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sunghanne · 1 year

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STAR RACER － ENHYPEN GREASE AU SERIES | PART 3 🚦

racer!enhypen & flaggirl!reader

PARTS: PROLOGUE, PART 1, PART 2 , PART 4. coming soon...

TITLE: ST★R-RACER : PART 3. MAKING ENEMIES

feat. ENHYPEN, TXT, STRAY KIDS?!

PLOT: in a small town during the 1950s, seems the only thing keeping careless teenagers entertained are drag races where only the elite participate. and those elite are known as star racers.

WARNINGS: coarse language, sexual themes, sexist remarks, ooc idols, illegal acts, violence, tba...

TAGLIST: @lalalalawon , @strvlveera comment your @/user to be added!

WORD-COUNT: 8.5k

NOTE: heyy, in hopes to keep the 1950's setting authentic, there are sexist jokes so please watch out for that. because the reality is, that mindset was not rare to come across during those times. this chapter is NOT EDITED at all. i'm sorry if its not my best one. likes, reposts and comments are all heavily appreciated, thank you and enjoy!!

"ow, that hurts y/n! you've never done this before have you?!" the whining male cried out as you shushed him with a harsh tug of the tuff of his dark hair, his yells echoing off the bathroom walls.

you shot him a death glare through the mirror of your bathroom, standing behind riki's sitting figure with foil and bleach encased around his head like someone's grandma with a head of rollers, "no, but i know what i'm doin'! i saw this on a commercial, it's a piece of cake," you reassured, even snorting quietly in your throat at the stupidity in your words. riki wasn't sure whether to be even more terrified than before at such unhelpful guidance.

"if i come home bald, you're gonna tell my folks exactly what you'd done," he huffed as you painted a thick coat of hair dye on a handful of his strands. you tutted at his childish nagging and focused on the task at hand.

"the ladies are gonna be all over you," you sang while lifting a foil-covered bunch of his hair and waving it in the air for him to see in the mirror. his dark eyes shot open at the new colour enveloping his virgin hair, "look at that."

"shit, how many times do i gotta do this?" he asked when a concentrated yellow appeared from his roots to the ends of his hair.

you hummed at his inquisitive question and with a cheery smile you replied, "only around four times." his head was thrown back while he wailed out with a mocking cry, like a child on his first day of school. you nudged his head back forward with the bleach applicator in your hand so the foil wouldn't fall out of place.

"i better win this upcoming race," he sulked while sitting up properly as you enforced harshly. you giggled and immediately started teasing him if he didn't win, he'd be on a permanent ban from racing ever again. except, when the day arrived. you didn't know what kinda racer yang jeongin really was.

"shit," you cursed out aloud, having to almost yell it to be heard over the jostling barracks, feeling guilty, "we missed riki's takeoff," your eyes searched for sunghoon's and he ducked his head low am tousled some of his light silver hair in a fluster. you originally wanted to be cheering your heart out for riki's first race back in action but you were so lost in your conversation with chan and felix that you forgot all about it.

"right, yeah," sunghoon plainly responded, eyes scanning the scene of the flag girl skipping off to her side of the track, "he's made in the shade. let 'em be," he nonchalantly finished while the crowd's volume gradually decreased and currently in a waiting period.

definition:'made in the shade'. > success guaranteed.

"yeah, she'll be right," felix grinned, most likely referring to his mate, jeongin. you were curious about brace boy, particularly that last conversation he looked like he held with riki where riki held his pinky up and did a promise in the air. your attention was placed back onto felix who has turned away with a hand tucked into his pocket.

definition:’she’ll be right’. > he/she/they will do fine.

"you're a star racer?" you questioned the freckled-faced male diagonal from you and he shone a proud smile at your acknowledgement.

"that's right. why is everyone always surprised when i tell them this?" felix asked while turning his head to his familiar, chan. his voice uncertain and high-pitched at the backhanded reaction from you.

"you're just so friendly, the other stars i've met are too busy touching their gearsticks to come up to another star and chat," you explained and his nose scrunched at your misleading metaphor of gearsticks. sunghoon snickered beside you quietly, silently agreeing in his mind. you weren't entirely off the mark saying that, hell, soobin never cared for his opponent at the beginning or end of the event. too busy stroking his machine on wheels to unsuspecting girls from his side.

"aw, that's real peachy of you. where's this star of yours?" he wondered while pressing a flat hand above his brow bone and squinting his eyes, deliberately looking over sunghoon during his theatrical act. of course, only chan found this bit funny. sunghoon on the other hand was driving forward to brush his hand on felix's shoulder to spin him back around to where hyunjin stood.

"cut the gas. i need another weed," sunghoon demanded the childish counterpart of his, hiding his internalised annoyance for being overlooked. felix let out a toothy laugh and called out for the red-haired male several metres from where we stood.

definition:'weed'. > a cigarette.

hwang's fierce eyes faltered at the outlandish male calling his name in a deliberate baby voice and reluctantly came to his heed. leaving the makeshift spotlight of the lamp post behind him, his charming features were illuminated in the natural moonlight, half of his face hidden in the shadows. and as he approached even closer, he was surprisingly almost as tall as sunghoon.

"what is it?" he grizzled out, annoyance evident in the way he spoke at felix's antics. the male in question patted his disgruntled friend on the back and gestured towards sunghoon with his free arm like a tour guide.

"a cig for the gentleman here," the playful boy announced and hyunjin's dark pupils shrunk upon landing on sunghoon.

"park, where's your little groupie?" the newcomer asked, their voice tainted with boredom like he didn't care about the answer regardless. you were curious about their history together so you kept a keen eye on their interactions. hyunjin's slim hand hid in his jacket's pocket and when he retracted it, a cigarette was flown at sunghoon in an instant. your friend paused and reeled forward to catch the stick, startled. "need me to light it for you too, eyebrows?"

sunghoon's brows dipped at the name-calling from his opposite, ignoring such disruptive teasing and lighting his cigarette smoothly. he sighed peacefully, blowing smoke that lapsed the red-haired male in spite. the misty effect around the said boy with the mole beneath his left eye made you want to jump out of your sneakers and hope to catch a ride with him home. he had no reason to look so effortlessly gorgeous. eyes starting to water from the lack of blinking, a carefully placed hand spun you around towards the upper slope of the concrete walls.

"hitting the road so soon? tell lee i said hello," hyunjin's voice poured and you felt sunghoon's nails almost dig into your fabric-covered arm in frustration. he couldn't answer why the other men weren't with him, it'd only open more holes for the opposition to pry. so for your safety and his, the only thing he could do was turn his back and exit without a word.

"want a drink?" he questioned to break the defeating silence on the way up the slope. it felt like it was the two of you against the world, a familiar feeling with you and sunghoon being placed in difficult positions to crawl out of. it was so lonely, jungwon and sunoo didn't come with you and jake was somewhere in the crowd preparing for his upcoming race.

if you weren't sure which of the two boys from earlier would be against jake, you'd be safe to assume ruby locks. chan the creep was a close competitor but something about his appearance didn't scream racer. the reason you weren't familiar with this handful of boys was that they were not in town often. why? because they were from a nearby suburb and only came to your drag strip because it was better than whatever set-up they had. this only lead you to ponder what kind of people they were.

"yeah, please," you agreed to sunghoons suggestion and he changed directions of your footing to a nearby huddle of people around a foldable table, impatient hands of money held out to whoever was running the alcohol-selling get-up.

the rumble of an engine, the screech of tires, the painful sting of car oil and your sweet face amongst the strands of hair flying behind you. that's all heeseung could recall in his last moments of racing before everything turned cold.

when he saw you and sunghoon running away from him, getting chased by soobin, beomgyu, taehyun and kai, he knew he was at a loss. he fidgetted with his door lock, hands soiled in grease resulting in his fingers being slippery with the hard surface. then, with a dip in his legs, he limped out of his messy car and turned right back around to look at the state it was in. just his luck, the white shine of his vehicle was ruined by a clear brown slick splattered inside and outside it.

"fuck. fuck, what am i gonna do," he cursed while his wet fingers came in contact with the back of his hair, jostling his strands in frustration. he had two options, go to you and the mobs surrounding yeonjun or hit the road. he couldn't go home like this, and neither could he relish in humiliation from everyone. so, weighing his options, he began his journey up the closest slope with heavy footsteps.

he loathed the way his favourite jacket was now dirtied with car oil and his footsteps left marks on the dry pavement behind him. he just prayed to god that they would dry up by the time anyone else came to find him.

this side of town for heeseung was unexplored. the neighbouring school's turf, that's all he took in as his head turned while walking past the tall, brick building. the school for the higher-ups. the school where students probably didn't spend their after-school time in gas-ridden garages as he did. he had made quite the change in progress from the race track he crawled out of and now found himself deeper in the bramble bushes on the opposite side of town.

he smelled awful, like a gas station set on fire. he still wore his damp jacket, knowing it was a smarter idea to throw it off but the evening breeze was way too cold to discard it so easily. and, part of the boy believed there'd be a chance to save it when he got himself out of the mess.

a deafening beep of someone's car brought the boy out of his clashing thoughts when he found himself crossing a road, green appearing on every street light around him. his eyebrows furrowed and he clenched his teeth in annoyance, throwing up a middle finger to the driver as he picked his pace up while meeting the other side of the pavement.

he wasn't the type to dawdle stupidly. he was irritated at his thoughts tuning him out of the real-world enough to make him senselessly cross a road. also half irritated at the scare and the loud beep made his heavy shoulders flinch. he was wondered what was going on in the drag strip right now. the other school was having their bash and you were probably with the other boys heading home or to sunoo's diner for burgers and shakes.

just his luck, the neon wiring on a shop's board spelled '24hrs' stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the dark windows of already closed establishments. he'd found a 24-hour dry cleaner and maybe he didn't hate the previous rage road for rushing him to it. the entrance bells rang as he stepped in, his hand leaving a thin coat of car oil on the door handle.

the cleaning service smelled of lavender-scented washing detergent and the warm smell of an iron pressed to clothes, a nice change from his burnt tire-smelling 'cologne'. behind a run-down service desk was an employee, looking up from her newspaper, glasses tilting up her nose bridge. her face was partly distorted behind the tip jar that only had two coins in it. the stranger's mouth was parted, most likely surprised a customer even came in at this time of night or maybe at the appearance of heeseung who looked like he'd crawled right out of some swamp.

heeseung was just as surprised to see a girl his age working, assuming it was a family-owned business and she was most likely forced to stay late nights as punishment for bad test results. but, he knew he would be able to use this to his advantage.

"pick up for, er, nathan," he fibbed while fiddling with the cuffs of his jacket, praying to whatever god above that there was a customer named nathan. the girl's eyebrows raised, realising she actually had to do her job. so with the fold of her newspaper, she jumped down from her seat and tiptoed towards the long hanger racks with a collection of clothing hanging.

heeseung tailed behind her, proceeding to the opposite side of the two stripes of clothing racks and clicking the hangers together as he frantically sought clothes that could do the trick. long floral nightgowns, tuxedos, and even a wedding dress yet, no clothing fit for a teenager. "i'm sorry, no clothes under the name nathan," the employee fret while turning around to look at heeseung's opposite spot to hers.

he clicked his tongue in annoyance, not replying but only heightening his pace in scrolling through articles of fabric till his hands paused at someone's long pair of coveralls, clean and freshly ironed. he unhooked it and held it to the girl observing and smiled, "found it," he responded and the girl pushed her glasses up her nose bridge at the awkward feeling of being bested by a customer.

"really? oh, there we go then," she replied without a console and padded back towards her counter, leaning her elbows on the surface while picking her newspaper up. heeseung was silently celebrating in his mind at his successful act, treading towards the girl whose stationed right at the exit.

he calmly slid off his oily jacket and threw it on the edge of the counter she didn't lean on, a few rolling coins with it, "thanks, buttercup. i'll pick this one up next," the boy spoke with a wink at the broad. then, he pressed forward and left the building, stolen coveralls folded over one of his arms. as he disappeared from the store's large windows, he couldn't help a long arm of his being pulled back to his side in a celebratory dance, hoping on his light feet to an imaginary beat in his head as he skipped past dimly lit buildings.

you and sunghoon were regretful forgetting to watch riki's departure. because when he rolled in a fraction of a minute after jeongin, that's when hell broke loose.

you leapt up from your sitting position and pulled sunghoon with you to the middle of the track where riki had just parked. before getting a word in, the protruding male shoved through the circle of students encasing jeongin and raised a fist to the unsuspecting boy's face. about to strike, he was roughly pushed to the floor and met with the untamed clashes of three pairs of shoes.

"watch it, greaser!" chan yelled before laughing and settling his foot right on top of riki's reddening ear, earning a hiss of pain from the younger. your eyes widened in worry while you mirrored riki's shoving tactic to maneuver the crowd out of the way for you and sunghoon. you'd never expect such a rocky entrance from your friend.

"beat it!" you yelled while trying to shoo off hyunjin, felix and chan who had been kicking and stomping on riki's fetal position. sunghoon aided you by rutting his shoulder into the trio of men to make space for you. you placed your drink on the floor while ducking down to help riki up. he was roughed out, swipes of dirt in the pattern of shoe prints all over his clothes and face.

"what's the big idea?" sunghoon grumbled while glaring at the prosecutors, chan swiped his nose, sniffing inwards while his eyes searched the crowds like he was expecting someone. the look in the other two boys echoed the same reaction and sunghoon was taken aback by their behaviour. they were waiting for everyone else, jay, jungwon, sunoo and heeseung to interfere but no one came. sunghoon could tell, another light of pride flickering off in his mind. they weren't here.

only jake was running down the concrete slopes while his dark leather jacket flew behind him with every airy step he took.

"what's our prob? like you didn't just see your yoot strike ours first," hyunjin replied while his shoulders seemed to relax at the lack of our crew members. your head turned to riki as he grappled onto your hand and slowly unfurled himself, wincing during the gradual motion.

definition:'yoot'. > a younger sibling.

he wasn't looking at hyunjin, nor sunghoon at that. he was only staring at one boy. the boy with a sadistic grin spread across one cheek to the other, braces shown and all, "what happened, riki?" you questioned lowly in case you'd tripped on a wire that lead to the alarms going off in his head. his eyebrows furrowed while he wiped the back of his palm against his nostrils, a crimson fluid left behind on his pale skin.

"take a look at it yourself, this brute just dented jay's ride," he explained while your head flicked back to the boy's car he had borrowed from jay to use. jake positioned himself next to riki and viewed the area like a radar, a serious scowl on his face from his usual sweet smile.

"no rules in drag racin'," jeongin spoke up, and it was the first time you'd ever heard him. he sounded youthful and the cruel smile still on his face only added to it.

"you wanna pay for your damages? go ahead," riki rasped, a clothed arm against his nostrils to try and soak up his bleeding nose. the boy opposite to him only raised an eyebrow, looking over to his older peers like riki had just told a bad joke.

"i'm not the one losing the race, why would i?" jeongin rhetorically questioned while his smile finally dropped and only then did he finally give you the creeps. riki seethed through his teeth and stepped forward with hunched shoulders before he was stopped by sunghoon's hand.

"relax, he's just tryna bug you. ts'only the first race. jake and i got this," sunghoon reassured and rubbed his hand on riki's shoulder. the younger affirmed with a nod of his head and took a few steps backwards, almost bumping into you if you didn't move away at the right time.

"come on riki, let's get you fixed up," you persuaded the other and tugged on the cuff around his free hand. he reluctantly turned around, his eyes being the last of his body to disappear from the four boys.

"his mom came to pick him up, ain't that nice," you heard jeongin mock, only earning a small snicker from the crowd here and there. but you didn't care. cheaters would never have real skill and that's that.

you lead riki back towards the slanted pavement, in hopes of finding some tissues or an ice pack around somewhere. as you left lightly, you heard jake's voice question sunghoon about what happened and the crowd slowly disburse in preparation for the next race.

with a cold glass of beer against riki's sore face, his eyes never lifted off the concrete you two sat on. you clutched onto your long skirt and bit your bottom lip while mindlessly tracing your eyes on the tire tracks left in the dirt as jake and hyunjin already started their race.

"so... what really happened?" you asked the boy gently and he groaned at the forming bruise on his cheek that hurt every time he tried to speak.

"that son of a bitch' decided to play dirty when i was ahead of him for half the race," his voice was nasally due to the two twisted tissues stuffed up his nostrils and you could laugh at his state if it wasn't such a serious situation.

"he just rammed into you?" you questioned in uncertainty a boy so sweet looking like jeongin could be so fierce on the racetrack. but riki wanted to prove you wrong.

"yes. before the race, he told me no hard feelings for whoever won. so much for that act," he spat in betrayal, his gold locks draped around the sides of his face like a curtain. you assumed that's why riki held his pinky up before his race, motioning a promise to that flawed oath. you lightly chewed on the insides of your mouth, thinking his outrage seemed justified.

"what a joke," you commented while tucking a piece of your hair behind your ear and looked off towards the distance to not pile on the shame the boy was already drowning in.

"ts'tough. i wanted to win so badly. now everyone still thinks i'm a joke," he vented while continuing the shield on his expression. you immediately consoled the doubtful boy, a gentle hand stroking his back soothingly.

"that's not true. shit, i doubt anybody could handle the stress of being crashed into during a race," you pleaded while trying to cheer the boy up. he lifted his face slowly and his bangs fell to their correct placement, eyes lightened at your encouraging resolve.

"think so?" he asked in a low voice and you nodded with a small grin at his change in attitude.

"keeno," you responded and he sighed in relief while closing his eyes and rocking his head back.

definition:'keeno'. > keen, sure.

"this little kindness thing you do, is this what you learn in bible study, y/n?" his tone suddenly changed as he teased you with his usual banter. your eyebrows furrowed before you abruptly tore a tissue down from his nostrils and he cried loudly at the sting and the gush of blood that came out with it.

jake won his race. you were glad to see the smug grin wiped off of hyunjin's face upon his arrival. this glimmer of hope made your shoulders lift at the chance your crew could still win the night. it was you, jake and riki sitting together along the pavement waiting for the winner. riki's previous beer was now being used for its actual purpose and he gulped it down without a care in the world once his bruise stopped hurting and his nose quit bleeding.

jake was talking about how some pack of girls kept crowding around him like flies when he first arrived, hence his disappearance when you and felix first met. you thought it was a little funny why jake was always trying to run away from his group of fans every time he raced and riki made some comment about how jake probably swung the other way which he immediately denied.

the topic changed, rotating between what holiday jay was forced upon by his father, whether riki's voice had dropped yet and if heeseung was going to come back or not. where would he be? what could have taken him two weeks of his life from racing? not only was the absence at his desk at school starting to grow a pit in your stomach but also the doubt whether he was coming back or not.

you and the seven boys were childhood friends, in preschool, middle school all the way to high school the seven of you were inseparable. heeseung wasn't the kind of person to throw away years like that just for some hurt pride. so he had to come back.

the loud echo of an oncoming vehicle's radio sounded from atop the slope opposite your side. it was a roofless, bright blue automobile but the pack of men inside it is what surprised you the most. the two boys in the backseat were standing up and cooing like wild animals, fists in the air that held bottles of liquor. the people sitting on the concrete slope had to jump and run out of the road for the vehicle barging through them to avoid being squashed flat.

the men standing up only held onto the top of the front seat headers to retain their balance as the car veered forward down the slope dangerously to the point it could almost tip over. the air out of your lungs was socked out at such a stunt as the rolling vehicle came to a halt once it met the flat ground. the bass of the radio reflected off the pavement and you could hear your ears thumping to the same rhythm of the music before it clicked off and the four men jumped out.

"yeah, the boys!" chan's loud voice yelled while he ran from his previous viewing position to greet the other individuals with bear hugs and handshakes. your head steered towards the two boys beside you, curious about their reactions as well. jake's lips were parted and with clenched teeth, he fidgeted in his position steadily. riki's eyebrows were raised far enough for his forehead to crease in interest to what the appearance of these newcomers entailed to the event.

your eyes squinted while watching the figures below where the three of you say upon and their interactions. they behaved like sleazy, booze-infested apes who only knew how to communicate by yelling and wooing at everything. "who are they?" you questioned, not directed to either of your friends but jake took the initiative.

"that's the rest of their gang," he cooly replied and his lips licked out of habit and discomfort. if sunghoon didn't win, he would be the bud of jokes between the just-arriving men.

"shit, there's a mob of them," you cursed while counting up the numbers of your crew. four to eight did not look appealing to you at all.

"they're bad news," jake quietly continued while his eyes traced the furthest he could of the race track for any sign of sunghoon or felix. and you believed him. the appearance of such a feral group muddled with the only familiar handful of men you knew from them completed a perfect puzzle in your head. they were much worse than yeonjun and his group. way worse.

heeseung didn't have anywhere to stay the night. but when the company of his worn coveralls found him tiptoeing in the night, they invited him in. the owner of the repairman company, an old, balding man asked heeseung where he found the uniform which the boy answered shamelessly. unexpectedly, the old man laughed at such brutal honesty and offered heeseung a job.

so for the upcoming days, heeseung spent every day and night on the job, using the telephone outlet to call home and promise his temperamental mother that he'd be home soon and was just out with the boys. the owner of the establishment loved heeseung and his surprising work on vehicles.

"you seem to know a lotta 'bout cars, son. your old man a mechanic too?" his low antique voice asked while heeseung lay on a creeper on the undercarriage of a car, toying with something. a bead of sweat rolled down his dirt-staining temple while he licked his lips to answer.

"nah. just a knack i picked up," he lightly responded in such a bent-over position, his voice was coarse and throaty.

"impressive. skilled with your hands, aren't ya," the old man chuckled at his gag and heeseung just softly chortled at the dirty joke.

"no sweat," heeseung replied while focusing back on his work. that was the domestic dynamic he held with the owner who so generously offered food, shelter and a job to him. but all things come to an end and heeseung had a group to return to and a race to win.

and that's where heeseung found himself, sprinting out of the joint with nothing but a cigarette in his mouth and handfuls of scrunched cash stuffed into his pockets and crowded against his stomach as he ran away with the infuriated man behind him. of course, being at such old age made the owner give up easily and retreat to inside the store and to the nearest telephone for the police.

heeseung was smiling, laughing breathlessly at such a successful act that merely took a week and a half to achieve. the loud steps of his black converses came to a stop in front of the only store with a neon sign at this time of night. the dry cleaners where he could finally collect his jacket.

he swung the door open, ignoring the glare of the same girl at the run-down counter as he raced to the hanger racks to find it. the loud scratch of the girl's chair bounced off of the poster-ridden walls when she stood up in disbelief at the return of the boy who left her with a hand of dirty pennies and a destroyed jacket.

"nathan?" she abruptly spoke up and heeseung's pace faltered for a brief moment while he ignored her calling. she had a lot of questions in mind as to why he was running with wads of cash glued to him and why it took him to long to collect his jacket. "those aren't yours, are they?" her glasses adjusted on her nose bridge as two shakey fingers pressed against them. she was referring to his coveralls now soiled in stains. he had almost forgotten the fake name he used so he didn't even realise she was referring to him.

"s'course they aren't mine. you realise this world is full of cheaters," he rhetorically asked through messy heaves of his chest while still flicking through articles of clothing. he was drenched in sweat and, motor oil and dirt, almost as dishevelled as the girl first saw him. her hands, once preoccupied with the newspaper she once read grasped onto her long red polka-dot skirt, uneasy with such a mean response.

the brief moment of silence broke at the relieved sigh that left the tall boy's parched lips as he found his beloved jacket. before he could pad back towards the entrance, the bright flash of red and blue reflected off the windows as police cars drove past at a deathly slow pace. they were searching for him. heeseung's dark eyes widened and he ducked down in an attempt to hide before his vision was clouded by red and white polka dots. "nathan, behind here," the gentle voice above the endangered male brought him back to reality and the crisis he was in.

the employee gestured to behind the front desk and he complied, side shuffling on his aching knees behind it. the girl was like his reflection, mirroring his positioning to take light steps and use her wide skirt to cover his face while he made haste getting to behind the desk. he met with the grim dusty table legs and leaned his back against it with a clamouring heartbeat. the unnamed girl returned to her usual position, reading a newspaper but all the tiny printed letters were too blurred by her adrenaline to actually process anything.

police cars swarmed by, their loud tires burning rubber against the road outside and their brash sirens singing out. heeseung was more than grateful for the little helping hand as he would've been toast if he was still out in the open. the only thing he thought about was the son of a bitch who ratted him out and sent a flock of police after him. he'd understand one or two cars but half a street full was asking for too much. it wasn't like he robbed the man's entire life savings, only a till full.

his partner in crime only took the flashing reflection in her glasses as a signal that the police cars had finally passed by and she craned her guilty head down to the man below her. his pearly white teeth shone, smirking in his pleasing tactic of avoiding the authorities, "thought you were a good girl. turns out y'not," was the only sentence he formed as his nerves calmed as his breathing regulated.

the quiet girl suppressed the tint of red growing from one of her cheeks to the other at his words, turning away in an instant to not blow her cover. "hit the road, hood," her voice changed while she referred to the criminal acts of the boy and now realised the kind of character he was.

the smoke of heeseung's cig left an imperfect line in the air as he stood up cautiously, eyes darting through the wide glass panes to see if the coast was clear. once he confirmed it was, he graciously stepped out of the desk and back on his previous path to the exit. the nickname 'hood' amused the boy, as well as the sudden fierceness in the girl he only thought was innocent.

"thanks, sweetheart. my name's heeseung," he revealed through a light whisper before he ducked out of the thrown-open door and to the opposite direction the police cars came from. the employee raced to the doorway upon his departure and leaned her head out of it to watch as the male escaped to an alleyway hidden in the shadows.

a knot in her heart snapping at the thought it would be the last time she'd ever see the boy. she knew from the beginning the coveralls weren't his and she knew his name wasn't actually nathan. because the tag on the jacket he left behind was claimed with blue pen that spelled his real name. all she knew about the dangerous boy was that she had fallen head over heels for him.

heeseung swerved past tight corners, cautiously avoiding the open from the fuzz that was most likely circling the area. he was trying his best not to move so violently and risk papers blowing out his pockets so he stopped once and found himself in an alleyway between some grocery store and two large skip bins where the stink was more detrimental than being caught by the police.

fortunately, there was a telephone hooked to the wall of the grocery store and as long as it wasn't hooked up to the services of the actual store, this could be his one-way ticket out of this muck. so, within two beats he held the phone up to his ear and dialled the only reliable service he knew. park jay.

sunghoon lost. the ear-defeating celebration from the pack of animals in the middle of the track only rubbed salt in the wounds when sunghoon exited his vehicle and scrambled his hair in his fingers out of frustration. jake stepped forward and rubbed the dishevelled male on the shoulder out of encouragement but he didn't bite into it. the cold winds brushed against the equally cold atmosphere and it sucked having two losses in a row.

you stood beside riki and began to turn away as sunghoon and jake were an inch past you when felix's loud voice yelled, "that race was child's play. i thought you had more fire in you, but i guess you put out," he mocked cruelly, indicating something unrelated to racing.

