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iatethepomegranate · 3 years

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A fic in which Caleb buys a house in Rexxentrum with Beau and Yasha, becomes a professor, and learns how to be a person.

Chapter Summary: The sands of time stop for no one, and the Nein eventually go back to their separate lives. Caleb grapples with the responsibilities of his new position, invents the support group, and Astrid gives him some rather unsettling news.

Notes: Caleb and Essek's scene together is a little spicy, but not explicit. Chapter title is from In the Embers by Sleeping At Last.

*** Chapter 5: Like fireworks we pull apart the dark

Caleb was smiling when he got back home. Veth aimed her crossbow at him.

“Quick! Tell me something only Caleb would say!”

Caleb sighed and held up his hands in surrender; he should have expected this. “You almost inscribed a rune upside-down today. I lent you my spellbook.”

“I don’t know, man,” said Beauregard, lounging across Yasha on the couch and completely fucking with them. “An imposter could’ve interrogated Caleb and forced him to recount his day. Caleb is pretty squishy.” Caleb almost reminded her he had been taught to withstand torture, which he’d first told explictly her while compiling his testimony for Trent’s trial, but he didn’t want to ruin her fun.

“Oh, that’s very smart,” Yasha said.

“Thanks, babe.”

“Say something else,” Veth demanded. “Something not from today. How did we meet?”

“In prison. You stole a bottle of cherry wine. I had Frumpkin retrieve a piece of wire so you could pick the lock and then I set the jail on fire and screamed for help. The guards ran away and we walked out. We have been best friends ever since. You were also a goblin at the time.”

“But wouldn’t an imposter have asked about Caleb’s known associates?” Fjord supplied.

“Fjord, I can and will burn your hair off. And, unlike Aeor, it will not grow back overnight.”

“Ha!” Veth put her crossbow away. “Welcome back. Sit down. Cad’s making tea again.” She dragged him over to the blanket nest that no one had bothered to put away, and shoved him in it.

Essek poked his head out of the kitchen. “How was your meeting?”

Caleb didn’t want to get into it. “I took the job.”

“Woo!” Jester yelled from the kitchen. She poked her head out, just next to Essek. “Did Astrid like the cookies?”

“Ja. She says thank you.” Caleb felt fine, except from the fact he was fucking exhausted. He tipped his head back, landing on Beau’s shin, and closed his eyes. “Uh, Beauregard? She says to look into Headmaster Zivan Margolin, who is also the Archmage of Conscription. He’s a link to Trent. A weak one. Apparently he has been running his mouth about how he saw my potential from the beginning. Ludinus is uncomfortable with the implication and may throw him to the wolves to save his own neck.”

“I’ll pass it onto Yudala tomorrow. Take a nap while we wait for dinner.”

“The head of your school is also in charge of conscription?” said Fjord. “Wait. You’ve said this before.”

“A long time ago, ja.”

“Look, I’m only a few months old,” said Kingsley, who had been sprawled behind the couch the whole time, apparently. “And even I know that’s kinda fucked up.”

“No shit.” Caleb was half-sleep already, eyes closed. A small body curled up against him. Veth.

“Caleb, that’s really awful,” said Jester. “I’m so sorry.”

“Jester, I appreciate that, and I love you very much, but I am exhausted and cannot talk about this anymore.”

Caduceus saved him by bringing a tea tray into the room. “Let’s all unwind for a bit. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Caleb drank half his tea and fell asleep on Beauregard, who had to kick him awake for dinner. Well had to was a strong way to put it. Regardless, he shoved some food in his face and then went to bed with Essek.

****

Astrid sent him tidbits of information as more details of his professorship were finalised. He would assist Professor Weber with the beginner and intermediate Transmutation classes. He would also assist Professor Winterheart with the beginner Evocation class, due to his experience. He would also be on call to assist with other classes as necessary.

What really shook Caleb, however, were Bettina’s plans for Advanced Transmutation. She told him herself over coffee in the ex-smut shop.

“Astrid has assured me of your capabilities,” she said, stirring sugar into her mug. “And she’s of the mind that the Advanced students may need your guidance the most. You may end up with a few former Volstrucker students, if we can get them back in class.”

“That is a big if.”

“Ja. Would you talk to Astrid about it? I don’t want to overstep.”

“It has been on my mind. I will talk to her.” If Caleb hadn’t been dead on his feet last time they had spoken, he probably would have brought it up. It would take time to track all of them down, and Caleb had not been in the right headspace to handle that kind of work previously. But things were more stable now, even if he cried at the drop of a hat these days.

“Danke. Now, Advanced Transmutation. The advanced students start on the third week of term, so you will have had some time to find your feet. I want you to take the lead with them.”

“Bitte?” Caleb wasn’t sure he understood what she was telling him.

“I want you to teach the advanced students,” Bettina clarified. “I will be on hand if you need, but I think you can handle it once you have a few classes under your belt.”

“Bettina, I have no experience.” Caleb was about three wrong words from hyperventilating. This was ridiculous. And irresponsible.

“I know that’s not true, Mr Widogast. Sorry, Professor Widogast.” The slip was deliberate. Bettina used his first name most of the time. She was making a point of his new title. “Astrid has spoken to your expositor friend, who said you have been teaching magic to one of your friends for over a year, and that you helped her run a summer camp for adventurers in Nicodranas. Expositor Lionett also insists you are very good with children.”

“My friend’s young son, specifically. He is not a difficult child.” Well, Luc was a handful for his parents, but Caleb didn’t have to worry about controlling him like they did. “And… advanced students are teenagers, not toddlers.”

“I understand this is a lot to ask,” Bettina said evenly. “I am asking because some of these children have been through a lot. My inaction, whatever the truth of it, will not instill confidence. You put Trent in prison. You were an adventurer. You can relate to them. Not only can you be a safe person for them, but you are interesting. Teenagers respond best to people who are genuine, and genuinely interesting. Even the children who have not been pulled into Trent’s web have just been through a war. Some of them may have lost family.”

“Bettina, I appreciate you are trying to explain your reasons, but it is not helping.”

“I will be there in class for as long as you need my help,” Bettina promised. “I will only leave when you are ready. I promise. You can ask for help at any time. I will help you with your lesson plans and give you all the advice I can. You will be fine. I would not suggest this if I thought you couldn’t handle it.”

****

Caleb went back home after his meeting with Bettina. He was still worried, but he was having a decent day overall, so it wasn’t overwhelming him at the moment. He stepped inside Beau and Yasha’s side of the house, the scent of freshly baked bread filling his nostrils. It was almost lunchtime.

Most of the Nein had gone home by now, except Essek and Caduceus. They were in the kitchen with Yasha, inspecting a fresh loaf of bread on the counter. The top of it was sprinkled with rolled oats.

“I think it worked,” Caduceus said. “Ah, Caleb. Rye bread? Does it look right to you?”

It smelled like the Vollkornbrot Caleb remembered from his childhood. “Ja. This looks close to what my mother used to make.”

Yasha and Caduceus high-fived over Essek’s head. Essek’s nose wrinkled a little bit in a moment of endearing, petty irritation. Yasha cut the bread into slices and constructed a sandwich to take to Beau, who was at the Archive. She buttered a slice and shoved it into her mouth before she rushed out the door.

Caleb sat with Essek and Caduceus. The latter finished serving up the bread with a generous spread of butter.

“Did you start this last night?” Caleb asked. It was chewy as intended and tasted like home, maybe a tiny bit saltier, but that was fine.

“Yeah,” replied Caduceus. “You were pretty out of it. We looped Essek in once you were out of the house this morning. This one seems doable for Yasha to make without us. You might have to help her.”

“I can do that.” He used to help his mother with the bread whenever he was home. The memories were not too painful today, just an ache.

“How was your meeting?” Essek asked. He had been hesitant to leave Rexxentrum until Caleb was a bit more settled, but the hourglass was almost drained of sand.

“Good, I think.” Caleb chewed, mulling the whole thing over. “Professor Weber is giving me her advanced transmutation students.”

“You look worried,” said Caduceus.

“I am. It’s a lot of responsibility. She thinks the older students need me the most. As a safe person. I was their age when I… when everything went to shit. She thinks we may have a few survivors of the program in the class, and other students will have lost family in the war.”

Essek’s shoulders slumped. He ate quietly.

“And the Professor doesn't think she can be that person?”

“She insists she didn’t know what Trent was doing, but she expects the survivors will only see the face of someone who didn’t help them.”

“That is very self-aware of her. Do you feel that way?”

“No. But I’m not seventeen years old.”

“True. Well, I think you have the tools to help the kids, if you feel up to it.”

“I… maybe. Bettina said she’ll help me in class until I don’t need her anymore.”

Caduceus nodded slowly, with a smile. “You’ll be great.”

****

Essek and Caduceus had dinner at the house, and intended to spend a few more hours there before teleporting to the Blooming Grove, where Essek would trance before heading off in the morning, only short of one big spell instead of two. Caleb almost wanted to ask him to burn a second spell to trance here instead, but he knew Essek found the Grove calming. And one of the few places he didn’t have to worry about the Dynasty or the Empire. Caleb wouldn’t take that from him.

But they had a bit of time, which Caleb and Essek spent in their room together. Caleb let a few of his dancing lights float around the space, so he could see Essek for the last time in who knew how long.

“You were better today,” Essek said softly, slowly unbuttoning Caleb’s shirt.

