan on doing until tomorrow afternoon?"

"I shallst keep to mineself and reopening mine shoppe for today." A smile came over the duke's features and he chuckled. "Who knowest how many Darkners forgotten to gettest their special someone something last minute.~ Mine profits and funds shall rise substantially."

He hummed and went back to sewing his cloak again. "I see. Are you planning on doing that for the entire time you're waiting?''

"...N-Nay. I'm also going to best thinking about f-future events, and ..a-and what wouldst be best for mineself and Lancer."

"And have you decided yet?"

A pause...And he heard footsteps walk past him and glanced up to see Rouxls stand in the doorway but smiled and looked back to him. "N-Not yet. B-But I havest plenty of time to thinkest it over. A-And perhaps a new speculation on mine life is just what I needed for a long time."

Seam chuckled again. "I suppose we could all use a fresh start every so often, but I want you to know duke. I'll support your descicion whichever you decide."

Rouxls smiled wider. "Thank thee. I shall seest myself out. I shall pick thee up by four thirty sharp tomorrow."

"Just be sure to be ready by that time tomorrow. I'll be expecting you, Mr. Kaard.~"

It seemed the whole day and a half of waiting for the two went by in a blink of an eye. He wasn't sure what Rouxls was doing within that time frame, but for him he was quite busy. More busy than he has been in a while. It took most of the rest of that day to finish sewing up the cloak back to it's former glory and it...it still smelt musty so into the wash it would go. Mak woke up not too long after Rouxls left and awakened with a snort and looked up at him. "Breakfast time??" He chuckled and offered to trade a giant diamond to wash the suit they were wearing and they happily agreed seeing the baseball sized diamond in his paw. Ok. So he got the laundry to go, what else could he do to prepare? ...Well what else to do but do what he usually did to pass the time in his life, he opened his sheap for a limited time this day. So he took down the closed sigh from his flap, gave Mak some food they gobbled down, and sat down at his usually spot behind the counter and waited. It didn't too long for three panicked Rudinns to come scurrying in and frantically looking around for anything they could grab for...the holiday he guessed, and came up to the counter. Each having a small bag of dark candy and one also grabbing a can of food along with it and the three threw money at him before slithering off just as fast away from the sheap....Well. If this is certainly how Rouxls said it would be, things just might be a bit more busy around here in the next few hours. AT least that's what he thought as his paws calmly went and picked up all the darke dollars thrown at him and he got up to pick up the few that fell onto the floor. Yep. It was looking to be a profittable time. And he wasn't wrong. Throughout the one day alone more darkners, mostly Rudinns with the occasional hathy or club, would make their way in and look around for what exactly they needed before exiting just as quickly with what they wanted. Most of it was tiny bags of dark candy, but their was also the occasional darkburger, tea mix, and at one point he even finally sold his spooky sword to a hathy. She said something about her husband always liking edgy looking things. Whatever the heck 'edgy' meant. But it wasn't over crowding, the most everyone would be in there was maybe four or five at a time and they'd leave just as quickly. Mak certainly wasn't enjoying the big crowd and just stayed in the back while occasionally poking their head out to ask a few questions.

"When's Jevil coming back?" "Lunch time now?" "Is my suit done yet?" "Where's my crayons?"

He chuckled and sat there and did what he normally did, meditate the hours away until someone else dashed in and he'd watch them scramble, buy, then leave then start his whole process again. The hours ticked passed and when a small period went without anyone, so he thought it'd be a good time to close up shop. He just got done sealing the flap of the sheap with the closed sigh hanging up, when he heard the familiar sounds of Mak's maniac laughter which could only mean one thing. He smiled as he walked back into his home and sure enough the sight of a very tired Jevil sat upon the couch and Mak was happily showing him their new giant diamond Seam gave them. The imp smiled and patted them on the head before flopping back into the couch's soft cushions.

He chuckled as he walked in and made for the armchair he always sat in. "Well, how was your day of work and playing with the little king?"

Jevil didn't even look up from his tuckered pose position. "Exhausting, exhausting. Rouxls, Rouxls has much to do around the castle and watching a child, child while practicing tricks is not easy, easy work at all. Even for myself, myself."

"Says the one that can do anything?," he chuckled as he sat down across from him.

Jevil chuckled. "I never said I couldn't, coudn't do it. Only that it wasn't easy, easy. But where is Rouxls, Rouxls?"

"He's at his shop resting as far as I know. He said he'll be back here tomorrow to escort Mak and myself to the castle, but how is that routine coming along? I would've helped but I vowed to retire from that life long ago."

..Jevil sighed before smiling wider and finally opening to look at him. "I respect, respect your descision old friend. But I will be able to perform tomorrow, tomorrow if I sleep all night tonight. If it means Rouxls, Rouxls and you will like it."

He chuckled. "You know I've always loved your tricks my dear friend. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Thank you, thank you." He smiled at him...before his smile disappeared for a moment and he turned his gaze to the ceiling. "Seam, seam?" He hummed and Jevil deflated a little with a sigh. "You know I can never, never apologize enough for my actions all those years ago, and I may make up, make up for my mistake...B-But if Rouxls chooses you or neither, neither of us...Would you mind, mind if we were still, still......I mean..Have, have a second chance at what once was between us, us?"

A silence followed and the cat was staring in surprise at the nervous form of jevil silently laying on the couch awaiting the cat's answer with fear as to what he might say. There was no way he wanted to be left alone after all these years of having no company except for guards delivering food or Lancer occasionally, and after he had discovered he had two soulmates he made peace with. But...it all depended on their answers. He was still dreading what Rouxls would eventually pick, but Seam-...He feared more. But as the cat Chuckled he squinted his eyes shut, fearing the worst.

"But of course. I couldn't imagine life without you again."

Like a spring his eyes snapped back opened and looked to the cat in disbeleif. "WHAT?!"

He just calmly shrugged and smiled. "I already forgave you, you apologised, and life is as normal as it'll be under the circumstances. Why wouldn't I accept an invite like that from my dearest and oldest friend- OOF!!" He didn't get a chance to finish before a purple blur suddenly jumped on him in the form of Jevil hugging the much larger cat as best as he could, Seam freezing up for a good moment or two, before chuckling and reaching up to pat the gremlin on the back.

"Thank you, Seam, Seam."

"Of course. But perhaps we both should get some sleep now. We both have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

*************************************************************************************************

Seam awoke the next morning to Mak asking for Breakfast and Jevil gone. Guess the royal jester was needed for rehearsal and all that with a ball. Which suited him fine. Not only did he himself had to get ready, but it was going to be difficult to convince the child to do anything of the sort, and he couldn't very well leave them here by themselves. They would've probably been ok, but he would've been a bad caretaker if he left the child there alone by themselves. First order of business was coaxing them into a bath, but of course like any child they refused and he had to brib them by offering them more shiny objects for their collection if they did so, which thy did reluctantly but they didn't like it. He'd make it up to them later when he was finished grooming himself....He was not fond of baths himself. One being because it was a cat thing, and another reason being because whenever he did take a bath his cotten always felt weighed down by all the water soaked into it and his stitches always strained. Nothing a magic drying couldn't fix, but that always left him rechecking all his stitches and brushing all his fluffed up fur. Especially the orange tuft of fur around his neck, it always fluffed up to make him look like some kind if lion, Mak laughed when it happened this time as he rain his claws and brush along the dum mane of hair and the rest of himself, repatching stitches and sighing after the amount of work fixing himself always took. Mak wasn't any better. They would let any part of them be brushed and even after he offered them something in return, only let him fix up the top of their head before clambering back into their suit and letting Seam fix them up and straighten their bowtie back into it's proper place, before throwing on his own black cloak. It had been slightly over a hundred years since he wore it, so he wasn't surprised when it was kinda snug, but it still fit fine all the same at least. He straightened out what he could and even dawned a fancy dress pants to match with it. When he was finished he summoned a mirror with a snap of the fingers and took a look at himself. The cat in the reflection smiled back as he inspected the cloak around his shoulders. The smooth black velvet had gold stitchings on the shoulders and hem and while it didn't go all the way down to his feet, it was still long enough to sheild his arms from sight unless he poked them out, and two large buttons were sewn to the left side of the suit with golden strings attaching them to the other side. Why- He'd say he'd look just like he did nearly a hundred years ago in this, even after his accident which left one of his eyes to be replaced by a button, minus all the patches he had now. Below him Mak was smiling and messing with their bowtie as if still readying themselves for the giant event. He chuckled and patted their head before snapping away the mirror.

"Are you nervous about the party?"

"Nah. Just hungry."

He chuckled again and made for the armchair he was all so familiar with. "Well just remember to behave yourself while we're there, and don't cause trouble." He sighed as he sat down into the comfy armchair and relaxed back into it's soft seat. Snapping his fingers to summon a flame before throwing it into the fireplace, lighting a fire in it's place. The kettle over the fire slowly starting to heat up.

They didn't have to wait too long. Time flew by as he sipped his tea and Mak..was playing with whatever shiny object they had collected recently, but there was no mistaking the sound of the flap opening and fancy heeled footsteps approuching the backroom. Seam hummed and looked to the old clock against the wall. Four thirty sharp. Well the duke wasn't a lier, he did show up to get them at four thirty sharp, and he smiled and turned to the doorway- And blinked in surprise at the sight before him. This could NOT be the duke. This fancy dressed up make up wearing beautiful GODDESS!! Could not be the duke. The blue man that was standing there was wearing fancy white, shiny heeled boots that stopped by his knees, fancy black dress pants and an even fancier blue and white velvet coat shirt. Gold shiny buttons shined from the coat shirt and the long elegant blue cape drapping over one of his shoulders and flowed down until it was a few inches away from the floor. Black spade markings lined the coat and white velvet gloves pushed the coat away for a moment. A small necklace hung around his neck with a shiny black spade and matching earrings were hanging from his pointed ears, but all that was nothing compared to his face. The shiny white hair that usually drapped down his back was now styled in an elegant braid drapping over his left shoulder and any left over small strands were curled framing his face. His eyelashes, looking like they had been curled, brought out his pretty mitchmatched eyes as they fluttered at him and Rouxls smiled. The worm quickly took notice of the cat's staring and the small pink to his cheeks, he's always had this effect on people, but this somehow made him feel more...bashful as the blue man looked down and reached up to push one of the white curls away.

"Art thou pleased with mine look?"

Seam didn't respond at first but coughed before giving a polite smile. "O-Of course. You look rather handsome tonight, Duke." Despite his initial shock at first, he calmly stood up and Mak poked their head out of their corner. Upon seeing Rouxls, they clambered out and bounded over by Seam's side as he rose a hand and snapped his fingers. The fire instantly disappeared and Seam turned back to him. "Sorry. Have to take precations."

Rouxls just bashfully cleared his throat. "T-Thank thee. Art thou r-ready to go?"

Seam patted Mak's head. "Yes. Are you ready to take us?"

His Only answer was smiling and held his hand out. Seam reached down to pick up Mak and calmly put the child under his arm before his bigger paw grasped onto Rouxls's and for a moment the two stood there and flushed, before he felt a sudden build up of magic and a blinding white light captured them both. It was a very strange and weird feeling to be sure, the light bodied nothingness feeling just felt..Strange. So when the three of them landed down on a path, thank goodness, instead of hard stone of the castle and much to his embarrasment, he fell over flopping softly onto the ground and coughed a few times. Blinking away the bright white light and staring up to the dark sky as feeling came back to his body and he realized his fur was standing on end. Mak grunted and crawled out from under his arm and shook the dust off themselves, just as Rouxls leaned over him with a concerned look over his face.

"Oh my. I amst so sorry! A-Art thou alright?"

"Yeah. I'm good." He grunted as he sat up and Rouxls comically pushed his back until the taller cat stood to his feet. The nervous worm quickly dusting him off and he shook his head, feeling slightly embarrased he fell over like a goober. Rouxls's way of teleporting was MUCH more different than Jevil's. He was used to the tight compact feeling of Jevil's twisting teleporting, but he guessed even Rouxls's way was more fancy of doing it. But he paused as Rouxls was still dusting him off and moved to the front of his magnificent cloak. And paused. "Oh. We're here."

The giant looming figure of the Card Castle's shadow towered over them as the cat stared and his button eye spun. He didn't even realize Rouxls had grabbed his paw and began to pull them forwards towards the castle's grand entrance. And Seam only watched as the castle grew closer with Mak bouncing at his heels, the front doors being guarded by two giant Rudinn Rangers who lowered their weapons once the duke waved them away. It was almost like nothing changed. The pathway was still as stone cold as he remembered and the anxeity of all those eyes possibly on himself again for being the old magician. Would everyone look at him funny? By being the duke's date he was bound to get some attention, but that was the least of his worries. WOuld the kings be displeased to see him? It had been quite a while and he wasn't sure if Rouxls told anyone of him being his date for this whole night, but it was still terrorfying. Even if noone knew or remembered him, he was sure he would get some attention for just being on the duke's arm, or more likely the duke being on his arm, but it still made him nervous. And when he blinked, brain catching up with him, he finally noticed they were in the castle. The many, MANY red and pink decorations lining the other wise drab hallways. A lot of giggling and smiles from the many staff and guards were a refreshing sight and calmed his nerves even if only a little bit. Mak was giggling and running around startling some of them and eyes wide at all the shiny decorations, and startling a few of the people watching the child floating around. But no one was looking at him, but he noticed a few people gazing towards the duke then away again. Despite his calm and polite smile, he felt a bit of annoyance at seeing the smiles sent Rouxls way, guess he couldn't help it. Despite what Jevil said, he wasn't the best or young looking. Scars and patches here and there. One eye. Stitches. He was only a few years older than Jevil and a few they were both older than Rouxls by a few more, but he still gave off the aura off being much older. Jevil was always saying it was because of how wise and patient he was, but he always knew it was more his appearance. But he was most surprised when the pair turned a corner and ran into two tall darners wearing suits and with professional faces. He was sure with his limited memory this was the rather large throne/ball room and by the way Rouxls was smiling excitedly at it, his gut feelings was correct. The worm suddenly stopped when Seam did and looked over his shoulder, white brow raising in confusion. The cat had grabbed the stuffed bat for a moment and kneeled down eye level with them for a moment.

"Now do you remember what we talked about?," He questioned and they nodded. "And what did we talk about?"

"No biting or scratching."

"And behave yourself. Can you do that?" They nodded again and he patted their head before standing back up and letting them run ahead to the doors. ROuxls excitedly lead him to the doors and nodded to the two in front of the doors as the child bounced excitedly at the doors waiting for them to open.