"s'got a broad with 'em. whaddya gonna do on the way home? this a gangbang?" another male you never met before slurred out, clearly mixed with alcohol. the disgusting comment made your nose scrunch and riki's steps froze.

"ey, let me tap in then," another one drunkenly laughed while his arms were slung around chan and the previously spoken male.

"what'dya meant to do the other 23 hours and 45 minutes in a day, han?" hyunjin teased immediately and han was laughed at while the other boys yanked his clothes mockingly.

the laughing group of hyenas in contrast to your silent crew made you grow embarrassed by the inappropriate remarks. well, until riki's fist banged into han's snickering face and made the boy almost collapse like a folding chair. your eyes shot open, sunghoon and jake immediately spun back around to stop the incoming throttle the seven active men were about to induce on riki.

the mobs of drunken teens were reeled around the scuffle, making it almost impossible for your two friends to pull their youngest out of the rut. your fingernails seeped into riki's shoulders as you attempted to help them hold riki back from going any further than a punch against han and the other men did the same with the said male.

"bust a gut, but you'll be blown off when i get my hands on you-" riki hissed out, voice hindered by the violent thrashes he used to try and get out of the lock sunghoon and jake had on him. han's lips were sneering in anger, cheek reddening while fought against his kind.

definition:'bust a gut'. > laugh out loud.

'blown off'. > defeated in a race.

"bite me!” han yelled before getting shoved to the ground by felix and chan, the two men who were slightly guilty for their friends' behaviour having met you beforehand. you stole a glance at felix, eyebrows furrowed in anger at the switch of personalities the men had around their friends. you thought they were cool at first before their true colours showed.

"cool it!" chan shouted while han was still itching to get his hands on riki. riki finally complied with the grip on his arms, calming down his heaving chest that was so clouded by anger and humiliation.

"i'm warnin' you ever utter a word about y/n," sunghoon rasped, for once his pink lips not clouded by the smoke of a cigarette between them. felix gulped down dryly, eyeing you through the gap between jake and riki's shoulders sympathetically.

"these chicks're only good for one thing," the male with dark hair who previously brought up the idea of the 'gangbang' spoke so confidently and your stomach turned at his controversial words. riki's body jerked at the immorality of the other and sunghoon called out for him to relax.

"fuck up, changbin, for fucks' sake," felix cussed in irritation while turning to his aggravating companion who never got the hint of the situation. you hand rubbed at riki's warm back to continue to settle him down as a blanket of intense silence ensued, consisting of death glares being shot from one boy to another.

"if you're cruisin' for a bruisin', this is our turf and we can get you kicked out anytime y'want," sunghoon warned lowly and felix's head angled downwards at his threat. before he uttered a word, hyunjin stepped forward with his red hair stealing the attention of everyone else.

"how 'bout we settle this? let's cop this side of town so you looneys can't reach us," hyunjin suggested and it piqued interest with his clique nodding in agreement.

"this s'not your turf and neither is it ours," sunghoon retaliated referring to the other side of town owning it. and to be exact, he meant yeonjun and his lackeys' ownership. hyunjin's head tilted in amusement, one eyebrow raised at the correction.

"well then, better defend their turf or you'll be bruised by 'em too. lets race. same spot, same time, tomorrow," hyunjin gambled and for one, you knew bets like these never ended well. you bit your lip uneasily and stole a glance at sunghoon. his eyes didn't falter, and neither did he move an inch from his position when his hands clapped against hyunjin's in a passive-aggressive handshake.

"winner takes the turf," he concluded while he released his hand from hyunjin's robotically and started to turn around to his vehicle parked behind him. you, jake, and riki copied his mannerisms and with hunched shoulders, you refused to return the sorry gaze felix conveyed to you. the tension in the air broke and was followed up by the loud celebration of the opposition's win.

sitting on four leather seats, you and the three others leaned on the counter, chewing your nails anxiously at the upcoming rumble in 24 hours. "i mean, surely you can bring your salt shakers and maybe sprinkle it in their eyes," jake humoured while looking over at sunoo who burst out laughing at the idea.

definition:'rumble'. > a fight among gangs.

"effective, don't you think? five bucks if i land it in jeongin's eyeballs just for you, riki," sunoo joked, previously hearing all about the events thirty minutes ago. riki just sighed out a less than enthusiastic laugh, clearly still torn on jeongin and his personal fight.

"you learnt better than that to set up bets again," you spoke with upturned eyebrows, staring at sunoo with a smile on your face to try and get him out of the habit.

"five bucks is not gonna empty my wallet," he replied while pouting his lips slightly to exaggerate his pronunciation.

"you paid your debts back?" you questioned, sounding a little more surprised than you intended to and the male was almost insulted.

"yes, actually," he rolled his eyes at your tone and then shifted his gaze to sunghoon whose head was in the clouds somewhere, only the fog of a cigarette blowing out of him. your eyes traced the long, slowly wavering line of smoke all the way up to the ceiling that danced before it disappeared into the air.

"sunghoon," you called his name and only his eyes moved to the direction of your voice, which you flinched in your seat, "oh my god. he's possessed."

sunoo and make cracked up quietly, not wanting to bring the male back to his right senses by being too loud. because for some reason, sunghoon's spaced-out periods were entertaining to watch. "must be heeseung's ghost. hey hyung," sunoo piled to the humour and you chewed the inside of your mouth not to giggle as well.

"stop," you begged while silently laughing while tugging sunoo's wrist to try and stop his hand from waving like a robot at sunghoon as if he were greeting heeseung.

finally, sunghoon's eyes blinked and he awoke from whatever curse was placed upon him, "fuck. we are so canned this rumble," he groaned while his hands clawed at his roots, palms drowning his eyes in darkness while he covered them.

"cool it, hyung. we've got weapons," sunoo calmly reassured while sliding a bottle of ketchup to jake which the male effortlessly caught and raised in the air playfully.

"'m being serious. six of us and eight of 'em, if they don't bring any other hobos with them, we're dead," he responded while his hands dripped from his anguished face and resided on the table.

"it was your bet, jackass," jake's brows crossed as he placed the bottle on the table and crossed his arms. sunghoon grunted while he slowly looked back at the other.

"yeah, i know that. how else would i have gotten them off us," his dark faze darted to riki's unsuspecting face next, "some fucker decided to strike 'em first, not once but twice."

riki's mouth fell open in treachery at his scolding, "lay off, hyung. you saw the way they were talkin' to y/n," he retorted while his blonde hair bounced with every word he spoke.

"i saw, we were jus' outnumbered. it was a bad move," he explained as quickly as he could before you got the wrong idea. his reasoning made sense but riki still thought he was getting heat for shit.

"whatever," the younger scoffed, pride partly hurt when he recalled the amount it took to calm him down from lashing out at han further.

"hey, riki. you wanna drop jay's ride at his garage for jungwon in the morning?" you asked the other to change the subject and ease the growing pressure in the room. the boy nodded his head and jumped up from his stool without another word and you trailed behind him to the entrance, "catch you later."

"i don't get it, he would've done the same for you," riki opening complained, hair grasping at his roots in stress as he steered with one hand. you leaned your chin on the back of your palm, listening intently to his worries while the gusts of cold night winds blew past you through jay's roofless automobile.

"no one was in the right in that situation," you responded and riki's eyes flicked up to you in the rearview mirror for a split second while he tried to piece together why, "i don't care about the shit they said. i know the only girl they'd ever kissed is probably their moms so why should i," you grumbled and a quiet noise in riki's throat signalised that he was laughing just a tiny bit.

"so you agree with sunghoon hyung then?" he mindlessly questioned as he turned a corner and the come and go of neighbourhood lamposts illuminated him briefly.

"i didn't say that. riki, he would've done the same if heeseung or jay was also there. but they weren't. can't you see that their absence is affecting him more than you think?" you asked with a simple reflection and riki's lips closed while he thought about it for a second.

"you're confusing me," he blabbered while his eyebrows furrowed at your complex analogy. you hummed for a second to piece together a version that maybe he would understand.

"i'm saying that he was trying to keep you outta trouble. he was scared of them and scared you'd get hurt even more," you finalised and riki released the grasp he had on his blonde tufts while he sat up straighter.

"hyung doesn't get scared, y/n. we could've taken them, easily," he contradicted whilst he pulled up to jay's father's abode. you clicked your tongue at his stubborn disregard and unlocked your door to step out.

"you didn't see it but i did," you swore before knocking on the garage door a few times and awaited a response. jungwon was usually still here at this hour so you had nothing to worry about. riki stayed inside jay's car and tapped his long fingers on the steering wheel to an imaginary beat. the garage door finally revolved upwards and you saw the expected boy alone in the empty garage. your eyes widened at the lack of heeseung's car that left behind a few splatters of oil in the centre of the room it used to be in.

"where's heeseung's car?" you asked the boy and furrowed your eyebrows at the last remnant of the boy being gone. jungwon's cat-like eyes peered back at you and stepped to the side of a wall to make way for jay's car.

"what do you mean? i gave it away," he quietly muttered while carefully scanning your shift in expressions. your heart panged at the very words and although you expected it since it was a race for the pinks and all, this just revealed that the only reason jungwon spent late nights at the garage was to clean the vehicle for the enemy.

your mouth pursed and you steered your gaze away from jungwon, hurt, "oh. right," you mocked remembering the bet. you tried to hide your solemn expression through a thick lie, "i forgot."

riki turned off the engine of jay's car and stepped out after parking it in the middle of the garage, he tapped the hard metal of the vehicle and looked up at jungwon, "it's dented. when i took it out for a spin, i didn't know if be racing with some psycho," riki explained while jungwon walked away from you and towards the rear of the vehicle to see the damages.

"that's totalled," jungwon's eyes widened at the large vacant indent captured just beside the boot of the car. he slipped his white thick gloves off and placed them in the pocket of his coveralls, "you guys win or lose?"

"lose," you softly responded laced with a layer of anguish and defeat. jungwon's lips just downturn at the disappointing reply.

"i was about to catch some z's so i'll head out nd fix it tomorrow, cool?" he questioned the male who was striding closer towards him from the hood of the car.

riki's eyes show up and he immediately shook his head, "you gotta fix it sooner or later, i don't want jay to flip when he sees i've broken his car," he wailed while he put his palms flat together as if he were praying.

"don't flip y'lid, rug rat. jay isn't coming home anytime soon," jungwon conceived while he buttoned down his coveralls and took his arms out of the sleeves, revealing his clean white tee in comparison to the dirty pair of coveralls he wore. he linked the two sleeves of his coveralls and tied them around his waist, settling on his hips. from the lack of fabric around his forearms, you could finally see what laid underneath that baggy fabric. well-toned biceps formulated by the tired labour of car work.

"first thing in the morning," riki pleaded next and earned the eye roll of the older male as he turned on his heel and began to walk the other way.

"they still at the diner?" jungwon asked, knowing the usual routine of the guys after a race and completely disregarding riki's whining.

"i'll tell you if you promise to do it tomorrow!" riki yelled out from within the garages jungwon was already skipping towards the direction of the diner anyways. you just gave the asking male a nod at his question and that's all he needed to go. the male now left with you sighed through his nostrils and you made haste in clicking the automatic door button to start to close the door, leaving the boy inside. he screamed out and jumped out of his frozen position to meet you outside, making you laugh out at his skittish behaviour.

sunghoon was worried about being outnumbered. if sunoo and jungwon came with us tomorrow, that would be six to eight. it would be fine if the race really was just a race. but from the intense atmosphere where the bet took place, you knew it would most likely result in a rumble regardless of who won or not.

rumbles happened every blue moon or so. your crew never really thrived on gang fights but only did when it was necessary. and to get these stray kids off your turf was definitely needed. so you needed allies, at least a handful of them for undeniable succession.

that's where you found yourself outside snob-high. the place where you wanted to find the very man you dread. choi yeonjun.

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twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat · 2 months

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jjk. chapter 255 spoilers under the cut !!

WWAUUUGHHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHINJUKU CHAPTERS FOR SUREEEE I CRIED I SOBBED I THREW UP MULTIPLE TIMES THIS IS SO UP MY ALLEY I CAN’T EVEN DESCRIBE IT????????? I DON’T HAVE THE WORDS????????

okay i’m gonna TRY to be coherent . gonna try to behave. but i LOVED this chapter so much it gave me so much i’ve been wanting from this manga for so long…. hhhh…………… :((((

FIRST OF ALLLLLL:

LARUEEEEE 😭😭😭😭😭😭 HE’S HEREEEEE HE’S HOME…… MY EMOTIONAL SUPPORT CANONICALLY QUEER SIDE CHARACTER……. the narrator referring to the two of them as ”team geto” made me SOB but more on that later i’m just. so happy to see him??? one of my favorite side characters???? i never thought he’d get more screentime?????

and that goes for miguel too!!! i adore them BOTH and they looked so pretty this chapter …. T_T hhhhh

miguel is so handsome ….. just one chance plspls king :’3 i’m hoping more screentime will get him more fics…… maybe specifically x reader fics…….. just a thought……….. (yes i have a miguel/reader drabble in wips no i don’t know when i’ll get to writing it 💔) and larue my gay bestie he rlly is so pretty!!!!!! hhhhh i missed them sm :(((((

ALSOOOO absolutely loved their interactions w yuuta in the beginning….. all the lil moments. larue calling miguel hun….. miguel having beef w gojo and wanting to see him beg for his help….. yuuta offering to beg instead and miguel getting freaked out 😭 THEY’RE SOOO FUNNY

I <333333 THEMMMM

and and and ….. while we’re on the topic of gojo………… THE CRUMBSSSSS THIS CHAPTER GOD HE’S SO PRETTY :(((( RETURN OF THE CIRCLE FRAMES!!!!!

he’s so cute …. andddd while we’re talking abt this interaction!!! i loved loved loved that miguel got the chance to lecture gojo on his racism. and so blatantly too !!!!!! it feels so refreshing to have a shounen manga where casual racism is acknowledged and not just treated as a gag…. and gojo apologized (albeit a lil casually but i do think it was genuine. that’s just kinda how gojo talks </3)

SPEAKKKKK YOUR TRUTH KING ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ LET HIM HAVE IT ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ personally i think gojo should’ve let his infinity down so miguel could get a couple good smacks in but that’s just me. (miguel looks so good here also!!!)

aaaa and !!! before i get to the Main Dish of this chapter i just wanna say :3 MAKI SWEEEEEEP OUR QUEEN OUR KING OUR LORD AND SAVIOR 🙏🙏🙏🙏 SHE’S BACK AND COOLER THAN EVERRRRRR LOOK AT THAT GRIN

serving cunt since day one ….. where would we even be w/o her……. i AM very worried for my boys and that black flash at the end but :’3 this chapter made me feel hopeful….. it’s nice to see a good ol jumpjutsu kaisen 5v1 battle.

BUTTTTT with that out of the way!!!!! let’s talk about my absolute favorite part of the chapter (and why it’s one of my favorites in shinjuku)….. which is ofc. the talk between miguel and larue. i absolutely unabashedly ADORE geto’s family and i’ve been waiting to see them again for so long!!! to learn more about them, their feelings towards geto, their feelings after his passing…… and i finally got it. and it was just…. so, so good. wow.

like …. this page almost made me cry. genuinely. i adore larue so much and it was so nice to see him again….. he’s definitely my favorite member of geto’s family (excluding geto himself ofc) and clearly the most heartfelt!!! there’s the scene in shibuya where he stops the rest of the family from harming each other because he knows that’s the last thing geto would want, he calls everyone by their first name…. it just feels like he understood geto the most. understood that what geto cared about above all else was his family, not his own plan (hot take maybe?? but i’ll die on that hill).

and goshhhh…… ”we all loved suguru-chan” :((( you don’t UNDERSTAND how emotional i feel rn. i mean we basically already knew this but it just feels so nice to get confirmation on how loved geto was!!! not just by a couple members of his family, but by all of them!!!! i think it’s so telling that even miguel, who acts a bit colder than someone like larue, was willing to help geto and grew to love him. geto is just such a sincere character at his core and i think that’s how he won them all over. but aaaa i’m just :((((( they loved him!!!!! and he loved them just as much!!!!!! i’ve said this before but i NEED a slice of life spinoff manga only featuring geto and his family.,, they mean so much to me.

and i haven’t even MENTIONED larue’s speech????????????? how lovely it is?????? how sick it is????????????? his version of mourning makes me so unbelievably emotional :(((( geto would be so fucking proud of them i can picture him looking up at them from the fiery pits just CHEERING as they punch sukuna…… sniffle sniffle. he loves them!!! and they love him!!!!!!

also obviously i NEED to mention this bc it broke me. i’ve seen people making jokes about what miguel says AND I GET THAT bc i too love joking about how geto is definitely in hell but. this line is very tragic to me!!! or maybe not tragic but it’s definitely somber. i don’t think it’s meant to be humorous, it’s there as a grim reminder of the things geto and his family did…. they loved each other but they were villains. there’s no denying that. larue is obviously a bit of a romanticist but miguel is enough of a realist to call him out on it, and i think that gets his personality across so well. because he still ends up agreeing to join larue in the fight!! those words got to him!!!! seeing his expression crumble in this page made my heart ache :((((… they were villains but they loved each other so earnestly. and i just adore them so so much!!!

okay i think ….. that’s all …….. suchhhh a wonderful chapter. it made me insane!!!!! i love miguel and i love larue and i’m hoping they’ll survive this :((

(….. but . i mean … if they end up dying ……. there’s the slightest chance we’ll get an afterlife scene of geto and his family, so …. um ……. yk …….. 👉👈 maybe . some sacrifices will have to be made……..)

#i am Thinking very hard abt the shibuya moment #abt how larue tells the family that one day they’ll share a table and break bread again #so . yk…. if we DO get that afterlife scene it’ll definitely be at a table . last supper style. and geto will be there #and i will cry and throw up and literally never shut up about it so!!!! better pray my boys survive this 🙏🙏🙏🙏#ty akutami ily akutami #in his author’s comment he said his allergies r getting awful bc he wasn’t prepared…………… which is just . so…. akutami coded somehow……#anyway stan larue and stan miguel that is all 🙏#ari noises ✩#jjk spoilers #jjk manga spoilers #jjk leaks #jjk 255

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g0nta-g0kuhara · 10 months

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Tbh, I'm someone who hasn't explored chapter 4 much (despite how much I love Gonta) and even avoided thinking about it and even skipped it on replay. The main reason is that it was just too painful. Literally made me sick to my stomach, more than any other Danganronpa trial I think. I don't know if maybe that plays a part in other people's avoidance of it too—that it's just too raw of a wound. I really really liked Miu Gonta and Kokichi, so seeing the roles all of them in this case broke my heart. It just hurt so badly, I hated even contemplating it, tbh.

Anon I couldn't empathize with you more. I'm currently going through all the DR games with a friend, and although we're halfway through dr2 and I'm very excited to start v3 with her, I'm feeling a lot of dread about playing 3-4 again. I've talked to her a few times how there is a part of the third game that I might not play with her because It might just be too much for me. I haven't touched it with someone else since I first played it. Certain parts of trial 4 STILL give me heart palpitations from the anxiety and it took me a long time after I finished it to be able to face it again. I honestly still don't get how some people take certain parts of it so lighthearted, but also I know not everyone took it so viscerally as I and it sounds like you did anon. (ie: people using "Killing Game Busters" casually to refer to gonta and kokichi as if the phrase doesn't manifest deep dread in my soul)

Its a brutal trial, no one is having a good time, there is no feeling of gentle sadness of an almost heroic act like in the previous ch4s. Gonta dies with a determined look on his face but his last words were self deprecating. Kaito is more angry than we've ever seen him, and Kokichi alienates himself from everyone as the villain. There's no win. Its just viscerally, deeply upsetting and it feels like you're constantly getting salt ground into your wounds.

But weirdly, I found that after I finished that trial, cried my eyes out, and woke up the next morning, rather than never wanting to think about it again I found that I couldn't *stop* thinking about it. I kinda leaned all the way in and am simultaneously constantly replaying it in my head and wincing away from certain parts that still trigger the fight or flight response in me. I really was a more casual DR fan until this trial. Finishing it rewired my brain chemistry and I haven't been the same since.

#pluto answers #I do mention it a good amount but I cannot stress how much im not exaggerating when I say that the trial was a long anxiety attack for me #I was playing with friends and had to take regular breaks because my vision/hearing was going in and out from the sheer amount of fear #and yet. And yet here i am #drv3 spoilers

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dani-dos-jardins · 2 years

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Omg omg I just came form ao3 but OMG I found your story yesterday and accidentally ACCIDENTALLY read it for six hours . But what whattttt this story isss great wow like wow . How I start , i don't even know , from my excitement I make my cousin listen to me talk about it for half hour. Any way , I think i will start from the beginning ***okay prepare yourself because I'm just a nerd and read everything like comments theories and notes ***

Their first meeting is so cute and sweet the rich girl and the thug man . She wasn't afraid or anything just seek to the conversation or anything to make her feel and not being doll and lifeless. And him ,his trust issues, he was so amazed at her behaviour, why is she doing this, what are her goals and so on, when they sat together and drank tea that was their sign, every time they drank tea in the story I felt the same feeling for the first time. I could tell that her courage or madness from his point of view made her imprint on his memory . And when they met god I love your sense of humour, really . Everything in this story is great . I love her denial when her friends tell her that she love him. Anddd your levi is so so so in character . Ever action he did is so him . His fears about her , his concerness , his nightmares. Gosh they all written so good. I scream when she kissed him I was cheering really . And the chapters that's from his pov was soo cute and sweet they are my fav with the ball chapter. * You Know Cinderella 2015 I had the same vibe in this chapter * and I almost cried when he finally said that he love her ..cute cute cutteeeeeee ( and yeap levi is totally sub it suits him lol ) . Oh gosh I have alot to say but this is getting too loongg sorry for you that you have to read all of it . But seriously your story is great , sweet and awesome and you're such a sweetheart I hope you're great and doing okay .

Note : I don't know if you had any reference about her look or anything but I think you said that her look is different from people inside the walls and her face remarkable and she is pretty so that's the look i picture her with . And she also feel a little rich ، https://pin.it/4TRGu5J ، i don't think i saw this facial features in aot world . So this how I kinda picture her.

For one second I thought I had deleted this ask and I wanted to die because it's probably the sweetest thing I've ever read. Thank you so much, I have tears in my eyes. I don't even know what to say.

I'm so sorry I haven't updated the fic yet! I'm trying to write it, I promise.

I feel sorry for your cousin as well. This fic is huge hahahaha omg there are so many things going on on AO3 and here hahaha feel free to share your own theories and headcanons, I adore them.

You can write as much as you want and I will read it all, really. Thank you so much, it gives me energy to keep writing and shows me I'm in the right direction. Levi is such a difficult and amazing character, I was always afraid not to do him justice. I mean, would he even like someone like her? I don't think he would fall for a damsel in distress so easily, but our reader is more than the nice rich girl. She has her flaws but she is brave and a little insane. She isn't afraid to go after what she wants and he admires (and fears lol) it about her hahaha.

OMG Levi's chapters are so fun to write, there'll be another one soon (soon like in a chapter or two) and it's going to be lovely. We will see how much he cares about her. I think that Levi and our reader are two completely different people who are right for each other.

Thank you so much, I'm having a better day now hahaha I admit the last weeks were rough, not emotionally, but I had no inspiration to write. I think I'm just tired... but then I read this and now I have ideas again haha thank you <3 I hope you're doing great and I'm sending all the love <3

I have no inspiration for her looks... I mean, I picture her like an OC of mine but she can be whatever you like... and I said that her great grandmother (I think) looked different from people in Paradis because Isayama didn't put a single poc (but Mikasa) on that island. Armin (or was it Sasha?) got really surprised when he saw Onyankopon because they had never seen a black person before hahaha I thought "What if I have an asian reader? A black one?". So the idea was to try to be inclusive. She can be white, latina, black, asian... you decide.

And woooow, your reader looks sooo pretty, I can see her doing the "noble ass bitch" face and people getting intimidated, but she also has kind eyes and Levi would adore them. She is beautiful!

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skyfallslayer · 3 years

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It Was Supposed To Be Endgame (Part 1: Reunion)

(Bucky x Daughter!Reader, Steve x Child!Reader, Avengers x Child!Reader)

Author’s Notes: Just a heads up, this is part 3 of 1 of the ‘Paint It Black’ Series. Please read 'Over The Edge and A Civi, War’ that’s on my masterlist. This chapters a little more heart warming than what's about to happen next (*Evil Laugh*).

There's a reason I split this into two parts, and that was because I wanted to separate the fluff and the angst (And I guess to torture you guys a bit). So sorry if this seems short :(

Also, since this an AU, I combined the dialogue from Black Panther's post credit scene and the Bucky recruitment scene from Infinity War. Just because I thought it went well together :)

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summary: It's been two years on the run, and (Y/N) Barnes has finally been reunited with her father. But how long will that last?

MASTERLIST

Main Masterlist

Warning: Implied references to night terrors and minor angst. Read at your own risk

(Also, all gifs are NOT mine)

Bucky woke up once again in the middle of the night from your crying. He sighs tiredly, throwing the covers off his body, and staggers towards your crib. Your face was red, eyes full of tears as you squired out of the lilac blanket he wrapped around you. As carefully as he could, he picked you and held you close to his chest.

He shushes you softly and quietly, bouncing you a little. He muttered soothing words as he walked around the room. It was just you and your father inside the whole house, the rest of the family was away, and Steve unfortunately was out sick as well; And no matter how many times Bucky tries to get Steve just to stay over so he could keep an eye on the both of you guys, the blond kept on insisting that he didn’t want to get you sick. So Bucky, after many bickering fights of going back and forth, eventually lets it go.

He sighs again just as your cries calmed down. “Okay…” He breathes, looking down at you. He watches you stare back at him with your curious eyes, cooing quietly at him. He couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Okay, (Y/N). How about you sleep with your dad tonight?” He says, kissing the top of your hair.