Caleb watched him concentrate on the buttons, memorising his tiny frown that also graced his face when focusing on intricate spellwork. “Being here is getting easier. Thank you for the bread.”

Essek chuckled softly. “I did very little.” He pushed Caleb’s shirt off his shoulders. “But I’m glad it made you happy.”

“The best bread is the kind made by someone I love.” He shivered a little in the cold. Essek pressed his lips to Caleb’s shoulder, remaining there as the seconds ticked away. Caleb got to work on Essek’s shirt, finding the strings on the back through sheer muscle memory. He picked the bow apart and slowly unravelled the lacing. He pulled Essek’s shirt over his head and kissed his collarbone.

They had a few more hours. Caleb intended to treasure every second Essek could give him.

Essek pulled Caleb’s ponytail free and ran his fingers through the braids he had made that morning until they twisted apart. He cradled Caleb’s head as they kissed. Vulnerability between them had been hard won, and now it was as easy as breathing. Easier, sometimes.

They separated, and Essek slowly dragged his thumb across Caleb’s lower lip. “I will message you every day I can.”

“You better. Or I will hunt you down.”

Essek smirked, and it did things to Caleb. “And if I misbehave? Will you give me detention, Professor?”

“Essek, I love you, but never say that again.” Caleb shut him up with another kiss. “I do not want one of my last memories of you to be… that.”

“Not so adventurous after all,” Essek teased.

“We are not bringing our professions into the bedroom. That will not go well for either of us.”

“Hmm.” Essek’s eyes were distant for a moment. “You are… not wrong. Whenever I hear the word Shadowhand, I think of my mother.”

“Could be worse,” Caleb said dryly.

Essek wrinkled his nose. “Yes. Well. That has killed the mood.”

“I can fix that. May I?”

Essek sat back on his hands, raising an eyebrow. “Do your worst.”

“Challenge accepted,” Caleb murmured. He shoved Essek onto his back, straddling his hips. Essek was a lot smaller than Caleb, though the force of his personality and his floating cantrip had once hidden that reality. Now, however… Caleb could keep Essek in place with his weight alone. And Essek liked it when he used that objective fact to their benefit.

Essek’s lips parted, and it took him ten seconds of shallow breaths to find his voice. “Challenge completed,” he said breathlessly.

“It’s one of my many skills, Liebchen.” Caleb knew his voice became extra husky when aroused, and he knew how much it broke Essek’s brain.

Essek opened his mouth again, but nothing came out except a soft, breathy laugh. He reached up and pulled Caleb’s hair until Caleb leaned down and kissed him hard. The throaty mmph noise from Essek was satisfying as fuck. It was very easy to get Essek aroused at the right moment. The harder part was finding that moment. He was sensitive to Caleb’s emotions, and it was hard for him to get in the mood if he had even the slightest inkling Caleb was not having a good day. For now, at least, it meant what sex they did have only happened under the best circumstances. It was a far cry from the last relationship Caleb had been in, where most of the sex had been after a bad day, all three of them on the brink of falling apart.

Caleb pulled back a little bit to lightly brush his fingernails across the sensitive skin of Essek’s lower abdomen, just above his remaining clothing. Essek’s breath hitched.

“Caleb. Please.” Essek was flushing red beneath the purple of his skin, turning it a lovely plum tone. Caleb kissed his stomach, and slowly undressed him like a long-anticipated present he was afraid to break. Essek squirmed beneath him, no matter how hard he tried to hold still to make the job easier.

“What do you want, Kätzchen?” Caleb said quietly, stroking the inside of Essek’s bare thigh. Caleb never used terms of endearment like this in casual conversation. He liked to save it for special moments, specifically because he knew it broke Essek’s brain very badly to be called things like kitten or sweetheart in Caleb’s own tongue.

Essek let out a shaky breath; his violet-blue eyes were half-lidded and he was out of his fucking mind. “I want… anything. Everything. You. I can’t think.”

“I know,” Caleb said, sliding off the bed, just out of Essek’s reach. “I like it that way.” He slowly unfastened his pants, watching Essek twitch in a half-aborted attempt to move closer to him. “Stay right there.” He let them drop, kicked them aside, finished undressing. He lingered out of reach until Essek bit his lip, gazing up at him with a silent plea. Only then did Caleb climb back onto the bed, settling between Essek’s shaking legs. “Let me take care of you, ja?”

Caleb caught Essek’s lips in a messy, breathless kiss as their bodies fit together at long last.

Later, they lay together under the covers. Caleb had extinguished his lights. Essek could see him perfectly well. Caleb had almost left the lights on so he could drink in Essek’s features for a little while longer, but he was sluggish and borderline mindless from his most recent orgasm. He would rather spend what little concentration he had on running his fingers across Essek’s features so he had a few more memories to keep him warm until they could meet again.

“I will stay until you fall asleep,” Essek said softly. “Then, I will message you tomorrow after I leave the Grove.”

Caleb hummed quietly, not trusting his voice beyond that. This goodbye was hard every time.

“I’m proud of you, Caleb.” Essek kissed him, and then pressed their foreheads together. “You will be an incredible teacher. You already are.” Caleb swallowed against a lump in his throat. He was not going to cry. He was not going to make this harder for Essek than it needed to be.

Somehow, he managed to find his voice. “I finally had a good example.”

Essek chuckled softly. “That may be the one thing in my life I did right.”

“It’s an important thing you did right, but not the only one.” Caleb found his hand, twining their fingers together. His grip would slacken in sleep, letting Essek extract himself without too much difficulty.

“I try to remember that. Thank you. Get some sleep.”

Caleb didn’t want to close his eyes, knowing Essek wouldn’t be there in the morning. But Essek had to leave sometime, and he was giving Caleb every moment he could spare. So Caleb closed his eyes and relaxed into the pillow.

“I love you, Essek.”

“I love you, Caleb.”

Sometimes they didn’t need to say it. It was always true, whether or not they put it into words. Tonight, however, they both felt just a little more fragile, a little more vulnerable, and the words helped.

And then Caleb slept. The last thing he remembered was Essek’s fingers dancing sweetly in his hair.

****

Waking alone, Caleb tried not to be too dour in the morning, but given Yasha kept trying to find things around the house to keep him busy, he was clearly not doing a good job. He had to meet with Astrid (and probably Wulf) later in the day to discuss work some more, and he needed to bring up the Volstrucker survivors. Maybe Astrid had already been working on contacting them, but it wasn’t clear. It needed to be.

For now, however, he let Yasha drag him out to the garden. He liked having his hands in the soil, coaxing life out of the earth. After dealing so much death in this world, it was nice to put life back into it. He knew Yasha felt the same. It also let him reminisce about some of his less painful memories of home. Planting green beans with his mother.

It was also a little easier to bask in the afterglow of last night out here in the sun.

“Did you have a good time last night?” Yasha asked. Caleb was glad Beauregard was already at work. She wouldn’t tease him, but he knew she would have to restrain herself.

“Ja,” Caleb said quietly.

“He’s soft with you. It’s lovely.” She watched him, and she saw a little too well. “You miss him.”

“A lot, ja.”

“You’re good for each other,” she said. “I’m glad you have him, even if it’s not all the time.”

Caleb knew his smile was incredibly sad, but it was a smile nonetheless. “Me too.”

Essek’s Sending reached him in that moment. “Hello, love. I have arrived at my destination in one piece. A little further away than intended, but unharmed. How’s your morning?” A slight pause. “I love you.” Ah, he’d realised he had three words left.

Full of warmth from the sun and Essek’s word economy, Caleb responded, “Hallo, Essek. Glad you are safe. I am gardening with Yasha.” She waved. “She says hi. We had leftover bread for breakfast. Talk soon. Love you, too.”

“That’s very sweet, Caleb.”

He chuckled, and it sounded a little more fragile than he would’ve liked. “Careful. I will start crying again.”

“Hey, that’s okay. I’ve been crying a lot, too. I think it’s a good thing.”

Maybe. Caleb found it too unsettling to have that view on it. He stood up from the ground, knees damp with morning dew, and dusted the grass off his trousers. Establishing a garden here, and actually putting his own hands in the dirt this time, felt permanent. Unless something went very wrong, they were going to be here for a long time.

Yasha hadn’t had a stable home for years, either. And she also had awful violence and loss baked into her past, and terrifying blank patches in her memory. It was easy to spend quiet time with her, because they understood each other in a way the others sometimes couldn’t.

They enjoyed a quiet cup of tea on the steps linking the back door to the garden. Yasha was partway through repairing the fence back here, and she insisted on working with it alone; magic would end the project too quickly.

The sun reflected in her whitening hair, glowing like the radiance inside her. She deserved all the gentle mornings; she wore them well. Yasha gazed out at the barest beginnings of their garden, and she smiled.

“This suits you,” Caleb said.

“I’m getting used to it,” she replied softly. “After so long, I get to just be a…” She caught herself. “Well. I’m not a wife.”

“For now.”

She chuckled. “For now. It’s nice here. I get to bake bread, and grow a little garden, and welcome the people I love when they come home. And I get to love whoever I want. That’s all I ever wanted.”

“You deserve it. You deserve peace.”

Yasha smiled into her teacup. “Beau tells me that every day. I think I’m starting to believe it. What about you?”

A short question, with a complicated answer. “Sometimes. I do not know if I will ever feel like I deserve this without reservation. It is getting easier. Having a mission helps, I think.”