At Rouxls's nod, the two Darkners in suits both reached over and grabbed a door each and pushed them open. Seam was NOT prepared for what was on the other side of the doors. His good eye widened and his button one spun about as the doors opened and bright candlelights lit the room and bounced off the many MANY giant glittery decorations lining the wall. His ears twitched towards the left where a band was playing ballroom dance music even though no one was dancing(yet) and he couldn't beleive he just now noticed these sounds. Even though they were around half an hour early arriving, their must've been around at least fifty fancy looking darkners around them wearing glittery jewelry and other fancy things he didn't care for, but it seemed Mak did as their eyes widened before they ran off in a seperate direction giggling to themselves and disappearing into the crowd. Not that the two noticed. Seam was still star struck at the incredible sight of it all. Over to the far left near the winows was a very VERY large and long tabled filled with food: two gigantic roasts, a giaint salad, a chocolate fountain with bowls of fruit around it, a few cakes king sized, a punch bowl, a...giant bowl of Salsa(??), some platter of some kind of cookies(they were shaped like something but he didn't know what), another giant bowl full of dark candy, and a few other things he couldn't make out from the crowd clocking it. And there sitting on the thrones, were the kings and Queens themselves. Ah! He remembered them well. The Clubs were talking to their four headed queen. AH! King Heart and his beloved Queen Amory, the two looked so loving together as Mrs. Hearts fed her husband one of those strangely shaped cookies, and the Diamonds-...Well. They still looked as unhappy in their marriage as usual. The giant Rudinn was rubbing his temples and Mrs. Diamonds was glaring boredly at her surroundings. He chuckled- Until he saw him! The little jevil himself! There was a few wooden stands were in the middle of the floor a few feet above the audience with 5 performers. Four of them were simple jacks. 2 juggling a couple of harmless pins to each other on the stands above the crowd, the third a contorshonist curving his body into impressive poses impossible to most, and the last one laying on a bed of hot coals. The coals safely inside a suspended fireplace for everyone's safety. And in the middle stand of them all was the man of the hour themself. The purple menace hand't noticed them at all yet and wore a jester outfit similar to his regular one, only this one was made of black and gold velvet. The gold parts shiny and flashing brightly thanks to the devilknives he was juggling....and the devilknives were on FIRE!! He sat cross-legged in mid air and easily juggling four devilknives on fire, smiling widely and cackling at his work-

"Sir Duke and Royal Advisor Rouxls Kaard of Puzzles and Card Castle!!...And his plus one Retired Royal Court Mage Seam!!" Seam flinched as someone inside the door way called out Rouxls's official title and a LOT of people turned to see them, the kings included...He guessed someone told them about him too. Rouxls gave a smile and squeezed his paw almost comforting as he gently pulled the startled cat along into the room.

At the announcement of them two specific people caught their attention. Jevil snapped he smile over to them and paused. His yellow eyes widened first at Rouxls. The worm's hair and eyelashes naturally glowing and lighting himself as his fancy eyes met Jevil's and he bashfully smiled back...Jevil's hands didn't stop that expert juggling as he had developed to perform as second nature but he visibly gulped and his eyes slowly widened and had a pinkish hue to the bottom of those yellow orbs. But they started to become fully pink when he turned to Seam and saw the outfit he was wearing. The old but fancy magician cloak was simple compared to Rouxls or his or anyone else's outfits, but it suited him to a T and all the happy memories of him and Jevil performing and being happy came rushing back- And his smile came back even more wide as Seam calmly smiled at him too. His cackling growing as he juggled. The second person jumped up on their throne as soon as Rouxls's name was announced before jumping off said throne and began zooming through the crowd towards them. Pushing past others and excitement dripping over their young face.

"LESSER DAD!!" Rouxls's head snapped to the left and smiled widely kneeling down and holding his arms out just as Lancer grunted and squeezed between two darkners before coming free and running towards the worm who easily captured the young boy in his arms and happily brought the giggling boy up in his arms. Seam smiled and peered curiously at the small boy in the duke's hold, finally getting a look at this famous young king. The child was dressed in a small fancy uniform and cape, with a white crown on his head. A blue tongue stuck out of his mouth as she giggled and his tail wagged happily as his face hole that was apparently his face stared at his father. "Where were you? I thought your break was over."

Rouxls chuckled and bounced him a few times. "I waseth...a bit busy with a fewest new things and visiting someone." He turned to Seam who reached a paw up and waved to the small pup who tilted his head at him. "Lancer. Tis a friend, Seam."

"...You look really fluffy and tall Mr. Grandpa cat!"

Seam's brow rose, not expecting that kind of reaction from the child, but chuckled either way as Rouxls groaned softly. "Well, I'm happy you think so, Young King. " He bowed. "And what a brave little man you are."

"YEAH!! Lesser Dad is my noble steed too!!...Whatever a noble steed is." He said proudly and both men couldn't help but chuckle.

"Were you good while I was gone?"

He nodded. "YEAH!! I got to play with Uncle Jevil, and he made sure I got all the food I wanted, and he let me watch him practice, and he made me do boring homework with the teacher guy, and then I had to take a bath." He sucked in a breath to keep going. "And then I had to wear this itchy suit, but I got to eat ice cream for breakfast today!!" He took a moment to look at his father. "WOW!! You look really pretty, Dad!"

Rouxls rose a brow at him at the ice cream bit, but still smiled at the compliment. "Thank you, and you look as handsome as ever." He gave him a kiss to the forehead to which the child giggled at but shook his head.

"And Ralsei's coming!! I don't know when because his letter said his parents were busy, but he promised he would come!!"

He chuckled. "I look forward to meeting this Prince officially. We haven't been properly introduced since mine encounter longe ago with thine Lightner friends."

"This young uh..Prince wouldn't happen to be a small white darkner with glasses would it?" Seam asked curiously and Rouxls blinked at himbut Lancer answered before he could.

"YEAH!! He really cool!! Not as cool as Susie, but he can do really cool magic and is really nice!!"

He hummed and smiled again. "Well then I remember this Prince of Darkness. He and his friends visited my shop and fought Jevil. I was honestly surprised they made it out in one peice."

Rouxls blinked..before scowling. "What?..Art thou telling mineself that Jevil battled against children and thou let them?!"

Seam paused sensing Rouxls's now displeased scowl and shrugged nervously. "They lived, and aren't you the one who tried to stop them using puzzles and a powered up K-round?"

His frown deepened. "Mine puzzles were not thine best true, but they were made to trap and not harm and mine control crown -before it was destroyed by thine lightners- made thine K-round under mine control and I waseth going to stop it once it weakened thine lightners enough to store them safely within thine dungeon....I was NAY!! Intending on causing any harm or did so so carelessly, Seam." The cat didn't say anything this time and Rouxls sighed. "We and Jevil are goinge to have a longe talketh about this later." He quickly turned back to a small smile to Lancer and chuckled. "Now. Art thou having fun?" Lancer shook his head no. "Nay? What ever is thy matter?"

"Ralsei's not here and Uncle Jevil's busy...and everyone said I couldn't bring ANY toys and I have to sit on the dumb chair until Uncle jevil does his trick Routine." He pouted and leaned against his father.

"Oh? And when is Jevil going to entertain us?"

"He promised before my bedtime but it's taking too long!!"

Rouxls chuckled at his pouting and nodded to Seam to follow. "Well then. Now that I'm here, why don'tst thou wait with me while you wait for thou's friend, and gettest to know Seam better?"

"Is he cool?"

"Very.~ He was a magician."

Lancer's interest spiked up at magician and the pup stared past Rouxls shoulder up at the stuffed cat as he followed Rouxls back to the giant thrones. He was pretty anxious to be stepping up in front of the kings and queens no less, but to his surprise and absolute releif, none payed much attention then the usually 'Oh, I remember you. How are you these days?' kinda talk. Two of the four kings were too busy making googoo eyes at their partners anyways and one was busy trying NOT to notice the giant lady Rudinn they were married to. Lancer looked up at the kissig faces and made a 'yuck!' face and pointed at his mouth. Seam chuckling at the sight. Such a innocent child. Rouxls set him back down on the chair and Lancer groaned, falling back into the comfy seat as the other royals greeted the duke before going back to their regular business. Despite being next to the gigantic royals, Seam's attention was on the crowd. His good eye scanned the many, many couples swapping small hearts or giggling with red faces. One or two kissing each other. He thought he saw a flash on Mak every few seconds but couldn't be sure, and his eye went to Jevil the imp smiled seeing him look at him juggling before doing a flip in mid air looking like he was doing a hand stand without using his arms to stand and looked at him upside-down without stopping juggling and winked at him. Seam chuckled and waved back over to him- He hummed and turned back to the throne. Rouxls was now sitting in the throne with Lancer in his arms and said child was tugging his cape with interest.

"Are you really a magician?," he asked.

He chuckled. "A used to be. But I'm retired now."

"What does 'retired' mean?"

His paw came up to pat his head where his crown wasn't. "It means I don't work that particular job anymore. Now I own a store."

"Like Lesser Dad?" Seam nodded and Lancer smiled wider. "Uncle Jevil said you used to do tricks too!" His tail thumped wider in excitement. "Can you show me?! Please!!"

Seam hesitated for a moment, he hadn't really performed persay any tricks in a long time. But one look at Rouxls's smile encouraged him. After all, Jevil had made peace with their soulmates child, it was only fair he made a good first impression too. So he leaned down and held out his paws, both empty and not wearing sleeves. Lancer glanced at them curiously but jumped when Seam suddenly clapped them together, and slowly opened them to where he was holding a small toy in his paws. Lancer gasped at the cute teddy bear in his paws and reached out excitedly for it as Seam handed it over. Lancer was happy to examine the new toy before holding it to him in a hug and looked back to him bouncing and saying: 'Again! Again!' Rouxls was smiling wide now as was Seam as he performed another trick for the small pup. This time reaching behind his crown and then suddenly pulling out a single dark dollar, to which Lancer gasped in wonder and also took it when Seam offered it to him, shoving it into his pants pocket and asking for him to do it again. He smiled and happily performed a few simple tricks he remembered. Pulling a strand of tied together hankercheifs out of nowhere, which lancer also reached for excitedly. Making a small flame appear and turning it into different simple shapes like a circle, cube, flat surface, etc. Pulling a button out of his ear seemingly. And a few other harmless little party tricks a child like Lancer found amazing, the child was just fascinated with magic and he chuckled at his excitement. In the meantime Rouxls watched lovingly as Lancer was giggling and enjoying himself as Seam bowed as he clapped at his small performances. While this was going on every so often the announcer would shout out another name as more guests arrived.

"Princess Clover Clubs of Card Castle!!" King and Queen Clubs were excited and babbled as their small three headed daughter came up to them wearing a small crown for each head but that was about it. "Baron Mr. Elegance and Mr. Society of Great Bourd Pass!!" Two strange all white darkners made their way in about thirty minutes later and mingled with the crowd. Thirty minutes later."Royal Court Healer Ms Valen and her Husband!!" A slightly bigger than average blue hathy couple. Seam was starting to get the impression that most of the folks here were important court members and their plus ones/partners or just important people invited to the royal shindig. As the next ones also arrived around thirty minutes after the last. "General of War Sir Punch-a-lot and his husband!!" A VERY scarred up red rudinn ranger slithered through the doors with a slightly smaller green one and the red one gave a grumpy look around before rolling his eyes and letting himself be dragged in. Thirty minutes later. "Head Of Treasury and Staff Ms. Royal Coat Jack!!" A strange looking jack came in, but she just looked nervous and skittered in without another word. Huh. Guess she was the secritary Rouxls often referred to helping him. But the next announcement made Lancer perk up from his new teddy bear again thrity minutes later. "Esteemed Guest and Hero of the Darklands Prince Ralsei Durrmee of the neighboring Durrmee Kingdom!!"

This time a LOT of attention was focused to the doors as they opened and Seam looked too, wanting to get a look at this hero once again, and a small hush came over the crowd. Behind the doors strode in a teenage darkner. He looked-..Well exactly how Seam remembered. Same outfit too. Green cloak and hat, wide circle glasses, and red scarf. The nervous looking boy paused looking at all the darkners suddenly staring at him and he smiled nervously before waving a paw.

"Uh...H-Hi, Everyone." He quickly excused himself and made his way towards them. It seems the only ones who didn't stop were the band and performers, taking their jobs seriously no matter what happened. The nervous goat monster made his way through the crowd and Lancer's tail wagged even more as he came closer. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Pardon me, Ma'am. Oops! Sorry. W-Watch your footing, Sir." He said as he walked even closer to the royals who were now looking with smiles- Except for Queen Diamonds who seemed more interested in her jewelry. But the boy still bowed once he got close enough to the giant thrones and their occupants. "U-Um..Greetings, Everyone. I hope I'm not too late-"

''RALSEI!!" Lancer happily jumped off the Duke's lap and made for the teen still holding his teddy bear, said goat prince looked up just in time to watch the small spade pup hug one of his legs and giggled. Tail wagging. "YOU'RE HERE!! NOW IT WON'T BE ALL MUSHY AND BORING!! YOU WANNA PLAY WITH ME?!" All the adults (minus Queen Diamond and Clover) awed at the adorable sight of the teen giggling and patting his head in response. Clover's three heads were staring at the small goat teen with blue blushes even though each head had a different face responding to the blush. "Sure. If your dad doesn't mind." He looked back up at the duke still sitting in the throne smiling and watching, and waved a paw at him. "Um. H-Hello Mr. Kaard. Wow. You look really nice tonight. All of you guys do too."

Clover flushed deeper at that and Rouxls chuckled. "Nonsense. Thou arrived with plenty of time to spare. How waseth thou's trip?"

"F-Fine thanks." He straightened his glasses before looking down to Lancer. "And if he doesn't have any other duties, I'd be happy to catch up-"

"HEY!!" Most everyone jumped up at the sudden shout from one of the clubs princess's heads. "YOU PROMISED YOU'D BE OUR DATE TONIGHT!!" "I-It's fine if he wanted to spend time with him instead, I'll just be a little sad." "OH! I'm so excited! Our first date with a cute fluffy boy!"

"Uh..." Ralsei glanced to Rouxls for any help on the matter.

All of King Clubs heads looked displeased and about to say something a whole lot of somethings before his wife's heads spoke up. "Dearest we talked about this." "J-J-Just...l-l-let her have this moment..ok?" "Im fine with anything really." "HEY!! SHE'S ALMOST SIXTEEN!! GIVE HER A LITTLE SPACE!!" The five heads of his majesty stared at each other for a moment...before grumbling and not saying anything. "THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT!!" "Thank you, Sweetie." "T-T-Thanks." "Im still fine with anything really."

Ralsei still looked quite unsure before looking back to Clover. "U-Um..Ok. C-Can Lancer come too? I promised to spend time with him too."

The three heads looked at each other before the middle one spoke. "Would that make you happy and like us more?"

"Uh," he said still really unsure and looked at Lancer who nodded eagerly. "Yyyyeesss??"

"OK!! We can start by getting some roasted tree!!" She shouted before standing back up and walking towards him.

"Roasted what?"

He was nudged away by one of Clover's heads and Lancer happily bounced next to the two (or five if you counted each of Clover's heads as an individual) teens. King Clubs still not looking the tiniest bit pleased at his daughter's 'date' for the night at all.

"Do you think we're pretty?" "I thought we looked nice." "OF COURSE WE ARE!! WE HAVE STYLE!!"

"Uh..Yes?"