He gently laid you down in the middle of the bed, before doing the same, even shifting his body to look at you better. He watches with a fond look as you try to wiggle around on your back to look at you too.

He snorts tiredly. “Do you have ants in your pants, or something?” He asks, reaching out to steady you. Your small hands quickly latch on, before you start gnawing on one of his fingers. His eyes widened in surprise, feeling small bumps in your gums that he hadn't noticed before. “Oh, now I see. No wonder you're so fussy. I’ll have to get you something to teethe on other than my hand.”

You made another cooing sound again, almost like you were responding to him, which made him feel bittersweet about this moment. He suddenly felt that cold and lonely feeling like the day your mother left. It was a horrible, stinging feeling deep in his chest.

Bucky only wishes he could give you a normal family. One where he didn’t have to give you over to his mother so he could work down at the factory long days for extra cash, or one where he didn’t have to rely on Steve when something came up. He hated how he had to rely on everyone for help. Hated how sometimes watching you sleep was the only ‘quality’ time he could have with you. All he wanted was to live a normal life with you. Was that too much to ask?

“And I wouldn’t have to worry about my numbers coming in.” He whispers, stroking your cheek slowly, trying to lull you back to sleep. “I’m sorry, (Y/N). I’m sorry you don’t have a mother. I’m sorry that I’m not around that much. I just want us to have a stable future. Maybe we’ll be able to be on our own one day, won’t that be nice?”

He watches your (Y/E/C) eyes start to drift close, body relaxing under your father’s touch. He shakes his head at himself. “What am I saying? I just need to enjoy my time with you before you're suddenly an adult. At least that’s what my mom keeps saying. Hmm?”

With another soft touch to your cheek, you eventually fell back asleep, leaving Bucky to kiss your forehead one more time. He stays close, and protectively, as he tries to let himself get some rest before the early morning sun.

“Goodnight, baby doll.”

He was awoken by three small children staring back at him, and the moment he started to stir and push himself up with his one good arm, they ran off in a fit of laughter. Bucky lets a small smile play on his face as he stands up to stretch. These last two years have gone by fast, and it was all worth it to have his mind fully free. He couldn’t wait to see you again. He wouldn’t have to worry about being triggered and hurting you like he had so many people.

He makes a move to step out of his small hut, taking in the fresh air and warm sun. It was so…

Peaceful.

But he was surprised when he found the King’s sister standing a few feet away. She hasn’t visited him in a while, so he wonders what the occasion is. He walks over, and she greets him with a kind smile.

“Good morning, Sergeant Barnes.” Shuri said. His title gives him a little more hope than the one HYDRA gave him, but still, he felt like he didn’t deserve to be called that since it’s been so long since the 40s.

“Bucky.” He corrected her, politely.

She nods in understanding. “How are you feeling?”

“Good.” Which was the wholehearted truth. However, he could tell something was off, but didn’t want to jump into any conclusions just yet. “Thank you.”

She smiles, and touches his shoulder. “Come.” Shuri says, walking away. “Much more for you to learn.”

There was suddenly a sinking feeling in his gut, and tries to wash it away as he took one last look at the golden sun. She guided him to a more secluded area, away from the rest of the civilians who lived near him, that should have been a dead giveaway for him; He should have known right away that something was wrong when he saw the Dora Milaje coming towards him, or that the literal King of Wakanda was standing right before him.

For once, instead of having a never ending smile bestowed on his face, Bucky actually finds himself frowning again. He didn’t even question anything as T’Challa stayed silent as one of his people placed a case on a log, opening it to something he wasn’t quite ready for.

He bites the inside of his cheek, keeping himself together. He knew he had the freedom to say ‘no’, but there was still a part of insecurity that was taking over yet again. He didn’t even dare look T’Challa in the eyes, he didn’t want to see the desperation he could sense on his face.

“Where’s the fight?” He asks, and couldn’t hide the slightest tremble at the end.

“It’s on its way.” T’Challa replies, sadly. “And so is Steve Rogers and his group, along with your daughter.” He actually got Bucky to look up at him at the mention of you, and felt pity. “I know this is not the reunion you expected, but this is all I can give you right now. This… enemy, is something I never expected before. Are you in, Mr. Barnes?”

Bucky swallows, hoping his day to come fight again wouldn't come so soon. But a promise to see everyone again, to see you again, was enough to put his fears behind.

“I’m in.”

////

You nervously tapped your foot against the floor of the Quinjet, you were anxious of what could be happening down below. You saw a lot of things over the years, but fighting aliens from another world took the cake for you. Or you could say Steve was fighting aliens. You were stuck behind in the jet for safety, which you guess you could understand. He was technically your guardian for the time being, but still. You are an assassin for crying out loud! You could hold your own. You had the super strength, speed, and reflexes. Sure you’re still trying to figure out how to willingly walk through walls, but you’ve been practicing!

You sighed, throwing your head back so it rested against the wall.

Maybe when dad’s better we can practice together. You wondered, maybe you could two-V-one with Uncle Steve or even Sam. Now that’ll be fun.

Right on cue, the rebels (a nickname you came up with after Steve and Natasha broke everyone out of the raft), came strolling back in with the last two people. One of them you haven’t seen in a few years.

“Alright, Sam. Let’s get this thing in the air.” Steve announces. “We gotta get Vision as far away as possible from these people.”

“Roger that, Cap.” Sam said, closing the bay door and starting the flying process.

“Why do they need Vision?” You asked, confusedly. When you got the distress call from the witch, you were all confused on why the Black Order was going after the android and not anybody else.

“The stone on his forehead. These people need to give it to their boss.” Natasha replies, taking a seat.

“But why? What’s so important about the stone?”

“We don’t know. Hopefully we won’t find out.”

“And we won’t. I won’t let them take it.” Wanda said, determination in her veins as she sets Vision in his seat. Her face soon softens upon seeing you. “(Y/N), you’ve gotten so big!”

“Hi, Wanda.” You said, smiling as she cups your cheek. The gestures kind of reminded you of your Aunts. “Long time no see.”

“It has been. How old are you now?”

“Ten.”

“Wow. Your father would be so happy when he sees you again.” She smiles too and looks over her shoulder to her lover. “Hey, Vis. This is Bucky’s kid I was telling you about.”

Vision gives you a fond look, and a small wave. “Hello.”

“Hi.” You reply, before facing Steve. “So what’s next, Uncle?”

You could see the wheels turning in his head. You knew he meant all business right now which meant this whole thing was super serious. You just hope this had a better ending than the Avengers’ civil war two years back.

“Home.” He says, which meant the only place you could think of. “We’re going to need all the help we can get. I can already tell this is going to be something big.”

////

The Avengers HQ is something you’ve heard stories about from the team, but never actually been to. Ever since Zemo dragged you into their civil war, you were immediately deemed as a traitor. Your father was left in Wakanda to help clear his mind, which left you in the care of his best friend. From there you met all the people you could trust.

Natasha was nice. She was very motherly towards you, and extremely patient. At the beginning she helped you fall back to sleep when nightmares plagued you with a sweet Russian lullaby, or she taught you little things about the modern world that’ll stay intact forever.

Then there was Sam Wilson, who was a very boisterous, but kind man. His stories and jokes got you to laugh, which was something that took a while for you to get back because of HYDRA.

And before they went their separate ways, you briefly met Scott Lang, Clint Barton, and Wanda Maximoff. Scott managed to home with only a house arrest, and even Clint got off with just going home to the family, all while Wanda went off to search for Vision.

So after those two were out of the picture, it was two long years of just you, Steve, Nat, and Sam. It was one shitty motel after another, but you somehow managed to stay hidden for a long time. And now, the only reason you are heading out of the shadows was apparently to stop a global threat. Which you still couldn’t wrap your head around. Aliens? Flying ships? Stones that held extraordinary powers? It was all too surreal (Your head almost exploded when they told you about an actual god on the Avengers).

Now you were standing side-by-side with the small squad, walking towards a man you were told was named James Rhodes, or Rhodey, aka War Machine. Apparently he was becoming your ally. All of you had stopped walking when Rhodey and -that jerk of a hologram- Ross faced you.

You watched as Steve gave the man a small glare. “Mr. Secretary.” He said, and you sensed the anger underneath it.

Ross looked dumbfounded as he marched over towards you and the group. “You got some nerve, I’ll give you that.”

“You could use some of that, right now.” Natasha quips, hiding her anger as well.

Ross almost scoffed at that, before his eyes landed on you. “Who the hell’s the kid?”

You stiffen a little, and opened your mouth to speak.

“She’s none of your concern.” Steve cuts in, holding his arm out in front of you. Ross already tried to take away your father, he wasn’t going to let him do that to you.

The secretary stayed quiet at that, before continuing on with the matter at hand. “The world’s on fire, and you think that all’s forgiven?”

“I’m not looking for forgiveness.” Steve replies, keeping his steady look. “And I’m way past asking for permission. Earth just lost your best defender. So we’re here to fight, and if you want to stand in our way, we’ll fight you too.”

Oh damn… You thought, holding back a laugh upon seeing Ross’ face. You forgot how stern and scary your Uncle can be sometimes, and the secretary was not going to have that.

You mentally scoffed. Good luck, dude.

Ross opens and closes his mouth before turning around to face Rhodey, you could see the smoke practically coming out of his ears. “Arrest them.” He said, calmly.

Rhodes nods. “All over it…” He swipes Ross away, completely fed up. “That’s a court-martial.” He seemed a little sad, but it vanished upon seeing an old face again. “It’s great to see you, Cap.”

Steve smiles, shaking his hand. “You too, buddy.”

Natasha steps forward and gives him a long overdue hug.

Rhodey looks around, happy as can be. “Wow.” He begins, taking in their appearances. “You guys… really look like crap. Must have been a rough couple of years.”

“Yeah, well the hotels weren’t exactly five stars.” Sam replies, smiling back.

“Especially that last one.” You add, remembering the literal holes in the walls, which made Sam chuckle.

Rhodey looks at you, puzzled. “Uh… do one of you have a kid I don’t know about?”

“She’s-” Steve begins, knowing your existence was going to be a long story, but before he could go on, a familiar voice broke through.

“I think you look great.” Bruce said, entering the room from the other side. Everyone around you seemed surprised by his entrance, which made him nervously laugh. “Yeah… I’m back.”

“Who’s he?” You whisper to Sam.

“Oh, well I never personally met him, but that's Dr. Banner. He turns into the big green guy.” Sam whispers back.

“Oh!” Your eyes light up. So this was another OG Avenger. How exciting.

Bruce seemed to have the same question Rhodey had, and gestures to you. “Who’s the kid?”

“I’m (Y/N) Barnes.” You reply, decided to speak for yourself on this one. The quicker you get acquainted, the faster you can stop whatever is coming.

“Barnes? Like… Steve’s friend?”

“It’s a long story. Which we’ll have to explain some other time. Right now we need to head somewhere safer and prepare for battle.” Steve said, already divicing a plan. “I already contacted King T’Challa of Wakanda. He’s going to help us out.”

You perked up at that, spinning on your heels so you're facing him fully. “Wait, we’re going to get my Wakanda?”

“We are.” Steve replies, earning a huge grin from you. He could help but feel the same way as well. “He already informed me he’s getting your father.”

Now this wasn’t exactly how you thought your reunion would go, but seeing you dad after all this time was something you desperately needed. And knowing that it was probably free from HYDRA’s controls by now made this reunion even better.

“Hey, look at that, Firecracker. You can finally see your dad.” Sam said, which you playfully stuck your tongue at him from the nickname.

“Wait…. Tony’s in space, Wizards real, Barnes has a kid and he’s in Wakanda?” Bruce said, rubbing his temples. “Okay, you guys are going to have to explain what’s been happening while I’ve been gone.”

His confusion made everyone laugh, as Steve replies that he’ll explain everything as long as he tells them where he’s been for the past two years.

////

You were met with broad daylight when the bay door opened, you stayed close to Steve and Natasha like you always did, and followed them to meet T’Challa and the Dora Milaje.

“Seems like I’m always thanking you for something.” Steve said, shaking the King’s hand.

In the corner of your eye you saw Bruce bow, making Rhodey smirk. You quickly realize that the ex-military man was a jokester.

“Uh, we don’t do that here.” T’Challa said, making you stifle a laugh at the look of disbelief and betrayal on the Doctor’s face. “So how big of an assault do we expect?”

“Uh, sir, sir!” Bruce said, as they all started walking for the main building. “You should expect quite a big assault.”

“How are we looking?” Natasha asked.

“You have my King’s guards, the Buddha tribe, and the Dora Milaje.” T’Challa said, before pointing to someone in the distance. “And-”

“A semi-stable one hundred year old man.” Your father said, strolling over with a smile you haven't seen since your time in the 40s.

Steve copied his expression, giving him a big hug and a pat on the back. “How have you been, Buck?”

“Uh… not bad for the end of the world.” He jokes, his happy face never faltering. Which was a good sign for you. You chuckled and started running towards him with your arms out.

“Dad!” You shout, watching Steve step out of the way for you.

“(Y/N)!” Bucky said, bending over a little to envelope you completely.

He takes you all in as a new sense of joy that he could not express enough. He takes your face in his hands, not scared of using his left anymore as he brushes some loose strands out of your face. You look so much bigger than the last time he saw you, a little mature in your ten year old face.

“How are you?” He asks, as you touch his hands to keep them in place.

“I’m good. I had fun with Uncle Steve and his friends.” You reply, honestly.

“I bet you did.”

T’Challa clears his throat to get your attention. “Not to break this tender moment up, but we have to get moving. You guys can talk more inside.”

“Right. Of course.” Bucky said, holding you close as you all went inside.

////

Bucky kept his arm slinged around your shoulder as you two stepped off to the side for some privacy, one where you could overlook the city. You guys still have some time before actions must be taken.

You took this moment to take in his appearance. He looked so much livelier and healthier, and was sporting a new arm that no longer had the sins of the Winter Soldier written upon it. He didn’t even mind touching you with it, so that was automatically a good sign for you. He was even smiling and laughing like you haven't heard in such a long time. It felt good to know that he was going to be okay in the long run.

“Hey, Dad?” You said, curiously.

“Yeah?” He said, his eyes flickering from the scenery to you.

“Are they all gone?” You needed to be sure. You couldn’t imagine another year without him.

The hum he gave you as he pulled you closer was another good sign. “Yeah they are. I’m free, doll. What about you? How are you feeling?”

You give a warm look, comforting his fears of HYDRA’s control on you. “They don’t work. T’Challa suggested we wait a year to try them out, thinking that maybe they’ll just go away because I’m a kid, and he was right. I’m free as well.”

His chest felt warm, and kissed the top of your head. “That’s wonderful to hear. I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks, dad. I’m happy for you too.” You reply, but your smile falters a little. “Although… I still have a lot of night terrors…”

He frowns too. “Well… unfortunately that's understandable. I do too.”

He strokes your hair softly, you almost felt like you could fall asleep right then and there. The warming and loving touch of your father (and no offense to) was nothing compared to Steve or the others. Although you greatly appreciate all they’ve done for you, you would choose to cuddle up next to your dad any day of the week.

You nodded into his touch, a cloud of sadness floating around the both of you. HYDRA’s done so much to you both, and even though their controls on you are gone, their impact has left a lot of damage behind. Damage that was going to take time to fix.

Which is what your dad promised you next.

“(Y/N).” He begins, his voice soft and gentle, just like he always is around you. “I don’t know how long, but we’re going to get through this. Whenever this whole… alien invasion is done, you and me are going to settle down a pick off right where left off.”

He gives you a bittersweet smile, and you could see his eyes glazing over just like yours. Now this was the dad you knew before HYDRA.

Bucky continues, “I’m not perfect, (Y/N). I wasn’t perfect back then, and I’m even more imperfect now, but god knows that’s not to stop me from doing my best to help my daughter. When you need me, I’m going to be there for you, I promise. Seventy years is where I put my foot down from being away from you.”

His words broke you, as you let out a small sob and a few tears before you threw yourself at him. You buried your face into his chest, his arms latching on around you just like yours.

You suddenly felt so small again.

You suddenly felt like your age, and not the older and mature facade you had to put on in order to survive.

You could finally be you just like you meant to be, and not a weapon for killing.

You sobbed again, squeezing him closer. “I-I’m not perfect either, d-dad. I want y-you to know that you’re n-not alone. I’m going to help you too. W-We’re going to get thr-through this… to-together.”

You felt droplets fall on top of you head, and your sensitive ears could pick up that he was crying quietly himself.

“I hold you to it, baby girl.” He said, placing another kiss on your head.

“I love you, dad.”

“And I love you too, (Y/N). Now-” He pulls back, wiping his cheeks clean as well as you own, and even leaned into his touch again. Determination flashed in his blue eyes as he said, “Now let’s go win this thing so we go home.”

////

And that’s what you planned on doing.

You and the others start devising a plan to protect Vision and fight against the Black Order and Thanos. You and your friends were determined to win this. You were determine not to let them get the mind stone cause who the fuck knows what’s going to happen if they do.

It didn’t take long after the strategy meeting was coming to an end that pieces of a ship started crashing into Wakanda’s shield. They exploded on contact, rocking the city to its core, but the team was not going to let that scare them just yet. They were the Avengers for crying out loud. It was time for them to do their job.

“God, I love this place.” Your dad said as the two of you looked out the window.

Maybe we should settle down here. You almost suggested, because you have to admit, it was a cool thing to see. But it wasn’t going to last forever, and you feared that may be soon.

Luckily Steve’s voice broke through your unnerving thoughts.

“We gotta get moving.” He replies, knowing that the clock was ticking fast.

“No, it’s too late. We’ve gotta destroy the stone.” Vision said, weakly as he pushed himself upright on the table.

You could see the panic in Wanda and many others as they tried to get him to lie back down, so much that even Natasha told him, “Vision, get your ass back onto the table.” Which you would have snickered at under better circumstances.

“We will hold them off.” T’Challa announced, ready to leave as he nodded to the Captain for approval.

“Wanda, as soon as that stone’s out of his head, you blow it to hell.” Steve told her.

“I will.” She said, knowing what she has to do once the process is done.

T’Challa starts to round up everybody while barking up orders. “Evacuate the city, engage all defenses-” He points to your Uncle. “And get this man a shield. And everybody else who needs weapons.”

The world started to move rapidly around you, knowing that this was indeed going to be the biggest fight you've ever been in (And probably everybody else too).

One of the guards opened a weapons case in front of your father, showing off the many gun choices they had to offer. He quickly grabs what he needs, and that’s when you decide to speak.

“I’ll stay here.” You reply, making him pause. He didn’t expect you to say that. He expected you to be stubborn and argue, but not that, so you continued your reason on why, “I’ll stay here to help protect Vision. That’s… probably what you want me to do anyway. You know… off the actual battlefield.”

You knew he would probably want you out of harm's way, so staying here was your best option. Besides, at least you're being useful by providing protection for your friends. He stares back at you emotionless, which kind of scared you, but that all changed in the next moment.

“Here.” He says, giving you a small handgun. You looked at him in surprise, confusion too which he took in check. “I know you can use it, and I know the super strength won’t always be enough, so… just use it when you feel like you need to.”

You examined it along with the magazines for it, before giving your dad a warm smile. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll be careful.”

“I know you will.” He said, returning the expression. He leans in and gives you a quick kiss on the forehead. “I’ll be back. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

You watch him and the others leave, and you nearly missed the way your heart sank to your stomach. You just brushed it off as the nervous jitters, but little did you…

That was the last time you were going to speak to him again.

(TBC in ‘PART 2: GOODBYE’)

Taglist: @vicmc624

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shoutogepi · 3 years

Text

A Million Times Over, part 2

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𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Todoroki Shouto x American!Reader

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 6.4k

[ ☀︎, ☁︎, ✘ (nsfw!) ] (series warnings)

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞 : NSFW references (no explicit smut this chapter)

𝐛𝐢𝐨 : You lose all memories from the past five years of your life due to an accident-induced coma, including any recollection of your beloved boyfriend and fellow pro-hero, Shouto. He’s devastated that you don’t remember him, but the both of you are determined to get your memories back, no matter how long it takes. In the meantime, you attempt to rebuild your relationship with him… while also nurturing the spark that’s still very much lit between you two.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 : Yaaaaaa babie so part 2 is finally finished! I’m wicked excited to finish the series next chapter and ughhh the smut is gonna be so good omg. Just wait.

𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 : shout out to @shotoh for beta-reading this for me, what a saint <3

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─── ・°* ﾟ✧:* • ｡ﾟ:*･☽･*: ｡ﾟ•*:✧ ﾟ*°・ ───

🄸t was warm.

There was something heavy on your middle, but it didn’t feel like a nuisance— it was a welcome weight, one that somehow made comfort seep from your chest and fill the rest of your body with a quiet sense of peace. You hummed as sleep’s grasp on you lightened, the cogs in your mind beginning to turn. The hospital bed had never been this comfortable before, and the acrid smell of antiseptic and bustle of the doctors outside your door was peculiarly absent. Instead, a pleasant scent of laundry and cologne lingered on your pillowcase, making the corners of your mouth pull up in a droopy smile.

Your eyes opened as you recalled where you were, and whose arms you were lying in— whose gentle breaths blew at your hair and tickled the shell of your ear. Letting out a slow exhale, you blinked the sleep from your eyes, legs attempting to move, only to find them tangled with the muscled calves of your bedmate who, you prayed to whatever divine presence that was out there, was still asleep.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

However, when you tried to move away, a low groan sounded in your ear, scattering the stray hairs that laid out of place there. Like a sleeping bear, the arm around your waist curled around you tighter, pressing your entire body directly against the hard contour of his. You swallowed, blinking owlishly as you tried not to think about the sizeable semi-hardness poking into your backside, nor the rough fingertips that splayed out on the smooth expanse of your stomach at the bottom of your shirt, the very pinky dipping under the waistband of your sleep shorts and panties, palm warming your skin just enough to make your heart awaken for the day.

Your breath was caught in your throat, and you didn’t dare move another inch. Even if you didn’t have your memories of the man you shared your life with for the past few years, the moments the two of you had shared throughout the past week were enough to have butterflies fluttering to life in your stomach. The feeling of simply being in his arms, tucked under the sheets and cocooned in his warmth and his scent, it all had your body feeling like it was at peace.

At home.

Shouto’s hand was lying open beside your face, his arm tucked underneath your neck as he must’ve fallen asleep spooning you, and not since shifted away throughout the night. His fingers twitched in his sleep just slightly, and you took the moment to admire the long, slender digits. For a man of his size and stature, they were surprisingly thin, almost as if in another life he could have tickled piano keys for a living. But they were also marred with scars and calluses from his herowork— none open nor recent, seeing as he had taken the last month off to watch over you. Reaching for his hand, you traced the lines on his palm, trailing your fingertips over his skin and finding yourself lost in thought. You wondered if this was how you usually slept, if this was what you woke up to every day…

If that was your reality, you would happily accept it.

Being in Shouto’s arms made you feel safe, protected from the troubles of life. You already harbored silly feelings for him before you had even met him, and now that you had, those feelings had only been amplified, each day spent with him a catalyst to the reaction he triggered in your heart.

You bit your lip, twisting your spine so you could look at him. Holding your breath as you finally laid eyes on him, you took your time to admire him in all his slumbered glory. Your eyes loitered on his high cheekbones, the sharp angle of his jawline, and then the placid expression he donned while he slept, not plagued with the usual lacing of concern that he wore throughout the day. He was so… handsome. In all his hardened, heroic glory, he still managed to look like a prince straight out of every little girl’s storybook. And he certainly had the body to go with it as well— the fruits of his training on full display for you as you marveled at his naked chest.

Your heart leapt into your throat when he stirred, his arm around your waist coming to rub at his tired eyes. Watching his grey eye open slightly, your breath caught at the crooked grin that blossomed on his lips when he locked eyes with you.

“Mmm morning princess,” he rumbled, hand landing on your stomach to push your body backwards into his. He didn’t mind the little squeak of surprise you let out, nuzzling his face into your neck and slinging his leg across your hips once he flattened them onto the mattress. Your face felt like it was on fire, his morning… problem pressed firmly against your back now as he moaned in content, scattering lazy kisses across your throat.

You gasped when his hand on your stomach suddenly jumped up to grope your breast over your shirt, his fingers kneading tenderly as tingles fired across your nerves. It felt good to be receiving his unbridled affection— too good, really, as he started to suck at your neck. Your body cried out for his touch but you had barely even kissed last night— this was too much, too fast.

“Sh-Shouto!”

He paused, head rearing back as he detected the urgency in your voice, sleepy eyes locking with yours with his brows furrowed underneath his frazzled bed-head. It took him a moment before his eyes widened and horror replaced the slumber that had impeded his judgement before, his body jumping to the other side of the bed instantly as his cheeks flushed a bright pink. “I— I’m so sorry, Y/n, fuck— I didn’t…” he stammered, embarrassment evident as the pink turned to red, little flames sprouting on the left side of his head while his eyes flew about, unable to meet your gaze.

You instantly felt guilty, his demeanor apologetic. It was clear that he was frustrated with himself. “It’s okay, I’m not mad, I was just… it was just, um, unexpected?” you tried to laugh but it came out sounding more like a choke.

“Damn it…” Shouto mumbled, his hands coming to drag across his face morosely. The flames that licked at his side sizzled out, indicating that he was no longer so much shocked as he was contrite. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, muffled by his hands that still occupied his face. “It was just… I forgot for a second and... I didn’t mean to— to, well, come onto you. God, I’m sorry.”

You watched him for a second, your heart suddenly heavy with the sadness that leaked from his choice of words. For the first time in a long time, he had woken up with you in his arms, and he had forgotten about the absolute shitstorm of the month he’d had. That was probably how he acted when he woke up normally, as your sweet and loving boyfriend— showering you in affection was his first instinct of the day, and there was nothing wrong with that.

“It’s really okay, Sho. I was just surprised,” you peeped, trying to relieve him of some of the stress that he was so apparently harboring. “It’s not like I hated it…”

Shouto processed your words for a moment before one hand rose from his face, his brow contorted into a mix between accusatory and suggestive. There was a hint of a smile threatening to bloom on his lips, but he remained silent as he stared at you.

“I just meant that— well… we could lay here for a bit before we get up for the day. If… If that’s our usual routine or, if you would be interested in that!” You could feel your face getting hot now, the embarrassment transferring from him to you.