“We can do this,” Yasha told him. She said it quietly, but with every ounce of determination she had. Yasha had a lot. Caleb was struck by her soft strength, as he often was. Letting oneself be gentle after years of violence and pain was one of the hardest things to do. Caleb knew that all too well.

Caleb held out his fist, and she bumped it. “Ja, we got this.”

And he actually believed it. If only a little bit.

****

Caleb had an easier time walking into Soltryce Academy this time. Starting from a far more energised and calm place than last time carried him through the memories. Entering Astrid’s office was still a little painful, but he was strong enough to handle it.

Astrid and Wulf were seated in armchairs in front of the fireplace, reading. There was a pile on the table between them, and evident gaps on the bookshelves. They had rarely gotten to read books from Trent’s personal collection. The silent fuck you was vindicating, even vicariously.

“The old man had some interesting material,” Astrid said in Zemnian, skipping over the pleasantries. They didn’t need them at this point. She messaged him frequently enough that it felt like they were simply picking up a briefly dropped conversation. They usually spoke Zemnian when they did not have non-speakers to contend with, and Wulf followed suit. They would occasionally borrow a word or phrase from Common if the sentiment worked better.

Wulf snorted. “Pretty dry reading. You’ll like it, Bren.”

Caleb shrugged. “Once a nerd, always a nerd.”

Wulf set the book on the table, stretching; his shirt rode up a little bit and Caleb kept his eyes on his face with a great deal of effort. “If you want more colourful reading, the smut shop you were asking about is on the north side of the market.”

“Kingsley asked me.”

“Uh-huh,” Wulf said flatly.

“Listen, you cannot flirt with all my friends and then take that tone with me.”

“Just did.”

Caleb resisted the somewhat mild urge to scream. Wulf and Astrid were both very good at putting him off-balance, in very different ways. “Whatever makes you happy, Wulf. Astrid, can we talk about Advanced Transmutation? I am going to explode if I don’t talk about this in the next ten seconds.”

Astrid had been watching his exchange with a cocked eyebrow, but she smoothed out her expression and gestured towards a third armchair, closer to the fire.

He sat down, holding one hand out towards the warmth. “Astrid, I say this with all the respect in the world: what the fuck?”

“The advanced classes are in a delicate situation,” Astrid replied. “Professor Weber and I want as many of the Volstrucker program survivors back in school as possible. You are a better person to work with them than Bettina, and with any students who lost loved ones in the war. She told you her reasons, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“Aside from my lack of qualifications and the fact I never technically graduated from the Academy?”

“Bren, your practical experience outweighs all of that. Bettina will help you with the rest.”

“Astrid suggested you take the advanced students,” Wulf said casually, leafing through another tome as if he wasn’t throwing a bomb into the conversation.

Caleb felt an ache in his gut, and he had to close his eyes and compose himself. “Astrid. Why?”

“The Academy is about to throw those children into the world,” she replied quietly. “Whatever lessons you wish to impart, you have to impart them now. Not only that, but Bettina is not well-suited to teach survivors of the Volstrucker program. She has spent her entire life in the Academy. They will not take her seriously. Some may resent her for not doing something about the abuse happening right under her nose. She told you that.”

“How many survivors do you expect we will have?” asked Caleb.

“I am still trying to track them down,” Astrid replied, with an edge of frustration.

“I was meaning to talk to you about the Volstrucker.” Caleb had been racking his brain whenever he had the time and energy. There was no formal infrastructure to support the survivors of the program. If Caleb hadn’t met Veth, and then later the Nein, things could have gone very badly for him in so many different ways.

“Talk,” Astrid said.

“These people need help,” he said. “Unless we get that mental health support I asked for, we are effectively on our own. Even if the Assembly throws us crumbs, nobody can understand what it was like except others like us. We need to talk to each other. Regularly, if possible.”

Wulf’s eyes stopped scanning the page. “Do you really think Volstrucker will want to talk to each other about this shit?”

“Who else is there?” Caleb said plainly. “They--we deserve the chance to support each other. Regular meetings, if we can. A support group, I suppose. Low pressure. Just a group of people who understand each other going through yet another upheaval in a life filled with them.”

Astrid watched him closely, eyes narrowed in thought. “Interesting. I think I understand where this idea came from.”

“We got each other through a lot back in the day,” said Caleb. “But we weren’t equipped for it. There was no blueprint for what we were to each other, but we did our best. Until it wasn’t enough. And later, I had the Nein. I would not be here without them. I owe them everything. Not everyone has people like that.”

“I’ll find us a place and let you know,” Astrid said.

“Thank you.” Caleb had expected he would be a little emotional about it, so at least he was prepared to ward off tears. “Thank you so much.”

Astrid averted her eyes, gazing into the fire. “As for your job, most of the children in the program have been located. Some of their parents have pulled them out of school. I am… trying to talk them out of that. The last thing we need are traumatised, half-trained adolescents running around unchecked.”

Caleb was hung up on her wording. Most of the children had been found. “There are some unaccounted for?”

“Two. Felix and Nicolaus. They’re both seventeen.” Astrid didn’t need to point out why their age was a problem.

There was no time to panic; Caleb needed details. “What do we know about them?”

“I worked with them a little,” Astrid replied. “They are close, not unlike the three of us at their age. If we find one, we may find the other. They are from Blumenthal. The Crownsguard are keeping an eye out, but I do not trust them to handle this with the care this situation requires.”

“Specialisations?”

“Both Evocation.”

Caleb didn’t need to say aloud how bad this could be. Two missing Evocation wizards, on the edge of graduating the Volstrucker program, who had possibly had their memories modified and orders distributed. It had been a few months since Trent would have last had contact with them. The worst could already have happened. Then again, Caleb had been in Blumenthal not that long ago to visit his parents, and he hadn’t heard anything that would have given him pause.

“I was in Blumenthal a few weeks ago,” Caleb said. “If they followed through on an order, it was likely after that. I’d… like to think I would have noticed otherwise. Most people seem to agree that I am rather intelligent.” The dry humour probably wasn’t appropriate in this moment, but he needed to keep himself calm and sarcasm usually worked a treat. “In more recent times, I would assume word would have gotten back to you. Maybe we are not too late.”

“Optimism is a new look for you, Bren,” said Wulf.

Caleb would never call himself an optimist, but he could see why Wulf was uncomfortable, even if he hid it behind one part sarcasm and one part a veiled flirt. “Wulf, I have seen a lot of things in this past year alone that have… changed me. There was a time, not too long ago, when I did not expect to survive the week. And… look at us now. We are sitting here in Astrid’s office, reading Trent’s old books because he is stuck in a dark hole and cannot do anything to us. I spent the morning gardening with Yasha. My friends bought me a quilt because it reminded me of my mother. Things are better for me than they have been in a very long time. So, I am trying new things, like having hope sometimes.”

“Point taken,” Wulf murmured, averting his eyes. Tense. Uncomfortable.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything about the boys,” Astrid said. “Whatever happens… I think you should be there.

#shadowgast #caleb widogast #professor widogast #essek thelyss #astrid beck #eadwulf grieve #yasha nydoorin #fanfiction #critical role #cr2 #my fics #the pomegranate's professor widogast fic

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step-on-me-natasha · 3 years

Text

Blade; chapter 4

summary: Parker "Blade" Wiles, a high ranking SHIELD agent with an aptitude for sharp objects, goes missing. When Blade is found again with a darker and colder demeanor, SHIELD, with the help of The Avengers, are tasked with finding out what happened to their colleague and friend.

OC is ace and uses they/them pronouns

pairing: Natasha Romanoff x OC! reader (Blade)

warnings: injections, blood, if anything else, let me know

RECAP:

She leaves the room as your eyes start to water. Oh my god. There is no way I'm getting out of this. As you sit there, waiting for what’s going to come next, Nats face pops into your head. And the fact that there is a chance that you’ll never see her again, talk to her, touch her again, makes the tears threatening to fall, fall.

As promised, about 15 minutes later, three lab coats walk into the room you’re in, checking your vitals and making sure all the serum was in your bloodstream. They start rolling you out of the room, assumingly heading towards the super secret lab. I wish I had my journal. My therapist would have a field day with all this new trauma.

You would've said a snarky comment by now, but you were in no mood for that right now. On the bright side, if there was one, it’s not any of your teammates in this situation. Especially Nat. God, you would go crazy if it was Nat instead of you. You’re zoned out as they roll you into the main lab. You snap out of it when the doors slam shut and lock. “Ahhh, there it is! Our test subject!” Dr. Nichols exclaims!

“It isn’t our test subject doctor.” Madam starts, “It's our new weapon.” Dr. Nichols hums, and makes her way over to you.

“You were very hard to get a hold of, you know.” She starts. “We tried taking you out multiple times, but you were always with that red head. What was her name again? Natalie?”

“Natasha”

“That's right, Natasha. We originally thought that it would be her that we would use, but kidnapping an Avenger, especially one as well known as her, seemed more difficult than imagined.”

“I'm sorry, you were gonna kidnap the Black Widow?”

“We were”

“Thats almost as dumb as trying to re-use the Winter Soldier’s code words”

“You see, but we aren’t doing either of those sweetheart.” Madam interrupts. “We’re using you, and a pill shaped device embedded in your brain. Not code words, not the Black Widow. You. You’re a nobody! Barely an Avenger! The only reason we’re using you is because you were an easy target who happened to be able to handle a knife like no one else.”

The remaining lab coats inject you with something and you pass out, as Dr. Nichols begins the procedure.