The last Seam heard of THAT conversation was Clover happily squealing to herself and still pushing the poor boy off with Lancer at their heels. At least the boy would be around two other kids and get to spend time with someone closer to his age group. But speaking of food, Seam gazed over to the table full of goods and wondered if there was anything to his liking. He didn't really have to eat being made of cotten, but anything he did eat was converted into extra magic later and who knows when that might come in handy? Rouxls seemed to mirror his same thoughts as he stood up and bid good morrow to the giant royals before turning in Seam's direction and gesturing to the giant food table in question. Seam nodded and the two began their way there, with Seam politely offering Rouxls his paw and the duke gladly taking it with a smile. The two made their way over past the others in the room and finally his one good eye was able to make out all the stuff on the table that was previously blocked from veiw...and his smile disappeared as he blinked. The last table sat a ....bowl of roasted tennis balls covered in cheese and-...a atcually honest to lightner tree that looked like someone tried to burn it but didn't do a very good job. Clover was there sitting on her hind legs and her front paws held a plate with ease. The giant plate had a couple of the tennis balls and a chunk of what he could only guess was this 'roasted tree' she was so excited about. One of her heads was jabbering to Ralsei while another one scarfed down what was on the plate. Poor kid was smiling nervously holding a plate with a single cheese covered tennis ball, obviously trying not to be rude...and LAncer was bouncing one of said tennis balls getting cheese all over the floor. The cat chuckled and shook his head. The poor kids. The duke and him at first stuck together looking at things but as soon as his eyes spotted the mac n cheese bowl he lit up and made a beline for it, leaving seam chuckling and looking around at all the other foods. He wasn't really that picky but none of it was really appealing to him yet. The roasts looked too hard and chewy, and he was never a big fruit or salad fan. And all the deserts looked too sweet for him. And there was NO WAY he was about to eat cheese covered tennis balls or burnt trees- And speaking of deserts. He chuckled when he finally saw the strange cookies and now understood why they were called 'Lancer Cookies', because they were all decorated to look like the young boy. He sighed and shook his head, going to move past the punch bowl since he wasn't really that thirsty....But paused when something...(or someone) slowly rose out of the punch bowl making a few darkners around them cringe in disgust.

It took him a few moments of blinking and staring to realize who it was, and when he did he sighed. "Mak. WHY are you in the punch bowl?"

The child blinked back. "I got thirsty."

His brow rose. "And so you decided to go swimming in the punch bowl?...And where did you get those sunglasses?" He now noticed the new and shiny sunglasses on top of their head. And he sighed. They were all sticky and wet now.

"Waiting for the surprise."

He blinked. "Surprise? What surprise?"

Before they could answer the same announcer that was shouting everyone's official statuses shouted out his voice from near the king's throne and he turned to look. In the meantime Mak slowly drifted back down into the pink punch and disappeared. "ATTENTION!! THE ROYAL PERFORMERS SHALL BEGIN THE SHOW!! PLEASE STAND CLEAR FOR THE CENTER STAGE!!"

Seam looked confused for a moment, but then sudden flashbacks of his old shows reached his mind. The audience of around a hundred darkners all gasped and stood aside when the jacks all stopped performing including Jevil as he caught the devilknives that he had been juggling this whole time. Each one being put out as he did and he watched in mid air as the five jacks jumped from their set up stages and began to push their own stage towards the middle one Jevil was sitting above. The five giant puzzle peice designed stages coming to fit perfectly with one another as he remembered it would and a small smile reached his face. Well, well. It had been quite a long time since he'd even seen a royal performance. Now was a good oppurtunity to witness one. Rouxls walked up back next to him watching curiously as he ate and the lights dimmed out until only two spotlights remained, one on the band that had gone silent, and one on the stage where all the performers including jevil had hopped off.

"ANNOUNCING LADY PAPER DOLL AND HER WONDEROUS BALLERINA DANCERS DOING THEIR FAMOUS WATERFALL DANCE!!" The man announced. "PLEASE EVERYONE STEP AWAY FROM THE DOORS!!''

Most everyone scrambled out of the way as the band started up some ballet sounding waltz music starting with violins at the same time the doors opened and in came not one but FIVE different all white white some black thin looking darkners dashed in through the dark. Making the audience gasped in surprise as they all jumped expertly and easily onto the table and could now be all clearly seen the spotlight. The biggest one was all white and stood in the middle as the black and white ones, four of those, all stood around her. All made similar ballerina poses as the music faded for just a moment before starting back up again, them moving along with it it gracefully. With the four smaller ones standing on their tip toes and slowly swaying their arms going a few yards away from the bigger one (the stage was fairly large and well built for such things) as their leader stood on one leg and reached her hand up as the soft flute music slowly died out once again and the other four stopped in a pose which left them on their tip toes and their arms pointed to their middles. They could hear the music conductor tap his music sheet stand and begin to wave his hands. Trumpets and violins started to play and they moved. The four began to move in similar motions, twirling themselves in circles while also circling their middle leader in a bigger circle as they spun, and who he assumed to be Lady Paper Doll moved as graceful as one would expect. She expertly brought her leg up high to stand on one leg and twirl around before taking a few graceful steps forwards the edge of the dancing circle before stopping, hand to her chest in fake distraught befor doing the same thing towards the other side before holding a hand to her forehead and dashing back towards the middle twirling a few more times before expertly 'falling' to the floor and laying limp like a ragdoll in a fake faint.

Seam hummed and leaned down to Rouxls to whisper. It was easy to see the worm as his white hair and eyelashes easily glowed in the dark giving him a beautiful aura. "They're very good. This Lady Paper Doll is quite graceful."

Rouxls nodded without looking at him. "Tis based on a true story about what someone sometimes experiences."

"Oh really?"

Rouxls nodded and pointed to Ms Paper Doll who had just now sat up to her knees and was fake sobbing and twirling her upper body in graceful circle motion to the music. "She represents the struggle someone goes througheth with their sad emotions when something devastating happens. And the four dancing around her-" He gestured to the still twirling ballarinas still doing circles while encircling her. "-represent the obsticles and circle of emotions thoust tis feeling. Which is why she's also metiphorically trapped within thine middle. Trapped within her own emotions and problems, which only go downwards as if one tis in a waterfall. Hence thy name Waterfall Dance. They're truly a remarkable group."

Seam didn't doubt that as he looked back to the lit stage from the dark audience. Lady Paper Doll then expertly held her hands up and pushed herself up onto her toes that resembled someone lifting a limp puppet. Twirling around a few more times before she blinked and held her head up to the light. Pretending to just now notice the light shining down on her. Reaching a hand up towards the spot light before she flinched and curled in on herself head down in fake shame. The four dancer had now stopped twirling and were facing her, the for gracefully ran up to her and held their arms above her as if metiphorically holding her down- Before she suddenly snapped back up. The four smaller dancers recoiled and treated back to their circle. This time running back to their circle, but instead of their twirling from earlier, they gracefully lept and ran around in a giant circle as the middle tallest dancer twirled a few more times before stoppong in the middle and striking a proud pose of her chest out, arms back and head held high. Rouxls smiled excitedly next to him.

"This is thine best part, the next steps represent her tossing the stress and thinges away from her and crumbling in sweet defeat and rising to thine goals!" He sighed. "Such beauty tis a work of art.~"

He had to agree. She stood in that pose for the longest time as the four others encircled her before she suddenly pirouletted and pivioted to the middle of said circle of ballerinas before stilling. One ballerina suddenly breaking the circle the circle and running towards her gracefully, the taller woman easily caught her and held her up in the air, the two doing a graceful pose before she let go mid spun and the smaller ballerina expertly 'fell' to her knees and slid a little away, hand to her forhead before 'falling' to the floor in defeat. Followed one by one of the other three who slid away and laid down in similar defeated poses which the audeience awed at and even Seam had to confess the ladies' were experts at their job. Leaving the spotlight on just the tall one and watching as the depressing and exciting music from earlier suddenly became more happy sounding and she prirouletted and spun in other dance moves he couldn't name as the song came to an end spinning happily and doing the same proud pose from before with her head and arms pointed backwards as the happy music finally ended and left. There was silence for just a few seconds before cheers and applause came from the audeince watching all around the stage and the other four ballerinas stood from their position on the floor to go stand next to their leader as they all curtsied to their audience. Seam found himself clapping along and smiling at the performances the ladies did for them. One by one they jumped off the stage and gracefully leaped back to where they came from. The balloroom still quite dark other than the two spotlights on the bandstand and huge stage. He almost did hear the announcer shout the next performers.

"UP NEXT!! THE JACK BROTHERS AND THEIR AMAZING BALANCE ACT!!"

The same four jacks from before all flipped and jumped from different parts of the audience onto the stage and struck a pose. Everyone clapping excitedly for the next act. Except for Seam. He recognized these old jacks and already knew their whole routine, if he remembered right they would start out with two of them standing on top of each other balancing on a ball and two others throwing juggling pins over the two flipping on the ball. And wouldn't you know it, one made a giant green ball appear, so Seam busied himself by turning around and grabbing one of these lancer cookies as the four performed, the audience including Rouxls watched captivated. Upon eating the cookie, he discovered it was just a regular sugar cookie with icing. He still didn't watch the performance when the audience gasped when one of the jugglers suddenly jumped onto the ball with the other two while still juggling back and forth with the one on the ground before they jumped, and was suspended onone of the bottom jack's held out arms, the entire time two jack's still juggling but now they were rolling the ball around moving around on the stage as they rolled around and juggled with expert balance, making the audience awe in disbeleif and he had finally turned around to look around at the crowd. It was dark but he was used to seeing everything in the dark besides lanturn light or his fireplace. He was looking for one small purple gremlin dressed in black ang gold in particular but he didn't see him anywhere. Now where could that little rascal have run off too this time? He was wondering if Jevil was planning some kind of grand entrance to the act, most likely. He always liked showing off to others around him. The four jacks was bouncing on the ball now, up and down a few times before one by one they jumped off the ball and the two juggling caught the pins and did poses with the other two. The audience roared again with excitement at the second performance as the four bowed to the watching crowd. Seam did too, more out of politefulness of the situation than actually watching the performance, but the four hopped off the stage and disappeared somewhere within the crowd not to be seen again for the rest of the night.

"NOW FOR OUR FINAL PERFORMANCE!! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!! PLEASE WELCOME THEE ROYAL COURT JESTER SIR JEVIL!!"

The crowd both gave a mix of excited and unsure faces but all that changed once a giant puff of smoke exploded on the stage and Rouxls's and his smiles became wider. A small BOOM! noise also went off and gold confetti shot out everywhere. Some landed on the stage but some fell over the crowd, shining thanks to the spotlight. Happy cackling was heard as the dust cleared and there was the purple jester in all his glory, he giggled to the crowd and bowed. The bells on his hat jiggling to his movements, the gold parts of his outsit shining in the light. Here we go. They were in for quite a treat.

"Ahehehehehe!~ Welcome, welcome!! Let there be chaos, chaos!! Fun, fun!! But a word of warning, warning!" His held up his hands. "Please, please do not try to do what my chaos, chaos brings at home, home! They are quite dangerous, quite dangerous!!" He snapped his fingers and suddenly the band started playing some kind of upbeat circus music and the audience's main focus was on the clown as he Suddenly whipped out a metal hula hoop. He sucked a deep breath and his cheeks puffed out, Rouxls recognized it as the face he made before he blew fire. And sure enough flames came forth from the fool's mouth and the hoop caught fire. The iron circle was tossed away from him quickly after that and they guessed he must've been using magic to make it suspended in mid air on the other side of him, before he yet again reach behind him and summoned more devilsknives, around five. He was floating now and stood on the stage. Really showing how small he was compared to Seam and Rouxls. Without so much as a warning he began to easily juggle the sharp looking weapons as the flaming hot hoop came shooting at him. While STILL juggling, he easily jumped up a foot and jumped right threw the flaming hoop's middle, the hoop stopped before it could even reach the other side of the stage and they guessed Jevil must've been using his magic to make it go back and forth as he still jumped threw it whenever it got close enough and still juggled those devilsknives, cackling and happy all around at everyone marvaling at his skills. Bells jiggling wildly. "This is fun, fun!! But more excitement should be expected, expected!!" Without warning the devilknives were all grabbed by him one by one and shoved back into his black cloak disappearing while he still jumped through that flaming hoop, when the last devilsknife disappeared, he reached a clawed hand out and caught the flaming circle. Giving it a few shakes until it was completely put out and he held it up, showing it off with a smile.

Everyone clapped again including them and Seam chuckled. "An old but classic. I wonder if he shall do his famous No-throat sword swallowing trick or fire images."

Before Rouxls could answer, Jevil had already bounded to the other side of the stage before reaching over into the dark real quick as someone (one of the jacks most likely) handed him what looked liked a couple of long rods wrapped in an old cloth, he nodded to whoever handed him the thing before he made his way back to center stage, the audeince watching in silent anticipation. With his back towards the half of the audience that his two soulmates were and only stood back up when he unwrapped said cloth on the floor, a metal SHING!! sounded off as Jevil produced a shiny average looking sword in his hands and showed it off to the audience. "Again, again! Please do not recreate what you are about to see at home, home! Sword swallowing and playing with fire is a very, very dangerous skill even for me, me." The sword was tossed up without another word and it was suspended in mid air by his magic. One person in the band gave a drum roll as it slowly desceneded dowwards and to everyone's shock, the fool's head sprung off his shoulder with a spring and he opened those jaws wide. Rouxls's jaw dropped to the floor as his mousetrap jaws opened and the sword continued it's decent down and THROUGH IT!! The audience gasped when the sword seemingly disappeard into the void of his mouth until the handle was left and his spring neck wobbled. WHERE WAS THAT THING EVEN DISAPPEARING TOO?! Seam chuckled. He knew, Jevil was using teleprtation magic to give the illusion it was going down his none-existant-for-the-moment throat and instead most likely making it appear under the stage where the audeince couldn't see it, but it was still amusing to see their surprised faces. Especially Rouxls who looked at him bulged eyes. The drum still played when Jevil's hand flicked it back up and the sword began to retreat out of his opened jaws. As soon as the last few inches of shiny metal left his teeth, there was a crashed of symbols from the band stand and his neck sprung back down to his shoulder. Instantly like it never happened and he did another pose as the audienc roared again in applause, the sword dropping and being caught in his hand as he presented it back to his fans. Before setting it back down to his feet when another long metal thing was picked up by him. This time it was a long metal rod with some kind of giant fuse at the end. Like a long torch. The same hissing breath and puffed out cheeks signaled the flames before it erupted from his throat, blowing onto the end of the rod and catching it on fire just like a torch. He smiled and giggled at his handywork, holding it up and he looked around to the darkened audeience! "Hehehehe!~ Forms and shapes I make with flames, flames. But helpers I need to pick, pick what to form and dazzle you all!!"

Seam leaned closer to Rouxls. "He means he's going to pick a few people from the audeince to choose what magic picture he'll make with fire."