But Shouto chose not to tease you, instead scooting back over to you in the middle of the bed. “You always did like your morning cuddles,” he said, mouth turning at the corners into a smirk.

“Whatever, just— just keep your third leg to yourself, okay? Arms only!” You shared a quick look with him, the both of you shocked that you had really just said that.

But Shouto followed your request, flipping so he laid on his belly before his arm hooked out to bring you into his side, nose pressing up against your ear as you were on your back. The butterflies were back and busy again in your stomach— his touch just did something to you, it was both exhilarating and infuriating when he had hardly done anything.

“Never heard that one before,” he murmured lowly, snark lurking in his voice. “You’re usually quite fond of my third leg, dear.”

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

The rest of the morning went more according to plan. After a considerable amount of time lying in the sheets with Shouto cuddling into your side, you finally parted ways and went about getting ready for the day. There was a sense of giddiness pumping through your veins as your boyfriend left you stationed in front of your closet, mumbling something about preparation before you headed out.

Mostly, you were looking forward to going on your date. But then, there was also the surprised excitement that came from the sight of your walk-in closet, complete with rows of neatly organized clothes and a built-in wall with shelves and drawers, even a glass display case full of glittering jewels and gems in designs all tailored to your taste. You took a moment to pat yourself on the back. Not only did you seem to have the man of your dreams, but you had also attained your dream closet? If this was truly a dream, you most definitely did not want to wake up.

It took you an absurdly long amount of time to piece together your outfit. It was partially because you stopped to ogle at pretty much every hanger you rifled through, and partially because you were completely unsure of what clothes Shouto particularly enjoyed seeing you in. There was a sneaking suspicion that his preference was for you to not be clothed at all… but it wasn’t like you could go out on your date in your birthday suit. And, that would mean exposing your bare body to him, and you weren’t sure if you were ready for that just yet.

But that didn’t mean you weren’t insanely attracted to him— because you definitely were. Just, the situation you were in was a delicate one, and when you did decide to indulge in the physicalities of your relationship, it would be after you had no more questions to ask him. You just weren’t quite there yet.

So, you decided on a pair of dark jeans and a flowy blouse that showcased your shoulders, matching the color of your shoes, belt, and purse. After a quick makeup routine, you chose to spruce up the outfit with a little jewelry, seeing as you had quite an ample selection to choose from. A shiny pair of hoops for your ears came easily enough, but you struggled to find a necklace which would pull everything together. Your eyes wandered over the chains of gold and silver, some shining with bright gems and some intricate enough with just the curve of the metal. It was then that you noticed a simple but very elegant necklace, its blue-topaz pendant catching your gaze. As you inspected the glittering stone, a warm feeling pooled in your chest, and you found your fingers reaching for the jewelry without thought. There was something special about this necklace, but what, exactly, you couldn’t identify.

It was incredibly frustrating. This was the closest you had come to remembering anything since you had woken up a week ago… and while it was certainly progress, it was infuriating to have the recollection dangling just barely out of your reach. You stared at the brilliant cyan gem for another moment before deciding that you weren’t going to remember based on willpower alone, securing the clasp around your neck. If that were the case, then you would have your memory back already, you were sure. You left the room with your shoes in hand, sock-clad feet padding quietly against the shiny hardwood floors while a sour taste dwelled on the back of your tongue.

Yet somehow, the second your eyes met Shouto’s, the feeling of self-loathing was instantly quelled, replaced with a pleasant wave of some feeling you couldn’t quite put your finger on. His eyes had locked onto the stone around your neck right as you walked into the kitchen, and immediately a smile graced his lips as he found your gaze.

You couldn’t help but return one, your eyes flickering to the floor before returning to him, overwhelmed with the tingles that zipped through you. He hadn’t really given you the chance to take in the outfit he had chosen before he left you to dress, and you found yourself appreciating the soft, cream sweater that fell just over his denim-clad hips.

“Wow, you look…” his eyes trailed down your form and then back up, his smile just as full. He let out a soft laugh, head tilting back before his attention returned to you, as if he didn’t quite believe the sight in front of him. “Beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

You already knew you looked good, but still, hearing the compliment roll off his tongue made your stomach leap up beside your heart. “Thank you, Sho. You look beautiful, too,” you teased, trying to downplay the effect his words had on you.

Even though his cheeks dusted with a light pink, his expression remained unchanged, gaze dropping to the pendant resting in the middle of your chest again. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but he held his tongue.

Just as you were about to tell him about the feeling you’d gotten earlier, he turned and grabbed some things from the counter behind him, whisking them into his arms. There was a curious look you shot him as you examined the numerous hats he offered to you, one of your brows rising at the variety.

Shouto didn’t give you the chance to ask, launching into explanation without your prompt. “You and I are technically celebrities. So it’s best if we conceal our faces while we’re out in public.” His gaze dropped to the brim of the gray suede boater in his hand, his thumb trailing across the soft material. “I don’t want you ambushed today. The public has missed you while you’ve been out of commission, so if we’re spotted, I’ll have to share you… and I don’t think either of us is ready for that quite yet.”

You nodded, ignoring the giddiness that bloomed in the depths of your stomach at his choice of words. Reaching for a floppy hat, your fingers brushed over his sweater as you grabbed your choice of camouflage. The fit was snug around your head, the silky ribbon tied around the crown the perfect match to your shoes. Shouto put on his hat as well, making sure to tuck the white half of his hair up and out of sight, giving him a faux monochromatic appearance. He wordlessly handed you a pair of large sunglasses, which you slid onto your face without protest. He mirrored your action, choosing a dark pair of aviators that helped disguise his famous scar.

“How do I look?” You asked, doing a little spin for full emphasis. The movement put a little smile on Shouto’s face, his eyes roaming your figure leisurely before he offered a thumbs up.

“Enchanting as always, love,” he replied stoically, the suavity and candor of his response aiding to the warm, swirling feeling in your stomach. But his expression morphed into a playful smirk, eyes twinkling with mischief. “What about me?”

A laugh trickled out of you as he copied your twirl, his execution somehow more graceful than yours. His pink lips curled into a genuine smile at your giggle, ending his mock demonstration in a curtsey. This only caused you to swat at him in exaggeration, taking the first steps towards the door.

“Equally enchanting,” you replied, not a hint of a lie in your voice. Your conviction made Shouto stutter, his grin melting to a flustered purse of the lip. It was then that you took his hand decisively, chuckling as you placed a swift kiss to his cheek. “Ready to go.”

It took him a moment to buffer, but he quickly recovered, a warm flush coloring his cheeks as his fingers squeezed yours. The digits of his other hand curled around the small of your waist, guiding you through the door.

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

Your eyes widened as Shouto pulled the sleek car into the parking space, your surroundings somewhat familiar. When you had asked where he was taking you, he hadn’t revealed any clues, preferring to give a vague “someplace you’ll enjoy” before effectively killing the conversation. You probably should’ve expected it, but surprise overtook you as you turned the sidewalk corner and there stood the cat cafe the pair of you had passed on your way back from the hospital just yesterday.

When you turned to look at Shouto, his eyes were already inspecting your reaction, the excitement written obviously all over your face. He regarded you with a quiet, knowing smile as he opened the door for you, the bell tinkling overhead and the quiet mewls of kittens further inside distinctly ringing in your ears. Right as you stepped inside, a fluffy, smoosh-face cat curled around your ankles, brushing and sniffing at you in greeting. Shouto made a joke about the fluffy beast being the cutest host he’d ever seen, his smile only growing when you laughed in return.

Once you were seated, tucked in a comfy pair of chairs in the corner of the cafe, a waitress came over to take your orders. What took you by surprise was that Shouto ordered for you— the exact confection and drink you were eyeing when you peeked at the menu. He shot you a little smirk at the cuteness of your impressed expression, asking if you’d like to add anything and turning the staff person's attention to you. At your denial, they excused themself, leaving you alone with Shouto once more.

There was a palpable tension in the air between the two of you. Unbeknownst to you, the other cafe goers could practically see the sparks flying between you.

“So… do we come here a lot?” you inquired, taking a tentative sip of your ice water and training your eyes on the top button of his shirt. It was just too intense to stare him straight in the eye sometimes…

Shouto took a moment to reply, looking through his red and white bangs at you fondly, leaning back in his chair before shaking his head. “Truthfully, we’ve never been here before.” He gauged the surprise in your eyes, a little knowing smile resting on his plump lip before he continued. “You always wanted to try this place but we hadn’t gotten around to it… you even picked out the food you wanted in case we came. I hope your tastes remain unchanged? If I ordered something you don’t want, I’ll call the waiter over.”

It was then your turn to shake your head, a quick and decisive answer. “No, you got it right,” you reassured, hands wringing slowly underneath the table in your lap. “The only other thing I wanted to try was the drink you ordered, so it’s fine!”

“Have as much as you like,” he suavely suggested, his tone sounding more like a demand than an offer. Just as he focused his eyes on yours, he was interrupted by a fuzzy orange kitten jumping into his lap, settling into a tiny loaf across his thighs and staring up at him expectantly.

You and Shouto both buffered for a moment before you let out a laugh at the sight of such a tiny creature in your broad boyfriend’s embrace. Shouto began to chuckle too, giving the creature a little scratch under the chin. The kitten meowed happily in agreement, placing its head onto its paws and settling in for a nap. You let the comfortable silence last for a minute before you meandered back into conversation.

“So um, earlier, when we were getting ready to go out…,” your fingers absentmindedly wandered to the pendant resting in the middle of your collar bones. “I saw this necklace in my closet and I felt like it was… important? And then I thought I caught you looking at it earlier too maybe? Do you know if it has any significant meaning or anything?”

Shouto’s gaze remained on the cat in his lap for another moment before it flicked over to you, and once again, you were stunned by the amount of emotion in his mismatched eyes. “I gave it to you,” he answered, his free hand fiddling with the sunglasses that now hung in the middle of his shirt collar. “It was for our first anniversary.”

You didn't really know what to make of that, the newfound knowledge resonating through you as you tried to remember anything about that day at all.

“I chose that color because you said you loved it… the color of my eyes. Or— eye— I suppose,” he gestured to the piercing cerulean orb that rested on his hot side, standing out even more against the muddled skin of his scar.

Your head nodded as you processed his answer, your finger nudging at the handle of your cutlery absentmindedly. “You do have nice eyes,” you mumbled, your veins pumping with a warmth you'd come to recognize as his natural effect on you.

Shouto smiled at that, his gaze focused on the pendant gleaming in the sun’s gentle caress. You could feel the intensity of his eyes there in the center of your chest, the modest amount of exposed cleavage feeling hot under his inspection.

At his silence, you continued on, your flusteredness forcing your mouth to move without much reason. “And— you have great taste in jewelry too, I mean, this is really beautiful.”

“It suits you,” he replied instantly, as if such words required no thought whatsoever.

That just made your cheeks feel even hotter, and a surprised chuckle sounded past your lips, his compliment egging on the butterfly swarm in your belly. “Thank you… I’m glad you have enough rationale to avoid a cheesy heart with your name on it or something.”

Shouto’s eyes fleed yours at that, taking a tentative sip of his water. You watched his pink lips curl into a subtle, knowing smirk. He yelped when you kicked his ankle underneath the table, gaze returning to you. He regarded your inquisitorial expression for a moment before he shrugged, his cheeks tinged with the lightest of pinks. “I have actually given you something like that before…”

You bit your lip, now wanting to kick yourself for making fun of the sweet yet idiotic, classic boyfriend gift. Heart jewelry, of course…

“And you really liked it… maybe almost as much as me,” he finished, and you watched as his blush deepened a few shades.

The waiter chose that moment to deliver your drinks, the conversation halting awkwardly before they took their leave once again.

“I really liked it?” You parroted, perplexed. There was no way you would find such a cheesy gift endearing enough to actually enjoy it.

Shouto adjusted himself in his chair, clearing his throat awkwardly. His eyes once again couldn’t meet yours, his fingertips tapping on the edge of the table. “Yeah it— it’s an anklet… it um, has my initials on the charm…” he mumbled, suddenly shy. “You seem to enjoy wearing it when we… when I— when I take you.”

“Oh.”

Your face felt on fire, neither of you brave enough to look each other in the eye following his confession. There wasn’t much you knew about your sex life with Shouto— though you assumed it to be very much alive, and healthily so— but just by the way he phrased that, your thighs were clenching together at the image your brain so kindly painted you.

Shouto was a big, strong man… one who was very proportional, as you recalled from the incident that occurred this morning. The thought of him taking you made your insides squirm with interest, fluttering at the premise of being stretched around him. You took another sip of your drink before the food thankfully arrived, allowing the pair of you to drop the conversation.

⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆⋅✧⋅⋆

After you finished eating, Shouto took you to the trader’s market around the corner. There were people crowding the streets and trickling through the crosswalks, even though it was a late morning on a Friday and most of the population should’ve been busying away at their jobs. The bustle of the city should’ve been overwhelming for you— Shouto kept you close to his side at all times, his gaze scrutinizing any looks that lasted too long toward your direction. And yet, you were having a blast, flittering about and exploring the vendors’ stands and the numerous trinket stalls that lined the busy square. His hand was always holding yours. Even when you got more invested in the items on display before you, his fingers would linger at your waist, making his relationship to you apparent to any bystanders.

Sunlight streamed down in between the tall buildings surrounding you, reflecting off the windows like mirrors and making you grateful for the shade of your hat. That made you extra thankful for the ghost of Shouto’s hand across your skin, welcoming the coolness exuding off of his right side. There was a light-hearted conversation between the pair of you, and many grannies waved you over to inspect their merchandise by calling out to the pair of lovebirds. The repeated label made Shouto puff up in pride, aiding him to stand tall and retain the advantage he had on you in terms of height.

Whenever your gaze lingered on something for a second too long, Shouto was instantly handing bills over to the merchants, insisting they take the change or at least tipping them appreciatively. By the time the two of you had visited every stall, numerous bags hung from his left arm, all precariously stacked so the fingers on his other hand could remain laced with yours.

He noticed your wary gaze on the bags, your expression giving your thoughts away immediately. “Don’t worry love,” he reassured, squeezing your fingers in his, “they’re no trouble at all.” At your attempt to grab a few and lessen the load, he pivoted and held them above your head. He frowned, keeping them out of reach as you continued your attempt, swatting at him gently.

“Just let me have one at least,” you pouted, your voice morphing into a little whine. That got him to grin, conceding and handing you the smallest, lightest bag of the bunch. He feigned ignorance when you shot him a playful glare in response, choosing now to steer you toward another topic instead.

“Would it ruin the date if we stopped by my office? I just need to drop off the folders I finished up last night, and the building is just a block over. It should only take a minute.”

You shook your head, shrugging your shoulders. “Sure,” you agreed, allowing his fingers to slip back into yours. Having your hand in his felt natural to you, the warmth of his skin welcomed. “I want to see your agency, anyway!”

It was a short walk to his workplace, as promised. The building was one of the tallest in the surrounding area, with sleek windows paneling all sides and reflecting the orange light of the barely-setting sun. The security guards didn’t bother the pair of you, Shouto acknowledging them with a nod as he slipped off his disguise. The elevator opened and Shouto flashed his badge at the sensor, then pushed the button for one of the floors higher up in the building.

In no time at all, the doors opened again and he led you past the couple secretaries that were perched behind their desks. You could feel their eyes glued to your back, and you were sure that the second you were safely located behind the glass doors to the hallway, they’d launch into discussion. The thought slipped your mind as you came round the corner, Shouto guiding you through the nearest door and ushering you into a large sitting room. Two doors were situated on either side of the room, long glass walls dividing the quarters. One door led to Shouto’s office, as designated by the nearby nameplate. The other you were about to read just as it opened, and a familiar, sharp-toothed redhead bounded toward the pair of you.

Immediately you grinned, ripping your hand from Shouto’s as you launched yourself at the famed Red Riot, one of Japan’s finest heroes lifting you off your feet in an enthusiastic embrace. Your laughs echoed around the room, Kirishima’s chuckles following as he spun you around. Shouto watched silently, a small frown adorning his lip while your gleeful laughs met his ears. He hadn’t heard such a sound in what seemed like forever, and even though he was not the cause of it, he couldn’t help but relish in it.

After a moment, Kirishima put you down and pulled Shouto in for a quick half-hug, patting him on the shoulder as his eyes then returned to you. “Well look who it is,” he grinned, his pointy teeth on display, hands landing on his narrow hips. “It’s so good to see you up and about, Y/n.”

“It’s good to see you too, Kiri,” you mirrored his expression, taking in his appearance.

Shouto watched your eyes rove over him, a sour taste developing at the back of his tongue. You had recognized Kirishima immediately— fondly, even— when it had taken hard work and ample time for you to warm up to him. It had taken a week for you to call him by his usual nickname, and yet, you called Kirishima by his own instantly. He could feel himself turning green at the realization, his frown remaining as his eyes sharpened in scrutiny.

“Wow,” you exclaimed after you had fully appraised the hero, even taking in the scarlet costume that had been updated since the last time you’d seen him. “You look great! Five years has really done you well, hmm? You’re totally ripped. Last time I saw you I swear you were shorter!”

Kirishima laughed and toed at the ground bashfully— never one to handle compliments very well. “Ah, thanks Y/n… gotta stay in shape when your costume has you shirtless all day, right?”

Shouto couldn’t help the envy that rose up inside of him as he watched you chatter eagerly with his coworker… even though he knew you had no control of what memories you lost, it still stung to watch you engage with and compliment another man. Especially when he hadn’t received such easy affection from you in much too long.

“You look much better, too,” Kirishima continued, glancing at Shouto as he picked up on the temperature drop in the room. Somehow you didn’t seem to notice the frost gathering on Shouto’s wrist as a result of his displeasure. “Erm— last time I saw you was in the hospital when you were still in your coma. I was so relieved to hear you woke up! Then I figured it would be easier for you if you didn’t have any visitors, though… that’s what your f— um, Shouto said would be best, anyway.”

At the mention of his name, you glanced at the half-and-half man beside you, shooting him a thankful smile that had his heart fluttering and his jealousy waning. He cleared his throat and nodded, casting a forced smile at the other hero. “Yes, well… I have to step into my office quickly, would you entertain her for a moment?”

Kirishima opened his mouth to reply, but Shouto was already halfway through the door, leaving the pair of you slightly stunned. You could see him through the glass wall, eyes following him and wondering why his curt attitude left a bitter taste in your mouth.

“So um…” The redhead turned to look at you, prompting you to do the same. “You really lost all your memories of him?”

The question hit you like he had dunked you in ice cold water, and you stiffened up immediately. Kirishima panicked then, eyes growing wide and covering his mouth.

“I can’t believe I just blurted that out— I just… You guys are so in love, I can’t imagine you two not together,” he explained earnestly, his brow furrowed. His honesty made your stomach burst with butterflies, the premise of being loved by Shouto and being able to love him made you feel flustered as hell.

“We are together,” you clarified, and Kirishima nodded. “Just not as together as before, I guess? It’s just… he makes me feel so many things and I barely know him. But he knows me? Like, intimately. It feels like he knows me more than I know myself sometimes. I dunno, it’s just… complicated, Kiri.”

He smiled in understanding, eyes sympathetic as you spilled your troubles to him. It was nice talking to someone who wasn’t Shouto— as much as you liked him, talking to him was difficult because he made you fumble with your words. You said things you didn’t mean to say when you were with him. Kirishima continued, “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that you guys are crazy in love. Like, you’re the couple I aspire to be in some day.”

You grabbed his hand and grinned at that, his sincerity making your heart melt. “Awe, Kiri… It’s good to see you haven’t changed from how I remember you. You’re still the sweetest.”

Kirishima laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Just be yourself with him… I think it’ll put you both at ease. You’re really good for each other— he was devastated the whole time you were asleep.”

The admission made a lump appear in your throat, your eyes feeling glassy all the sudden.

“He hasn’t acted this frigid since his high school days… Long before he met you. I think you make him feel relaxed. I mean, that’s how he always looks when he’s with you, or thinking about you. I can tell when we’re on patrol and he’s daydreaming about you, ‘cus he’ll just walk right into a lamp pole.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the image, cursing the timing when the door opened and Shouto stepped out, his eyes landing on you and then hardening as they moved to Kirishima. He stepped toward him, but you intercepted him and laced your arms around his middle instead, stopping him with your embrace.

Shouto faltered at the sudden display of affection, his cheeks growing hot as he locked gazes with Kirishima, his eyes then dropping to the top of your head as you hid your face in his chest. He was frozen mid-breath, completely still as you held him. His cool, clean scent swallowed you as you kept your head nuzzled into his front, his fingers limp as your hand found his.

With a small step back, you ceased your embrace, your fingers squeezing his tightly as your eyes captured his and you gave him a shy smile. His cheeks only darkened, the grimace that had occupied his face long gone and instead replaced with an awed blankness. His lips parted and moved pointlessly, as if he wanted to say something but no sound escaped him.

“It was nice catching up Kiri,” you said, eyes still locked with Shouto’s heterochromatic ones before you turned to the red hero, who was awkwardly looking to the side as he shuffled his weight between his feet.

Kirishima looked at you and laughed awkwardly once again. You began to exit with Shouto in tow behind you, the hero’s crimson gaze following the pair of you. “Ah, yeah, you too! Let’s meet up soon!”

Then the glass door closed, and you were once again in the vicinity of the secretaries' blatant gawking. You pointedly ignored them as you strode toward the elevator, with their soundlessly boss still trailing behind you. As you waited for the elevator to ascend to your floor, you caught Shouto looking at you funny in your peripheral vision. Yet when you turned to look at him, he only reached out and pulled you into his chest.

Caught by surprise, a meek noise slipped out of you before you collided with his pecs once again, his arms wrapping around you to secure you in place. He nuzzled into your hair and inhaled deeply, uncaring of the secretaries' stares.

Only when the elevator arrived did he pull away, to guide you inside and away from the prying eyes. When the doors were closed, he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the crest of your cheek, a wisp of his peppermint-laced breath cooling your skin just as heat rushed there from his lips.

“Let’s go home, love,” Shouto murmured against your skin, knuckles nudging yours before your fingers curled around his. You nodded, holding his arm with your free hand and coming to stand by his side as the elevator rushed toward the ground. A peaceful moment of silence fell upon you and Shouto, giving you time for contemplation.

Any sane woman would've taken one look at Kirishima and felt at least a pinch of interest twirl inside her stomach. He was caring and handsome as they come, and yet he did absolutely nothing for you. Somehow when you were confronted with his chiseled abs and warm gaze, you felt less than when Shouto even glanced at you. You concluded that your body was definitely in love with him… and your heart longed to be the same. But part of you still had questions that needed to be resolved before you could really give yourself to him… and little did he know, you would find the answers to said questions so soon.

─── ・°* ﾟ✧:* • ｡ﾟ:*･☽･*: ｡ﾟ•*:✧ ﾟ*°・ ───

ahh i love this sho so much, he’s trying so hard... poor babie 🥺 next part i will be much kinder to him <3 if you enjoyed please be sure to reblog and or leave me a comment •ᴥ•

➥ masterlist

𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 © 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐩𝐢 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝.

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elaineonline · 2 years

Text

𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 | 𝗧𝗼𝗷𝗶 𝗙𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗼

CHAPTER FIVE

next on 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 previously on 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲

warnings this chapter: strong language, upset Toji, Angsty(?), fluff-ish

summary : 3 years after murdering your ex husband, building a relationship with Toji Fushiguro is a struggle to keep what you've done in the past in the secret.

NOTE: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

tags (^^;) ~ @m00dycr4nkybitc @bubs-world @brumous11 @tojisslvtsstuff @milena-xoxo

reblogs are fine with me :D

A FEW DAYS LATER

Toji asked you to be his woman a couple of days ago, and you graciously accepted before falling asleep in his arms. You haven't been this happy, it feels, in a long time.

To happy to confront your mom about the discussion you and your husband had a few days ago, but it always remained in the back of your mind.

Anyway,

Toji was either wonderfully raised or someone taught him how to treat women with respect. Because he's been treating you so much better these past several days, even though he also did before.

He showers you with compliments, pays close attention to you, and even brings you lunch while you're at home while you are required to work. because he understands how difficult it is for you to be alone. knowing you have an advantage to drink.

By the way, you doubt you'd ever let him in because your house is so dirty; you'd have to be motivated to clean first.

and you know he’d scold you for all of the beer bottles.

He's even wondered why you always walk outside to greet him, when all you guys both do is stand on your porch.

However, the more he does these things, the more you feel compelled to tell him about the incident that occurred only three years ago.

You're waiting for the right moment, even if you're not sure when that moment will arrive.

You were currently seated on his plush black leather couch, playing with a sick Megumi and his toys.

He's adorable and looks pretty much identical to his father. Megumi really likes you and becomes upset in his almost 3-year-old mind when you have to leave the house for work, despite the fact that he doesn't speak much.

Toji grins to himself as he takes a seat on the second couch, directly next to the one you two were on; he enjoys the scene unfolding in front of him. He really likes how you don't dismiss his son as much as you come over.

"He's so precious," you tell Toji, your attention remaining fixed on Megumi.

You were now experiencing unexpected baby fever, as much as you hated to acknowledge it. Not to mention that he's a wonderful baby, at least when it comes to you.

"Cute and a shitshow." Toji says referring to his bad behavior when it’s just them two.

Megumi was sick with a cold because he cried each time Toji attempted to turn off the air conditioning last night. Toji left the air conditioner on all night because he didn't want to hear any more tears, already annoyed from a day full of assassinating people at work.

Causing Megumi to wake up with a cold.

You were at home for all of this, but rushed over here the next morning after you heard out he was sick, unconcerned about the cold spreading to you.

"It's not his fault he was hot," you grumbled as you defended Megumi and looked over at Toji.

“it wasn’t hot, he’s just dramatic.” Toji expresses his annoyance by rolling his eyes.

a small grin plastered on your face giggling a little to his response as you turned back to a sneezing Megumi. “Do you have soup?" you questioned Toji while caressing the kids' back.

Toji thought for a moment before recalling that he isn't the type of person who eats soup. His son, on the other hand, is a chicken nugget eating type of kid.

His silence told you everything you needed to know.

"Well, I guess we should go to the store then," you said as you stood up from the couch and extended your arms to Megumi, checking if he was okay with you lifting him up.

Toji wipes his palm across his face, anticipating a long day at the store. "Damnit," he says groggily.

"Don't worry," you say, smirking, "I'll make sure he doesn't wreck anything."

Toji breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that now that you're here, he'll be able to go to the store more frequently.