*At the Avengers compound

Ever since you had disappeared, the team have been doing their best to find you, while walking on eggshells around Natasha. While the team has been trying their best to comfort Natasha, she has only been thinking about you. She locked herself in her room, lucky that Sam has started sliding food under the door.

It started off as a joke really. He managed to squish an entire PB&J under the door and then graduated to a whole pizza this week. While it may not show, she does appreciate that people care, so she started sliding notes back under the door with the empty plate/takeout pizza box.

“Thank you for the food” Something simple. She would've said something longer but had no energy to do so. She sat on her bed and let her mind wander. Her eyes traveled along the room and eventually landed on your journal.

“That’s an obnoxious journal” She chuckles to herself. only you would’ve picked it out. she picks said journal up and pages through it. She knows it’s an invasion of privacy but she’s already written in it, so she doesn’t think twice about grabbing a pen.

Blade, it’s nat, again. I know you’ll be mad at me for writing in this but I can't find it in me to care. You’ve been gone for a couple days now. The team has been looking for you, they care. More than you think they do. You mean something to us, you matter. Sam has managed to squish a PB&J under the door, I took a picture of it. When you get back I’ll show it to you, it’s pretty funny. Luckily he wrapped it in cling wrap so peanut butter and jelly didn’t get everywhere. I haven’t really left my room. I don’t need to see the team's look of pity when they see me. I can't look at them right now. they left you. I wanted, no, needed. I needed to get back. If you were still there, if you were just lost or your comm was just down, you would be here right now. But no, they fucking left. They left you! And I couldn’t do anything about it! God, what kind of teammate. No. friend. What kind of friend am I? What kind of friend leaves the friend they care about behind! God. I thought that I was doing good. I was going straight. But once things get better, once I make fiends, have people I care about, I just go and fuck it up. This isn’t your fault Blade. This is my fault. if I just stayed with you, this wouldn’t have happened. you need to get back. I need to make it up to you. I need to do something. And hopefully you’ll take me back. Hopefully you’ll see me as if this never happened because I don't know what I would do without you.

Love, Natasha

She closes the journal as she hears a knock on her door. “Who is it?” She calls out.

“Clint, I have left over garlic bread, do you want some?” He asks.

She slowly stands up and makes her way over to the door and opens it with tears in her eyes. Clint just stands there, not knowing what to do because no one has seen the famous black widow cry.

“That was their favorite” She whimpers. He's never seen her so small. He walks in the room, puts the garlic bread on the desk and holds her. He held her until she stopped crying.

*At the MYST headquarters

The procedure took longer than expected. After around 45 extra minutes, they finally finished. you were placed into a cell and didn’t wake up for about 3 days. When you woke up you were greeted by what seemed to be a nurse. she was looking at some chart so she didn’t see you sit up. Looks like HYDRA, wait no, sorry, MYST couldn’t afford some fucking blankets because it’s practically Antarctica in here.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Your head snapped towards the nurse. “You really are a tough cookie to crack. took over an hour to get that thing in your head. And after that, they had to inject you with a concentration of the serum because nothing stuck in your blood. How odd.”

“Pardon me?”

“Did you not listen to a word I said?”

“No no, I heard you, but what’s this about the serum?”

“Super soldier serum is concentrated as it is. It enhances you, you become more you.” Madam interrupts as she walks in the room. “Your blood fought off the original serum, so Dr. Nichols took the most powerful properties of it and injected you. Which, luckily took. you are one of the most powerful super soldiers known to man now.”

“Pardon?” You ask.

“Did you think we were messing around?”

“Kind of, yeah”

“We’re not. This isn’t some game to us, to me.” She states. “We aren’t fucking around this time. HYDRA paved the way, we’re just walking down the path and doing a better job than they ever will.” And with that, she starts walking out of the room.

“Nurse?” The nurse freezes, visibly afraid of what will come next.

“Yes Madam?”

“Make sure they’re ready for the chair tomorrow.”

Super soldier? I thought we were past this. Didn’t we learn our lesson about 5 years ago? Never in a million years would you have thought that you would ever be in this situation. Hell! You thought that when you were recruited to be an avenger it was all some sick joke! A sick cruel joke that will embarrass you publicly! Imagine the headline “Blade Wiles, recruited to the Avengers only to be set up as a prank”

God. Life is cruel. Once it starts getting good, it takes a sharp turn for the worse. You get a job that you love, and then you get recruited to the Avengers. THE AVENGERS! The fucking Avengers. What a goddamn fever dream. And then you meet this really pretty girl, who somehow wants to be your friend and possibly more?? And then your mom dies. And then you get captured by HYDRA. What the fuck universe?

God damnit. My therapist probably doesn’t have any advice on what to do if you get captured by the worst supremacist organization in the world.

A/N: chapter 4! Sorry this took so long, school just started so I’ve been pretty busy with that, there is no timeline for chapter 5 yet, once I have an idea I will let you know. As always, don’t be afraid to comment, I like hearing what you guys think!

#black widow x reader #Black Widow #black widow imagine #black widow fluff #black widow x ace!reader #natasha romanoff #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff fluff #Natasha romanoff imagine #marvel x reader #marvel x ace!reader

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fallingfor-fics · 3 years

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Teachers Pet-chapter 14: wandering

All chapters

chapter 13

I awoke suddenly feeling a cold breeze of air brush my face, I looked around and realized I had fallen asleep outside against the tree, and it was now nighttime. "Crap" I whispered looking down at my watch. It was already 9 o'clock. How had no one questioned where I was? Better yet how had no one seen me? I frowned a bit at the thought no one came to find me. It was freezing too, considering it was Winter, I'm surprised it wasn't snowing yet.

I stood up and grabbed my bag and began to head back inside the castle to head to my dormitory. I let out a deep breath remembering the realization I had come to before I drifted off. I hated having to deal with this now. Well actually, there really was no way to deal with this. Most people that develop...feelings for someone are actually able to work through and maybe act on them. But not I. I was to be stuck with this for however long it decides to stick around. I don't want to jump to conclusions, it's not like I like the man, I just...fancy him. Yeah, fancy that's the perfect word to describe what I felt for Severus. My potions Professor. Oh merlin y/n what is wrong with you!? He's a teacher for heaven's sake. I need to do everything possible to get rid of this feeling, or redirect it somehow.

I finally made it back into my dormitory and quietly took a shower and got ready for bed. My roommates seemed to be pretty heavy sleepers. I stood in the mirror fresh out of the shower and brushed my hair. Looking at the girl before me, the one who has convinced herself somehow, to fall for this cruel man. But he wasn't cruel was he. Not to me at least. I put my dark green nightgown on and slipped on my panties, exiting the bathroom after washing my face and brushing my teeth. I laid a few pats on Hera and gave her a treat, crawling into bed and looking up at my ceiling. How could this have happened? He was so awful to me when we first met, I mean he's awful to everyone, how did I stem feelings from seeing him a couple extra hours, and pleasing him by passing this test? It all seemed to have happened overnight. I began to realize though it didn't happen overnight, I've felt this way since he saved me from detention with Lockhart. Foolish of me. I closed my eyes waiting to drift asleep, but to no surprise, I couldn't. Typical, the one time I need my thoughts to shut up, they don't, they only hinder me from the peaceful release. I did take a rather long nap earlier, so it makes sense. I got up and slipped on some socks and grabbed my wand. I exited the dormitory and walked out into the dungeons. Holy shit it's cold, I thought to myself. "Lumos" I whispered and began walking down the hall, not in the direction of Snape's class. Last thing I would need right now is to run into a certain brooding man. I crossed my arms over my chest to help with the cold feeling, and continued taking a slow stroll through the castle. I could probably easily get caught and would most definitely get some form of punishment, but I didn't really care. It's not like they'd kick me out or something.

I looked out a window as I passed by it and looked out at the forest. I've heard stories of the Forbidden Forest, but I figured it was forbidden for a reason. I did have some desire to explore it one day though, just not tonight. I continued down the hall and looked at all the portraits as they slept. This school really is wondrous. I do miss Beauxbatons. To think if I hadn't been torn from there I may not be in the predicament I found myself in currently. I decided to head to the kitchens to see if the house elves were still in there, or if they too go and sleep, and maybe i'd be able to get a cup of coffee or something. As I headed that way I heard mumbling voices and turned out my wand and clung to the wall, I looked over the corner to see Professor Flitwick and Professor Lockhart conversing as they walked past and continued monitoring the halls, heading towards the Ravenclaw dormitories. I quietly tiptoed once I saw them out of sight and picked up the pace to the kitchen. As I reached the doors I stood on my toes to look through the windows and saw no one inside. I let myself in and walked over to what I hoped was the coffee machine. Now where's the coffee? I went through each cabinet checking where it could be, it didn't help it was dark, but I didn't wanna risk being seen. I opened and closed each cabinet as quietly as possible still having no luck. I squatted down to the very far end cabinet on the bottom but it was locked, hmm this must be where they keep the coffee so no one drinks it, silly I thought, "Alohomora" I whispered pointing my wand to it and heard it click open. Sure enough to my surprise the coffee was indeed in here, It was a special blend so I was guessing it was one of the teachers in specific, I pulled the jar out and put enough into a filter into the pot to make one cup and then added the water, I pressed the power button and took a few minutes to figure out how to work it. Before I pressed brew I thought for a moment and placed a silencing spell on the room.