Rouxls gave a small oh and watched as Jevil tapped his chin and looked over the watching crowd. "Now, now! Who shall I pick to choose the first picture-"

"DO ME!! DO ME!!" Jevil's head snapped to the right and Rouxls suddenly groaned as Lancer was jumping and waving his arms a few feet away from the crowd in a very unkingly manor. "PLEASE! DO ME!!"

Jevil chuckled and bowed in the boy's direction. "But how could I refuse, refuse a request from our beloved King, King?" Everyone watched as Jevil turned his face and the flaming rod up towards the stone ceiling and sucked in another hissing breath, though this one seemed to take longer as his chest expanded at well- Before it all broke loose!! A large stream of flames shot out from his mouth and hit the rod as the flames' path widened and a HUGE wall of flames shot out above the audeince and spread out into lines forming the shape that was similar to the Lancer Cookies clearly intending to be the small boy. The audeince's eyes sparkled as the flames fizzled into nothing after a few seconds and immediately applauded the clown as he bowed his head, Lancer giggled and clapping his hands together from seeing his flame protrait. "Hehehe!~ Thank you, thank you!! As tradition I shall take four more requests, requests to equal five!! Who shall, shall request next?!" This time a lot more people raised their hands and shouted requests to the purple imp! And he slowly did them one by one. A rabbick for a Noble. Another flame portrait for Mr. Society. A lovely flower for King Hearts dedicated to Queen Amory, Rouxls awed at the romantic gesture King Hearts made towards his wife who herself gushed at the sweet thought. And lastly a diamond shape after Queen Diamond ordered it of him. Well...He couldn't disobey the Queens but King Diamonds looked rather embarrased as he held a hand over his face when it all happened. The rod was put out when Jevil stuck the entire flaming end in his mouth- Before removing it quickly and a fire giant stream of hot flame was shot over one part of the audeince who leaned away and gasped before applauding his efforts again. "Now for some old classics! But first please, please welcome by adorable asistant, asistant!!" He snapped his fingers and another bang and small explosion of smoke appeared something purple and grey shot out of the smoke cloud. It slid up to him in the form of Mak wearing those sunglasses and a kazoo in their mouth, blowing on it before posing and a poof of confetti went off behind them. "Now we shall begin, begin the fun!!''

The rest of Jevil's tricks were pretty basic tricks, He would summon props he needed or someone would hand him what he needed from the audience, and Seam watched as it went as followed. The disappearing box. The classic (fake) sawing someone in half. And the classic having Mak stand against a wooden wall while he threw small show daggers at them, expertly missing. And at the end the two did a pose at the end as everyone clapped for them and Jevil looked to the two soulmates standing to the side by the table. Giggling and-.. blowing kiss in their direction. Rouxls froze with a small squeak sound, immediately turning a darker blue and Seam chuckled at both their reactions as he and Mak bounced off the stage. The candles were relit and staff quickly rushed over to grabbed at the stage, pulling the puzzle peices apart and beginning to pushing them towards the front door the dancers had run through before, making more room in the large ballroom for one obvious reason. But they would get to that in a moment, right now everyone was starting to chatter to each other excitedly about the performances that had just been shown to them while others made their way for the food table. Seam felt sorry for all the folks drinking the punch, and the band started up with the calm ballroom music again. And Rouxls turned back to him with a wide smile.

"Thine Jester's performance waseth astounding!!" His wide grin and excited tone made Seam chuckle.

"I told you. Jevil's magical abilities are quite impressive."

A stream of maniac giggled from behind Rouxls made the worm jumped and whirl around and blink at the side of Jevil smiling, sitting in mid air, tail wagging behind him happily. "Really, really?!" He giggled more at the worm's slightly spooked face. Dark purple rushing to his cheeks as his head fell to his hands staring at the two of them lovingly. "Thank you, thank you. You both l-l-look so lovely, so lovely.~"

Rouxls cleared his throat and gave a polite smile and bow. "Thank thee. Thou art looking splendid as well. Thine performance waseth wonderful!!"

Seam nodded. "I agree. You're performances were just as magical as I remember old friend."

Jevil giggled even more and if Seam didn't know better, he would say he was flustered in the presence of both him and Rouxls dressed up in fancy clothing. More purple coming to his cheeks at the compliments, but what perked the old cat's attention was the sudden start up of exciting violins and the excited gasp King Hearts made. He watched as the giant hathy pushed himself off from his throne and turned to the other giant than average hathy bowing and offering one of his giant tentacles to her. She giggled and of course accepted his offer to her. His one good eyes watched as the two intertwined hathys made their way down the small steps of the throne and into the crowd of the ballroom. Seam knew exactly what was about to start happening and sure enough, a whole bunch of other darkners were bowing or asking their partners to dance and the dancefloor area was soon filled with the dancing forms of couples as they laughed and made googoo eyes at each other under the candlelights and pink and red decorations. Jevil watched them all for a moment before looking back towards Seam and Rouxls with expectance- Rouxls jumped in surprise when a soft hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him against an equally soft body.

"Sorry old friend." Rouxls eeped when he looked up and found himself leaning against Seam as the giant stuffed cat gave Jevil a patient smile. "I know we agreed to be equals but you had your date, so please allow me to have mine. But I assure you, you can come to talk to us when we're not busy dancing or whatever it is people do on dates."

Jevil blinked, clearly not expecting that but gave a smile at them anyways, "Fair enough, fair enough. I was feeling a little hungry anyways. " He looked back to the table just as the Royal Clubs couple walked by talking loudly to themselves and making a line for the roasted tree and sports section of the table. And Seam chuckled again before tilting his head down to Rouxls.

"I know I don't know how to ballroom dance, but I suppose I Should ask you if you would care to dance anyways."

Rouxls blinked flustered up at him and cleared his throat, looking down. "W-W-Wellst if t-thou c-can't dance I shant make thee dance if thou are nay comfortable with it-"

"Oh, I'm comfortable with it. I just don't know how to do the fancy dances they're doing." He gestured to all the fancy waltzes and ballroom dances the nobles and court members were clearly doing. Chuckling when he saw the Prince Ralsei trying to dance with Princess CLover but she was so bigger than him she just stood on her back legs as Ralsei nervously held her front paws and sort of rocked with her. Clover wasn't complaining though as her faces were a dark blue and Lancer was sitting on the floor next to him and playing with the teddy bear he had given him hours ago now.

Rouxls reached a hand up to nervously grip his braid and still didn't look at Seam even as the cat let go. "W-W-Well..I-I-If thou insists- " He blinked nervously when Seam bowed and offered a paw then.

"Well then Mr. Kaard. Would you like to dance?"

Roucxls could only stand there with a deep blue blush and Jevil chuckled behind him. He opened and closed his mouth a few times like a goldfish before clearling his throat trying to look perfessional before shakily reaching a hand out and grabbing the soft paw. It closed around his smaller hand and Seam leaned back up before gently tugging him and pulling him towards the dancefloor with everyone else. Rouxls looked nervous and gave a look to Jevil behinde him only to see Jevil waving him good bye. The fancy shining light and jewelry everyone was wearing was almost blinding as he was lead into the crowd and stopped. Pulled against another figure suddenly as Seam put them into the tradional ballroom dance pose, but instead of the fancy waltzing around them, he just gently made them start swaying in small circles. Which he was releived at. He didn't know if he could handle any real fast and fancy dancing with his legs feeling like jello. He looked up to Seam's face for a moment as he smiled back, his heart skipping a beat before he cleared his throat and looked away nervously again. The silence still going on for a moment before he tried to speak and break the awkward silence.

"T-T-Thou art a b-better dancer than thou thinkest."

"Well thank you. I'm sorry if I hadn't said anything yet. But I wanted to be sure you were just as comfortable speaking." there it was, the patience and consideration of the cat he always loved.

Rouxls chuckled bashfully and fluttered his lashed up at him. "W-Well thank thou. I appreciate thou's concerns for mineself."

"But of course. Why wouldn't I? You and Jevil mean a lot to me." He chuckled. "It's been so long since anything really mattered to me as much as this."

Rouxls blinked up at him lovingly and in surprise as they still circled around. The taller form almost blocked out the light making it bounce around him and make it almost like the cat was glowing, a being of light similar to himself. Which is why his brain possibly wasn't really thinking and he suddenly stood on his tip toes and pressed a kiss to his nose tip. Seam stopped completely surprised and Rouxls suddenly pulled away. Blinking up at Seam's frozen form and a sudden feeling of guilt came over him.

"O-Oh. S-Sorry! I didst not mean to makest thou uncomfortable-"

He chuckled. "No, no. It's alright. In fact I would say it was the best part of my night."

He blinked up surprised again. "R-Really?"

Seam nodded and Rouxls sighed, releived he didn't do anything wrong by his sudden boldness but he would make sure to ask first before he did anything else like that. He wasn't sure how long they stood there dancing in each other arms, Rouxls giggling if Seam's made a small joke towards him and still smiling. But the two were soon interrupted when a white paw pulled at rouxls's cape and the worm turned around curious and came face to face with Prince Ralsei. The goat darkner looks at him with a slightly guilty face, Rouxls stared down in his arms and noticed he held a sleeping spade pup. Lancer was lightly snoring in Ralsei's arms and cutely clutching the small teddy bear in his arms, the crown lopsided on his head and that spade hole in his face closed. He shifted a little in the goat prince's arms and gave a cute puppy yawn before curling into his warmth like any cute child would.

"Uh. S-So sorry to bother you Mr. Kaard. But Lancer fell asleep and I didn't know what to do." He held the child up to him and Rouxls smiled and reached for him. Lancer's face blinked open for a second and his mind woke up just enough to recognize Rouxls so when the worm picked him up, the pup wrapped his arms around his neck and laid his head on his shoulder still clutching the bear.

He grunted as he shimmied him into his hold. "Tis quite alright. Tis rather late after all, tis only natural Lancer fell asleep." He patted Lancer's back and looked back up to Seam. "Mine apologies but I must get Lancer to bed."

He held up his paws. "No, no. It's understandable. ...*sigh* I think I better find my small one too. They're most likely tuckered out after the exciting night they just had."

The two men and sleeping child excited the dancing crowd and spotted Mak pretty easily. Jevil was hovering beside them as they snored and laid on one of the chairs placed out for the guests. The imp chuckled and waved at the trio as they arrived and Seam sighed, reaching over to take the sleeping bat in his arms and looking over them. The sunglasses were crooked on their face, and they were all wet and sticky from the punch, but he soon found the extra weight to be a whole bunch of shiny jewelry stuffed in their pockets. He didn't say or question it and instead turned and started making their way towards the exit with Jevil shrugging and the two men followed after, neither saying a word to each other in fear of waking either children until they got to the giant doors that were pushed open by servants and closed behind them as the trio made their way out. Rouxls watched the doors closed behind him before turning around to the other two smiling men.

"I...I Hadst a great time tonight. I thank thee and apologise for thine trouble."

"No apologies needed. We might as well get going anyways." He held Mak up. "Plus Jevil is my lift back, these old stitches don't feel like walking all the way back home in the middle of the night." Jevil giggled next to him and nodded.

"Doth thou need me to showest thou where the door is?"

"No worries, no worries. I can teleport anywhere!" Jevil proudly proclaimed and Rouxls smiled even more before bowing his head.

"Then I bid thee both a good night..I shall seest thoust two tomorrow.~"

The two watched as Rouxls turned and made his way down a hallway and what they presumed to be the young king's bedroom...Before Seam turn also and began walking, leaving the sounds of music and laughter behind him, but could feel Jevil right behind him floating. The two went in silence for a moment before Seam finally stopped and inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly and turned to Jevil with a smile. And the imp smiling back the two sharing the same loving thoughts of each other and a certain snow haired duke. He shifted Mak into one arm and held out his paw to the jester. Jevil happily took the paw with a giggle and flush of purple. In a second both were suck up into the void, on their way home after such a loving night.

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quirkswriting · 3 years

Text

whipped cream cats and christmas magic

Overview: Life has been hard this past holiday season, so your local Rescue Hero (sidekick) Uravity decides to take Christmas Eve into her own hands (Pro Hero AU). Pairing: Uraraka Ochaco x GN!Reacher Wordcount: 2.6k Warning(s): Tons and tons of fluff Author’s Notes: MERRY CHRISTMAS MADDOX!!! From your friendly neighbourhood Secret Santa! I was so so so happy that I got you for Secret Santa this year, and I really really hope you like this!! Ily a lot and you’re such an amazing friend, I hope you love it!!!

***

Working retail during the holidays was a nightmare. You knew this, you really did, but honestly you didn’t expect it to be as bad as it is this year.

All through December more and more people were coming through your store as the days passed. You couldn’t blame them, really--you know you worked in a cool store with a lot of really cool pop culture and fandom items, and you were usually pretty good with helping well-meaning parents and grandparents, and the kids who wanted to get small trinkets for their friends. And you may have even gotten some very cute things there yourself while doing your own holiday shopping when you weren’t busy dealing with customers left, right, and centre. But you do love your job! You swear you do! But by the time your shifts finished, after helping people find gifts and dealing with the nice and not-so-nice customers all day, you never had much energy left by the time you got home. Even with Christmas fast approaching, all you wanted was some peace and quiet. You barely had time for your girlfriend Ochaco, which was something you did feel bad about, let alone time to go out and do a lot of the Christmas things the city had to offer. There was a cute Christmas market downtown, and the wonderful lights display in the local park that was always nice to see every year (among other things) and while the two of you had talked about going to see those things together, it just never ended up happening. But you knew she was understanding about the whole thing because really, how many date nights or lazy days in together had to be rainchecked because of hero emergencies popping up? Enough that the two of you really enjoyed the time you had together, whether it was five hours or five minutes.

The two of you had been living together for a few months now after dating for just over a year, and you’d settled into a comfortable routine. You worked your job in the mall while she worked as a Sidekick (but things were looking good in regards to joining a Rescue Hero Agency as a full-time hero!), and though your hours didn’t always line up exactly the way you wanted, the two of you were living a very nice, cozy life.

The two of you had been to one Christmas party together so far this year--your friends had thrown one way back at the beginning of the month, and you and Ochaco had plenty of fun looking cute and hanging out with your friends at a nice little party. Some of her old classmates from when she had been at UA had a little get-together too, but you hadn’t been able to take time off work to be able to go with her. She’d sent you plenty of pictures, and Iida and Deku had promised to throw a New Year’s party that you were definitely looking forward to. You wanted to see the fabled ‘Drunk Bakugou’ who enjoyed cuddling everyone in sight.

Thankfully, come Christmas Eve, all stores closed early across the city. You’d been looking forward to that for weeks. It felt so nice to be able to close up shop and bid your co-workers a cheerful, “Merry Christmas!” before you all went your separate ways. You’d see them on Boxing Day, bright and early, but until then you were planning on relaxing for the next day and half. Sleep sounded like a very good idea. So you drove home and made your way from your car up to your apartment, bundled up tight against the bitter chill in the air and the thick snow that was falling from the sky.

As soon as you’d unlocked the door and stepped inside, you could see Ochaco’s boots sitting by the front door. You slipped your own off, calling out an, “I’m home!” before hanging up your coat and keys and making your way from the front hall and into the living room.