You, on the other hand, become nervous while out and about; Toji assumed you were just a homebody, but you truly don't want anyone to find out who you are and ridicule you.

You had a burning urge not to go out today. You know you should trust your instincts, but you truly wanted Megumi to feel well, and he needed the correct treatment in order for that to happen.

You arrived at the store, thinking you were coming for anything specific until you opened Toji's refrigerator and saw nothing.

Including no alcohol, which almost made you tear up.

He was so engaged in spending time with you that he forgot to get groceries delivered.

You pushed the cart as Megumi sat in the very front on the seat thingy specially made for babies; his eyes widened as he gazed around, and you could tell simply by his facial expressions alone, that he was yearning to touch everything.

“We can’t terrorize grocery stores anymore, okay gumi?”

He continued to glance around, causing you to giggle, and you turned to look at Toji, who was standing next to you with an unhappy grimace on his face.

You questioned as to why he was so fussy in the car, to which he responded that work had been difficult, on top of Megumi. Then you were advised not to worry about it.

As a response, you pecked the side of his face, which he scrunched, and all you did was snicker.

You look up at the hanging boards that tell you which grocery category products are and what aisle they were located on as you continue walking through the store.

Toji yawned as he suddenly felt uneasy. Because of his job, he recognized the sensation of someone staring at him.

He scanned the store a few times, trying not to stand out or appear weird.

"ou Found them." you say. When you stop, Toji stops as well. When you noticed the soup cans, you ran down the aisle full of them, pushing the cart with Megumi behind you.

It was the ideal opportunity for him to pause and observe, trying to figure out who was staring at him.

He found him after a few scans and two minutes.

With Toji’s eyes landing on him, and the person making eye contact with him, he had no idea who he was.

Toji, who was already in a nasty mood, wanted to approach him and fuck him up for staring. But I knew that with you and Megumi here, that would be a poor idea.

To get to him, Toji walks over to him, passing and manoeuvring around other shoppers.

Being only a few feet away, the man did a double take before bringing his eyes to the products in front of him, ostensibly pretending he was shopping because he suddenly felt frightened.

"What the fuck were you staring at?" Toji asked, standing inches away from him and opening his mouth to question him some more. "Do I recognize you from somewhere—"

"Forgive me, sir!" the person cuts him off as he turns to face him. “It was only the woman with whom you were with."

He wasn't sure why, but Toji seemed even more irritated when the guy mentioned you, "What about her?" look—“

"I'm just certain that she's the woman who was all over the blogs a couple of years ago," the guy says, cutting him off a second time.

Toji pondered, "Blogs?"

Toji was confused and motioned for the man to enlighten him.

"Do you mean you haven't heard?" The man pulls his phone from his back pocket and hurriedly turns it on before typing something.

Toji squints as he holds his phone up to his face, seeing you clothed in orange with a mugshot, your scar also stitched up.

"She's the woman who murdered her ex-husband and now lives with her parents with her 3-year-old daughter."

husband??! daughter?!?

no.

It can't actually be real.

Toji tried to persuade himself that the man was insane by pulling out an edited photo of you.

But he realized that would only make himself sound even more insane.

"To be with someone like her takes bravery." Before putting his phone down again, the man says.

Toji, speechless, turns around and walks away, a million thoughts racing through his mind. All he could do was contemplate and wait for the proper opportunity to interrogate you about it.

The drive back to Toji's house was unusually silent, which perplexed you. The only thing you could hear were the groceries in the trunk rolling around. When he returned to you guys at the store, bagging/paying for the goods and loading the groceries and Megumi into the car, he didn't say anything to you.

You assumed he was still furious about work, although he still spoke with you briefly earlier.

Eventually you all arrived at the house.

You had already fed Megumi, and he was in his bed, having his daily nap.

After pulling your favorite beer from the fridge and closing it, you use both arms to take a seat at the kitchen counter.

In the corner of your eye, you notice Toji begin to walk over to you as you stare down at the bottle as you were in the middle of opening it.

You raise your eyes to him, who was standing just in front of you. When he peered down at you with a cold stare, he startled you a little.

He snatched the bottle from your grip and placed it beside you, unconcerned about whether it was broken or not.

He instantly cornered you by placing both of his hands on the sides of you; you stare up at him, puzzled, but remain silent.

"Tell me everything and don't lie to me," He says this as his face moves away from yours. He was furious.

what?

"Toji wh—"

"I let you in my home around me and my son, not knowing you were a murderer," he says, cutting you off, trying to remain somewhat of a calm tone.

Toji knew he was meant to be enraged with you right now, but he was also enraged at himself for allowing you into his life without your knowledge.

He's pranking me, you shook your head.

You make an effort to persuade yourself.

He doesn’t know.

So you just keep staring up at him, blankly making eye contact.

“Someone showed me proof, so don’t lie!” He raises his voice in outrage.

Your eyes welled up as you realized he wasn't playing a prank on you, even though half of you knew that already.

“Toji! I’m sorry i didn’t tell you sooner, i was just scared for your rea—“

"Bullshit!" he says again, cutting you off. I'm sure we're plotting something against me and my son." You were accused by him.

"I'd never do something like that!" "I swear!" As those remarks wounded a little, you attempted to justify yourself.

"And why should I believe you?" He says as he lowers himself to your level more by moving his legs back.

you freeze for a second, wanting to explain why but just couldn’t. so instead, you slam your head into his shoulder and start sobbing.

He clenched his teeth in rage, wanting to rip you to shreds, but a part of him felt guilty hearing your sobs.

This is exactly what you were afraid of.

he’s definitely going to leave me after this. You panicked in thought.

For a long time, you were shamed of the murder; part of you constantly hated yourself for killing him, but the other half had no regrets.

He didn't want to leave you, though. Deep down he knew there had to be a reason, but he was too enraged to see anymore of it.

"I k-killed him because he was abusing me and my daughter," you tell him, you began to choke up on your tears.

Toji heart dropped, he believed you suddenly. Knowing you wouldn’t lie about this when he could easily just look it up.

He dropped his head and sighed before he rested his head on the crick of your neck; he felt bad at the moment. But a part of him remained enraged.

Still, Toji had too many questions.

You wanted to stop crying but couldn't for some reason. Thinking about the situation you were in at the time, as well as memories of what you did back then.

Toji simply wrapped his large arms around your body and held you, when he did that, you gripped the back of his shirt before whispering, "Please don't leave me." As your crying began to slowly die down.

He started whispering sweet things in your ear, but one line in particular caught your attention and stood out to you the most:

“I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

#jjk toji #jujutsu kaisen toji #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #toji fic #toji fluff #toji fushiguro #toji imagine #toji thirst #jujutsu kaisen smut #x reader #jjk smut #toji smut #jujutsu toji #toji x you

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seaofghouls · 3 years

Text

DELTARUNE CHAPTER 2 SPOILERS!!

spamton x reader

You swiftly made your way out of the mansion for the day with a smile on your face. Hm.. It wouldn’t hurt to stop by the tea shop on the way back, would it? A nice treat. Ah, The Addisons. Had the best products money could buy. Though, none could top Mr. Spamton’s sales. He went missing years ago, however.

The smile on your face diminished as you thought about it. You were fairly close to him, when he lived in the mansion. There were two head butlers, you and Swatch. You both managed Color Cafe and ordered the Swatchlings around, as well as attending to Queen’s bidding. Both of you had been fairly busy as of late, with the lightners arrival.

You almost didn’t even realize that you had arrived at your destination, enveloped in your thoughts. Tea.. that’s right. Mayhaps you should pick up some cake as well.

“Good evening, [Name]! To what do I owe the pleasure of pleasing the head butler?” Pink greeted.

“Hello, Pink! I’ve come to pick up some tea and maybe some cake.” You smiled at him.

“And I thought I told you that my status doesn’t affect anything outside of work. You don’t have to make such a big deal out of it.” You sighed.

“Keep telling yourself that, but you’re much more important than you may think.” Pink said.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” You huffed.

“Anywho, got any new tea flavors?” You asked.

“I do indeed! Believe it or not, four new flavors have been shipped in with the arrival of the lightners. Kris, Susie, Ralsei and Noelle.” Pink said.

“Hm.. Noelle sounds good. Queen’s peon, I believe. She’s a delight.” You hummed.

Pink prepared your tea as you talked about her.

“Always talking about that Susie girl. Ah, young love. It’s refreshing, to say the least.” You smiled.

Pink hummed in agreement. “And did you want any cake?”

“Oh, yes, of course, just give me the usual flavor.” You said.

“She’s so timid but when she speaks her mind, it’s a sight to see. She’s so sweet, especially to Birdley. Which.. I find it a bit complexing based on their relations.” You continued on.

“I see. Here’s your items.” Pink handed the tea and cake to you and you payed him back.

“Thanks, Pink. Man, I should get going. It’s getting late.” You said, looking at the time.

“Well, I’ll be off. Good night, Pink!” You waved.

“Good night!” The Addison smiled.

You dropped your bags on the counter in your apartment and sighed. It’s been a long day. Plopping down on the couch, you sighed contently and turned on the television. You could probably order some food or whatever. You didn’t really feel like cooking.

You groaned in annoyance as your phone rang.

“..Hello?”

“Oh [Name] Sugar Honey Sweetie Gravy Pie!”

“Ah, hey Queen. It’s.. afterhours. Did you need something?” You sat up.

“I’m Terribly Sorry But I Need You To Come Back To The Mansion. I Can’t Find The Lightners And I Need Both You And Swatch.” She said.

Of course.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on my way. Just sit tight.” You sighed, getting ready.

The city was noisy as ever, cars blocking up certain paths. You made your way into the mansion eventually, though. Swatch was waiting for you when you entered.

“So, we’re on a goose hunt from what I understand?” You asked, looking at them.

“It would seem that way, yes. The Swatchlings are maintaining the shop, so for now, let’s split up to find them.” Swatch said.

“Is Queen sure they’re even here?” You asked.

“Why Yes I’m Absolutely Positive [Name]!” Queen said, seemingly materializing out of thin air.

You would be surprised, but this tends to happen a lot.

“..Alright. Better get going then. Break a leg.” You said with a grin.

“I could say the same to you.” Swatch returned your expression.

You looked and looked around your selected areas of the mansion but with no trace of anything yet. You shouldn’t be surprised, it is a mansion after all. You arrived upon a door, leading into the basement. Hearing destruction entailing within, you decided to check it out. Sounds like a commotion, so it’s likely that they’re here.

What are they fighting? You had not the slightest clue. The basement was dark and damp. You simply followed the sound of the commotion. Kris, Susie and Ralsei were at the edge of the room and Kris was kneeled down.

“There you guys are! Finally. That took forever to find you.” You smiled.

“Woah, are they okay?” You paused.

“KRIS!! YOU HAVE FRIENDS! WHY DON’T YOU TELL THEM ABOUT MY [ 3 for One Specil!!]” Someone cackled.

They were all scooped up in coasters, You were bunked with Ralsei.

“HOLY-!” You gasped out at the figure in front of you.

Your good friend, who had gone missing years ago, except he was eleven feet tall and a robot, attached by strings.

“..SPAMTON?!” Your jaw dropped.

Ralsei closed your jaw with his paw. “Will you help us??”

“Yeah. Y-Yeah! Of course. Gotta reserve your energy for Queen.” You said, trying to brush off your initial shock.

Spamton cackled like a madman. “[HEAVEN], ARE YOU WATCHING??”

“Totally helps with the knowledge that my best friend who went missing forever ago is trying to kill us.” You said sarcastically.

The four of you worked together to snap the wires attached to Spamton. There were a lot, however.

“Heaven?? Big Shots? What the hell are you talking about?” You asked in confusion.

“DON’T YOU SEE [NAME]?? THIS IS THE [Key] TO FREEDOM!” He cackled.

“Yeah, except it’s not.” You rolled your eyes.

The air crackled with freedom, supposedly. You kept going, following Kris’s command until the last wire remained.

“WAIT!! [$!?!] THE PRESSES! MY WIRES! THEY’RE ALMOST GONE?? I’M BEING GIFTED MY FREEDOM??” Spamton paused.

“That’s what we’ve been trying to accomplish this entire time, yes.” You said.

“I SEE!! THE MOST IMPORTANT DEAL OF ALL! FRIENDSHIP!!” He cried.

“I’LL LIVE FOR MYSELF!! MYSELF AND MY FRIENDS!! CUT THAT LAST WIRE!!” He cheered.

You grinned and nodded at the others.

One final act.

The wire was sliced and the robot crashed to the floor. When the smoke cleared, Spamton was encased in vines. Much smaller than he was before.

You approached him slowly.

The others stayed back.

You untangled him from the vines and had a slight frown as you held him, almost like a little kid.

“It appears all that I could be was a simple puppet. I do hope you’ll be able to free yourself. Do what I couldn’t.” He sighed.

He gave the group a Black Crystal.

“C’mon, Spamton. We’re going home.” You said.

“Work can wait.” You took a breath.

…

“So you found them and someone else, hm?” Swatch said, after you met back up with them in Color Cafe.

Spamton had fallen asleep. That battle took a lot out of him.

“Yup. Now I’m gonna take some well deserved time off.” You grinned.

“For how long?” They asked.

“Maybe two days to a week. Depends on how he’s doing.” You said, referring to Spamton.

“Be safe, won’t you?” Swatch gave a soft smile.

“I always am.” You smiled back.

You pet Spamton’s hair on the way back home and sighed with content.

You finally had him back.

#deltarune chapter 2 #deltarune #deltarune x reader #spamton x reader

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softcallofdutyimagines · 3 years

Text

More Then a Woman | Frank Woods x Fem!Reader | Chapter 7 - Finale

Summary:

It all comes down to this. Will Frank be able to make things right?

Tags: Slow burn, fluff, age difference, angst

Tag requests: @direwolfspostsrandomshit

Another hour passes. Another beer down.

The television drones on in the background while he stares right through it. Why is he even watching this? He hates TV.

He should be training today, maybe the gym or the firing range, but… He just doesn’t feel like it.

His stomach growls. He looks at the clock. He should get something to eat, but… He doesn’t feel like that either.

At last the cramping moves him to action, and sluggishly he gets up and wanders to the kitchen. He grabs his go-to as of late, a bag of chocolate chips for baking. His diet’s been such shit lately, and he knows it’s not helping. He hates that. And he loves it. Because right now he’ll do anything just to get even a flicker of feeling.

Good. Bad. He doesn’t care.

He just wants to feel.

It’s been a couple weeks since he last saw you, out back behind the CIA gym, and he’s been numb ever since. Mason’s been trying to bring him out of it all this time.

‘You did the right thing’, he says. ‘She’s just a kid, she doesn’t know what she’s doing’, and then, ‘If anything, you did her a favor. She doesn’t really want to get caught up like that with an old guy, right?’, he laughs.

He eats another handful of chocolate and looks down at himself. ‘She doesn’t want to...’ Is he really that repulsive? He runs a hand over his belly. It’s been feeling more rounded than usual.

Fuck.

For a moment, that same old burning, consuming flare of fury he’s so used to getting rises up. He grips the plastic bag so tightly, his knuckles turn white.

His discipline has been getting looser and his belt has been getting tighter, the polar fucking opposite of how things should be. His nostrils flare and lips draw back to reveal tightly clenched teeth, like a dog readying for an attack. Every muscle in his body tenses as he bores holes into nothing in particular. He starts to cock his arm back.

Throwing something will help him feel better.

Right?

He aims for the wall and winds up for an all star pitch, and then…

and then…

He can’t even muster the motivation for that.

As quickly as it came, the anger leaves, and as he lets out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, his entire body relaxes once more. What the fuck is wrong with him anyway?

What, mommy and daddy didn’t love him enough, so now he throws little tantrums whenever the fuck he feels like it? He mocks himself, feeling almost ashamed suddenly of all his outbursts, but when he thinks about it…

Yeah.

Maybe that...

He sighs, suddenly feeling extremely defeated and very alone. Maybe he shouldn't be surprised you left him. Everyone else who ever loved him did.

Woods drops the bag of chocolate from his limply hanging arm and watches the pieces scatter and roll all over the floor.

Whatever. He’ll eat something else.

This is how it’s been for weeks and this how it’ll be for the foreseeable future. He lazes around, completely numb to the outside world, grazing his pantry and doing anything to distract himself from his thoughts. If only any of it worked. Then at night he’ll lay awake well past midnight, until either regular exhaustion or exertion from shedding tears sends him to sleep.

But it wasn’t always like this.

After the first few days since he chased you off, he tried to make up for it.

He called.

He tried to see you at work.

He even sent you some fucking flowers and a letter.

Not a word back.

Well, aside from the ‘Get the fuck out of here, and don’t you fucking dare come back’ he got when he came to your office. After that one…

He hasn’t cried that hard over a woman in… Well… Ever.

And that’s what really gets to him, isn’t it? Just a woman. You’re just a fucking woman. There’s billions of others out there… And yet, he can’t manage to land even one, can he?

This message plays back in his mind over, and over, and over again.

Even now, as a slow stream of tears leak from his eyes to his pillowcase. He looks over just a few inches away to the empty half of his bed. Frank sniffs and swipes at his nose before gently plopping his hand on the pillow beside his. The fabric is icy cold against his skin.

You know, Alex told him once that he’ll lay in his wife's spot on the bed to warm up the sheets for her at night.

She hates the cold, and Alaskan nights are no joke. Would you like that? He wonders. He heard once that women are always fucking cold. He’d warm up your sheets for you, you know. Or maybe, you’d like a blanket? He’d get you one. A nice one! Fresh and new, not any of the tattered shit he keeps in his linen closet.

Or, maybe, you’d like it more if he just… Held you? He could keep you warm all by himself if you wanted him to. Would you even like him to?

Would that make you happy?

Would he make you happy?

A fresh round of tears breaks over him.

He closes his eyes and curls in on himself as he lets the sobs take over him. Damn it, he promised himself he wouldn’t do this again… He thinks about you far too much. All the time, really. And where does it get him? Somewhere about like he is now, he supposes.

He stews in his own wretchedness like this for quite some time, and it’s not until a few days later that anything changes.

Mason pounds on the door of the dingy little house, “Frank?”, he calls, “Frank, open up you bastard, I know you’re in there!”

Truthfully, he’s only in town on some work related business, but… He can’t just stand by and let his friend suffer like this.

So, he waits and waits, and pounds and pounds until he's sure the door is about to come off the hinges. Mason cups his hands to the crack of the door, shouting into it as loud as he dare, “I’m not leaving until you come out here asshole!”

At last, a quiet voice comes from the other side, “What do you want?”

For a moment, Mason is rather dumbfounded. Never before has he ever heard his friend sound so soulless. So… broken. He shakes his head, and pulls himself out of it, “Frank will you open up? I’m here to check on you man!”

Woods sighs, “Don’t waste your time”, the voice trails off as though he’s walking away.

“Hey!”, Mason pounds on the door again, “Son of a bitch, get back here!”

The door swings open abruptly, and Mason nearly falls over as the door’s taken out from him. He stumbles a moment, then catches himself as he stands up straight.

Mason locks eyes with his old friend, and Woods says nothing. Alex takes in the sight of him. His stubble is out of control, the bags under his eyes are dark and purple, and the undershirt he’s wearing could’ve used a wash about a week ago.

“Jesus…You look like shit��

“Thanks”, Woods replies flatly, “Now go away”

He makes to close the door, but Mason stops him, “Wait wait wait… Ok, I’m sorry, I just… Wow, um… Can I come in at least? Let’s talk about this”, Alex motions to Woods in his entirety.

“Do I have a choice?”

Mason pushes the door all the way open, letting himself in and taking his friend by the shoulders as he leads him further into the house, “No, we’re having a fucking intervention”

He leads him to the living room and clears a pile of clothes and trash off the cushions so they can sit down. Alex commands his friend to take a seat, then follows suit. Once they’re both settled, Mason grows serious but maintains a cautious, sympathetic veneer.

Mason rubs his hands together and gives it to him straight, “Look, I know you feel like you fucked up. I know you’re feeling lonely and it’s got you in the dumps. But… Come on man, look what’s been going on with you!”, He gestures to the living space around them.

Dirty laundry and neglected trash sit in little piles all around in a room that smells of old must with a faint, queasy scent of booze. “This is no way to live, buddy!”

Frank says nothing. Instead, he sits and listens without even attempting to make eye contact, like a child receiving a tiresome lecture.

Alex grits his teeth and tries to keep his temper in check. “So… What I’m trying to say is…. Maybe you need to get out of here, you know? Go to a game, take a vacation, something!”, he scoots a bit closer, taking on a more personal tone with his old friend, “I don’t want to see you destroy yourself like this Frank…”

Woods recoils at that, snapping to life as though he’d just now entered the conversation, “I’m not! I just… I need some time to get over this, alright!”

Mason casts an exaggeratedly doubtful look at the other man. Frank jumps to defend himself once more, but Alex cuts him off, “Ok ok! How about this, let’s you and me go out for a little bit huh? Have some beers, some guy time! I just want you to get out of this place for a little while, is that so bad?”

Frank grumbles a bit, but somewhere in there is an agreement. Mason cheers, "That's the spirit!", and drags his friend upstairs to clean up. He pushes him off to shave and shower before going downstairs to help himself to the kitchen.

It takes far longer than he anticipated, but Alex doesn’t go up to pressure the old Sargent even once. At last, the staircase creaks softly as Woods descends. He looks like a new man. Clean clothes, shaped up beard, and a gentle wafting of clean, musky shampoo emanating from him.

Woods walks up without much fanfare for himself, but Alex offers him a smile and a firm pat on the back, “There, now isn’t that better? You look great!”

Frank grunts and perhaps even mutters a thank you, but Mason is too busy trying to keep the momentum up. Once more, he drags his friend along and out to the car. The sun is starting to set and options for places to go are beginning to dwindle. Woods wonders where they’re going, and yet as the streets race by, he finds himself caring less and less.

By the time the car comes to a stop, he’s nearly fallen asleep.

Mason turns off the engine and shakes him awake, “Hey don’t fall asleep on me now, we’re just getting started!”

Woods snaps awake, but has to shield his eyes immediately. It seems impossibly bright out considering how late it is. He blinks a few times and rubs his eyes. Once they're fully adjusted, he finds that what he sees does nearly nothing to alleviate his confusion.

Before him stands the front of a pulsating night club. Blue and purple neon blaze in the dusky twilight. He can only imagine how they must look in the dead of night. A pounding beat comes from somewhere within, no doubt the drum track to some popular, modern song. Small clusters of younger people and a handful of adults hang around the doors pregaming for what they must be anticipating to be a long, wild night.

The pair get out of the car, but Woods is bewildered all the while. When Alex finally comes around to him, he can’t keep silent any longer, “What the fuck did you bring me here for?”

Mason seems almost taken aback, “For some fun? Come on, I know this isn’t really your scene but maybe that’s exactly what you need! Something new and fun, right?”, he doesn’t wait for a response, instead he pushes his friend along as they head towards the entrance.

The air seems thick and hazy around him, a fact only highlighted by the glowing miasma created by the neon interior. If Alex wasn’t pulling him along, he’s sure he’d get lost.

Alex takes him over to a table buried back in the corner. They take a seat and despite being right across from each other, Mason nearly has to shout to be heard over all the noise, “Want a drink?”

Woods thinks about it for a moment, still taking in the environment as he does so. He’s trying to find the bar, and when he does he figures it’s impossible to miss. A huge back wall of glass bottles, all lit up by a halo of purple neon and cool fluorescent lights stands bright as a beacon behind a solid bar top and array of stools and customers.

“Sure, I can get my own”

“Great! Hey, grab my usual would ya? I’m gonna take a leak real quick”, he points over his shoulder and excuses himself as he makes for the restrooms.

This… is not at all what he wanted.

Suddenly, Woods feels trapped and alone again, no better than he was back in his own home. Except now he’s surrounded by the heat, noise, and stench of over a hundred other people.

The lights feel heavy and blinding, the pulsating pop music, deafening. He trudges up to the bar slowly yet surely, but with every step he comes closer to committing to his plan of escaping back to Alex’s car.

He never should’ve went along with this… he was just fine at home, damn it.

Lost in his thoughts and half blinded by the smoke and lights, he runs smack into another person. With a dampened thud, they hit the ground hard. Wood swears under his breath and figures he can at least offer a hand. He bends down to help up the fallen individual, only to see…

You.

Suddenly, it’s as if all the haze and fog has cleared from his eyes. He can see you clear as day down here, and the noise and smells of the crowd all fade away. A soft blue glow highlights your features, and an electric magenta bounces off your hair. The sparkling, sequined little dress you wear glitters in the halo of light descending around you, and a thousand flecks of light reflect back onto his worn, tired face.

Woods' hand hangs in mid air, half way through it’s journey to assist you. He whispers your name, quietly and fondly, as though he never thought he’d see you again.

For the first time in what must have been days, a smile breaks free from his stern glower.

But all you see is the asshole who teased you along for weeks, only to give you the highest embarrassment by sending you off like a misbehaving child after you were at your most vulnerable with him.

You were ready to give him your very body, and he only felt up what he wanted and sent you off.

With a sneer, you slap his hand away and hop up on your own. You don’t even bother to spare him a word. Instead, you stare daggers into him and walk off.

For a moment. For a second time… He watches you go.

He should let you walk away.

After what he did, you deserve at least the privacy. And that’s aside from the fact that you’re clearly pissed.

But he can’t. Not again.

“Hey, wait!”, he dashes after you, shoving his way through the crowd. A little too roughly, he grabs your upper arm and spins you around. You yank yourself free from his grip and glare right through him. Even through all the rage…

You look so beautiful in this light.

“I… I- uh. Hey”

“Hey?”, your blood is boiling. Is that all he has to say for himself?

The venom in your voice makes him recoil, shrinking back into himself. But still… “I uh, I just… H-how are you… I didn’t think you’d be in a place like this, heh…”

Out of pure manners, you respond, “Fine. What are you doing here?”, you cross your arms, defensive, but genuinely curious.

Woods looks over his shoulder then all round, searching for any sign of Mason. Nothing. He snaps his attention back to you, trying to come up with any reason at all to explain himself. Frank stutters for an answer, but you end your indulgent lapse before he can say anything coherent and turn to walk away.

“Wait! I… I-I miss you...”

You whip around, seething with anger. Then, very seriously, you ask, “Are you following me?”

“What? No! Fuck no! I just… I miss you, that’s all!”