After what seemed like forever, but in reality was 5 minutes, the coffee was done and I poured it all into a mug I found on the shelf. I blew on it a bit but it was still very hot. I laid it on the counter and cleaned up the machine. I grabbed the coffee tin and went to place it back in its place, as I squatted down I noticed in the back of this cabinet were a few bottles of firewhiskey and wine. Wow the Professors must have some fun around here. I looked at the brown bottles and thought about it for a moment. No I shouldn't If I get caught with that I would actually be kicked out. I left it alone for now and shut the cabinet, locking it and taking my cup from the counter. I headed out of the kitchen checking to make sure no one was near and took the charm off as I left. I began walking down the quiet and cold halls once more. I then had an idea. I made my way all the way to the stairs that led to the Astronomy tower and headed up in it to sit and enjoy the hot beverage. I stood leaning against the wall looking out over the courtyards and rest of the castle, you could see a lot of the school from here, this was probably my favorite place to come in the whole school. All the stars twinkling above. I took a sip of my cup, the hot liquid running down my throat, a sigh of relief as warmth filled my body. It was very cold up here and I wish I had brought my coat.

I looked up at the sky, and my thoughts began to run, I soon realized the only thing on my mind was My professor. How stupid of me to let this happen. I think the worst part was how I knew I would not be able to confide in anyone about these inappropriate feelings, no one would understand, and who knows they may think I'm dreadful and disgusting. I never confided in my father, and stopped confiding in my mother when I realized anytime I did she would ask me what I did that caused this to happen, it was always my fault no matter how many times I was screwed over. The only one I would ever be able to confide in was my sister. We were very close and she always listened and gave me good advice, she was so understanding, kind, and non judgmental. She was a much better person than I. She would have loved this view too, she would have loved Hogwarts, I just know she would have been in Hufflepuff, she'd fit right in with them. Or maybe Griffyndor, she was so brave when it came down to tough situations. My mother would be a Raven claw no doubt, she's very smart and technical. I don't know what my father would be. "Probably a Slytherin that bastard" I said out loud taking another sip. He attended Durmstrang. I cringed at the thought of him being in my house as well. I was nothing like him. He was horrible and vain, not to mention incredibly sexist and probably everything else you could think of. That asshole was such a phony too. He'd act so chill and nice to people, but it was all a facade to hide his cunty side. I grew frustrated just thinking about him.

I began to feel a hot tear slide down my face, my sister would have tried defending him, she was so sweet, she hated when he and I would fight. Always breaking it up and telling me how he wasnt worth it, and even though he's a jerk he was still our father. I was glad to have left him, hopefully I'd never have to see him again, I'd miss having a dad, but not him. I sniffled and a few more tears came down my face. I sat down on one of the ledges and looked out at the moon, it was so beautiful. I wish I could just live on the moon, carefree, peaceful, and quiet. Numb to everything. I wouldt have to live with these new feelings for this man I would never have. I began to cry more thinking about how dreadful my remaining years here at Hogwarts would be if these feelings did not resolve themselves. I want to blame my after for this, if he didnt leave me so damaged maybe I wouldn't be craving the affection and appreciation from this older man. I wiped my tears as they fell remembering the way he smelt, his smile, his hair, his eyes. They were so dark and held great sadness. I could tell he's been through a lot, but he was good at hiding it. I wiped the tears that still flooded down and looked up to the sky. "What do I do? How do I deal with this?" I asked no one, not expecting a direct response, but some sign at least. "Please. I'm not cut out for this type of thing. Why him? Of all the people here why him? What do I do!" I said as I let my frustration take over and began to cry harder, thinking of this beautiful man that I'd never get to touch and have, that I was growing such strong feelings for.

#snape x reader #snape imagine #severusnape #professor snape #snape #severus snape #severusimagine #severus x reader #severus snape x reader #Snape slowburn #slytherin #hogwarts

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pickalilywrites · 3 years

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it’s my first fic since i started my job ❤ i hope you enjoy ^^

..........

You and Me at the End of the World

Falbi. SF8 AU.

11194 words.

Read on Ao3!

»»————- April 3, 2026 ————-««

Falco wakes, a sigh escaping his lips. He feels an incredible weariness in his bones as if he had run a marathon yesterday even though he hasn’t really had PE in a month. He hasn’t had PE since his teacher had run off just like everyone else did when they heard that an asteroid was hurtling towards the earth and set to destroy life as everyone knew it. Everyone Falco knew just up and left their jobs and homes to pursue their dreams: his classmates dropped out of school to become idols or viral TikTokers, the mailman stopped delivering mail to Falco’s house and decided to fly to every place in the world he had always wanted to visit, and even the principal of Falco’s school had resigned but not before advising all of the students to drop out of school because it was useless now that they were all about to die.

Many people had taken the principal’s advice, but not Falco. He still goes to school on the weekdays and spends the weekend completing homework assignments that will never be graded. A few students had visited the school even after the principal had closed the school down, but they had stopped coming after they saw how many of their peers had dropped out and saw how even the teachers didn’t bother coming back.

It doesn’t bother Falco that he goes to school every morning and studies in an empty classroom all day or that he has to fish out study plans from the notebooks his teachers left behind just to give himself something to do. His parents have asked him why he bothers going to school when all of his classmates have pretty much given up, but Falco really doesn’t have an answer. If he had to say anything, it’s probably that he doesn’t have anything in particular that he wants to do.

Falco acknowledges that he’s never been incredibly ambitious like some of his classmates have been. His talents are unspectacular. He knows that he’s neither athletic nor smart. He’s always been average. He never studied too hard because he knew he’d never get the highest score in the class and he never exerted himself too much in PE because there was always someone stronger or faster than him. It isn’t something that ever bothered him, and he’s grown to accept that part of himself.

He doesn’t have any special interests either. Sure, Falco enjoys playing video games and playing sports like any kid his age, but he can’t see himself wasting the rest of his days on them. Some of his classmates even asked him to join them. Falco has had multiple offers: join a band as a bassist even though he’s never touched a bass guitar in his life, become a part of a dance crew despite his coordination being awful at best, start a video channel pulling off different stunts and tricks to gain a little bit of spotlight before they all died, among others. He declined all of them in the end, preferring to be alone, and even now Falco doesn’t regret his decision. He’s content being a normal kid living out the rest of his tedious life as monotonously as he always did.

His parents live quite normally too except for the fact that they quit their jobs like everybody else did when news of the asteroid came out. Rather than return to their jobs every morning, his parents go out on long walks together, often visiting places from their younger days. They usually leave long before Falco wakes, but his mother is always sure to leave out a freshly made breakfast for Falco and his older brother Colt.

Colt hasn’t made any drastic changes to his lifestyle, not like some other people his age. He, too, dropped out of school like many of his peers and Falco’s classmates, but he usually spends his time visiting internet cafés or playing baseball with his friends. The elder brother once curiously asked Falco why he bothered going to school and the younger just simply shrugged. Colt never bothered to ask again, and Falco was fine with that.

Falco rolls out of bed and heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth as he normally does. His hair looks like a mess. Since news of the upcoming apocalypse, people either care excessively about their appearance or they don’t care about it at all. Considering his circumstances, Falco should probably fall in the latter category, but he fixes his bed head all the same, patting down the cowlicks and running a comb through his hair to get rid of all the tangles.

After washing his face and getting dressed in his school uniform, Falco wanders into the kitchen where his breakfast is waiting for him. On the stove sits a pan with fluffy scrambled eggs mixed with little bits of crispy, dark spinach leaves, and sweet gruyère. Falco twists the knob on the stove with a sharp click before popping bread into the toaster. As he waits for the eggs to warm up, he fixes himself a glass of orange juice.

Falco ends up splitting the eggs in half, leaving a portion for Colt whenever he decides to roll out of bed. He sits at the kitchen island by himself, munching on some generously buttered toast in between bites of egg. It’s a much fancier breakfast than his mother used to make. Scrambled eggs were usually plain except for a dash of salt and pepper, but his mother has become more experimental with her cooking now that the end of the world is evident. It’s a good change, Falco thinks as the blend of savory bacon and salted eggs melt onto his tongue. It probably would have been nice if his mother had decided to be more adventurous with her cooking beforehand, but it’s not as if having regrets about this can change the past so Falco just eats the rest of his breakfast before dumping his plate in the sink and calling out to his brother that he’ll be heading to school. He doesn’t even wait for a response from Colt before heading out the door.

Ever since news of the asteroid, Falco has begun seeing very interesting people on his way to school. Some of them are familiar to him. Others he’s never seen before in his life. They’re not all strange, of course. Sometimes there are just kids running up and down the road kicking a soccer ball or couples holding hands as they take a morning stroll. But there are more than a few eccentrics on Falco’s way to school.

Lately, there have been people claiming to be superheroes. They have superpowers, they insist. Some will rush up to strangers on the street and show off their powers, but Falco has never seen any proof of their alleged superhuman talents.

Some people post videos online demonstrating their special gifts. Falco has seen a handful of them, mostly because his friend Zofia keeps sending them to him every few days when she finds them particularly funny. He finds them mildly intriguing, although he’s fairly certain that most (if not all) of the videos are either staged or edited to look real. He’s never been fully convinced by any of them.