“Welcome home!” Ochaco said, a big smile stretching out her round cheeks. She was sitting on the couch, legs tucked up underneath her body as she watched TV. You came over to sit beside her on the couch, pressing a kiss to her cheek and grabbing one of the blankets off the back of the couch to wrap around yourself to get nice and cozy after being out in the cold. One of Ochaco’s hands came up to rest on your shoulder and start to draw lazy patterns on your sweater. “Long day?”

“Long month,” you said. “It was so nice to close at noon today. It finally feels like I can breathe.”

The two of you settled together on the couch, with you telling her stories about customer interactions you’d had that day, and her peppering in little anecdotes about her recent work at Pro Hero Ryukyu’s agency.

“You’re seeing your family tomorrow, right (Y/N)?” Ochaco asked, and you voiced the affirmative. You were spending Christmas Day with your family this year (like you normally did), while Ochaco went to visit her parents. And then the two of you were meeting up to have a nice little birthday celebration for her on the 27th. There may or may not be a surprise party involved. It was going to be fun. “Did you have any plans for tonight?”

“The only plan I have is to take the most amazing nap I’ve ever had,” you said, wrapping the blanket closer around yourself. Her giggle, soft and having just a little bit of a snort mixed in, caused you to smile as well. “Why?”

Ochaco’s cheeks started to flush a light pink, but she shrugged. “Just wondering! I was thinking maybe we could spend some time together,” she said.

“Sure! Do you wanna watch Haikyuu and order food in?” you asked, and she nodded. You’d already seen all of the episodes out so far, but you’d gotten her hooked on it a few weeks back and the two of you were slowly making your way through the seasons together. Currently you were halfway through season 2, and you couldn’t wait to see her reaction to the matches once Karasuno had finished the summer training camp.

“We can see what we feel like when you wake up from your nap!” she said, and you nodded. After a few more moments, you got up from the couch and went to the bedroom so that you could close all the curtains and take a nice, much needed nap in the darkness.

***

True to your word, you had such a good nap. You even woke up feeling refreshed, which was a very nice change from most naps that just left a groggy, soup-y feeling after waking up. It had to be a Christmas gift from whoever was watching over you. Bundled up in your favourite sweater, you left your bedroom and made your way to the kitchen for a nice glass of water. Your girlfriend was already in there looking at something on her phone as she sat at the small kitchen table in the corner. She did look up, though, when you walked in, and smiled.

“Hey (Y/N)! You look like you slept well!” You nodded.

“Yeah, best nap I’ve had in ages,” you told her, getting a glass from the cupboard above the sink and fetching the water pitcher from the fridge. Once you’d finished pouring the water and putting the pitcher back, you took a nice long drink and set your glass on the counter. You looked at Ochaco, noticing her wearing her favourite pink and white winter coat with the soft white knit hat you’d given her last year for her birthday and the cute frog themed scarf from Tsuyu. “Did you just come back from somewhere?”

“No, actually I’ve got an errand I need to run before we sit down and watch Haikyuu. I have to go pick something up and it would be really nice to have some help. Please?” In the cold? After you’d already been out earlier? You were very sorely tempted to say no, but one look at your girlfriend’s puppy dog eyes had you sighing.

“Fine, but I get to choose dinner then,” you told her. You moved your glass from the counter to the sink as she let out a little cheer. You then went to go gather your things and get dressed for the cold weather outside while Ochaco grabbed her bag from off the table and followed you into the front hall. After you were sufficiently bundled up, you left the apartment and locked the door behind you. It was still snowing when the two of you left the apartment building, and you were quick to get to where your car was parked and buckle up inside.

Once the car had warmed up sufficiently, you shifted the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot in the apartment complex the two of you lived in. Ochaco sat in the passenger seat and connected her phone to the AUX cord. Within a few minutes the car was filled with Christmas music while the two of you drove through the city. She was quick to point out all the decorations set up in front of different houses and in different shop windows. It was so peaceful and beautiful, with very few cars on the streets. That allowed you to drive a little slower than normal so that the two of you could really admire all the twinkling lights amid the snowfall outside the car. You weren’t quite sure how long that went on for, but you followed the random directions that Ochaco would give you as you made your way through the city.

As you got closer to the downtown area of the city, you recognized where you were going. You pulled into the parking lot that Ochaco indicated, which belonged to a small cafe that was sitting just outside the entrance to the park. It was one of your favourite date spots, even though the brunette was known to grumble about how expensive things were there, and it had the added bonus of overlooking the prettiest park in the city. You did as Ochaco instructed, seeing the lights hanging from all the trees in the park as you pulled into a spot and placed the car in park.

“An errand, huh?” You gestured towards the cafe and the park, and she clasped her hands together in front of her chest and smiled at you.

“Surprise! It’s not really an errand, but I wanted us to do something fun together tonight,” she told you. “And what’s more fun than spending time together in the park looking at all the lights?” Which, okay, you did have to admit that she was right, but she could have just told you that. But it was a nice surprise.

Ochaco smiled at you and reached back behind her to grab her bag out of the backseat, and then she proceeded to take a thermos out of her bag, holding it out to you. “I brought our own hot chocolate to keep us warm while we’re walking, too.” Which was fantastically sweet of her, and definitely something she did regularly, but you couldn’t help but look at the cafe you were parked beside. They had the most amazing holiday hot chocolate and you had thought that the two of you would be getting some of that. As if she knew exactly what you were thinking--which she most likely did, because for someone with a gravity quirk she was scary good at reading people--she shook the thermos at you. “C’mon! Do you really want to pay $6 for a small hot chocolate from some overpriced cafe and waste your money, or would you rather have a whole huge thermos of hot chocolate made with love?”

You made a show of sighing and looking longingly at the cafe, but there was a smile on your face. “But they can make a cat out of whipped cream and candy cane pieces.”

Ochaco was not impressed. She pressed the thermos into your hands as she unbuckled her belt. “I will literally get Sato to make like ten of those for you. And he can teach us how to make them! Wouldn’t that be cute? We can save money and make it a date.” You shook your head, laughing just a little as you unbuckled your own belt and got out of the car. You locked it once the two of you had gotten out, and you held out the hand not holding the thermos to take hers as you entered the park together.

The two of you walked together through the snow, admiring the soft lights set up on the trees. There were all different colours, from the traditional Christmas multicoloured and white lights, to blues and purples and greens all twisted through the leafless branches. It felt almost magical, being out together in the dark evening among the trees in the softly falling snow. It was cold, really cold, but the hot chocolate did help. And just being with Ochaco was enough to keep you warmer than you would have been on your own.

The two of you didn’t really see many other people walking around, which was fine by you. You got to walk hand in hand with the brunette hero, talking about anything and everything and nothing at all as you made your way along the path through the park. Really, this was a much better Christmas Eve than you had imagined it would be.

The two of you made it to a small clearing near the middle of the park, off of the pathway that you’d been walking on, and Ochaco gently tugged you along with her to stand in the centre of the clearing. You could tell she was up to something because she was very obvious, but you let it happen.

“Close your eyes!” she said once the two of you had come to a stop, and you obliged. You could hear her boots crunching in the snow as she ran around doing… something. You couldn’t really imagine what it would be, but you dutifully kept your eyes closed anyway. It took a few moments, as you rocked back and forth on the balls of your feet, before you could feel her gloved hands grab your own and hold them. You could hear her soft giggle from close to your face, and you couldn’t help the smile spreading across your face.

“Okay… open your eyes,” she said, her voice breathy and soft. You slowly opened them, and that’s when you saw what she’d been doing. A gasp left your lips as your mouth hung open. All around you, bobbing lightly in the air, were clear balls filled with what looked like softly glowing golden fairy lights. You looked around, seeing them circling you, and those lights reflecting on the two of you mixed with the lights from the trees was ethereal on that cold winter night. It was your own private little winter wonderland. You loved it. You loved it, and you loved that Ochaco had done that for you. It was simple and sweet and you couldn’t help but love the soft glow it cast across the whole clearing.

“Merry Christmas, (Y/N),” Ochaco said, leaning forward to press her lips against your cheek. They were warm against your skin, and you wrapped your arms around her in a tight hug. You said your own, “Merry Christmas,” in return, holding her close as the two of you looked at the lights floating all around you.

There might be parts of the holiday season that you could do without, but this small, magical moment between you and Ochaco was something you’d treasure for many more Christmases to come.

#ILY MADZ #A LOT #bnha #bnha scenarios #bnha fic #bnha imagines #bnha x reader #mha #mha fic #mha imagines #mha scenarios #uraraka x reader #uraraka ochako #uraraka ochaco x reader #uraraka

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cherry-moonlight · 4 years

Text

Life Could Be A Dream

{NOS4A2 - Charlie Manx x Reader}

{A/N - Also on AO3 under CherryMoonlight} Hi! I have been obsessed with NOS4A2, and while I haven’t read the book yet (don’t judge me), the show is incredible. I haven’t written anything in a year or so, and I know I owe plenty of other stories, but this series came to me in a dream and I’m just so happy to be off hiatus and inspired again! That being said, this is a first person POV reader insert, and pretty much just not very canon but I’m having fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it should you choose to! PS — I’m crushing hard on Charlie Manx so definitely expect some of that at some point. (I know, how dare I considering the whole virgin thing- but really, how could I not?!)

Warnings: Abusive parents (verbal, physical, emotional), alcoholism, drug use.

Chapter One - Long Overdue

Snowflakes fell like ashes from the sky as I walked forward down a snowy road I’d seen many times before. Despite the chill in the air, my skin didn’t react to the bitter coldness. I wasn’t bothered by the gentle wind or the glistening ice. It was as though the cold could touch me, but I couldn’t feel it.

Deep green pine trees doused with pure white lined the road as far as the eye could see in every direction but up and down. My eyes searched for something— anything, that could tell me what was happening; why I kept being brought to this particular place. There had to be some kind of sign.. Some kind of message I was to receive. Everything had a reason in my mind, bad or good, and this dream was no exception.

Much further down the road, there were glittering lights that danced in a blurred haze on the horizon. But no matter how far or how long I walked, they never grew closer.

“{Y/N}!” I heard what sounded like a small child’s excited whisper, as though they were taunting me, rather than calling out to me.

This is new..

I turned around immediately, looking for the source of the disembodied voice as a slight pang of panic rose in my chest. Though I wasn’t sure what was happening, the fear began to manifest anyway, giving me some kind of indication that this might become a nightmare.

A faint giggle echoed from the other direction, and I turned to face it, too. With a shake of my head and a moment to steady my breathing, I reminded myself that I was in control..

Or was I?

I picked up the pace to a brisk walk, not wanting to will myself awake just yet. The lights ahead of me stayed exactly where they were, but the sweet scent of peppermint mixing with pine began to fill my nostrils. It was pleasant, almost addicting right from the first whiff.

Still, I lowered my eyes to the ground, almost afraid of what I might see if I looked around so carelessly.

Another reverberated giggle filled the air, but this time it was accompanied by my name again. When I looked up from the white ground beneath my feet, I saw a small figure dash across the road. Just beyond that, the lights in the distance began to grow clearer before me.

“I can see..” I mumbled under my breath a bit too happily as I began to run, not wanting to miss the opportunity to finally find out what was beyond the long road.

My hair whipped around my face, and I knew if I could feel the air around me, it would’ve stung my skin. My breath formed small white clouds around my mouth as I continued, and just when I thought I could make out what lay in front of me, I was grabbed by small hands from behind, the excruciating pain of a sharp bite digging into the back of my shoulder, until—

I jolted awake, sitting upright as my {E/C} eyes pried themselves open to absorb where I actually was. Everything felt foggy, and as I clutched the shirt I wore with a trembling hand, I tried my best to ground myself.

A record I had on a turntable spun in what seemed like endless circles at the end of the track list and everything was quiet, save for the static. Looking out towards the frosty window, the ice climbing around the edges like spiderwebs offered me a sense of comfort. The world was cold, but inside, everything was warm and cozy. I was safe, and this was only a dream I’d been having for years— even if a few things had suddenly changed.

I stood up, working on slowing my breathing as I lifted the needle from the record and set it in its place, turning the player off. My mind roamed back to the dream I’d just had. It was strange that out of all the time it plagued my sleep, something had finally been different. It felt stranger than usual as I mulled over the way I heard children and saw the lights come a bit more into focus this time. There was something about it that I couldn’t quite place. It reminded me of the holidays— my favorite time of year despite the way I grew up. Christmas was my favorite holiday, always allowing me to get lost in everyone else’s joy and excitement. Watching heartwarming films and seeing the way the community came together to decorate their homes.. It reminded me of what being a child should’ve felt like, even though there was never any indication that Christmas even existed in my house. For as long as I could remember, not a tree, nor a present ever graced my December’s.

As I moved to the vanity to fix my appearance, I came to the conclusion that I was just excited for Christmas’s arrival, and my dream was a reflection of that. This year, I wanted to buy a small tree for my room and decorate it the way I wanted. I was an adult now, and no one could tell me any different.

“{Y/N}!” I heard my mother scream from downstairs, eliciting an automatic eye roll from me. “Come down here, now!”

With a huff, I did as I was told, despite being eighteen, I still lived under her roof and had to abide by her insane rules.

My mother and I never quite got along. As a child, she consoled herself with prescription pills and alcohol, and I never really had a father. My older brother split with him the moment he walked out of the door when I was seven, which is when my only recollection of Christmas’s ended, leaving them like a far too distant memory to me.

My dad never bothered to take me with him, or even call me afterwards. Neither did my brother. I didn’t know what I did wrong, but as time moved on, I realized they’d simply abandoned me with her. I supposed that they assumed I’d end up the same way. Not able to blame them, I never bothered to reach out, either. I had my dad’s number, I stole it from a sticky note my mom had gotten from one of their mutual friends. But if they wanted to contact me, they would. Sometimes, when my mom had locked me in the closet for “being too happy,” or hit me for answering a question in a way she didn’t like, I really wished they would’ve.

Since then, I’ve had to learn to take care of myself. When she was passed out on the floor for what felt like days on end, I was in charge of things like food and getting myself to school. The microwave was my best friend early on, and unlike most other kids, I was glad I had school to escape to.

I’d never quite forgiven her for ruining my childhood. Sometimes, I’d see the other kids getting picked up by their parents; the care in their eyes, the love in their hearts. It was all very comforting to watch. I cried myself to sleep countless nights wondering why I couldn’t have parents who cared for me the same way.

When my mother was awake, it was constant belittling and berating. Being so young, I had no idea I could be such a mistake and a screw up so soon, if at all. But there was dear old mom, ready to remind me at a moment's notice. Something as simple as dropping a pencil on the floor earned me an ear full of being a klutz and completely worthless to the world. If I even looked at her in a way she didn’t like, I felt her wrath.

But as time went on, she gradually got worse. She built up more of a tolerance to whatever she was taking, making her perfectly functional to the rest of society, but twice as abusive to me. No matter how old I got, I remained the punching bag. I’d thought she took out the anger of losing my father and brother on me, but later I couldn’t help but think it felt like she just liked hurting me.