You scoff, “Well maybe you should’ve fucking thought of that first”

“...You’re right”

That stops you dead. This is nothing like the Woods you know… You can’t recall a single time he’s had the humility, let alone the balls, to admit that he’s wrong.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah…”, he sighs, and even in the darkness of the club you can see a glimpse of just how much pain he’s in, “Look… I shouldn’t have done that, back there behind the gym. You trusted me and I fucked it up. I know. It’s just… I was scared”

A biting edge creeps back into your voice. You don’t buy that. “Scared? Of what, getting caught?”

“What? No! I was scared… that I was taking advantage of you, alright?”

You blink, and suddenly all the rage leaves you, as though the hot air was deflated right out of you. “Wh-what do you mean?”

“Well I mean… You know… Y-you’re just a kid, and I’m… not. I just- It didn’t feel right. Hell, I didn’t even get a chance to ask if you really wanted all that, I just… went for it”

You take a little step closer, your hard gaze softening just a touch, “Well… It’s not like I was saying no”, you chuckle

“Yeah, but that’s not the fucking same, you know?”

You look away, “Yeah…”

“So… Anyway… I’m sorry, alright?”

At last, you turn back and smile at him, “Alright. I forgive you, and… thanks. For saying that”

Woods nods and accepts your thanks. The two of you share a little smile and a short pause of uncertain silence until he breaks the silence, “So… What now?”

You look him up and down. He’s wearing jeans and a tightly fitting flannel, a stark contrast to all the trendy, flashy fashion of the rest of the clubbers, and yet it’s so… him. You trace a finger down his limp, tattooed arm, stopping at his fingers to intertwine them with yours.

“How about a dance?”, you tug his hand gently, then nod towards the dance floor.

A feeling like euphoria washes over him, and time seems slow as he floats along while you tug him through the crowd. Somewhere in the beautiful, prismatic show of lights, he hears himself agree. You lead him to a cramped, but vacant spot on the glowing dance floor and turn an ear to the music, “Hey, I love this song…”

Woods perks up to listen, just in time to catch the start of More Than A Woman, muffled slightly by all the noise and bustle of the crowd.

It’s like it’s playing from within a dream.

You rest your hands on his chest, letting them slide down so that the heels of your palms sit where the curve of his stomach begins to swell out. Frank has his hands on your waist, swaying in time with you slowly to the music. He clears his throat and looks away from your sparkling, gorgeous eyes, a nervous blush creeping up his neck.

He knows you’ve been over this before, but… “Yeah, uh… so, you know, I’ve been thinking I should lose some weight... You know, while you’ve been… gone”, he moves your hands up from his belly to clasp behind his neck.

You quirk up your brow, a confused smile on your lips, “Why?”

“Uh, I don’t know… I think it makes me look old, I guess”

You laugh and come a little closer, your bodies nearly touching, “Well, if it means anything... I don’t think so”, You inch up and kiss his cheek, bringing one hand down to rest on his softened pect. He huffs a nervous laugh and masks the flattered embarrassment with a timid smile as he covers your hand with his, holding it there just a little while more.

He's never forgotten how amazing your touch alone feels.

He clears his throat and re-establishes eye contact. A whole kaleidoscope of color plays inside your eyes. He could get lost in them for the rest of his life. “You uh… wow. You- you look beautiful tonight...”, he steals a quick glance as your little, sparkly dress and the neon rainbow refracting off the thousands of tiny sequins, “Nearly gave this old man a heart attack when I first saw you”, he laughs.

“Oh?”, you smirk and lead him into a turn, “ In that case, you should see me take it off”

His heart pounds underneath your palm, but his face looks frozen with surprise. He doesn’t hear women say that kind of stuff to him often…

“D-do you… Do you mean that?”

“Well, I mean… Maybe after this, I’d love t-”

“No, not that. I mean… Me. D-do you really feel that way about me?”

You stop dancing for a moment.

His words cut deeply with the quiver of hope they carry, as though it had never crossed his mind that someone would want to be with him.

“Of course I do. But… I want you more then just for that you know”, you chuckle.

His cheeks go pink, “Oh. Damn, so you like that kind of st-?”

You place a single finger to his lips, shushing him. “I meant… I love you”

Your words echo back to him in slow motion, as though reality and time itself are breaking all around him to unveil a haven of euphoria. His heart is beating in his ears, and yet it sounds slow and calm, just like the wild crowd and the blaring music all around him.

Everything grows quieter and softer until it all fades away, leaving behind just you and him.

He wracks his brain, trying to remember the last time he heard those words, only to come up empty handed. It’s been so long… He can’t even remember.

Frank looks back at you, a little neon angel clinging to his beat up old shirt. Gorgeous. That’s all he can think of when he sees you. He almost feels like he shouldn't even have the privilege to do so. You bat long lashes up at him and a slow smile draws across your soft, glossy lips.

More than a woman…

Slowly, you come up to meet your lips to his. You’ve kissed before, but this… It feels like the first kiss of his entire life.

He presses back gently, sucking softly as he draws you close. You smell like dark cherry and amber, some combination of perfume and lip gloss. The faint smell of whisky and musk radiating off of him mingles with the divine scent of you.

He can taste it all on his tongue, even as he slides it over to flick across yours.

More than a woman to me…

At long last you part, breathing softly as your eyes drift up to meet one another's. And when he looks down into those deep, glittering pools, he wonders how he never saw all the love and warmth they hold for him. The love they always had.

“I love you too…”, he whispers, tears stinging at his eyes and voice, before he leans in to press a kiss to your forehead.

And now? The love they always will.

#hashtag frank woods respects women send tweet #call of duty #black ops cold war #frank woods x reader

71 notes · View notes

20moonchild21 · 3 years

Text

𝗦𝗲𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵𝘁 [𝗯𝘁𝘀]

⇉ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 4

[pairings]

bunny!JK x female!oc, Hybrid!Jungkook x Human!oc, Leopard!Jin x female!oc, Hybrid!Jin x human!oc, JK x Jin x female!oc

[warnings]

violoce, mentions of violence, mentions of teasers, abusement, traumatic actions, force, forceful behaviors, forced fightings, illegal fightings, mentions of death, angst, corruption, injuries, sexual harassment, fainting Jin, scared Kookie

[words]

4.6k

[author]

Hey there! I hope you allem are doing fine. My next updates will only be out on Sundays, because I have a lot of exams coming up at school. Hopefully I will find the time to continue writing, but I am optimistic. Wish me luck!🥺

Don’t forget to check out @starlightauroras-writes and her story Inferiority complex. She puts so much effort and passion in that story, and that’s why it deserves to be read by as many people as possible. Also, check out my other inspirations and recommendations below this chapter. They all wrote amazing stories!

Leave a like or comment or reblog if you like this chapter. There is nothing more motivating for an author! Of course, if you have criticism or other remarks referring to the story, I am always open to hear! Don’t hesitate do write me.

Stay healthy and safe!

Mꨄ

[ chapter 3 ||| chapter 5]

The big, black collar was strapped way too tight around the boy’s neck, as he was pulled through the huge crowd of people. He didn’t know where he was going, he was just stumbling behind his owner, who was forcefully and careless pulling him by the leash, not caring if he was chocking or running out of air.

Sometimes, when the crowd was especially tight squeezed, he felt a hand or two on his body. They were either petting his bum, or pulling his fluffy tail or squeezing his sensitive ears.

“Come on, my bunny. We don’t wanna miss the fight.” The man was tugging the leash hard, gesturing for Jungkook to go faster.

His heart was beating in his chest, though it was not the first time his owners had taken him with them to one of the ‘Zoo Meetings’ how they called it. He was not there to fight, but he was there to be shown off in front of his owner friends, while they sat right in the front row and watched the fights.

A shiver ran down his spine when he thought about the last time. The woman who had sat next to had an awful laugh, and every time she had opened her mouth, showing her way too white teeth, it would made the poor Hybrid’s ears hurt.

She had been scratching her long fake nails over his thighs all evening, pinching and squeezing it from time to time, or going way too hight with her bony hands.

“Ladies and Gentleman…” A loud voice rang through the big boxes, and Jungkook knew what was coming next: They were announcing the next fight. “Please take a seat and make yourself as comfortable as possible, for the very last fight of the eeevvveeennniinngf!”

Jungkook pressed his ears flatter onto his head, hoping to block out the loud voice that made his ears hurt, but the volume and the cheering crowd were too loud.

“In the right corner, we have a very special fight. Please cheer and clap for our black Panther!” Though the crowd cheered, Jungkook knew that their intention was not to motivate the poor Panther, it was meant to scare him even more, so he would fight with all his animal instincts. “And in the left corner we have our well known champion, the one with the lovely owners Mr. and Mrs. Chefferson…” Mrs. Chefferson, his female owner, shot up from her seat and waved wildly in all directions, enjoying all the cheer for her like she was a celebrity. Her way too short skirt and cleavage were making a terrible job to hide something. “Please cheer for our Leopard!”

The woman next to Jungkook was screaming so loud with her shrill voice, while lifting her campaigner glass in the air.

“Jin.” The bunny whispered, as he watched his older brother being shoved into the fighting ring.

The ring was a big square, maybe about 5x5 meters each side. The floor was made out of hard stone, that would make the fighting Hybrids feet sore when they would push themselves over it. It was also the reason most Hybrids die while fighting, because they fell into the hard floor and hitting her heads open. Around the floor was a big metal grid, that would protect the visitor from the Hybrids if they wanted to break free.

Jin was never the type to fight. He was an Amur Leopard Hybrid, one of the peaceful breeds. The only reason he had won so many matches was because he was pumped full of doping liquids, that would make him stronger and faster. At the Zoo Meetings, no one cared about doping or other illegal medicaments that would push a Hybrids, the visitors were here for fun and entertainment.

While the crowd was still cheering and screaming, Jin turned his head wildly into all directions, as if he was looking for something. When he looked over his shoulder, he suddenly made eye contact with the thin bunny Hybrid.

They were staring at each other eyes, before the older one nodded his head, almost unnoticed.

Jungkook knew what he was saying in his head. He had told him about his plan the previous evening, when the younger one had brought him food to his cage. Yes, Jin was caught up in a cage in the basement, and beside the fights, he was never allowed to leave it.

Jungkook gulped but nodded, too. Even though every part of his body told him to not do it. The plan wasn’t bulletproof at all, and even if he would make it out alive, they would probably catch him out in the streets.

The loud ringing of a clock ripped him out of his thoughts. The game master had declared the fight to begun, and now there was now way back, for Jungkook and for Jin.

Once a fight has started, the two Hybrids had to fight until the very end…and with very end he meant that one of them had to die. If both of them refused to fight each other, they would both be killed. There was no way out for them.

The room had fallen silence after the clock had rang, watching expectantly at the two Hybrid who were standing opposite of each other. Both were waiting for the other one to make the first move.

“Come on, you stupid tiger.” The man next to Jungkook whispered angrily. “I bet a lot of money on you.”

After another few seconds of silence passed, when with a sudden movement the Leopard shot forward, but not because he wanted to attack his opponent. Instead, he had turned around with an enormous speed and with a clinging sound he threw himself against the heavy metal grid, right were Jungkook and his owners sat.

Scream broke out among the people sitting in the front row. Woman were jumping up from their seats, throwing away their glasses, men were cursing and standing up, calling to get the security guards. In all the mess going on, Jin’s plan went exactly like he want it to go.

Mr. Chefferson, as well as the others, got scared so much that he let go of the leash which was connected with Jungkook’s neck. When Jungkook noticed the piece of leather hanging loosely by his feet, he lifted his head, looking one last time at his older brother. When their gazes met, he mouth ‘Run Jungkook’ towards the younger one, before he was sent to the ground by an electro shocking stick.

The bunny felt paralyzed. He wanted to help his brother. He wanted to rip all those people away from him, but he knew he couldn’t.

Jin risked his own life to save him. He wanted nothing more for the young boy to be free. Jungkook knew that it was selfish, but he needed to move now, or else someone would notice him being unleashed.

With tears streaming down his cheeks, he pushed himself through the crowd of people that were in great turmoil because of what was going on in the fighting ring.

Finally out of the building, he kept running and running, pushing his feet stronger into the ground. He don’t know how long or where he had been running, but he didn’t look back once.

The night air was cold against his naked upper body and face, and the hard floor was scratching up his bare feet. He passed buildings and woods, houses and fields until his lungs were burning and screaming for him to stop running.

When he looked around, he saw that he stood in the middle of a street, surrounded by many big houses and shops. He panicked. Many houses meant that there were many people that would call the police when they saw a strolling Hybrid on the street.

He needed to hide somewhere.

He pushed his feet in the ground once again, running over to a small dark passage. No one would willingly go in there, meaning that he would at least be safe for a few days. He walked further down the allay until he reached a dead end.

With his sensitive eyes, he spotted a small gap to the left side. He bent down and crawled between the dumpster and the wall, curling himself against the wall. When he realized that he was completely on his own now, with his brother probably dead by now, he began to cry.

Small cries and whimpered left his mouth for several hours, until a soft voice filled his ears.

“H – Hello? Who are you?”

With heavily shaking legs the girl made her way up the well maintained driveway. She stumbled a few times because of those damn high heels, and the short skirt was sliding dangerous high up her thighs, sometimes.

It had been two day since Jungkook broke down in front of the TV in the living room. He cried and whimpered, crawling away from the girl as she tried to help him. He had sat there in the corner of the living room, shaking and mumbling this name for several minutes.

Hope had been crying as well. She didn’t know what was going on with him, and why he suddenly was scared of her again.

Eventually, they both had managed to calm down after 30 minutes. Though Jungkook had still be shaking, he had allowed her to come near. She carefully had wrapped her arms around the boy’s trembling body.

It had been the very first time that they had such an intensive physical affection, but they both needed that.

Jungkook had told her about his older brother Jin. Jin actually wasn’t related to the bunny, but living together for several years he saw him as his brother. He had told her about the illegal fights that his owner had forced the Leopard to go, and about the night, when Jin had told Jungkook his plan.

She was shocked when he told her how good he was threatened in comparison to the Leopard Hybrid. She didn’t want to imagine what the poor cat must had gone through and what his current state of health was.

Jungkook had told her, how he had watched the people shocking his older brother down to the ground without hesitation, and how he had found his way into the allay that night she had found him.

They both had cried that night, hugging and holding each other.

When the next morning had arrived, Hope had decided to save Jungkook’s bother, at any cost.

She didn’t know how she had come up with that plan, but it was the only idea that could save Jin without anyone getting hurt. She didn’t want to risk the Hybrids safety by a stupid idea…if he even was still alive.

She gulped. What if Jin wasn’t alive anymore? What would she tell Jungkook? He would be heartbroken forever if his older brother would be dead. She quickly shook her head and tried to not think about it.

If she left again, then with another Hybrid. An that’s it.

Jungkook could weakly remember where the Cheffersons had their residence, so he could guide her the way.

So right now, she was dressed in her most expensive clothes. Why? Well, Alice and Bill Chefferson were one of the richest families in the whole New York. They have so much money, that probably the doorknob by itself was worth more than her entire apartment. If Hope wanted to let an impression, she needed to pretend to be someone.

She tugged the hem of her black dress down one last time, before she put the black sunglasses over her eyes and lifted the purse on her arm higher. The she rang the doorbell.

A few seconds passed and she thought that her heart would jump out of her ribcage, when suddenly, the door was pulled open.

In front of the small girl stood a tall woman, maybe in her 50’s. She wore a tight red skirt that almost reached her knees, along with some expensive looking heels. She was thin. Under the white and really revealing blouse, her collarbones stood out sharply.

When Hope looked up into the woman’s face, she wanted to take her heels and run far away. With her lips pressed straight onto each other, the extremely straight nose with the sharp top, the strict tied braid and eyes looking arrogant and disgusted, she looked like she could destroyed the girl with one word.

“Yes, please?” She asked with a bored and cold voice.

“I – ehm…” Hope coughed. If she wanted to sound authentic, she needed to pull her act together. At least this one time. She coughed again and began to talk again, this time with a higher and shriller voice.

“Good morning, Mrs. Chefferson.” She smiled with her lipstick covered lips, holding out her hand.

The woman didn’t even move an inch. She stood in the half opened door and watched the girl up and down.

“What do you want? If you are some of those company chicks that want our money, go away!” She didn’t even waited for an answer, before she turned around and kicked the door shut. Hope reacted quickly, she took a step forward and stopped the heavy door with her feet.

“Oh, no. How could I?” She fake laughed. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hope Carson. My father owns one of the biggest Hybrid breeding stations of the New York. I heard that you own that – ah, what breed was he? Oh, yes. You owned that cat that won the last Zoo Meeting in downtown, right?”

“He is an Amur Leopard and yes, my husband is his owner.” Mrs. Chefferson had pushed the door open again. “But he is a good-for-nothing. Believe me, it is a waste of time to try to train him. Good day.”

She was about to shut the door close again, and once again, Hope blocked it with her foot.

“Oh believe me, I know he is good for nothing. I saw him fighting at the last Zoo Meeting. A pathetic little creature.” Lie. She had never been a visitor of an illegal fight club, nor did she really think what she was saying right now. Though, she put as much disregard as possible in the tone of her voice. “The only thing he could be useful for is to do some researches on him. That’s why my father sent me. I wanna take him with me.”

For a few seconds, the woman looked like she didin’t believe the girl’s act. Once again, she eyed her up and down, before she fully pushed the door open.

“What can you offer for him?” An evil smirk formed on the woman’s lips.

Hybrids did absolutely not worth anything to human. Though there is a law that made it illegal to deal with Hybrids, they were sold for so little money that it didn’t worth to most courts to initiate a proceeding. Especially not, if buyer and seller are clever, and exchange the Hybrid’s deed of ownership, because with official documents, it was no dealing. At least that’s what most of the judges justify their verdict.

A deep of ownership is an official paper, which every Hybrid got from the moment he was bred, and what every owner got once he adopted his Hybrid. It was mostly used for owners to prove that they are in charge of the Hybrid, or to assign a free strolling Hybrid. It is comparable to a human’s birth certification.

“I can offer you a lot of money for this worthless animal.” Hope forced an evil smile back, even though she wanted to throw up.

She followed Mrs. Chefferson into the living room, where also her husband was sitting. In his one hand he hold a glass of what looked like Scotch, and in the other hand he was reading a newspaper, not even bothering to look up.

The living room was huge and cold. Though the wall were white, there was not the tiniest piece of…love and effort that would make this house a home. Instead, they had placed a huge, hard looking sofa in the middle of the room, along with a giant chandelier hanging directly above it.

“Honey, who was at the door?” He mumbled while flicking the page, still not looking up. His voice was deep and careless, like his wife’s voice, bouncing around the naked walls.

“Darling!” Mrs. Chefferson squeaked with a shrilling voice, as she sat down next to the man, placing her bony fingers onto his chest. “This woman offers us a lot of money for that cat in our basement. She said that she would pay 1500 $ for him. She says that the only thing left to do with him is to do some researches on him.”

Finally, the man looked up. His gaze was piercing sharp when he met Hope’s. The girl wanted nothing more than to turn around and run as fast as her feet could carry her, but she stayed still with her lips presses hard against each other. She needed to stay strong. For Jungkook and Jin.

When Ms. Chefferson had eyes the girl for a few seconds, he sighed and turned his attention back to his newspaper.

“Save your money, Miss.” He said bored, not even looking up. “We still earn much money with him at the Meetings. Why would we sell him?”

Miss Chefferson, who somehow seemed to have a strong urge to sell the Hybrid, was about to say something towards her husband, but Hope was faster.

“Mr. Chefferson.” She said loudly, making him look up from the piece of paper. “I offer this one time chance to sell me that Hybrid. I saw him fighting. He won’t do it much longer, believe me. Soon, you will loose a lot of money because of him, and no one will be there to buy him from you, because he will has no worth at all. So why not taking all you still can get for him?”

“She is right, darling. Think about it. Who will buy such a weak Hybrid?” She leaned further into his, before whispering something into his ear.

Hope’s heart felt like it would be exploding any moment. She had prepared for any scenario that could have possible take place, but what would she do if he would say no? What –

“Alright, Honey.” He signed again, before closing the newspaper. He stood up from the sofa and smoothed his beige trousers. “You can have him. But you won’t see him just yet. Either you sign his papers and pay for him just now, or never.”

The girl didn’t have to think about this condition long. The sooner she would sign the papers, the less high is the chance that he would change his mind before she can leave with Jin.

“That is fine by me.” Hope said, as she pushed her glasses higher onto her nose. "The sooner I am done here, the sooner I can spend my energy in much more important things. After all, I am a busy woman.”

Together, the trio made their way into another room. On the way, Ms. Chefferson had asked on of his housekeepers to get the papers from his office. She arrived a few minutes later with some sheets of paper in her hand, lying it on the big desk in the middle of the room.

Ms. Chefferson pushed the deed of ownership over the table, gesturing for the girl to read it.

Name: Kim Seokjin

Gender: male

Breed: Amur Leopard

Generation: 04.12.2024

Laboratory: Seoul, South Korea

“Where can I sign?” Hope asked, as she laid the paper down on the desk.

Ms. Chefferson gave a few papers with conditions and legal protections to read and sign. To her luck, she had been studying law for about 3 year, she knew how to read a contract and what dangers it could bring, but the Chefferons really seemed get rid of the Hybrid. She signed everything and put the deed of ownership into her purse.

Her heart stopped for a moment when she realized what she just had done. She had practically adopted a Hybrid, a living being that needed to be provide and cared for. She didn’t even had a steady job, nor did she had a college degree.

Her mother, who had died a few years ago, inherit her a lot of money she had saved over the year, and in addition to that, Hope worked parttime in the college’s library, but with three people that needed to be provide, they would need to be really economical.

But it had been the only way to save Jin, and that was the only thing that mattered.

“Well, then congratulation miss Carson, for adopting such a lovely Hybrid. I think you will have plenty of fun with him.” He waited a second, before breaking out into a loud laughing. “Follow me and you can finally take that worthless animal out of my house.”

Once again, the trio waled through the endless hallways of the mansion. They passed several doors that lead to several rooms, but as they crossed the front door, something caught Hope’s attention. Next to the black door, on a small hook, hung a long, pink leash. The leash was connected with a big collar at the end, on which two capital letters were printed with big gemstones:

“Jungkook.” The girl whispered under her breath, unnoticed by the couple.

“That leash belonged to our bunny Hybrid.” Ms. Chefferson has caught her looking at the leash for too long. He walked past the girl with shaking head. “Annoying little rodents. Always made a mess and never listened to what he was told. I am kind of glad he ran away. He probably died the first two hours being out there alone. We gave him up for adoption though, should he be someone else’s problem.”

Hope balled her hands into fists, wanting nothing more than to punch this man. But she needed to focus on Jin now.

They walked down a long staircase, downwards towards the basement. A shiver ran down the girl’s spine. Down there, it was dark and cold. The sound of their feet hitting the cold, marbled floor bounced around the wall, and for a moment Hope thought that she would never leave this house again. This was the start of a horror movie.

Ms. Chefferson stopped in front of a big, metallic door. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door, before pulling it open.

“Don’t worry.” He said as he took a step inside. “He is cuffed up.”

Hope’s legs started shaking again. She didn’t know what scenario would be waiting for her just around the corner. She made a few careful steps forward and walked into the small cell, immediately, she wanted to cry out.

The room was small, maybe 3x3 meters each side. There was no window, or bed, or table, or anything. Just walls and a hard stone floor. The only source of light was the beam of light from the open door.

In the corner of the room, on the cold floor, sat Jin. His thin body was only covered by a pair of dirty pants and a ripped and blood stained shirt. His head was leaned against the gold wall and his eyes were closed, while his angles and wrists were cuffed with a heavy metallic chain, like he was a wild animal.

“Stand up!” Ms. Chefferson screamed at the poor boy, while walked over with a black leash in his hands. “I said: Stand. Up!”

He had reached the helpless boy and bent down, before hegrabbed his right ear forcefully, pulling him up. Jin cried out in pain, but with is hands bound together there was nothing he could do to defend himself.

“I dare you to touch my Hybrid!” Hope lost her temper at this point. “This is my Hybrid, and I don’t want you to touch him. Now, get out! I want to inspect him properly.”

The older man let go of the Hybrid’s ear abruptly, making him fall to the ground again. A small whimper left the Hybrids when his bum hit the hard floor. He tried to push himself as far away as he came with his angles cuffed.

Ms. Chefferson looked confused in the first moment. He struggled to say something, but eventually, he gave her the keys for Jin’s cuffs, before he left the room, leaving the two young adult alone.

Immediately, Hope let her purse fall to the ground. She let out a small cry, before she covered her mouth with her hands to not cry out louder. She took some deep breaths and tried to calm herself down a little bit. When she opened her eyes again, the Hybrid was staring directly into her eyes.

“H – Hey, Jin.” She whispered with her normal, soft voice, as she kneeled down on to floor. Her voice cracked a few times from the shock that was still running through her veins.

She crawled closer towards the boy. When she was just a few inches away from him, she lifted her hands to unlock the cuffs around his neck. Jin, on the other hand, misunderstood this gesture. He closed his eyes and turned his head away from the girl, as whimpers left his mouth.

“No – No don’t be afraid, please.” She fiddled with the key around his neck. The collar snapped open and the metal chain fell to the ground with a loud clinging sound. She then uncuffed his wrists and angles. “I am here to help you. But we have to hurry, Jungkook is waiting for us.”

As she mentioned the younger boy’s name, Jin’s head shot around.

“Jungkook.” He whispered with his raspy voice.

“Yes, Jungkook is with me. He is all safe and sound.” Hope threw the key away. “Listen Jin, you need to play along with me. I need to strap this leash around your neck, but only for a short moment. Please, don’t be afraid of me. Okay?”

Jin didn’t put up a fight as she strapped the collar loosely around his neck. She helped him to stand up on his feet, and he wobbly followed her out of the cell. Hope changed some more words with the couple, before she and Jin left the house.

The girl just wanted to leave as quick as possible, but was always careful to not tug on the leash too hard. When she turned around, she gasped.

In the light of the sun, Jin looked much worse than in the dark cell. His face way thin and bony. The dark circles stood out of his pale skin, and his full lips were bruised and crusty from all the dust and dirt. His deep brown hair, as well as the fur on his ears, was greasy and falling over his forehead.

As he walked behind her, he had his head sunk down, not looking up at anything.

It took Hope anything to not turn back and punch those two disgusting creatures that called themselves human. How can they be even sleep at night, knowing that in their basement a living being was starving and bleeding to death. How could they watch themselves in the mirror every day, knowing that they live in luxury while Jin laid between dirt and dust.