On this particular walk to school, Falco passes by a person who claims to be able to create seismic shifts and another person who she can talk to animals. Neither person is particularly believable. Falco only gives a passing glance when the first person begins to demonstrate their powers by spinning in a circle and letting out a low groan that begins to grow into a loud shriek. The earth, Falco notices, does not shake. He’s even less interested when the animal girl starts shouting post-apocalyptic prophecies about how giant bugs will inherit the earth once the dust has settled on the earth after the asteroid impact.

Falco reaches the school gate and pulls it open himself because there isn’t a teacher there to welcome him like there used to be. He leaves it open to save trouble for anyone who ends up coming after him, although he highly doubts anyone will be joining him. He walks across the courtyard where some of his former schoolmates play soccer, looking at them briefly but not bothering to bid them good morning. When he gets to the building, he pulls open the door and steps inside. The sound of his shoes against the speckled tile echo across the empty hallways as he makes his way to his classroom.

As usual, it’s empty. Falco could probably sit anywhere he wants, but he ends up at his old desk, the second seat in the third row from the right. He sits down with a thud and lets his backpack fall off his shoulder. He pulls out his notebook and looks at today’s lesson that he copied from his homeroom teacher’s planner earlier last month: geometry, English, social studies, art, and science.

Falco dutifully completes his assignments for the day. He even double-checks his answers once he’s done. Maybe he’ll look over the answer key after school if he feels like it. He spends his break staring at the window at the kids playing ball in the field or playing pranks on each other in the quad. He doesn’t make any attempt to join them.

At 2:15, Falco packs his things. He puts away his pens and pencils neatly in his case, zips up his backpack, and slings his bag over his shoulder. As he walks to the door of the classroom, he thinks he imagines footsteps running down the hall. It makes him wonder if the impending apocalypse is making him go mad because he can’t imagine why anyone would be here when the world is going to end in a week. When he pulls open the door, he sees his friend Zofia about to reach for the door.

“Oh, good,” Zofia pants. She bends over, hands on her knees as she tries to catch her breath. Ashy blonde locks are falling out of her ponytail. “I was afraid I missed you. You weren’t replying to any of my texts.”

“We’re not allowed to use our phones in school,” Falco says as he looks down at her.

Zofia looks up, an expression of mild disbelief on her face. “Geez, I can’t believe you’re still doing this.” She straightens up and sighs. “Our teachers probably appreciated what a goody-two-shoes you were back when they actually cared about their jobs, but I assure you that they don’t care at all now that the world is about to end.”

Falco rolls his eyes and walks past Zofia. He can hear her following him from the extra footsteps that accompany his. “What do you need? I thought you were busy trying to pet ‘every dog in the world’ or whatever before the asteroid strikes.”

Zofia’s arm links with Falco’s and she flashes a cheesy smile at him. “I realized it was impossible so I settled for petting ‘as many dogs as possible.’ I’m pretty satisfied with my work, so I’ve decided on pursuing something else.” She doesn’t immediately follow up with what it is she’s working on, and Falco knows she’s absolutely itching for him to ask.

“... What is it?” Falco asks.

“I’m glad you asked!” Zofia says, tugging him closer to her. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and flips through it for a bit before finding what she wants to show Falco. On her screen is a long post on one of the message boards their classmates post on. “There’s this girl. She’s totally crazy.”

A glance at the phone screen confirms Zofia’s words. It’s a post that looks like it’s been circulating through message boards of different middle schools in their area. The original poster is someone named Gabi Braun, aged 14, and she attends Liberio Middle School across the city. Her post is a call for all people with superpowers to contact her so that they can save the world together.

Falco looks at Zofia and wrinkles his nose. “And you’re showing me this because …?”

“Because she’s absolutely crazy, but she’s interesting,” Zofia replies as she pockets her phone. She smiles at Falco. “Let’s go visit her.”

“What? No!” Falco says. He yanks his arm away from Zofia. “You said she was nuts! Why would we look for her?”

“Because the world is ending in a few days, so we might as well do something stupid,” Zofia replies. She links her arm around Falco’s again and pouts, batting her eyelashes up at him. “Come on, aren’t you the least bit curious? There’s a girl our age who thinks she can save the world if she gathers enough nutjobs who think they have superpowers.”

Falco isn’t curious at all. “I have homework,” he says to Zofia, which he knows is the wrong answer. Although Zofia hasn’t tried to convince Falco to stop going to school like the rest of their peers, she has been pretty vocal about how stupid she thinks Falco is for living the end of his life so mundanely.

“You also have a friend,” Zofia says. She begins to tug at him after every other word, trying to get him to follow her. “A friend you care about deeply and don’t want to see hurt if she ends up walking into some creep’s trap.”

“Then why are you going at all if you know it might be dangerous?” Falco mutters, but he knows Zofia’s right. His normal school life consists of him going straight home after classes and doing his homework, but it occasionally includes him reluctantly following Zofia sometimes to make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble. He’s not too surprised when he ends up walking with Zofia to the meeting place the poster mentioned in their message.

Normally, Falco and Zofia would have taken the bus into the city, but it’s difficult to flag down a bus. The schedules are erratic at best and oftentimes buses don’t show up on schedule at all. It is the end of the world, after all.

It’s a curious thing, seeing the city at the end of the world. It’s a little bit like how the movies portray it, but not at all like the movies at the same time. Cars fill the street while drivers honk their horns and shout at each other to hurry up because they don’t want to spend their last days on earth stuck in traffic. The doors and windows of so many shops and buildings are smashed in and their contents gone. If people aren’t running around and screaming at each other on the street, they’re walking around like it’s a normal day save for the fact that they’re all looking for the next thing they want to do before they die.

“I’d suggest going to the mall downtown or something later, but it’s probably ransacked like everywhere else,” Zofia says with a wistful sigh.

“We could have just gone to the arcade in our town,” Falco mutters. The internet café and the arcade in their town is a mess because none of the gamers there bother to clean up their trash anymore, but at least there are still computers there and nobody has hauled off the arcade machines.

The two wander about the city and linger near the subway station entrance the message board poster had mentioned. There are people going up and down the stairs to the subways and some kids skating around and doing tricks on their skateboards. Adults pass by hurriedly with their phone stuck to one ear, rushing to make plans with someone on the other end because they have limited time left. It feels like Zofia and Falco are just standing frozen in time while the world rushes around them.

“Who do you think it is?” Zofia whispers in Falco’s ear.

Falco scans the scene, his eyes quickly flitting over anyone that didn’t look like a middle schooler. He doesn’t think it would be any of the skateboarders, so he glances over them too. Whoever this Gabi Braun is, she doesn’t have any interest in anything aside from saving the world with her impossible idea. She must be looking for people just like he and Zofia are looking for her.

Finally, his eyes land on a girl their age with a stern expression on her face. Her dark eyebrows are knitted together and she turns her head from side to side every few seconds as she scans the subway station, her brown hair whipping from side to side. She leans against the railing near the subway entrance, her arms folded across her chest. Somehow, she looks familiar, but Falco doesn’t know why.

“Her,” Falco says. He raises his hand and points to her only to realize it’s rude and quickly lets his hand fall to his side. He’s about to jerk his head over in the girl’s direction, but Zofia has already seen who he was pointing to and starts dragging him over.

“Excuse me,” Zofia says, catching the girl’s attention. The girl’s gaze is intense, her brown eyes scrutinizing the two of them, but Zofia doesn’t shrink away from the girl like Falco does. Instead, Zofia holds out a hand cordially and gives the girl a friendly smile. “You’re Gabi Braun, right? I’m Zofia, and this is my friend Falco. We saw your message reposted on our school forum and wanted to help you.”

The girl looks at them suspiciously but takes Zofia’s hand, shaking it reluctantly. “You really want to help?” Her eyes flit towards Falco, who looks down immediately. “Why do you want to help me?”

“Hmm,” Zofia hums and tilts her head to the side. “Because the end of the world isn’t something I’m particularly looking forward to.” She looks over at Falco and, with a grin, elbows him playfully in the ribs. “And this guy doesn’t have anything better to do, so I had him come along.”

“What were you doing before?” Gabi asks curiously.

Falco purses his lips. It’s not that he’s ashamed about how he’s spending his last days. Living plainly is a far better choice than some people have made. Apparently, some people decided that murder was something they needed to check off their bucket list. If you ask Falco, he thinks being a normal student is far better than being a last-minute murderer. Still, it’s not something he wants to say out loud to a stranger.

He kicks at the sidewalk and mumbles, “Just … homework and stuff.”

To his surprise, Gabi doesn’t ridicule him or ask why. She simply nods as if this is a perfectly normal way for someone to spend their last days. She doesn’t ask them any more questions, somehow satisfied with Falco’s answer. She’s already digging around in her back for something and pulls a laptop out of her bag.

“I’m still waiting for people to show up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if nobody ends up showing,” Gabi says, gesturing for the two of them to sit beside her. Her tone doesn’t sound disappointed at all. In fact, she sounds rather like she expected this to happen.

Zofia sits on one side of Gabi, peering curiously over the brunette’s shoulder as she types away. Falco wants to sit beside Zofia. It would be more comfortable than sitting next to a stranger, but he would have difficulty seeing the screen. Reluctantly, he takes a seat next to Gabi.

“I’ve been looking at videos,” Gabi tells them. “People have been submitting them after seeing my message on the school forums.”

“Is there anyone particularly interesting to you?” Zofia asks.

“Not really,” Gabi says. She opens up a folder on her screen and a video file pops up. She presses Play. “Technology lets you edit anything into videos now. Some of these powers look super fake, but I still have to take a chance in case they do have powers and are interested in saving the world, right?”