Before I exited my room, I looked at a small cedar chest with a heart shaped lock that sat atop my dresser. It was my saving grace these days, the only thing that kept me sane. It held money I’d been putting away to get my own place, and a few other things that were important to me, like the note with my dad’s number and a small locket I had been gifted as a child.

Soon. Soon I’d never have to hear her voice or see her face again.

My feet shuffled to the bottom of the stairs and I inhaled and counted to four, then exhaled and counted to four; a small tactic that I used to deal with her. Turning the corner into the kitchen, I saw her sitting at the wooden table, glass of whatever the day's poison was in hand, waiting for me with a crisp white sheet of paper in front of her.

“What is this?” she questioned, the annoyance thick in her voice already.

I peeked over her shoulder. It was paperwork from a therapy session a friend let me take from her almost a year ago. I hadn’t wanted to do it, but she insisted once I explained just a portion of my life to her.

“You went through my things?” Was all I could manage.

I was bubbling with anger, but trying my best not to fly off the handle.

She wasn’t worth it, I reminded myself.

“You went to therapy? After all I’ve done for you, you felt like you needed… Help?”

She spat the word “help” out as though it were venom on the tongue. I was still processing the fact that she felt as though she’d raised me well, or really even at all. How dare she think she was there for me at all.

“Well? Answer me, {Y/N}!”

Lost for words, I stammered a bit, unsure of what to say. The last thing I felt like doing was fighting with her, and in that moment, I had no idea where to begin to tell her off.

“I— Just.. There’s—“

“I know you’ve always been a little slow,” she snorted. “But you can’t even answer a question these days..”

“That’s it! I’m sick of you! How dare you—” I snapped, but before I even had time to finish another thought, she was up from the chair and her hand had roughly connected with my cheek.

Stunned from the stinging sensation, I stared at her blankly. Though it used to be a daily occurrence, it had been a long time since she’d hit me, and the act only dredged up memories that I thought I’d gotten over. I shook my head, and without another word, I went upstairs, slipped into my favorite combat boots, grabbed a jacket and my bag and placed my cedar chest in it before making my way to the front door in a rushed cloud of hurt and anger.

“If you walk out of this house, you’re not coming back! I’ll leave your shit on the curb and I’ll never see your ungrateful ass again!” she called out, her voice hoarse with crazed, manic emotion.

“I wouldn’t come back if this were the last place on earth,” was all I said, opening the door to leave.

I heard the rattling of a pill bottle being frantically emptied and breathed a quiet laugh of disbelief before slamming the door shut. There was no care to be had in my mind or heart anymore. Maybe it was wrong, but I had taken too much from that woman. I was done sticking around and pretending to care in the hopes that she’d change one day.

Looking out ahead of me for a moment, I slid into my jacket and slung my bag over my shoulder. Closing the door with the intention of never looking back should’ve been the best day of my life. Instead, I felt anxious beyond belief.

Leaving with no plan as to where I was going wasn’t how I wanted to end things. I’d managed to stick around for eighteen years, and almost felt silly for letting this small encounter become the straw that broke the camel's back.

At the same time, eighteen years is a long time to go on the way I did. It was overdue.

As I walked into the snow, I realized how alone I truly was. No parents, no siblings. No family. I couldn’t burden my friends to deal with the mess my life had become. I lived in what could be considered the middle of nowhere. It was freezing and I had nowhere to go. I raised myself for so long, I didn’t know if I was actually expecting to be able to take care of myself in a situation like this or not, should it happen. But as I reached the end of my driveway and looked down the road, I was reminded of my recurring dream. It looked the same— the trees and the glistening snow atop them. The only thing missing was the dazzling lights at the end of the stretch. How I never put it together that this scenery was near identical before, I wasn’t sure.

It was then that I wondered if this is what my dream had been trying to tell me all along..

That I’d be walking a cold, lonely road to nowhere.

#nos4a2 #charlie manx x reader #fanfiction #nos4a2 fanfiction #charlie manx #charlie manx fanfiction #fanfic #christmasland #series

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prettyboongi · 4 years

Text

Just Spill It

Reader x Kim Taehyung

2k+ words

Genre: Crack, Fluff

[Note: I’ve been written fic lately because of school and everything. I actually had to work on a huge paper all week and was waiting until I got everything out of the way to write this. And boy, this request was such a doozy lol. The game that everyone plays in the story is that “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” game on James Corden late night show. And I have to be honest: I’m not a huge fan of talk shows or even Corden’s show for that matter. So I had to watch a bunch of videos the shows clips on YouTube just to understand the game. So yeah, this request was super challenging and I hope I got everything right ^-^}

You were putting the finishing touches on the chocolate cupcakes you’ve spent the past couple of hours baking when you heard the doorbell rang. “Must be them,” you thought to yourself. Checking the time, you saw that it was a little bit past seven in the evening. “A little late but, with them, what’s new? ”. You gave your sticky hands a quick rinse and headed towards the door.

Tonight was a very sacred night for you and the boys: the coveted Game Night. Always organized by you and thrown at your place, Game Night for you guys were legendary. Starting off with a harmless game, again of your choosing, the night would always end with someone throwing a temper tantrum, crying dramatically, yelling match between two or more of the boys or someone having to act out a degrading yet hilarious penalty for losing. Sure it was complete chaos but it was also tons of fun. There was never a dull moment with these nerds and you really cherished the time you had with them. With recording sessions, promoting albums and projects in between, it was very hard to find time to hang out. While you understand their obligations to BTS, it still makes you feel lonely most of the time. That’s why Game Night was super important to you and, knowing how important it was for you, the boys always left the planning to you.

You opened the door to an assortment of greetings, one more zany than the last. “Hey guys,” you welcomed, “come on in”. As the boys spilled in, you had to remind them about being a little less rowdy, the last Game Night being interrupted by your neighbors filing a noise complaint. “I’d rather not have the cops being called to my place again.”

“Well we wouldn’t have had the police called on us if Jin hyung didn't have that huge freak out,” Jungkook says teasingly.

“Well,” Jin responds with a fake smile, trying to hide his annoyance, “I wouldn’t have freaked out if Yoongi here wasn’t cheating!” He gestures to a totally unbothered Yoongi already relaxing on the sofa.

Stifling your laughter, you walked over to the kitchen to check on sweets you were finishing up. There you found Taehyung chowing down on the cupcakes. Seeing that he already had eaten three of the dozen you’ve made, you derided him, “Tae! Stop being a pig and save the rest for the others.”

He swallowed a mouth full of cupcake and smiled cheekily. “Come on, Y/N, you know that these are my favorite. You obviously made them for me.” He pointed to the thin strawberry slices you placed on top.

You opened your mouth in protest but stopped immediately. Yes, you knew chocolate cupcakes were his favorite. Especially with strawberries. And yes you made them with him in mind. But no way were you going to give him the satisfaction.

He eyes you impishly, as if he won this conversation. You took the cupcake tray from his reach and said to him sternly, “just wait until everyone had at least one, then you can eat the leftovers. Deal?”

“Deal”

Walking over to the living room area with Taehyung trailing behind you, you placed the tray of cupcakes next to the fried chicken Namjoon had brought over. You saw that everyone was helping themselves to heaping amounts of the crispy, savory chicken. “Please try not to fill up too much food tonight,” you warned them, “you guys will need to leave some room for what we’re playing tonight.”

“Oh, what do you have planned for us tonight?”, asked Namjoon before taking a huge bite of his food.

Before you could answer, Hoseok interjects, “Oooh! Let me guess. Striped poker?”

“No Hoseok,” you flatly answered, shutting him down.

“Strip Monopoly?” Jimin adds.

“No guys, no one is taking their clothes off. Especially not after that one Game Night,” you said rather dimly. The boys shuddered as they remembered that ill-fated night, a story left for another time. “But yeah, I got this idea from a night talk show that I found myself watching one night. The host was playing this game with their guest where they had both get to ask each other some pretty invasive questions. But if either of them chooses not to answer the question they were given, they had to eat or drink something gross that the other person picked out for them. I thought it was pretty funny and we could all try it.” Despite being excited yourself, you couldn’t help but notice an array of mixed emotions.

“I dunno, Y/N, it sounds kinda...sketchy”, Namjoon says.

“I mean yeah, but that’s kinda the point. Come on, you have to admit it's pretty interesting.”

“To be perfect honest, this game sounds fucking awful,” Yoongi opens, “but hey, what the hell. Let's how it goes.”

You ushered the guys to the balcony, where it was decorated with glowing string lights and a new set of furniture bought for this occasion. You presented the boys to a medium size table, topped with what was assumed plates covered with linen napkins.

“Here’s what we’re dealing with tonight, gentlemen,” you announced rather theatrically. One by one, you lifted up each napkin, revealing a collection of foods you knew that would churn some stomachs: fried octopus, super spicy cinnamon candies, 100% cacao chocolate, mint creme Oreos, a spinach milkshake, ambrosia salad and a fluffernutter sandwich. The boys examined each dish, some already nauseated by the sight of certain dishes. “I didn’t want to go too far like the show did,” you explained, “just took some ideas from friends back home and food I know some of you already hate.”

“Are there any winners in this game?,” Jimin asks cautiously

“No, there aren’t. Okay everyone have a seat!” After everyone had taken a seat, you went over how the game works again. “Oh, I forgot to add that you guys don’t have to necessarily finish the food. Under the table, there’s a few little trash bins you can spit into. But come on, I’m going easy on you guys, you shouldn’t need to spit anything out.”

“You call a spinach milkshake ‘going easy’ on us?” Jungkook asks.

“Don’t be a baby,” you gave Jungkook a mocking look while sitting yourself between Jin and Yoongi. “So here’s how we’re gonna take turns. We’ll start with me, then we’ll go clockwise ending with Yoongi. Is that good?” Murmurs of agreement answered your question. “Okay, for my turn I pick… Namjoon!” The sound of hearing his name startles him, causing his body to go rigid. “If you don’t answer my question, you’d have to eat the fried octopus.

“Ha, bring it then” Namjoon says, trying to feign as much confidence that he can.

“Alright,” you paused for a moment, “If you choose a Disney character to make out with, who would it be?”

“Oh that’s easy. Undoubtedly, Miss Potts,” he says matter of factly. The table goes silent, weirded out by such a choice.

“From Beauty and the Beast?”, you asked.

“Yeah.”

“Why?” asks Hoseok.

“Well, she’s a cool character. She has a warm personality and she seems like a great mom to Chip. Who wouldn’t pick her?”

Somehow that leaves even more questions than answers any. “Okay…,” you respond, still a bit perturbed, “Jin’s turn.”

Jin looks around the table to find his perfect target and finds it in none other than Jimin. “Jimin, I pick the mint Oreos for you if you don’t answer my question.” Jimin puts on a brave face but it’s obvious the anticipation is killing him inside. “There was one time during that afterparty a while ago when I saw you and Seulgi running off somewhere. You told me you two were just chatting but what were you two really up to?,” He asked with a mischievous smirk on his face. Ooooohs” echoed around the table as we waited for Jimin’s answer. With a stony smile plastered on his face, Jimin stares at Jin for a moment before reaching out for an Oreo. He takes a huge bite of the minty cookie while keeping his stare at Jin, ultimately gagging on it and having to spit out the whole thing. The whole table erupts in laughter as you said, “We’re off to a good start.”

As the night went by, the game carried on without any issues. Among the highlights was Hoseok revealing his biggest (and not surprising) kink and watching Jungkook down an entire spinach milkshake. Seeing how much fun the gang were having, you couldn’t help but feel proud of yourself for pulling off yet another successful Game Night. The game was nearing its end when the last turn went to Yoongi. And since you were the only one that hasn’t been asked a question, it was obvious this one was going to be directed towards me.

Yoongi turns to you, “The ambrosia salad for this simple question.” You nodded in agreement, not knowing what he meant by “simple”. “Are you in love with Taehyung?”

All around, everyone pauses at Yoongi’s question. Especially you, whose mind goes blank for a moment before speaking up. “What? What’re you talking about? What kind of question is that?” You tried laughing it off.

“A simple one,” he answers. “Are you in love Taehyung?”

“Of course, I love him. He’s like my best friend-”

“I mean, we all know that but are you IN love with him?” Namjoon interjects.

You look around the entire table, leaning in to hear your answer. Your eyes eventually land on Taehyung sitting across from you. He’s clearly embarrassed yet interested in hearing your answer as well. You felt your face burning up as well as your heartbeat quickening from all of this unwanted attention.. You could’ve taken the easy way out and lied, you were sure of the guys were lying when answering their questions. But you couldn’t. One, for the integrity of Game Night and second, you would have to answer yes. For the longest time, you never wanted to admit to yourself but you were in love with Taehyung. Madly in love with him. You loved the banter the two of you developed over the years. You loved how he would annoy you and then make it up by being extremely adorable. You love how he was the only man that ever made you feel special. Without any doubt, you were in love with him. However, you weren’t about to reveal it in front of the boys while playing this dumb game.

After much anticipation, you deeply sighed and ate a huge spoonful of the slightly warm ambrosia salad. You tried your best to swallow it but the conflicting textures of creamy base and the coconut flakes was too much for you. Feeling that you were about to barf, you quickly got up and ran back into the apartment. You reached the bathroom (and thankfully the toilet) and regurgitated everything you tried to keep down. You felt some tears forming at the corner of your eyes, not sure if it was from throwing up or the sheer humiliation you’ve just experienced. “Don’t let this get to you, it’s just part of the game,” you told yourself. You wiped the tears from your eyes, rinsed your mouth with mouthwash and headed out of the bathroom.

As you were walking back to the balcony, you bumped into Taehyung in the hallway. “Oh…,” was all you could muster to say. There was a brief awkward silence between you two, a rarity in your close relationship. Taehyung looks away as he scratches the back of his head while you kept your head down. “I should’ve known I was going to be hit with a question like that,” you finally opened, “ Yoongi never plays around, doesn't he?.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung responds, “except for when he’s cheating.”

You both look at each other for a moment before breaking into a light laughter, easing the tension. Once you were done giggling, you caught Taehyung staring at you with his gorgeous, sharp eyes. The look in his eyes were filled with sincere and the kind of intimacy only two best friends shared. Or maybe there was something more to that look.

"Tae-," you started but stopped when Taehyung put his hand up to your cheek, gently caressing it with his thumb.

"You don't have to say anything, Y/N" he says to you.

Earlier when Jimin asked if there were any winners in the game, it turned out there were two that night.

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prettywordsyouleft · 5 years

Text

A Kissing Game (Choose What I Write Story)

Pairing: Lee Hoseok x reader (ft. Im Changkyun)

Genre: university au / romance / fluff

Trope: friends to lovers

Warnings: alcohol

A/N: Thank you for waiting for this second Choose What I Write story. Were you expecting it to be Wonho in the end? It was a really tough race (as you can see if you check out my other post after this), but I had a lot of fun coming up with this idea!