“Almost there, Jin. Just keep going a few more meters.” She took his bloody and icy hand carefully, leading him the way to the car, where also Jungkook was waiting for the both of them.

“Jin!” He yelp, as the girl opened the car door and carefully pushed Jin onto the back seat. “Jin Hyung! Oh no, Jin! Are you okay Hyung! You are safe now, don’t worry Jin.”

The bunny was calling Jin’s name all over again, as the older one just had his eyes closed and his body lying weakly on the backseat.

“Don’t worry, Jungkook.” Hope had walked around the car and was already staring it.

“He will be okay now.“

[inspirations | recommendations] ⇉ 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀!

@wishesunderthestars @agustdakasuga @ditttiii @angelicyoongie @starlightauroras-writes

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blazingparker · 3 years

Text

What’s Up, Danger? (Chapter 3)

Here it is! the final chapter of What’s Up, Danger? As I’ve said before, I was totally blown away by the response to this fic. Thank you to all of you who commented, left kudos, reblogged, and everything else!!

read it on ao3!

---

“JARVIS, what time is it?” Tony called out as he fiddled with repairing one of the gauntlets on one of his older suits. It had gotten damaged during the battle of Sokovia, and he’d just built a new one rather than ever repairing it. Now, with his refusal to go after Spider-Man and the lack of other missions, he’d had plenty of time to catch up on lab projects and even fix up his old suit.

“It is currently 2:37 in the morning on Friday, January 25th, sir. Might I suggest you retire and get some rest?” Tony frowned, setting down his tools. Peter still hadn’t called him, and he never stayed out patrolling this late when he had a class the next day.

Peter. The last few weeks with Peter had been some of the best of Tony’s life, hands down. While they still hadn’t defined their relationship, they were more than friends and there were definitely too many feelings involved for them to just be fuck buddies.

For once, Tony didn’t dread the early hours of the morning when JARVIS would hound him to head to bed. He’d talk on the phone with Peter, listen to how his day went and maybe tell him about his latest project before they would hang up with whispered words of affection and head to bed. On particularly good nights, he’d meet Peter in his apartment with takeout (Tony wasn’t going to fool himself into thinking he could cook, come on) and they’d cuddle up on the couch with a movie. Sometimes, he’d need to stitch Peter up or help him out of his suit to tend to his injuries, which he was always more than happy to do. Things were perfect. They were perfect.

In fact, the only reason why Tony hadn’t asked Peter to be his boyfriend yet was because he knew the young man had enough on his plate without adding the media frenzy that came with dating a billionaire. Not to mention the Avengers would find out, and that would make it even harder for Peter to keep his identity a secret.

Tony wasn’t really known for being a patient man, but for Peter? For Peter, he’d wait.

Well, not tonight. Tonight, he was done waiting. It was close to three in the morning and Peter still hadn’t called, which was highly unusual.

“JARVIS, pull up the local news.” Tony turned and leaned back against the lab table and brought his mug of coffee to his lips. Maybe Peter had gotten held up with a bigger issue, like another burning building or a larger threat that required more time to take care of. If that was the case, the local news would definitely be covering it.

What they were actually covering made him drop his coffee mug, the ceramic dish shattering when it made impact with the floor.

A blonde newscaster was speaking, but Tony tuned her out in favor of reading the tagline and watching the footage.

Spider-Man Abducted by the Avengers. There was a shaky video, likely recorded by an unassuming passerby, of Peter standing on a roof with his chest heaving. Then, out of nowhere and seemingly for no reason, he tensed. A second later, a dart could be seen sticking out of his neck. Tony’s chest filled with dread as he watched Peter pluck it out and stare at it, swaying in place. When Peter collapsed, Tony actually made a move as if he could catch the young man, and felt fury bubble up when he saw what happened next.

Steve fucking Rogers caught Peter, quickly restraining him with a pair of vibranium cuffs before slinging him over his shoulder and carrying him off.

“--people of Queens are furious. There are talks of a march on Avengers tower. They have protected us from larger threats, yes. But Spider-Man was the one looking out for the people of Queens and New York at large every day. Where were the Avengers when Lacy Collins was almost assaulted last week, when Spider-Man rescued her? Where were the Avengers--”

Tony wasn’t listening anymore. The newscaster was right, of course, Peter was better than all of them. Peter deserved nothing but the Avengers’ respect and instead he’d gotten a dart to the neck and vibranium cuffs. He stormed out of the lab, grabbing his cell phone.

“JARVIS, dial Patriotic Fucker,” he all but growled as he got into the elevator. “And take me to the suit lab on level forty. The one with the landing platform.” There was no way they’d bring Peter back to the tower, which meant Tony needed a suit. Now.

“Tony, we caught him!” Steve cried out after picking up on the first ring.

“How fucking dare you,” Tony said lowly. “The mission was to learn his identity, Rogers. Not drug him and arrest him!” By the end, he was yelling into the phone. “Where the fuck did you take him?”

“Tony-I thought this was the best course of action. He was avoiding us even more.”

“Because Clint took a fucking shot at him! If an Avenger tried to take you out, would you really be peachy-keen and excited to chat?!” Tony screamed. “You star-spangled shit, you’ve compromised everything! As if he’s ever going to work with us now, after this little stunt! Not to mention they’re talking about protests against us on the news!” Taking a deep breath, he exited the elevator and made a beeline for the nanotech suit he’d just finished up. Grabbing the little housing unit, he placed it against his chest and double-tapped it, allowing the suit to encase his body.

“Clint and I are with him at the compound. We’re upstate.” Steve’s reply came after a beat of silence, and he actually sounded remorseful. Fucking finally, Tony had a location. He blasted out of the lab and away from the tower, JARVIS automatically plugging in directions for the fastest route to the compound.

“Did Natasha know about this? What about Banner, or Thor?” Tony barked out, determined to get as much information as possible before he got there. He wanted to be able to put his full focus on Peter, not these idiots.

“No. Clint and I made the call. They’re not to blame for this, Tony.”

“Oh, and that makes things better? You kidnapped my-” Tony hesitated. Peter wasn’t technically his anything. “My Spider-Man,” he finished lamely.

“Yeah, we’re gonna have a chat about that, Tony. About the Stark Tech he’s wearing, and how your number is saved in his phone under the name ‘Snarky Bitch’. You’ve known. You knew this kid and didn’t tell the team.” Tony found his blood running cold for the second time that night.

You knew this kid.

“Steve Rogers, did you take off his mask?” He yelled, and the silence on the other end was enough of an answer. Feeling fury take over, Tony let go of any semblance of restraint he still had. That was the final straw. Peter had taken his secret identity incredibly seriously, and he deserved to reveal it to whomever he chose. Not have that choice taken from him.

“Yes, I know him. I know his name, and I’ve been helping him out,” Tony seethed. “Unlike you, you frozen fuck, I got him to trust me. He trusted me, and I helped him in return. He deserved that much. He’s sweet and kind and everything the world seems to think you are. But they were wrong. The great Captain America that the world knows would never drug and kidnap a college kid just because they didn’t do what he wanted.”

“Tony.” The voice on the other end cracked, and Tony smirked. Steve knew he was right.

“I expect you to be gone by the time I get there, which will be in about twenty minutes. You’d better stay away from him until I say otherwise, or I swear on my mother’s grave that your face will be meeting my gauntlet. Capische?”

“Understood. And-for what it’s worth, Tony, I’m sorry. I really thought this was the right call.” Tony huffed out a sigh.

“For future reference, if the plan involves drugs and kidnapping, it’s not the right call.” With that, he hung up on Steve and focused on getting to the compound as fast as he could. After a painstakingly long flight he arrived, storming through the doors and down to the detention level where he knew Peter would be. Tony exited the suit and put it on sentry mode, striding purposefully down the hall of cells, looking, searching--

Tony came to a dead stop in front of the last cell on the right and felt his heart fall right out of his body. It was Peter: restrained to a chair, in his suit but without his mask. His head lolled to the side and if Tony couldn’t see the rise and fall of his chest, he might have thought the young man was dead. Each of his legs was tied down to the chair and his hands were behind his back, likely in the vibranium cuffs still.

“JARVIS, unlock,” Tony whispered weakly, and rushed in as soon as the glass door slid open. Gently brushing Peter’s curls out of his face, he dropped to his knees in front of the man. “I’m so sorry, Peter. So, so sorry,” he whispered before making his way around to the cuffs so he could get Peter’s hands free.

---

Peter woke slowly, blinking against harsh light and instinctively letting out a groan of pain when his headache made itself known. Instinctively, he tried to rub his temple and couldn’t keep from whining softly when his hands were held down.

“Sit still, Pete. Please. I’m trying, okay? I promise, I’m trying.” Tony’s voice? That didn’t make any sense, Peter had been on patrol.

Patrol.

It all came flooding back to him - the dart, his dizziness, and the vague feeling of being restrained and carried off. After that, nothing. Now, he was awake and clearly restrained and Tony was there.

Tony had sold him out? Peter didn’t want to believe it, but it was the only thing that made sense. Tony was doing something with his cuffs and he was tied down tightly, unable to move. Tony knew his routines and when he liked to head home, and could have told the Avengers when it would be best to strike. When he’d be the most exhausted.

You idiot, he thought to himself. Peter dropped his head to his chest and tried desperately to fight back tears, not wanting Tony to know he was awake. As Spider-Man, he’d been shot, stabbed, punched and kicked. But this? This hurt the worst of anything he’d ever experienced.

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang and the pressure on his hands was gone. Peter pitched forward with a squeak of surprise, not expecting to be freed. Strong hands caught him and gently eased him back into the chair.

“Peter? You back with me?” Tony was in front of him now, face etched with concern as he brushed Peter’s hair out of his eyes and moved his hands down to his wrists. The older man gently massaged them, trying to ease any soreness as Peter slowly looked up at him.

“Why’d you do it?” He asked, shocked at how raspy his voice sounded. Tony just stared at him, confused.

“Because Steve and Clint are idiots, and this never should have happened. Bambi, I’m so sorry I didn’t check in sooner, I thought you were patrolling.” Tony started to ramble, and Peter’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“You didn’t...do this?” He asked, and winced at the horror that instantly took over Tony’s face.

“I’d never. I’d never, ever do something like this to you. You’re my Danger, my sweet-hearted vigilante who puts everyone ahead of himself and who I adore. I’m so sorry. If I’d known-” Tony was cut off by the swift press of Peter’s lips against his. Peter didn’t know why he’d doubted Tony for a second. Of course he would never sell him out - why would he help him and why would they be...whatever they were...if Tony’s whole endgame was to unmask him? He would have bailed after Peter pulled the mask off that one night all those weeks ago if that had been the case.

“I’m sorry,” Peter said, hiccuping as he tried to keep the tears at bay. “I just-I woke up and felt you doing something with my hands and I thought-I thought-”

“You thought I was putting you in the cuffs instead of taking you out of them,” Tony murmured in understanding. Peter just nodded as the other man focused on releasing his legs.

“I’m sorry-” he tried to repeat but was stopped by a finger against his lips. As soon as the finger was removed, it was replaced with a set of soft lips.

“No apologies, Bambi,” Tony whispered, and Peter just nodded again. He still felt exhausted and sluggish, likely because of the drugs making their way through his system. Luckily, Tony seemed to read his mind. “How about we head up to my private rooms, get something to eat, and watch a movie? Hm? Just like we always do.”

“That sounds nice,” Peter murmured back, pecking Tony’s lips one more time. He then grasped the man’s hand, slowly standing up and yelping in shock when his knees immediately gave out and he went crashing towards the floor.

That never happened, though. He was caught in a pair of strong arms and lifted up in a princess carry as Tony prevented the cold concrete from greeting his face. Peter’s arms instinctively wrapped around Tony’s neck.

“I’m sure I can walk if I could just try again,” Peter tried to protest, and Tony leaned their foreheads together.

“Let me do it. You’ve probably still got some stuff in your system, and I’ve been worried sick ever since I saw the news. Just let me take care of you. Let me take care of my-” Tony cut himself off, hesitating.

“Boyfriend,” Peter blurted out before staring at Tony with wide eyes. You don’t know that he wants that, Parker. His friends literally just drugged and kidnapped you, he’s probably just feeling protective--

“Boyfriend,” Tony repeated. A huge, real smile was plastered on his face as he held Peter even closer. “Let me take care of my boyfriend.” Blushing, Peter responded by simply pressing his face into Tony’s neck as though it would allow him to hide. After a split second, he pressed a soft kiss to the skin there. Tony nuzzled his face into Peter’s hair for a moment before turning and walking out of the cell.

“You know, I never got to hear about your night. Before all this, I mean,” Tony remarked as he carried Peter towards the elevator.

“I guess not,” Peter mused, pulling back just enough to look up at his boyfriend. Boyfriend, he could say that now.

“So...what’s up, Danger?”

“Oh my god.”

#blazingparker writes #starker #starker fic #starker community #peter parker x tony stark

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outerbankswriting · 4 years

Text

Could it be? Chapter 9 (JJ x Reader)

JJ x Reader

CH.1 - CH.2 - CH.3 - CH.4 - CH.5 - CH.6 - CH.7 - CH.8

Description: She has a crush on JJ, but he has always seen her as another one of the “dudes”, or at least that’s what she thinks so she just doesn’t even try anymore, until things start to shift between the two of them. (A/N: I’M NOT GOOD AT DESCRIPTIONS BUT THESE IS JUST WHAT I WOULD LOVE TO HAPPEN IN OUTER BANKS WITH JJ)

Warnings: pure fluff I guess

CHAPTER 9

Your heartbeats were the only sound you could hear. They went faster and faster as every second went by. Your breathing was matching the pace of them. If you hadn’t had cried your heart out in the shower, tears would’ve been falling down your eyes by now.

“What?” Your voice came out as a whisper.

You turned around to face him, the moonlight coming from your window letting you see the way he was biting his bottom lip and closing his eyes.

“You asked why I cared so much about you dating Rafe.” He replied, his voice soft and low.

You were still trying to process what he’d said before he broke the silence again.

“I’m not expecting you to say anything,” he shook his head and smiled, “I already know the answer.”

“Answer?” Was all you managed to say.

“I just know nothing’s ever going to happen, you’ve made it clear plenty of times before.”

You raised your eyebrows at him as you positioned yourself to move closer to him. His eyes were still fixed on the ceiling. Having known JJ for a long time gave you the knowledge that he avoided eye contact whenever he felt vulnerable.

“JJ that’s n-“

“It’s okay Y/N, you don’t have to sugarcoat anything,” he turned to face you now, giving you a small smile, “I’m alright being in the friendzone.”

“What even are you saying?” You let out a giggle.

You watched as he just shrugged and turned back to face the ceiling. The light coming from the moon allowing you to see him blushing.

“Hey, look at me,” you softly cupped his cheeks making him turn his gaze at you, the look on his face slowing down the pace of your heartbeats.

You softly caressed the small cuts still healing near his eyes, one by one, wishing they could be healed with your touch. Your fingertips traced his jawline, feeling the facial hair wanting to grow but not willing to yet. You were too focused taking in every inch of his face to notice his eyes being mesmerised by your half parted lips, until your fingertips softly traced his bottom lip, making the corners of his mouth lift and his chest rise up as he took a deep breath.

Your eyes finally met his and a wave of warmth covered your body, your soul wanting nothing more than to let him know what he means to you. You slowly cup his cheeks again as he leans towards you until your noses are slightly brushing and for the first time in your life you could tell he was nervous, so you wasted no more time and leaned in closer, brushing your lips against his.

His lips were soft and warm, and you could taste the freshness of the toothpaste the two of you used. The kiss started out slow and soft, almost as if the two of you were scared the other would change their mind at any second.

He pulled back a little, staring at your eyes before you gave him a small smile which made him press his lips against yours harder this time, his arms wrapping around your waist as he pulled you closer to his body, the kiss turning into a hungry one, just like the one of two friends who have been hiding their feelings for each other for months and this kiss was their way of letting everything out.

The two of you pulled away before sharing a couple of small pecks, not wanting to take your hands off each other.

“I can get used to this friendzone.” He grinned and you playfully smacked his shoulder.

You snuggled in closer to his side and let him wrap his arm around your waist as you rested your head against his chest. The slight rocking of his breathing making your eyes feel heavy.

“Can I ask you something?” You whispered.

“You’re not that bad of a kisser,” he replied and you shot a look at him before letting out a laugh, “I’m joking, shoot it.”

“Are you sure you love me?”

The smile on his face faded away and he turned to look at you, the deep crease forming between his eyebrows.

“What do you mean if I’m sure?” He sounded offended.

“I mean,” you sighed, “love is a pretty strong word and I never thought you would feel that way about me.”

You tried to not look at his face but his fingers tilted your chin up leaving you no choice but to stare at his eyes.

“I’ve never felt the way I feel about you with anyone else,” he bit his lips as if he were struggling to let the words out, “you know, there’s just something about you that has always made me feel closer to you and ever since we met and became friends I just can’t get you out of my head and this all sounds so cheesy and I think it’s better if I just shut up.”

“Well you’ve got a way of showing it.” You couldn’t help the smile coming out of your face.

“What’s that about?” He furrowed his brow.

“Telling me about the girls you sleep with, referring to me as a friend whenever you have the chance, constantly talking about how crazy it would be for us to do anything that’s not related to friendship oh and al-“

“Hey, hey, hey, let me stop you right there,” he covered your mouth with his free hand, ignoring your tongue licking it, “you’re the one who started with the ‘nothing’s ever gonna happen between us, it’s just crazy!’”

“In my defense, you’ve always treated me as one of the boys.” You added.

“Oh right I forget I’ve also made out with John B too.”

“I’m serious JJ!” You chuckled, “Plus this is the first time we’ve kissed.”

“Y/N, you don’t see me flirting with the boys and not even with Kie who’s a girl.”

“I thought it was a friendly flirting.” You muttered.

“Friendly flirting?” He let out a laugh, “What the fuck is that?”

“I don’t know okay?” You covered your face while laughing.

“On a serious note,” he gently started running his fingers through your hair, “I never pulled a move because you were with Rafe and you’re a Kook and I’m me.”

You immediately let go of his arms and sat on the bed facing him with a shocked look on your face.

“You’re you?” You crossed your arms making him roll his eyes at you.

“Y/N, I’m a Pogue, my life is nothing like yours. You have your whole future planned already while I don’t even know if I’ll have decent food for the next week.”

“JJ come on.” You sighed but he kept going.

“No Y/N, it’s the truth,” he stared at you seriously, “what in the world would ever make me think someone like you would want to be with someone like me? You know it’s different to be friends with a Pogue than to actually date them right?”

“JJ I-“

“And you have all this fancy goals and dreams you want to achieve and I just don’t see how I could ever help you with them since I’m always getting into fights and I don’t even have a functional family so I just sticked to having you as a friend and I kept sleeping around with random girls who meant nothing to me and trying my best to get inside my head the idea that you just wouldn’t want me because I’m not good enough and I can-“

“Shut up JJ, shut up!” You cut him off and threw yourself at him, tightly wrapping your arms around him, not wanting to let go.

He held you tighter and started to sob right there in your arms. You could feel him shaking, which made you cup his face and wipe away the few tears coming down his cheeks.

“I don’t ever want to hear you talking about yourself like that,” tears were falling down your eyes as well, “JJ you’re more than enough.”

Your lips trembled and you softly pressed them against his, tasting the salty tears that were still falling down both your faces. You felt his arms wrap around your waist and pull your body closer to him as he let out a few more tears.

The two of you laid down on the bed without ever letting go of each other. You were used to being the little spoon when cuddling with JJ, but this time it was his turn to be the little one, and as he fell asleep in your arms you thought about him. About how hard he’s had his life, how every action he does is a call for attention and how he just wants to feel alright.

That night you held him a little closer, promising yourself you’ll give him all the love he’s missed out his entire life.

The next morning you woke up with a peacefully asleep JJ laying next to you. He looked so calm and peaceful you didn’t want to wake him up. You smiled to yourself as you remembered the events of last night, it all seemed so unreal.

You silently got out of bed to do your morning routine and as you were washing your face you thought about Rafe and the little deal you’d made with him yesterday. You knew no matter how carefully you planned to explain it to JJ he would still lose his shit.

You made your way downstairs and made some scrambled eggs for the two of you. As you were finishing your coffee your phone started ringing with a call from your parents, almost making you choke on your drink.

“Hey.” You answered.

“Y/N dear,” your father said, “how’s everything going?”

“Everything’s great, I’m just having breakfast.”

“Tell her I talked to the neighbor and she agreed on making her some meals.” You heard your mother tell your father.

“Tell mom I know how to cook.” You giggled.

“We’ll be back in two days honey.” Your father assured you.

“Two days?” Your voice came out a little too loud so you cleared your throat, “I thought you still had four more days left.”

“We closed the deal earlier,” he chuckled, “we have some news to tell you.”

“Is it about the business deal with the Camerons?”

“Oh I see Rafe told you already.”

“Sarah did.” You replied.

“Right. Your mom is eager to start planning everything with Rose and I’m assuming you’re also planning your own stuff with Rafe and Sarah.”

“Yeah, Sarah and I will go get our dresses soon,” you stopped talking as soon as you saw JJ enter the kitchen.

“Morning Y/N,” he said loudly, making your eyes widen, “aw you made me breakfast? Is this a 5 star hotel?”

You shushed him and pointed at your phone, letting him know you were on a phone call. It took him a few seconds of you trying to let out the words “It’s my father” a couple of times until he understood and sat in silence.

“What was that?” Your father asked.

“Kie stayed over.” You said quickly.

“Oh alright, tell her she’s welcome at the party,” he went on, “her whole family is actually. Well honey, I have to hang up but before we end the call, your mother wants you to know that your dress has to match Rafe’s suit for the pictures and all that stuff I don’t really know much about.”

“What, why?” You groaned.

“Ask your mom honey. Alright I have to go now, see you soon.”

You let out a big sigh after hanging up with your father, catching JJ’s attention.

“So?” He said after taking the last bite of his scrambled eggs.

“They’re coming back in two days.”

JJ nodded and stared down at his plate, his mind immediately thinking about where to go once your parents come back. You grabbed his hand and squeezed it, giving him a small smile.

“Hey,” you said softly, “you don’t have to go back to your dad, we’ll manage a way.”

“It’s alright, I’ll see what I do.” Was all he said.

You ran a hand through your hair and calmed down your thoughts, you had a lot of thinking and planning to do but right now you wanted to make JJ feel alright.

“So I’m not that bad of a kisser huh?” You grinned at him, his cheeks getting red and his lips matching your smile.

“I’d give you an 8 out of 10.” He joked and you playfully pointed your middle finger at him.

“You’re an idiot.” You smiled.

“Hey that only means we have to practice some more to improve it.” He winked.

You rolled your eyes at him and leaned in to give him a small peck on the lips, but as you were pulling away he cupped your face and pulled you for a long, passionate kiss.

“I change my mind, I’ll give you an 11 out of 10.” He whispered against your lips before you pressed yours against them for another kiss.

-----------------------

CHAPTER 10

A/N: don’t mind me I’m just so happy to finally be able to write fluff between JJ and the reader but you guys know me and my love for angst so you better appreciate this full fluff chapter bc honey you’ve got a big storm coming...

I also want to say that I REALLY WISH I COULD GET INSIDE THE OBX SHOW AND TELL JJ HOW GOOD ENOUGH HE IS AND MAKE HIM FEEL LOVED AND APPRECIATED OK BYE.

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vivithefolle · 3 years

Note

Is there anyway you could share the entire livejournal essay about Hermione's reaction to Ron coming back in DH? The few paragraphs that you referred to in your recent answer sound extremely interesting.

[The “recent answer” that goes back to... last December. Oh my god I’m such an ass I left you hanging for so long I’m so sorry.]

Okay, okay, so here goes! KEEP IN MIND: I DIDN’T WRITE THIS. I FOUND THIS ON LIVEJOURNAL AND PICKED EVERYTHING THAT I LIKED ABOUT IT, AS WELL AS SOME COMMENTS THAT INTERESTED ME.

This “essay” was actually more of a “reading the books” thing with the person sharing their thoughts and ideas about it. The person was clearly a Snape fan, but they had sympathy for Ron too. I’ll try to formate it as accurately as I can remember it.

And now, here it is:

---

ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

[About Ron being made a prefect.] The essayist: It’s sad, but this probably is the first time Ron’s beaten Harry at something. And the last time.

A commenter: Ron's had a really difficult life, and this is the book that proved it for me. It made me a Ron fan. Just look at the interactions he has with Fred and George. This is commonplace. I know a lot of people don't like Ron, but just look at this book, this chapter especially. People have accused Ron of being lazy, unambitious, having no emotions, and being a big stupid boy. It's just not true. Look at how Fred and George needle him out of jealousy. Look at how they treat Percy. Imagine Ron having to grow up with two older brothers that will not hesitate to bother, torture and torment people that stand out or that get more attention than they do or that cross them. He saw it happening with Percy, so what's he going to learn? He'll learn to shut up unless he wants to have something happen to him. He'll learn that standing out positively is rewarded with cruelty. I can understand how Mrs. Weasley could not have fully protected him from those two. Not all the time, not while trying to also care for Ginny, keeping up with her other kids in school, and running the household. Worst of all, punishing F&G doesn't seem to do anything. Those two just don't care/they crave the attention, negative or positive. The best thing she could've done would be to give them no attention, but that's so against her nature that unfortunately she just fed the monsters. No emotions? Is it really difficult to understand that sensitivity wouldn't be encouraged in young Ron? He's got these two bullies that only want a reaction out of him. If he cries, it'll only encourage them. Any reaction is encouraging to them, but he has to go with anger. It's a survival thing- puff yourself up, make yourself look bigger than you are so the predator messes with you a little less. Look at the pride Ron's showing in his badge. The desire to do well is there. He likes the good feeling that comes with it, but he's been hard-wired since birth that it's better to be "middle of the pack". In later chapters, I know you'll have to point out the way the power makes Ron behave, so I just want to start on the defence now. It's all Ron knows. It's all he's been taught. It's a huge character flaw, but it's what makes him so human. Rowling did develop this in the book, but only accidentally. We're never going to get a good look at Ron's psychology except through these hints because it's, as usual, All About Harry. Ron's flawed, but I hope we remember that he has a reason why he's got those flaws. It doesn't excuse him, but it really explains him. So yeah... that's why I defend Ron.

...