The three watch the video play out. There’s a man on the screen claiming to have pyrokinesis. He’s wide-eyed and staring at the camera, holding out his hands with his palms to the ceiling. His explanation of his powers is similar to everyone else who has posted these kinds of videos on social media: he was just born with them and never bothered to reveal them until now for fear of being ostracized.

The flame doesn’t ignite right away. It’s a flicker — a spark, really — that grows into the smallest flame. The fire is hardly the size of the man’s fingertip, but he looks delighted just the same. The three children watching are not as thrilled.

“You really think this guy can save the world?” Zofia asks, raising her eyebrow.

“I don’t think this guy can save anyone,” Gabi replies. She’s so brutally honest that it would be funny if they weren’t discussing the fate of the world. “But I’m taking whatever help I can get at this point.”

They spend the rest of that afternoon looking through applications. Most of them are just internet trolls and Gabi has to roll her eyes more than once before closing out the applicant’s video. There are a few promising candidates Gabi moves to a separate folder but only when Falco and Zofia also agree that the person might be worth looking into. They go through written applications too, often filtering out any CVs that aren’t descriptive enough and sometimes those that are too descriptive and more fitted to some sci-fi character description than an actual person. Gabi calls a few numbers from the short list of people that the three all agreed on, but nobody ever picks up. Nobody shows up either. Still, Gabi doesn’t seem to be discouraged.

“Why are you doing this?” Falco asks at one point while they’re watching a video of a man who claims he can read people’s thoughts.

“Hm?” Gabi says, looking away from the video.

“Just … this whole thing,” Falco says and vaguely waves at the screen. “You know it too. This might not work, so why even bother trying to save the world?”

Gabi frowns and her eyebrows knit together like she doesn’t quite understand Falco’s question. “Well, what else would I be doing?”

Falco doesn’t respond because, well, he doesn’t have an answer. It’s not like he knows what to do with the rest of his life either. If Zofia hadn’t convinced him to come here, he’d just be at home with his head stuck in a textbook. Even if it’s useless, whatever Gabi is doing is far more interesting.

»»————- April 4, 2026 ————-««

Falco’s parents drop him off at the edge of the city. His mother had wanted to drop him off closer to his destination point, but Falco assured her that it wasn’t necessary. Besides, there were a lot of weirdos in the city, he reasoned, especially now that the apocalypse was coming. She reluctantly allowed him to be dropped off at the edge of the city, but not before giving him a can of pepper spray and a baseball bat in case he ran into anybody cruel enough to mug a middle schooler.

He doesn’t have any trouble meeting Gabi at the library they agreed to meet at. Zofia isn’t there with him after deciding this morning that saving the world wasn’t what she wanted to spend her last moments doing. She did, however, request that Falco send Gabi her best wishes, which Falco promised to pass along.

The two of them sit on the tenth floor of the library at a table by the window. The library isn’t exactly empty, but it’s not exactly filled up either. There are a few other visitors in the library with them. Some are seated at tables or couches, but others choose to sit between bookshelves, folding up their legs so that people can walk around if they need to get through. Hardly anyone pays attention to Falco and Gabi. They’re too busy flipping furiously through their books, eyes scanning the pages in seconds, as they try to finish their reading list before the world ends.

While Gabi watches more videos of superpowered applicants while Falco gathers books on powers that interest them: pyrokinesis, psychokinesis, time travel, to name a few. As he gathers research articles, he also stumbles across the section of the library dedicated to outer space and celestial bodies and decides to grab a few books on asteroids and meteors as well. There’s a slim chance that they might help, but Falco might as well try.

Gabi doesn’t talk much to Falco, too engrossed in her research to hold a conversation with him. He doesn’t talk much to her either. He does, on occasion, glance up at her to observe her progress, but she always seems to be staring at the screen with the same dissatisfied frown on her face. Every once in a while Gabi will lean over and ask Falco about whether or not a certain candidate looks promising, but his answer is almost always no and she goes back to staring at her screen.

At noon, the two take their lunch break. Gabi hadn’t brought anything. She tells Falco she was planning on just grabbing something from the snack machine near the elevators. The library remains one of the few places that was relatively untouched by thieves and vandals because not many people think “let’s rob the library” when they hear that the world is ending. Because Falco’s mother has a tendency to overpack his lunches, Falco decides to split his meal with Gabi. He figures that a sandwich is far better than whatever half-filled bag of chips Gabi would end up grabbing from the vending machine.

Falco munches on his katsu sandwich. It’s a favorite of his: two slices of pillowy milk bread with a thick cut of juicy pork cutlet covered in crispy bread crumbs wedged in between. A little butter and mustard give the sandwich a little bitterness that makes the tip of his tongue tingle and savory tonkatsu sauce drizzled over the thinly sliced cabbage underneath the katsu complete the simple but scrumptious sandwich.

He looks over to see if Gabi is enjoying her food as much as he is, but she’s scarfing it down so quickly that he isn’t sure she’s even taking the time to taste it. In between bites, she’s scrolling through her laptop with greasy fingers, frowning. A glance at the notebook beside her tells Falco that Gabi hasn’t found many promising candidates.

“Do you really think this is going to work?” Falco asks. He’s halfway done with his lunch but Gabi is a bite away from finishing hers.

Gabi shrugs. She doesn’t look up as she answers. “I don’t know. It’s worth a shot, right?” She scrolls a bit more before she pauses, her fingers hovering above the touchpad. Her eyes flicker over to Falco so suddenly that he nearly drops his sandwich. Gabi narrows her eyes at him suspiciously, her attention entirely on the boy. Her gaze is intense and she scoots to the edge of her seat, leaning in towards Falco. “You’re awfully skeptical about this plan for someone who’s trying to save the world.”

Falco gulps, trying not to shy away from her intense gaze. If he were a turtle, he’d be curled back in his shell right now. “I just want to make sure we’re not wasting our time,” he mumbles.

“Falco, do you not believe that people can have superpowers?” Gabi asks.

Falco is about to shake his head and say that that’s not the case but before he can Gabi settles back into her seat, arms folded across her chest, and announces, “I have a superpower.” She says it quite loudly, loudly enough for her voice to be heard across the entire floor, but people are too preoccupied with their reading to pay much attention to her although a few readers do shoot her a dirty look for being so loud.

Falco is not quite sure what he expected Gabi to say, but it wasn’t that. He sits there awkwardly, sandwich still half-finished in his hands. After a moment, he asks, “Er, what is it?”

Gabi pops the last bit of her sandwich in her mouth and wipes her fingers on her jeans. After she chews and swallows, she leans towards Falco once more and gives him an impish grin. “I can read people’s minds. Telepathy,” she tells him. She doesn’t wait for him to ask for a demonstration.

Gabi puts one hand on Falco’s chest and stares deeply into his eyes. Falco’s heart is beating wildly in his chest. If by some miracle Gabi doesn’t hear it, Falco’s certain that she’ll be able to feel it underneath her fingertips. She doesn’t say anything about it, though, just continues to stare at him with those intense brown eyes of hers as she reads every single thought racing through his mind right now, like how he’s never been quite this close to anyone, how he’s never had his heart beat quite this fast, or how he thinks he might just die right here right now before the asteroid even hits.

Suddenly, Gabi’s face breaks into a smile and she pulls her hand away, Falco’s chest feeling achingly empty now. Gabi is laughing now, but Falco doesn’t have any idea why.

“God, I didn’t think you’d believe me,” she laughs. She’s laughing so hard that it’s difficult to make out what she’s saying. “I didn’t think you’d believe me, but you really did. You’re really gullible, aren’t you?”

Falco blinks, confused for a minute as he tries to process what just happened. “You … can’t read minds?” he says a beat too late.

“No, god, but you thought I did,” Gabi laughs.

“Then what’s your power?”

Gabi’s still giggling as she answers. “Something else. It’s not important. I’ll tell you if it ends up being useful.”

She’s laughing. She’s still laughing. It’s a laugh that comes from her stomach and has her clutching her sides. People are glaring because it’s disrupting the peace, and Falco feels like he should tell her to stop but he finds that he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t even mind that she’s laughing at him. He just likes the sound of it.

»»————- April 5, 2026 ————-««

They sit with a pack of chocolate-covered biscuits shaped like little bamboo shoots between them. While Falco eats them one at a time, usually popping one in his mouth after he’s read a few pages of whatever book he’s reading, Gabi shovels them into her mouth by the handful without even looking. They’ve gone through their fifth pack of the little chocolate biscuits and it’s not even noon yet.

“Do you think you can do it?” Falco asks at some point.

“Save the world?” Gabi asks. She sucks her thumb, trying to get the chocolate off. Falco nods and Gabi says, “Well, who else if not me?”

“Literally anyone else,” Falco replies because, well, they’re only kids.

“Right, and just die young, dumb, and stupid like every other kid our age,” Gabi says with a roll of her eyes. “No thanks. I’d rather have died trying to do something. Besides, it’s not as if the adults are having that much luck either.”

Gabi slides her laptop over so that Falco can see the screen. On it, a video plays of a rocket shooting into space. The caption on the bottom reads “NASA Space Missile Failure.” Falco vaguely recalls hearing about the missile launch earlier this morning. The scientists were excited about it, hoping that the missile would collide with the oncoming asteroid and shatter it into smaller pieces that would burn up in the atmosphere, but it seems like they had been excited for nothing. Apparently, they had miscalculated the trajectory of the missile and it would miss the asteroid completely.