Word count: 3274

You could feel the effects of the alcohol washing over your nerves, settling you into the party environment. It wasn’t often that you attended the multitude of campus parties held as a university student, but you had promised one of your friends Mandy that if you scored well on your bio-chem midterm that you would turn up tonight to her small gathering.

However, you weren’t quite as drunk as you needed to be for the game that just began. You watched on as the empty bottle spun around, inwardly chanting for it to land on someone else. Thankfully it did, allotting you extra time to chase any remaining nerves away with the rest of your drink.

“Okay Lottie, Jake, you know the deal!” Mandy exclaimed and you eyed the two as they leaned over and kissed. You blinked, was that it? Here you were worrying over some game that most people played during high school. It wasn’t even in-depth. A peck and that was it. Your confidence boosted you slumped back, smiling lazily. You had this. You would peck everyone at this party with ease if it was this straightforward.

And when the bottle landed in your direction, you didn’t even hesitate to kiss Changkyun across from you, grinning when you pulled back. The kiss barely tasted of anything other than alcohol and despite the pink blush on his cheeks; you were feeling pretty good about it.

Until the bottle landed on you both again.

“This time you have to do more than just a peck!”

“Wait, really?” you blurt out and then looked over at Changkyun who was downing more of his drink. You shrugged and smiled at him. “I mean, that’s no big deal, right?”

You were quick to lean over and kiss Changkyun again, feeling his tongue run along your bottom lip as you placed a hand on his neck to steady yourself. Your cheeks were flaming with colour from all the obvious attention of you both kissing for this long and you pulled back, settling into your seat.

“Wow, you two have major chemistry!” Sunri mentioned, nudging you energetically. You jostled about and lost your balance a little, still feeling over-warm. Mandy suddenly got a phone call and put a pause on the game, which you were grateful for. You stumbled off to the bathroom and tried to splash cold water on to your cheeks to sober up. When did you drink so much? Sure, you had reached out for another bottle and was taking sips now and then in between the others kissing during the game, but you hadn’t felt it had been this excessive.

“Need to go home,” you told your reflection, grinning at it before reaching into your pocket for your phone. After sending a message to your best friend Hoseok, you staggered out of the bathroom and back to the festivities. You would simply wait here until Hoseok turned up and took you home.

Everything would feel much better soon.

The game started up again and after another couple of rounds, you were chosen once more.

As was Changkyun.

“Oh, this is some fate like shit calling out for you both!” Jake boomed as several members of the circle giggled or hooted. He gestured to you both sloppily and then slapped his knee. “Seven minutes of heaven should be the next step!”

“Eyyy, this is a simple kissing game,” Changkyun refuted, shooting you an awkward smile. “There’s no need-”

The chanting began and you glanced at the fellow bio-chem student and stood up. You then looked around for the best place to do this in. Mandy pointed to the hallway and after nodding, you slowly made your way down to the hallway closet.

Changkyun sighed. “This is so stupid.”

“Don’t you want to kiss me?”

“No, it’s not that,” he said, waving his hands about. He definitely seemed more coherent than you were and logically thinking further ahead to how this could affect you both. He slumped against the wall. “Isn’t this what we played when we were younger?”

“Me and you?” you asked confused, racking your brain for a time where you had kissed Changkyun before this.

“No, I meant… never mind.”

He seemed a little frustrated with his explanation and you were growing impatient about getting this over and done with. You were no kissing extraordinaire, but you also weren’t opposed to kissing him either. You had already done so twice tonight and it hadn’t been that bad. Plus, you didn’t have much time before you would leave the party and didn’t want to chicken out.

“I’ll be back, okay?” Changkyun smiled before going out the front door and you nodded, swaying slightly against the wall. The door soon opened again and you grinned, reaching out for his shirt.

“No more waiting,” you announced, dragging him into the closet and shutting it with a giggle.

“Y/N, just-”

You pressed your lips upon his, feeling how frozen they were. You worked them a bit before they thawed enough for him to kiss you back, and a reckless abandon took you both over. Hands roamed, moans echoed around the coats and umbrellas surrounding you both. You felt hot and cold all at once, gripping on tightly as your knees wavered and the kisses grew from one into the next, each surpassing the previous one.

You were certain you would die from a happy delirium in this coat closet. The way Changkyun’s lips felt on yours were different now, fuller, more passionate. As if they had been holding back all night long from lavishing you in what seemed to be a slow burn finally releasing. You didn’t know you could be kissed like this.

You didn’t want to stop being kissed like this.

You didn’t know what happened after it ended or how you got home either. When you opened your eyes again, it was mid-morning and with the intense pounding happening within your head, you were certain you were experiencing the worst hangover you had ever had in your entire life. For a moment there, you didn’t even know how you had gotten this drunk. Slowly, the more you blinked away the remnants of your slumber, the easier the puzzle came back together, groans emitted with each memory. You cursed the alcohol, the game, everything.

Until you got to the sensation of that final kiss. Did Changkyun play coy with you? The way he spoke before the closet make-out session and the way he was with you after was as if he were two very different people. Changkyun had been hesitant, even awkward with the idea.

And then his lips had transported you to an entirely different realm of desire you had never experienced before, ever.

It wasn’t fair that it had ended. Or that you only had the memory of such a kiss. You were kind of disappointed too. As much as it was a heart-changing embrace, you couldn’t see yourself dating him. He was a friend, someone you mixed solutions with, not saliva.

Even if it was the best kiss of your life.

Eventually, you pulled yourself out of bed, taking it easy for the entire day. Hoseok wasn’t home due to work commitments and you enjoyed having the apartment to yourself as you did nothing much other than attending to your wicked hangover and eat copious amounts of food in hopes it would ease some of the self-inflicted torment.

The next day, you were up early and on a mission. You had convinced yourself that you had to at least thank Changkyun for kissing you like that. Game or not, it was a true blessing and he deserved to know it too.

Hoseok chuckled when he saw you. “Today you don’t look like a zombie.”

“How much longer must I put up with your quips? I get it, I deserved the pain. But you didn’t know how my stomach felt and I was certain at one point I was dying. Perhaps I should have and then become an actual zombie to torment you with.”

Your best friend scrunched his nose up at your suggestion and then handed you a glass of the healthy smoothie he had just pulsed for you. It was your turn to crinkle up your nose in disgust at the bitter taste, shooting Hoseok another look. “Broccoli?”

“It’s good for you. Blueberries too. They help with memory retention.”

“What memories do you think I’ve lost?” you wondered as you took another gulp of the smoothies, much to your own chagrin.

Hoseok folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head to the side. “Do you not remember throwing up in my car on the way home?”

So it was Hoseok who brought you home. You took another gulp just to be grateful for his efforts.

Hoseok continued. “Or how many times you exclaimed you had been kissed by a God? That you wanted to never stop kissing? You honestly looked like a fish pursing your lips together every few seconds.”

“A… a what? A fish?!” you exclaimed right as he went to pick up his own smoothie. You snatched it away from him, holding it to your chest protectively. “None for you… you don’t need to remember anything else!”

He chuckled as you stormed out of the apartment, drinking the second smoothie along the way.

When you finally arrived at your morning lab class, you were anxious. You planned to tell Changkyun how you felt, but you didn’t want to admit it in front of everyone else. Thankfully when you arrived, Changkyun was the only student currently there and you relaxed as you approached him. The fellow student glanced up, a slight tinge of pink across his cheeks accompanying his greeting.

So he did remember.

“Oh hey, Y/N. Listen, I uh, I was hoping to talk to you today actually.”

Your heart started to pound. What if the kiss was just as good for him that he wanted to date you? You hadn’t really thought of Changkyun that way no matter how many times you replayed that darkened kiss that relied on touch over sight. But now with his open fidgeting with one of the test tube stations he had begun setting up, you decided you might just roll with it. Who knows, you could maybe match him really well.

“Oh, I was hoping to talk to you too.”

Changkyun’s cheeks flushed. “Yo-you were? Well, uh, let me go first, okay?”

“Sure.”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to kiss you or anything,” he started and you nodded softly. “When the game started, it was harmless, you know. It was uncanny how the bottle kept landing on us.”

“It really was,” you mused, smiling as you thought back to the night.

Changkyun cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. Was he always this adorable when he was nervous? Your smile grew as you watched him. “You’re nice Y/N, I like you as a friend. We get along really well that way… I just have someone else who I really like and whilst we’re not dating yet, I just felt wrong going to that extreme of kissing you.”

Oh.

He didn’t enjoy it. Your smile faded.

Which made Changkyun scramble. “I’m sorry, I must have seemed like a coward just leaving you there and not kissing you but-”

“Wait,” you cut in, eyes now wide. “What did you just say?”

“I’m sorry?”

You shook your head. “No, the rest of that sentence.”

“I didn’t kiss you, Y/N. I went home.”

Outwardly you were still.

On the inside, however, you were anything but. The words echoed over and over in your brain, accompanied by the feeling of the intense kissing you had relished in. You had been drunk but not completely gone either. You were certain you had been kissed. In fact, you knew you had been. The one thing you noticed when you woke up the next day that confirmed it wasn’t a simple drunken stupor or dream was the tell-tale bruising on the side of your neck. The one you had covered up this morning with foundation.

The area you were now pressing your fingers up to.

Blinking, you finally looked up at the male before you who looked as if he was about to burst from waiting too long for your response. “You, you didn’t kiss me?”

“No, I’m sorry-”

“But someone kissed me. It was the best kiss of my life.”

Changkyun immediately deflated and then quirked an eyebrow at you. “Really?”

You nodded. “I definitely took someone in there with me.”

“Well, it wasn’t me,” he confirmed, grimacing slightly. “Sorry to disappoint.”

You waved him off, your dejection over his lack of a romantic confession now downplayed by the mystery of your kisser.

Just who was it?

You reached out to a couple of the party-goers who all confirmed that you never returned from your supposed seven minutes of heaven. When Jake went to break you and Changkyun apart, there was no one in the closet at all. They all had assumed you both chickened out and ditched the party or went back to one of your houses to do more than just kiss.

It frustrated you immensely to know absolutely nothing.

You attempted to rationalise it. Perhaps you had really dreamed it up. And the mark on your neck was a drunken accident. It wouldn’t surprise you, to be honest. What you had been reliving did seem too good to be true. When you arrived home that evening after classes, you were convinced you had the most imaginative mind in the world.

And when you saw Hoseok in the kitchen again, you cringed at what he had mentioned this morning. An image of a fish cropped up in your mind and you groaned heavily.

“What’s with you?”

“Don’t ask,” you stated, shaking your head, now resigned. Slumping down into a chair, you held onto your head and rapped your knuckles gently along one side of it. Nothing made any sense, so you would simply give up on understanding it. You had more important things to focus on, like the stack of assignments on your desk.

Hoseok approached the table with dinner in tow, surprising you with yet another meal. You glanced up at him and smirked. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” he replied with a small smile that told you otherwise. “Just thought you might be hungry.”

“More broccoli?” you complained, looking up at him and shaking your head incredulously. “I know how much you preach on about this being a superfood, but honestly, too much of a good thing can be bad you know.”

“Just trying to help you boost your brain functions after all that alcohol.”

You looked to the other food on the plate before you and shoved it away. “You’re not funny.”

“What, fatty fish is good for you and your memory too.”

You eyed him carefully, noticing how Hoseok avoided your gaze. Instead, his eyes were now attached to your neck, and he knitted his brows together. Slowly, you started to click the puzzle pieces together, and instead of saying anything, you reached out for the food in front of you.

Hoseok smiled.

“So, everything on this plate is really good brain food, huh?”

“You should know, being a science student and all.”

Rolling your eyes, you picked at a flake of fish. “I’m not studying nutrition science, Hoseok. It seems you are though.”

“I just know some things.”

“You really do, huh?” Chewing your mouthful, you avoided his now burning gaze on you, taking your time before continuing. “I guess since you take such good care of your body on a regular basis that you know a whole lot more than I do. Or at least, remember it all.”

You heard him clear his throat awkwardly as you stabbed at a raw broccoli floret. Finally, you glanced up at your best friend, wondering why you hadn’t clicked it was Hoseok who had kissed you until now. After all, you had texted him to come pick you up. He was the most obvious choice after Changkyun. Did you just gloss over him because he had been in your life since you were five? Your first kiss was taken by him when you were eleven, in a kissing game as well, ironically. You had cried and exclaimed if he ever kissed you again, you would ditch him as a friend forever.

Had he remembered that minor detail as he had you pressed up against the assorted coats? You revisited the kiss once again and realised that the care you felt from him as an adult had an underlying loving notion attached to it. Of course, as best friends, you loved each other. But you knew that kiss meant more to him.

It meant a lot to you as well.

“Thanks for dinner,” you mentioned suddenly, picking up your plate as if you had forgotten something important. Hoseok snapped back in his chair at your rash movement and watched you carefully. “I’m going to finish up in my room. I have so many lab notes to organise and want to take full advantage of this brain food to get it all done.”

You didn’t wait for a reply, holing yourself up in your room for the rest of the night.

After much deliberation, and a little of study, you ventured back out into the main domain of your apartment, finding the lights off. You knew Hoseok went to bed not long ago, hearing the tell-tale signs of his bathroom routine. You had purposely waited for this moment.

Stepping softly over to his bedroom door, you twisted the handle as quietly as you could, slipping inside and tip-toed over to his bed. He was laying on his side and you crouched down, smiling at him before you leaned in and pressed your lips to his.

Just as the first time, he didn’t respond immediately, but when he did, you were drowning within the instant emotions pressing into you. His arms reached out for you, drawing you up and on top of him, not breaking the kiss whilst you shifted into the new position. You tasted him as your tongue slipped in to mingle with his, your moan muffled and swallowed by Hoseok. The air was growing thin and you gasped when you finally pulled away, balancing yourself by gripping onto his shoulders. He had an arm around your waist and the other reached to brush your hair away from your face.

“I thought you didn’t remember,” he breathed and you turned so you could kiss the palm of his hand that caressed you gently.

“Admittedly, it took me some time.”

“The food helped?” he teased and you giggled, nodding softly. Hoseok stared at you for a moment and then shook his head. “I didn’t break the promise we made as kids. You told me if I kissed-”

“I know, it’s me who had kissed you first both times now.” Hoseok smiled before pulling you down so your lips were mere millimetres above his. “Now, it’s my turn to kiss you.”

“You won’t regret it?”

He smiled warmly, and you mirrored the expression, renewed anticipation growing. Hoseok brushed your hair back again and then whispered, “I’d regret never kissing you again so I’m going to make sure I do it so often that you’ll only be able to think of my kisses.”

He didn’t realise, it was all you had been thinking about since the first one. Well, technically your second together.

And there would be many more to experience too.

_________________

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286 notes · View notes

letswritefanfiction · 4 years

Text

Lost in Halloweenia! Ch1

Crosspost from ffnet and AO3.

Summary: It's Halloween! Ash and the gang are living it up trick or treating when they stumble upon a strange house with some strange artifacts. What mysteries do they hold and…wait, who are those three lurking behind them?