“I’m not Percy,’ he finished defiantly.”

The essayist: Mmmm-hm. Ron feels nervous at the thought of his good fortune inspiring anger in someone and what's his first defence? "I'm not Percy"? Man, the evidence that the Twins' psychological torment has left lasting scars on Ron could not have been more obvious if he'd shielded himself and said "Please don't jinx me, Fred! ... I mean Harry. ... Shit, what'd I say?"

...

“Excellent,” said Ron, with a kind of groan of longing, and he seized the nearest plate of chops and began piling them onto his plate, watched wistfully by Nearly Headless Nick. “What were you saying before the Sorting?” Hermione asked the ghost. “About the hat giving warnings?” “Oh yes,” said Nick, who seemed glad of a reason to turn away from Ron, who was now eating roast potatoes with almost indecent enthusiasm.

The essayist: Ron’s not being very restrained with his eating, is he?

The commenter: I don't know if it's accidental or not, but this is one of those moments that I love, one of the tellings of Ron's home life via his behavior. In this scenario, he's totally a kitten who just got adopted to a house where he's the only cat. He's at a table with food, so his instinct is to eat as fast as he can or his siblings will yoink it. It doesn't help that there are many other people around, encouraging the "get the good stuff fast or you'll have to sate yourself on bread or whatever nobody wants". Ron is so much more human than Harry! How can Harry not be showing any signs of his "horrendous abuse" for eleven years? Well... I guess he sort of does when he buys all that stuff in his first year. And I guess Ron has to go back home every summer where it gets reinforced. But Harry goes back every summer, too... what the hell?

...

“What’s going on?” Ron had appeared in the doorway. His wide eyes traveled from Harry, who was kneeling on his bed with his wand pointing at Seamus, to Seamus, who was standing there with his fists raised. “He’s having a go at my mother!” Seamus yelled. “What?” said Ron. “Harry wouldn’t do that — we met your mother, we liked her. . .” “That’s before she started believing every word the stinking Daily Prophet writes about me!” said Harry at the top of his voice. “Oh,” said Ron, comprehension dawning across his freckled face. “Oh . . . right.” “You know what?” said Seamus heatedly, casting Harry a venomous look. “He’s right, I don’t want to share a dormitory with him anymore, he’s a madman.” “That’s out of order, Seamus,” said Ron, whose ears were starting to glow red, always a danger sign. “Out of order, am I?” shouted Seamus, who in contrast with Ron was turning paler. “You believe all the rubbish he’s come out with about You-Know-Who, do you, you reckon he’s telling the truth?” “Yeah, I do!” said Ron angrily. “Then you’re mad too,” said Seamus in disgust. “Yeah? Well unfortunately for you, pal, I’m also a prefect!” said Ron, jabbing himself in the chest with a finger. “So unless you want detention, watch your mouth!”

The essayist: Note how Ron’s first reaction is to side with Harry.

The commenter: Not surprising because of the best friends thing (some might argue) but I say it's not surprising considering how Hermione and Ron were treating Harry like a ticking time bomb. Survival!

...

“Hello, Harry!” It was Cho Chang and what was more, she was on her own again. This was most unusual: Cho was almost always surrounded by a gang of giggling girls; Harry remembered the agony of trying to get her by herself to ask her to the Yule Ball. “Hi,” said Harry, feeling his face grow hot. At least you’re not covered in Stinksap this time, he told himself. Cho seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “You got that stuff off, then?” “Yeah,” said Harry, trying to grin as though the memory of their last meeting was funny as opposed to mortifying. “So did you . . . er . . . have a good summer?” The moment he had said this he wished he hadn’t: Cedric had been Cho’s boyfriend and the memory of his death must have affected her holiday almost as badly as it had affected Harry’s. . . Something seemed to tauten in her face, but she said, “Oh, it was all right, you know. . .” “Is that a Tornados badge?” Ron demanded suddenly, pointing at the front of Cho’s robes, to which a sky-blue badge emblazoned with a double gold T was pinned. “You don’t support them, do you?” “Yeah, I do,” said Cho. “Have you always supported them, or just since they started winning the league?” said Ron, in what Harry considered an unnecessarily accusatory tone of voice. “I’ve supported them since I was six,” said Cho coolly. “Anyway . . . see you, Harry.” She walked away. Hermione waited until Cho was halfway across the courtyard before rounding on Ron. “You are so tactless!”

The essayist: So Harry meets Cho, makes a complete faux pas and reminds her of her dead boyfriend. Ron quickly steers the conversation away onto something more happy, i.e., Quidditch, before Cho can get too upset. Nevertheless, Ron is apparently the insensitive jerk around here, not Harry.

[If this reminds you of something, then yes, I absolutely took what the essayist was saying and elaborated on it. I confess, I am a dirty thief.]

...

“Well, I suppose he could’ve played better,” Harry muttered, “but it was only the first training session, like you said. . .” Neither Harry nor Ron seemed to make much headway with their homework that night. Harry knew Ron was too preoccupied with how badly he had performed at Quidditch practice and he himself was having difficulty in getting the chant of “Gryffindor are losers” out of his head. [...] And so they worked on while the sky outside the windows became steadily darker; slowly, the crowd in the common room began to thin again. At half-past eleven, Hermione wandered over to them, yawning. “Nearly done?” “No,” said Ron shortly. “Jupiter’s biggest moon is Ganymede, not Callisto,” she said, pointing over Ron’s shoulder at a line in his Astronomy essay, “and it’s Io that’s got the volcanos.” “Thanks,” snarled Ron, scratching out the offending sentences.

The essayist: So Ron’s getting basic facts wrong in his essays.

The commenter: This is going to look so contrived, but I genuinely believe it, and maybe after these reviews, your standards for contrived have dropped enough for me to pass the bar :3 But... he's not putting in any effort. His ego can't take another beating at the moment (even punching bags have limits). Imagine it- after the Quidditch humiliation with his friend the Star Athlete (when he really was trying) he tries to distract himself by doing school work 1. which he isn't very good at anyway, 2. with the Star Athlete of Academics/Slytherin Spectator Crowd best friend Hermione there 3. with Hermione there to set it right anyway (it sounds as if Hermione isn’t so much correcting their essays as writing them herself). If he tries his best at this and then fails at that, Ron probably would start to consider suicide. It's self-preservation at this point to put in zero effort. This kind of fail is literally "I'm not trying because I have given up."

...

She wrenched her bag open; Harry thought she was about to put her books away, but instead she pulled out two misshapen woolly objects, placed them carefully on a table by the fireplace, covered them with a few screwed-up bits of parchment and a broken quill, and stood back to admire the effect. “What in the name of Merlin are you doing?” said Ron, watching her as though fearful for her sanity. “They’re hats for house-elves,” she said briskly, now stuffing her books back into her bag. “I did them over the summer. I’m a really slow knitter without magic, but now I’m back at school I should be able to make lots more.” “You’re leaving out hats for the house-elves?” said Ron slowly. “And you’re covering them up with rubbish first?” “Yes,” said Hermione defiantly, swinging her bag onto her back. “That’s not on,” said Ron angrily. “You’re trying to trick them into picking up the hats. You’re setting them free when they might not want to be free.” “Of course they want to be free!” said Hermione at once, though her face was turning pink. “Don’t you dare touch those hats, Ron!” She left. Ron waited until she had disappeared through the door to the girls’ dormitories, then cleared the rubbish off the woolly hats. They should at least see what they’re picking up,” he said firmly. “Anyway . . .” He rolled up the parchment on which he had written the title of Snape’s essay. “There’s no point trying to finish this now, I can’t do it without Hermione, I haven’t got a clue what you’re supposed to do with moonstones, have you?”

The essayist: This doesn’t seem like a particularly open-minded and enquiring position to take, although I suppose that Hermione’s open-mindedness has always been something of an informed attribute.

The commenter: This trope among fans has got me riled up beyond belief because they use the "Hermione's word is gospel" thing to make unfair assumptions about other characters: Ron's "emotional range of a teaspoon" thing comes to mind, and right after that, Lavender supposedly being silly about believing Trelawney about her dead pet (Hermione never considered that maybe the thing Lavender was dreading was bad news from home or bad news about her pet). Regarding house elves: This is one case where the fans ought to have seen that Hermione was being very thoughtless as far as strategy. Ron has lived all his life up until this point thinking that there was no problem with house elves and she literally expects to be able to just tell him "it's wrong" and he's supposed to change instantly? Talk about your cultural insensitivity. In this case, maybe Ron knows better than you do, Hermione? You didn't even know about house elves until you were at least twelve (but more likely, she didn't know until this year). She must understand the concept of "he doesn't know it's wrong". That was how she defended Crookshanks when he was chasing Scabbers. ... Hey, Hermione thinks Ron's smarter than her cat. That's something, I guess.

...

The commenter: Competition is seriously the worst thing in the world for Ron. He's got wa-a-ay too much baggage. Do well so they'll love you. Do well so they'll notice you. If they notice you, you'll get praised. And tormented by Fred and George. Then if you fuck up, you'll have let everyone down. My brothers never let anyone down. That's the standard. Oh God, I can't live up to that. Which do I want to chose- being ignored or scorned? I could do well. Then I'll be good enough to be called "just like them"! JFC, when's it ever going to be "Good like Ron"? Chess. Literally everyone else has one thing they shine in, even Neville with his Botany and Dean with his art (and... and I'm going to ignore the fact that Hermione and Luna are the only two I can think of with non-appearance based special stuff... someone please help me out? I guess Tonks' doesn't really count as a shallow one because it makes her a master of disguise...)

...

HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

...

Ron gagged on a large piece of kipper. Hermione spared him one look of disdain before turning back to Harry.

The essayist: “Hermione spared [Ron] one look of disdain before turning back to Harry” pretty much sums up her relationships within the trio. It’s no wonder Ron’s so insecure and keeps worrying that she really fancies Harry.

...

“And you’ve been through all that persecution from the Ministry when they were trying to make out you were unstable and a liar. You can still see the marks on the back of your hand where that evil woman made you write with your own blood, but you stuck to your story anyway...” “You can still see where those brains got hold of me in the Ministry, look,” said Ron, shaking back his sleeves. “And it doesn’t hurt that you’ve grown about a foot over the summer either,” Hermione finished, ignoring Ron. “I’m tall,” said Ron inconsequentially.

The essayist: Ron’s so adorably pathetic here, the way he’s obviously feeling inferior to Harry and being ignored by his so-called friends. *hugs Ron*

...

When they left the Gryffindor table five minutes later to head down to the Quidditch pitch, they passed Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Remembering what Hermione had said about the Patil twins’ parents wanting them to leave Hogwarts, Harry was unsurprised to see that the two best friends were whispering together, looking distressed. What did surprise him was that when Ron drew level with them, Parvati suddenly nudged Lavender, who looked around and gave Ron a wide smile. Ron blinked at her, then returned the smile uncertainly. His walk instantly became something more like a strut. Harry resisted the temptation to laugh, remembering that Ron had refrained from doing so after Malfoy had broken Harry’s nose; Hermione, however, looked cold and distant all the way down to the stadium through the cool, misty drizzle, and departed to find a place in the stands without wishing Ron good luck.

The essayist: Hermione keeps belittling Ron and doing him down, and reacts quite strongly when he even so much hints at losing interest in her and showing attention to another woman. Can we say “abusive relationship”, anybody?

...

“Harry! Ginny!” Hermione was hurrying toward them, very pink-faced and wearing a cloak, hat, and gloves. “I got back a couple of hours ago, I've just been down to visit Hagrid and Buck--I mean Witherwings,” she said breathlessly. “Did you have a good Christmas?” “Yeah,” said Ron at once, “pretty eventful, Rufus Scrim—” “I've got something for you, Harry,” said Hermione, neither looking at Ron nor giving any sign that she had heard him. “Oh, hang on--password. Abstinence.”

The essayist: Wow, Hermione’s just being so childish here, ignoring Ron when he’s talking directly to her. Incidentally, Ron’s speaking to her like a normal friend, it’s Hermione who’s doing the blanking. Still, I’m sure this argument is all Ron’s fault for daring to go out with another girl. Hermione is totally blameless.

[Just in case: the essayist is being sarcastic, they’re pointing out the double standard of the HP fandom blaming Hermione’s immature behaviour on Ron.]

...

DEATHLY HALLOWS

...

“I think you’re right,” she told him. “It’s just a morality tale, it’s obvious which gift is best, which one you’d choose—” The three of them spoke at the same time; Hermione said, “the Cloak,” Ron said, “the wand,” and Harry said, “the stone.” They looked at each other, half surprised, half amused. “You’re supposed to say the Cloak,” Ron told Hermione, “but you wouldn’t need to be invisible if you had the wand. An unbeatable wand, Hermione, come on!” “We’ve already got an Invisibility Cloak,” said Harry. “And it’s helped us rather a lot, in case you hadn’t noticed!” said Hermione. “Whereas the wand would be bound to attract trouble—” “Only if you shouted about it,” argued Ron. “Only if you were prat enough to go dancing around, waving it over your head, and singing, ‘I’ve got an unbeatable wand, come and have a go if you think you’re good enough.’ As long as you kept your trap shut—” “Yes, but could you keep your trap shut?” said Hermione, looking skeptical. “You know, the only true thing he said to us was that there have been stories about extra-powerful wands for hundreds of years.” “There have?” asked Harry. Hermione looked exasperated: the expression was so endearingly familiar that Harry and Ron grinned at each other.

The commenter (?): Actually, I thought that Ron was proving the errors in the story. Because he’s right. The eldest brother didn’t die because the Elder Wand had corrupted him (like the One Ring). He died because he was an idiot. He died because he randomly decided to start blabbing about his new toy.

“You talk about wands like they’ve got feelings,” said Harry, “like they canthink for themselves.” “The wand chooses the wizard,” said Ollivander. “That much has always been clear to those of us who have studied wandlore.” “A person can still use a wand that hasn’t chosen them, though?” asked Harry. “Oh yes, if you are any wizard at all you will be able to channel your magic through almost any instrument. The best results, however, must always come where there is the strongest affinity between wizard and wand. These connections are complex. An initial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand.”

The essayist: Harry’s wand has to think for and protect him because he’s too stupid and incompetent to think for and protect himself! Ollivander’s the expert, and he just admitted it. He said any halfway decent wizard can perform magic with almost any wand. The reason Harry could only work with the holly wand is because of the phoenix feather core it shares with Voldemort’s wand. That is, it wasn’t Harry doing the magic with Harry’s wand! It was the Voldemort soul piece! Once Harry was forced to use wands that didn’t have that core, the soul piece couldn’t do the work for Harry any more. He was forced to rely on his own magical powers and competence, which are clearly minimal. This is proven by his inability to do effective magic with any other wand. It’s also proven by an incident from Philosopher’s Stone. Remember when Harry was being chased by bullies and inexplicably found himself on top of the shed roof? That was the soul piece allowing him to fly like Voldy. Lily could slow her descent from a height, as if she had an invisible parachute, but that is not the same as flying, and we have no evidence she could fly. Only Voldemort and Snape fly without assistance! The evidence is overwhelming that I am right. How many spells can Harry do effectively? Expelliarmus, Expecto Patronum, Protego--that’s it. Even as a young adult, he is incapable of doing the basic healing or cleaning spells a young child should have down pat before going to Hogwarts. Of course, we’re told the Patronus spell is difficult and advanced, but who told us that? Remus Lupin, friend of Harry’s father, sycophant, and notorious liar, particularly when it comes to flattering Harry. Recall Lupin also said Snape didn’t like James because Snape was envious of Potter Sr.’s Quidditch prowess, and we know that was a lie. Given this evidence, anything Lupin says that cannot be confirmed by an independent source, especially regarding the Potters, should be dismissed out of hand. True, Hermione has trouble with the Patronus spell, and she’s super-competent. Doesn’t that prove it’s a very difficult spell? Not at all. To take an example from a different field, Beethoven was a virtuoso organist, the greatest pianist of his day, one of the greatest pianists in history, and probably the greatest improvisational musician ever. But he was only a decent violinist. Everybody has areas of weakness, no matter how good they are overall. In addition, Hermione is very gullible where authority figures are concerned. If a teacher tells her, “The Patronus is a very difficult, advanced spell that many people can’t ever master,” she’ll believe that, which may create a self-fulfilling prophecy. A couple of years ago, another DTCL member and I facetiously suggested Harry was less intelligent than his wand. We didn’t know we were right. It rarely happens, but this is an occasion when I would have preferred to be wrong.

...

If only there was a way of getting a better wand... And desire for the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, unbeatable, invincible, swal-lowed him once more... They packed up the tent next morning and moved on through a dreary shower of rain. The downpour pursued them to the coast, where they pitched the tent that night, and persisted through the whole week, through sodden landscapes that Harry found bleak and depressing. He could think only of the Deathly Hallows. It was as though a flame had been lit inside him that nothing, not Hermione’s flat disbelief nor Ron’s persistent doubts, could extinguish. And yet the fiercer the longing for the Hallows burned inside him, the less joyful it made him. He blamed Ron and Hermione: Their determined indifference was as bad as the relentless rain for dampening his spirits, but neither could erode his certainty, which remained absolute. Harry’s belief in and longing for the Hallows consumed him so much that he felt isolated from the other two and their obsession with the Horcruxes. [...] As the weeks crept on, Harry could not help but notice, even through his new self-absorption, that Ron seemed to be taking charge. Perhaps because he was determined to make up for having walked out on them, perhaps because Harry’s descent into listlessness galvanized his dormant leadership qualities, Ron was the one now encouraging and exhorting the other two into action. [...] But not until March did luck favor Ron at last.

The essayist: MARCH! That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. The first fifteen pages of this chapter cover three months, and during that entire time, Harry Potter does nothing, nothing, but sit on his ass fantasizing about the Elder Wand and trying to connect with his Voldie-soul mate. Oh, wait. He also tries to open the snitch so he can get the stone out of it. (Nothing gay about that, either.) I wish he’d succeed in that, too. Maybe he’d swallow the stone, and it would end up in his scrotum. He sure needs something that works down there. Harry doesn’t have the right to bail out on his society like this. He can’t have it both ways. He can’t have the adulation that goes with being Mr. Boy-Who-Lived-Chosen-One-Wizarding-World-Savior and abdicate the responsibilities that go along with those titles and that adulation. Look at what happens in this chapter: Harry becomes obsessed with finding and uniting the Hallows, so much so that he withdraws from his friends, bails out on the job his idol Dumbledore gave him, and spends all his time brooding and trying to connect with the Dull Lord. In other words, he acts clinically depressed. Ron and Hermione were exposed to the same information Harry was, but they didn’t become obsessed/depressed. Ron was mildly interested in the Super-Wand, but not enough to distract him from the Horcrux hunt. Hermione dismissed the whole DH story as nonsense and continued following Dumbestbore’s orders. So why weren’t they tempted?

...

The essayist: Harry opens the locket using Parseltongue--interesting that this never occurred to him before now--and two ghostly figures emerge. They’re Voldie-versions of Harry and Hermione, and they articulate Ron’s worst fears: “Least loved, always, by the mother who craved a daughter...Least loved, now, by the girl who prefers your friend...Second best, always, eternally overshadowed...” I’ll say it again: When you’re right, you’re right. The evidence is overwhelming that Molly Weasley treated Ron the worst of all her children. And if Rowling doesn’t want us to ship HP/HG, she needs to quit throwing them together and making them leaders, with Ron either in the background or absent entirely. JKR obviously wants us to automatically dismiss certain statements just because they’re made by “bad guys” such as Voldemort and Rita Skeeter. There are two problems with this: (1) The “lies” make perfect sense, far more sense than what we’re supposed to believe. (2) Even pathological liars sometimes tell the truth, typically when it won’t hurt their own interests to do so. For those of us who live in what cartoonist Garry Trudeau calls “the reality-based community,” the evidence is what matters, not what we’re told by authority figures. Those of us in the higher stages of spiritual development are funny that way.

...

The essayist: Well, whose fault is that, Ms. Rowling? You’re the one who’s spent the last four books making Ron dumber and dumber, depriving him of any meaningful activity, while you shoved Harry and Hermione into increasingly dominant roles.

The commenter: Are we supposed to look down on Ron now so that we can condemn him for leaving Harry and Hermione? Because if so, then that’s just unfair. Every time Ron tries to come up with an idea, Hermione criticizes him or shoots him down. And the twins have done a fine job of intimidating Ron into remaining mediocre and modest so that he doesn’t remind them of Percy, so what is he supposed to do? How is he supposed to come up with ideas when he’s surrounded by people who basically tell him to shut up and sit down?

The essayist: Just then, Hermione comes out of the tent with cups of tea, with tears running down her face and looking terrified her “friend” is going to curse her with her own wand.

The commenter: So, Hermione will snarl at Ron all day long, but cower in fear when Harry gets mad. Is she projecting herself onto Harry and assuming that just because *she’s* quick to hex people who anger her (Ron, Marietta, etc.), Harry will do the same to her?

The essayist: The evidence is overwhelming that Molly Weasley treated Ron the worst of all her children.

The commenter: And blatantly showed favoritism to Harry while snarling at Ron in the same breath. Of course, Horcrux!Tom doesn’t bring that up, because JKR would have to admit that there might be something wrong with Molly favoring Harry the way she does. The essayist: Hermione acts so crazy Harry has to put a protection charm between her and Ron.

The commenter: Yeah…sorry, it’s not “slapstick” anymore when somebody actually has to stop her from hitting Ron. When Harry feels that the situation is dangerous enough that his intervention is necessary. That’s not funny. That’s a true-crime episode. What gets me is that Hermione's tantrum lasts for days. It goes on for several pages into the next chapter. She doesn't start acting normal again until she comes up with the idea of visiting Xeno Lovegood. The essayist: Hermione tells Ron she still hasn’t ruled out attacking him with birds again.

The commenter: *flatly* So, all of the fans who cooed about how “great” it was for Hermione to show “girl power” by sending Ron to the hospital wing in HBP or breezily dismissed the scene as just tired teenage melodrama? Can put a sock in it. Hermione has clearly learned nothing, JKR clearly feels that that scene was funny, and at no point are we supposed to think that Hermione is an abuser. Even though, if the genders were reversed, fans would be calling for Ron’s head on a platter if he dared lay a finger on Hermione. No. This isn’t funny. This isn’t charming. Hermione hurt Ron so badly in HBP that he had to go to the hospital wing. And she tried to repeat the damage she caused here. Is she going to attack him with birds again after they get married? Is she going to do it in front of their children? Will it be “cute” and “funny” then? No, if a man is an abusive monster for losing his temper and trying to hurt his girlfriend, then Hermione is an abusive monster for losing her temper and trying to hurt her boyfriend. Not only did Hermione land Ron in the infirmary with the first attack, but she wants to do it again at a time when they are on the run. She will NOT be able to take an injured Ron to Hogwarts infirmary, nor to St. Mungos. In other words - she intends for him to remain injured and stick with them while camping, or else he must apparate away while injured, risking another splinching so he could be healed.

...

The essayist: Ron and Harry go back to the tent, and Harry fades into the background so as not to interfere with the lovers’ reunion. That’s a mistake. After Harry wakes Hermione, she shows her delight at Ron’s return by--attacking him? She punches him over a dozen times while yelling at him and screaming for her wand from Harry. Remember last chapter, when I talked about how immature Hermione is? Here’s your proof.

[The essayist quotes an article that I haven’t been able to find, but paraphrased: it speaks of a father who came to pick up his 4 y/o daughter from daycare, a little later than usual, and the daughter reacted by punching and hitting her father, upset at his being late. Additional read: “The parents must know that physical aggression is a common yet natural problem faced by toddlers.”]

The essayist: So there you have it: Hermione Granger, know-it-all supergirl, is so immature she acts like a preschool child when the boyfriend she’s been missing finally returns. I’m not suggesting she has a father-daughter relationship with Ron; this kind of anger is found in other relationships, too. What I am saying is that her way of expressing her anger is appropriate for a very young child. While adults may certainly feel this kind of anger and desire to hit when reunited with a loved one under similar circumstances, they don’t act it out. That restraint is what separates adults from children. Hermione acts so crazy Harry has to put a protection charm between her and Ron. I frankly found her behavior so out of control as to suggest mental instability. She engages in two full pages of histrionics before throwing herself into a chair, sitting so tensely I’m surprised the circulation isn’t cut off to her arms and legs. She remains in a bratty snit until the end of the chapter, which is another six pages. Hermione is still pouting the next morning. I’m wondering if her real problem is not that Ron left, but that she didn’t. Is she angry at him because he had the guts to admit they were blowing it and take a time out, while she just kept trailing along after Harry like a lost house elf? I think she’s definitely mad because she’s always controlled Ron and their relationship. How dare he assert his independence of her! Who does he think he is? Her equal? In an AU, maybe. This is called the Potterverse after all, not the Ronverse. Hermione’s having a bad month. First Ron runs out on them; then she saves Harry’s life, but he’s an ungrateful jerk about it; then Harry asserts his independence; then Ron comes back but doesn’t grovel sufficiently for her taste. All this mistreatment is going to give her the idea she’s just a normal character and not an Author’s Darling. While Ron was gone, he was captured by bad guys called Snatchers, who are bounty hunters for Voldemort. In getting away, he got a spare wand, which he gives to Harry. Of course, it doesn’t work as well as Harry’s “real” wand, so Harry’s still in a snit about that, and with Hermione in a snit, too, they’re a cheerful bunch. Honestly, I don’t know why Ron puts up with these two. The Hs are so spoiled and self-centered, they deserve each other, but I don’t think this is what HP/HG shippers mean when they proclaim the two as an OTP. Sane, normal Ron doesn’t deserve either one of them. Run, Ron! Run while you still can!

...

The essayist: As an interesting aside, ròn is the Celtic word for seal. In Druid lore, seals represent love, longing, and dilemma. No more appropriate totem animal could be imagined for this boy whose sense of selfhood is undermined by his longing for love from a rejecting mother and inadequate father, and who, like the selchie wives of folklore, is faced with the impossible choice of being who he truly is and being rejected, or denying the best part of himself to gain love. Ron’s intelligence and independence threaten his insecure wife (and best friend), just as the selchie’s identity as a seal-woman threatens her human husband; Ron imprisons himself by hiding who he is so the Hs can feel smart and in charge, just as the selchie’s human husband imprisons his wife by hiding her sealskin in a trunk.

#vivi answers #ask #ron weasley #hermione granger #hermione critical #hermione granger critical #harry potter #harry potter series #harry potter critical

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