Word Count: 2,997/27,343

Setting: Set in between Hocus Pokémon and Here's Lookin' At You, Elekid.

A/N: Hello! This is a story I wrote back in 2016 and, since it’s spooky month yet again, I thought it was time to bring it back, since it’s one of my faves! This story is meant to by in the style of the Pokémon anime, plus Scooby Doo vibes. It’s all just very fun.

No ships!

Next chapter here

Chapter 1: Trick or Treat

Having just received his last Gym Badge from the Blackthorn Gym, Ash and his friends are hard at work as ever in preparing for the Silver Conference…

“Oh boy, a king size candy bar!”

Or are they?

Ash brought the plastic-wrapped log of chocolate up to his nose and inhaled loudly, salivating even though he couldn’t smell anything beyond the crisp October air burning his nostrils. After savoring the moment for all of two seconds, he ripped open the chocolate bar and bit off a mouthful, strands of caramel lacing his teeth and the candy together, looking like strands from the play spider webs decorating the houses of the neighborhood. When he licked it all away, he offered a bite to Pikachu, who was perched as a Golbat on his shoulder, wings and all.

“Ash, you’re supposed to be saving your candy, not eating it all tonight,” Misty stated, dropping her own piece into her orange jack-o-lantern bag hanging from the crook of her arm as she held Togepi to her chest. Togepi was thrilled by all of the sights and was content to do nothing but trill away at all of the lights and spooky decorations.

“Who says?” Ash grunted through the sticky sweetness.

“I bet your mother would,” Brock said. “And please tell me that you’re not still wearing your fake teeth.”

After swallowing, Ash felt around his teeth with his tongue to discover that he was, indeed, still wearing the false teeth that were the finishing touch on his vampire outfit. Except now, instead of glowing a light green in the dark, it was certain they were stained brown with milk chocolate and caramel goodness. Pikachu barred his teeth to reveal much the same on his own fake incisors.

“Oops.”

Misty sighed, shaking her head. “I knew he wouldn’t be able to handle accessories.”

“Hey, at least I was smart enough to wear a costume that I wouldn’t freeze to death in!”

Misty looked down at her costume, mostly just to hide her flushing face behind her bangs. She was wearing the Goldeen outfit that she had worn ages ago in that crazy magician act. “So what? I already owned it, so I figured I might as well wear it! Besides, Brock isn’t any better.”

Brock had decided to dress like Bruno of the Kanto—and Johto, since that’s where they were—Elite Four leaving him entirely shirtless. He was hoping that it would gain him points with the ladies. Unfortunately, most of the ladies they had seen so far were half his age. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to be pulled into the argument, so he suggested, “Hey, why don’t we just check out the next house?”

Misty harrumphed. “Yeah, Brock. Let’s go.”

Ash lingered behind for only a second. “Thinks she can boss me around like that,” he grumbled. “Why shouldn’t we be able to eat our candy on Halloween?”

Pikachu chattered his agreement before pointing in the direction Misty and Brock were headed.

“Oh, you’re right! We gotta beat them to the next house!”

Moments after Ash ran to catch up to Misty and Brock, there was a rustling in the boxwood hedges lining the sidewalk.

Jessie popped her head out from a bush, making certain that she was holding two branches on either side of her face. She spied the twerp running off after the other two twerps with Pikachu right there on his shoulder, as usual. “Hmm, right on schedule.”

“On schedule fo’ what?” Meowth burst out of the next bush, some leaves taped to his whiskers. “We don’t have a plan!”

“Maybe we would if it weren’t Halloween!” James interjected, poking his head out of a third bush, pausing to spit out a few leaves. “But there are people everywhere! How are we supposed to pull off any kind of a heist?”

“Well…” Meowth began slyly, turning slowly to James as a smile spread across his face, “we could pull off a candy heist if we did a little less trickin’ and a little more treatin’!”

“Ooh, now that’s a good plan, Meowth!”

Jessie whipped her hair around and managed to smack both James and Meowth across the face, leaving them both dazed. “You numskulls! We’re not out to get candy like all of these snot-nosed little kids! We’re out to catch Pikachu!”

“But Jess,” James whined, “think of how long it’s been since we’ve had that much food! Much less good tasting food.”

There was the sound of water dripping into the bushes as James and Meowth began to drool. Jessie clenched her fist until it shook, ready to let them have it again before she heard her stomach rumble. Both boys turned to her with raised eyebrows and Jessie blushed, holding her stomach in a gloved hand.

From out of the bushes, she produced three pillowcases and announced, “Well, I guess it can’t hurt to think about food every once in a while! We can always nab Pikachu once those twerps have had their fill and all we have to do is roll Pikachu off the twerp’s shoulder and right into the boss’s office.”

With matching grins, each grabbed a bag and then made off for the closest house, so close to mountains of candy they could taste it.

“Wow, this house would be spooky even if it weren’t Halloween.”

Ash and Misty nodded along to Brock’s words as they all stood at the end of the street before a huge house that seemed to creak as a strong wind blew the autumn leaves and loose candy wrappers across the lawn.

It was like something out of a storybook. It was dark purple with a thatched black roof, which was made up of all odd angles, coming to a zenith at a pointed tower standing in the middle with a single window. Jutting in front of the window were bars of sharp iron, twisted as if by a giant’s strong grasp.

“Well, the porch light is on,” Ash pointed out. “That must mean that they’re accepting trick-or-treaters.”

Ash began to make for the front deck before Brock and Misty pulled him back. Even Pikachu pulled on his hair a little.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?”

“M-Maybe we should just skip it and head to the next house,” Misty suggested, eyeing the spooky structure warily.

“Why would we do that? Let’s just knock on the door.”

Ash stepped confidently forward, ignoring a whine from the back of Pikachu’s throat as the deck groaned at their combined weight. There was no doorbell, so Ash raised his fist to knock on the door when, without so much as a tap, it opened all on its own.

“Huh, look at that.”

Brock and Misty had reluctantly followed Ash, but now the both of them were slowly creeping backwards. Brock cleared his throat before saying, “Okay, now we should go, Ash.”

“No, wait, look at that!” Ash was pointing just inside the doorway, where there was a small table holding a huge bowl of candy and a silver candelabra. Just above the bowl was a sign that said, take one. “Look, they want us to go in!”

Ash pushed the door open all the way, revealing that the whole room was lit by nothing but the three-pronged candelabra, flickering as the wind from outside tickled the stale air inside the house.

Opening the door revealed a parlor, completely decked out with Halloween decorations. There was a bit of old furniture here and there, but covering every open space were pumpkins, skeletons of humans as well as various Pokémon, witch’s hats, brooms, and gnarled branches with bat-like Pokémon hanging from them. But they weren’t tacky items snatched from the bargain bin of a local drugstore; everything was so well-made that they looked almost real, down to the porous bones of the skeletons and peeling bark of the branches.

After Ash stepped inside, Brock and Misty followed to take their pick from the massive collection of candy. Misty gave a little shriek when she saw an enormous Ariados doll in the corner, somehow suspended from the ceiling. It was shrouded by the dark, but the enamel mandibles almost seemed to glow with poisonous saliva in the candlelight.

She put a hand up to her face, turning away from it. It wasn’t real, it only looked real. So it should only bother her if she looked on it. Nevertheless, the hairs on her arms were standing up on end and, for once that night, it wasn’t from the October chill.

They all turned their attention back to the most pleasant sight of the candy dish. Even though it was pretty late in the night, the bowl looked virtually untouched. Apparently most trick-or-treaters thought even candy wasn’t worth trying the old, creepy house.

But boy, were they missing out! There had to be every type of candy in that bowl. Chocolate, caramels, hard candies, lollipops, butterscotch, even truffles and small baked goods—more than Ash had even thought to imagine.

“You know, I bet we can take more than one,” Ash said, reaching into the tantalizing bowl. “I don’t think anybody would be upset by that.”

“Ash, it says to just take one.”

Misty’s words sounded firm, but one look over at her, with her face inches from the candy bowl, showed that she didn’t much believe what she was saying. She wanted the treats nearly as much as Ash did.

Both Togepi and Pikachu, who had wiggled their way onto the table, were also looking over the lip of the candy bowl, trying to make the best choice.

“One each,” Brock stated. Both Ash and Misty sighed, resigning themselves to follow the rules before Brock spoke up again, this time with a big grin. “Though that doesn’t mean we can’t each choose one for each of our Pokémon too!”

Ash and Misty cheered as they finally dug into the bowl, counting off candy for each of their Pokémon as Brock wedged himself into the mix as well.

“Do you think all thirty of my Tauros count?”

“Only if all of my Gym Pokémon count!”

“Those aren’t yours; they’re your sisters’!”

“No, they belong to the Gym! And I’m better with them anyway!”

“Are not.”

“Am too!”

“Are not!”

“Am too!”

“Are—”

“Enough out of both of you!”

Brock unwrapped two pieces of caramel and stuck one into Ash’s, then Misty’s mouth to quiet them. He nodded at his handiwork as both of them struggled to chew.

“That’s probably enough candy for the both of you.”

Then Misty made a gurgling shriek through the caramel as she began looking about wildly.

“What?”

“Pobeebee ih aw!”

Brock cocked his head. “What?”

Pikachu reached and patted Brock. “Pipipi!”

Ash caught on at that point, joining in with Misty’s mumbling. Brock, however, still had no reaction, so Pikachu was forced to concentrate, spiking the fur on his head and rounding his body until he looked like an egg.

“Oh, Togepi!”

Misty finally managed to chew the caramel down to a workable level and shouted, “We have to find Togepi! Anyone see where it went?”

Everyone collectively shook their heads. Then, they heard a light trill echo throughout the whole house. They cast about, uncertain of the direction the sound came from. Pikachu’s ears twitched for a second, and then he took off, scampering out of the room.

“Hey, Pikachu!”

Ash ran after Pikachu, with Brock and Misty not too far behind him. There was no electric lighting to speak of in the house, but every hallway and room was lined with sconce-like lanterns, fire blazing in each of them; there was just enough light to see a few feet in any direction, but no more.

After rounding just a few corners, they stopped in their tracks, finding themselves completely lost, with no trace of Togepi or Pikachu. There wasn’t so much as the light thump of a footstep. Nothing but dull creaks from the house, coming from every direction so that it seemed like the house was trying to move or maybe even say something.

“I think we should head back to the front of the house,” Brock suggested. “Just wait for Pikachu and Togepi there.”

“No, we have to find Togepi!” Misty was insistent, her jaw clenched and her gaze firm, but the wavers in her voice belied her strong façade.

“Pikachu will find Togepi, Misty. And we’ll be easier to find if we just stay put.”

Misty looked to Ash, who nodded at her. “Misty’s right, Brock. I wanna find Pikachu.”

Brock could only shrug. “Suit yourself. But let’s retrace our steps at least to find a better path, okay?”

“Fine.”

“Alright.”

It only took a few steps for them to realize they had no idea where the front of the house was. They turned around a few times, poking their head past corners, into hallways, looking for any sign of familiarity.

Somehow, the whole house was designed the way the parlor had been. In every corner were pieces of antique-looking Halloween paraphernalia, most dusty with time, like they hadn’t just been set out in the past few weeks for the holiday. It seemed as though it was always Halloween in this house.

Ash stepped over the black statue of a Purrloin wearing a witch’s hat, trying the last exit from the room for any hint as to where they had come from.

“No luck. That hallway just has some huge ghosts that I don’t remember seeing.”

“So, we’re lost?”

Misty looked at Ash with a perfect blend of irritation and fear while he sweat-dropped and backed away slowly, nearly tripping over the Purrloin.

“Not lost,” Brock stated, trying to diffuse the situation—or rather, avoid any situation that got Misty too mad. “We just don’t know where we are or how to get back to where we were.”

A vein began to throb on Misty’s forehead as she turned to Brock. “Well, what is that if not lo—”

“Pika! Pika!”

The sound echoed all throughout the house until the two calls became many, sounding like there were dozens of Pikachu hiding in the very woodwork of the house. It sounded like it could have come from anywhere. Ash, Brock, and Misty cast about in all directions, to little avail.

“Priii!”

That sound too began to echo, morphing until it was a twisted distortion of Togepi’s cute call.

“I think it’s coming from upstairs!” Ash finally declared. “Which hallway had the stairs?”

“This one!” Misty shouted, pushing in front of them and making for a set of wooden stairs, spiraling up with an iron rail, lined with cross-shaped spikes.

“Careful!” Brock put a fingertip to one of the spikes and yanked it away quickly. “These are sharp!”

“Pikachu! Where are you?”

“Togepi! Please come out here!”

Ash and Misty tumbled onto the landing at the top of the stairs and listened as more calls came from their Pokémon, bouncing off every which way, but stronger than they had been down below.

“This way!”

“You better not be getting us lost again, Ash Ketchum!”

“No, they’re definitely this way!”

“Guys, wait up!”

The trio eventually stumbled into a large, cluttered room, furnished like an attic, with no candles to light the way. There were, however, windows washing the room with the moon’s pallid glow.

“Pikachu?”

“Pikapi!”

Ash nearly ran into a tall suit of armor as he rounded a stack of items, opening the large room up even further. There, bathed in a deep red glow, were Pikachu and Togepi, eyeing a strange object.

“What is that?” Misty asked with a gasp.

The red glow seemed to be emanating from the object, which was resting in a basket on top of a treasure chest, just out of Pikachu and Togepi’s reaches. Not for lack of trying, though, as Togepi kept stretching its arms out, trying to touch it.

“It looks like an egg,” Brock observed. “Like a dragon egg, or something.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!”

Ash rushed forward to look at it and soon enough, the whole gang was taken in by its almost supernatural glow.

Pikachu took it upon himself to take Togepi in his arms, raising it over his head so it could get a closer look at the object. Togepi trilled in delight, leaning in to reach it.

“Don’t touch it, Togepi,” Misty chastised. “It’s not yours.”

Togepi frowned for a second, whimpering a little. Then it jumped out of Pikachu’s grasp, arms outstretched as if to give the egg a hug. Togepi landed in the basket, which was lined with straw and wheat in a neat nest, and tried to hug the egg, but its stubby arms kept it at a distance.

“Oh, Togepi.”

Misty reached for Togepi, but before she could grab it back into her loving arms, the egg began to glow brightly, blinding everyone for a moment as their eyes adjusted. After a few burning blinks, everyone turned back to see Togepi being sucked into the egg.

Everyone gasped in shock. Pikachu was the first to regain his wits, and he leapt up, grabbing for Togepi, only to begin being sucked into the egg too.

“Oh no, you don’t!”

Ash grabbed for Pikachu, Misty grabbed for Ash, and Brock grabbed for Misty, each disappearing faster and faster as the glow became stronger, before fragmenting from a blood red into individual beams of orange and black like a Halloween sunburst.

Then, they were gone, and the room was once again dark and silent, save for the whistling of the wind outside, and the gentle groans of the old, dark house.

On Halloween night, Ash and friends had expected lots of treats but this is one trick they hadn’t expected! Where have they gone and how will they get out of this one? Stay tuned for next time!

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