“That sucks,” Falco says finally. He’s not exactly sure how he feels about the news. He should probably feel disappointed, but he feels the same way he did a month ago when he heard the world was ending: perfectly indifferent.

Gabi shrugs. “Armin said it wouldn’t work. He said their calculations were off,” she says. She glances at Falco and adds, “Armin’s a genius. He’s my mentor’s husband.”

“A genius? Is that his superpower?” Falco asks. If Gabi knows someone who’s a literal genius, he doesn’t see why they’re doing all this work. Shouldn’t this genius, whoever he is, have all the answers?

Gabi thinks for a minute, her lips pressed into a thin line. “I’m not sure. My mentor just says Armin’s a genius, but he’s way too humble to admit it,” Gabi finally answers. She frowns, leaning forward with her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. “He can’t help us though. He’s busy tending to his fish.”

Falco isn’t certain he’s heard her right. “His fish?” he repeats.

“Yeah. He’s a marine biologist. He likes to have some fish at home,” Gabi explains like it’s the most normal thing in the world to take care of your fish when the world is about to end. “He says it calms him down to see them swim around.”

Falco is still trying to wrap his head around all of this — Gabi and her willingness to save the world, the genius she just spoke of who just wants to take care of his fish, and the asteroid hurtling towards the earth. He doesn’t understand any of it. “So it’s okay for you, a kid, to try and save the world while a literal genius is taking care of fish at his house instead of trying to prevent the apocalypse?”

Gabi blinks. “Yes,” she replies as if there could be no other answer. “Because it’s what I want to do. And it’s what he wants to do. Why should we be doing anything different?”

“But shouldn’t you be doing, I don’t know, kid things?” Falco asks. He’s starting to feel a little frustrated talking to her. This isn’t what she should be doing at all. This isn’t what they should be doing. They should be enjoying the last few days they have together. They should be playing games at the arcade, or wandering around the empty mall, or eating snacks at the park, not … whatever this is.

“Maybe. Probably. But I don’t want to,” Gabi says. She turns the laptop back and starts typing away. “I don’t like the idea of doing something just because the world is ending. I’ve always done what I wanted, so I don’t have any regrets. This is the only thing I want to do now.”

It’s more than Falco can say. Like Gabi, he doesn’t have anything he wants to do, but then he’s never really ever wanted to do anything. All his life he’s been floating from place to place and participating in whatever was expected of kids his age: attending school, joining a sports team, learning an instrument. He didn’t care about any of it. He doesn’t have any regrets about it, but he does feel a sudden wave of admiration for Gabi. She’s saving the world now because she feels like it, but she could just as easily leave this task for another if something else strikes her fancy. Falco wants to know what it feels like to pursue something so impulsively.

He wants to want things. He wants to be with Gabi. He wants to help her save the world.

“Is there something you want to do before the world ends?” Gabi asks. She’s just asking to be polite. Her eyes are already glued to the screen of her laptop, her face turned away from him. “You don’t seem to be as into the whole ‘save the world’ thing as I am.”

Falco shrugs even though she’s not watching. “I don’t mind it.” Falco could leave it at that. He doesn’t have to say anything else, but he does. “There isn’t really else I want to do anyway,” he tells her, but it’s a lie.

He wants to hold her hand.

»»————- April 6, 2026 ————-««

Falco has never looked forward to anything as much as the researching sessions he has with Gabi. He’s never really looked forward to anything before, actually, and he’s not sure why being surrounded by books and looking at (mostly) fake superhero videos with Gabi appeals to him so much.

He likes a lot of things about the way Gabi works. She’s quiet and focused, eyebrows knitted as she decides whether or not to call another applicant that probably won’t pick up. She never gets discouraged even though things don’t look promising. They’ve probably called dozens of people and only a third have actually responded. Most of them turned out to be trolls, which isn’t surprising considering they were taking submissions from strangers on the internet, but Gabi still carries on. Maybe it’s Gabi’s passion and stubbornness that has drawn Falco to her, but it feels like it’s more than that too.

He feels, in a way, like Gabi completes him. Before he met her, he was wandering aimlessly. Now he doesn’t know what he’d do without her. Staying at home and studying seems unbearable when the option of being with Gabi exists.

Falco isn’t sure how Gabi feels about him. He doesn’t even know if she has any feelings towards him — if she likes him, hates him, or just feels completely indifferent. At any rate, she doesn’t seem to mind spending her last few days on earth with him, and that makes him feel a little better about the world ending. Occasionally, he thinks about how Gabi probably wouldn’t notice if he stopped coming to help her. Well, she might notice, but Falco doesn’t think Gabi would change her routine. She’d just continue saving the world with or without his help.

“Don’t you think it’s weird?” Falco asks at one point. Gabi looks at him with a raised eyebrow and he elaborates “We hardly know each other and we’re just here … saving the world together.”

Gabi frowns, a thoughtful look on her face. “I don’t think it’s weird,” she says to Falco, and he feels his heart flutter in his chest. “A lot of weird stuff has happened because it’s the end of the world and we just happened to meet each other. If a total weirdo had showed up instead of you, then maybe I would be saving the world with them and we never would have met.” She doesn’t seem to mind the thought of working with a total weirdo in place of Falco.

Falco slumps in his seat, deflated, but Gabi doesn’t seem to notice.

“I’m glad it was you though,” Gabi continues.

Falco lifts his head. “Really?” He scoots closer in his seat, curious. “Why?”

Gabi twirls her pen between her fingers, looking upward as she thinks. After a moment, she shrugs. “I don’t know,” she answers. “It just feels better knowing I’m working with someone. It’s better than working alone, I guess. I might feel the same way even if it were someone else, but I also might not. Still, I’m glad it’s you.”

It doesn’t really mean anything. Like she said, it could have been some other kid who ended up answering Gabi’s post and helping her with her impossible quest to save the world. It could have been some other person sitting with her and looking up useless articles on asteroids and meteorites. It could have been someone else having this conversation with her. But, Falco reminds himself, it wasn’t. It’s him sitting beside her, eating snacks and discussing the end of the world. It probably isn’t fate that they met, but it kind of feels like it is.

»»————- April 7, 2026 ————-««

Tired of the same snacks from his pantry, Falco decides to try the café on the first-floor of the library for some new things to eat. He had asked Gabi what she wanted and she told him to just get her anything.

The first floor café is relatively well-stocked for the end of the world, but maybe it’s because bookworms prefer literature to satiate their appetites rather than food.

The display case, usually filled with dessert sandwiches with slices of strawberries and kiwi and slathered with whipped cream, is cleaned out, but the shelves behind the cash register are still stocked with different kinds of chips and candies. Falco scans the shelves, looking for his favorites: baked potato chips covered in rich butter, little rice crackers flavored with soy sauce and red pepper flakes, and chocolate cookies in the shape of tiny hamburgers.

Falco stares, for the longest time, at the other snacks and wonders what Gabi would like, if she has a preference for anything. Maybe he should have paid more attention when they were eating together to see if she ever seemed to gravitate to certain foods he brought or commented on any of the snacks they ate together, but he can’t recall anything. He feels stupid for not noticing, but he also doesn’t want to keep Gabi waiting and ends up grabbing whatever grabs his attention.

He arrives at their designated research table, huffing from the flights of stairs he had to climb. Falco deposits the snacks rather ungracefully in front of Gabi, letting them fall out of his hands and onto the table. Gabi looks up from the noise, her eyebrows raised, but she smiles when she sees that it’s him and Falco’s heart flutters almost painfully in his chest.

“These are yours,” Falco says, shoving Gabi’s share of the snacks towards her.

“Thanks.” Gabi picks up a snack with a gray cartoon cat on the wrapper. It’s a puffed corn stick. Pizza-flavored, the wrapper says. She opens it with a grin. “How did you know these were my favorite?” she asks.

“I … I don’t know,” Falco says. “Must have been a lucky guess.”

But it doesn’t feel like it.

It feels like he knew, from the beginning, what she had wanted. It’s like he had let his instincts take over when he had randomly chosen snacks for Gabi and somehow selected her favorite ones. It was as easy as picking food for someone he had known for his whole life, which is impossible because he hadn’t even known Gabi a week ago. Maybe, then, he had known Gabi in a past life and that’s how he happened to pick her favorites. Or maybe they really are fated to be together and knowing things like her favorite food are just second nature to him. The latter two explanations are almost impossible and yet so much more likely than the first explanation. He doesn’t know how to explain it though, not without seeming crazy, so he doesn’t say anything.

»»————- April 8, 2026 ————-««

Tomorrow is the end of the world and they are no closer to saving everyone from the asteroid hurtling towards the earth than they were yesterday. In fact, they are no closer to saving the world than they were a week ago when this effort began or even a month ago when they had first found out the world was going to be destroyed. Their attempt to prevent the world’s end was futile and their effort today will probably be equally useless. Still, here they are on the tenth floor of the library doing the same thing they did yesterday.

The sun is about to set and it’s almost time for them to head home. Falco wonders if they’ll be here tomorrow spending their last moments at the library when the world ends or if Gabi will call it quits and suggest they spend their last day without each other. He’s too afraid to ask.

They pack up silently, Gabi slipping her notebooks and laptop into her bag as Falco arranges the books into neat stacks on the slim chance that they’ll return tomorrow. Falco notices that Gabi packs the same way she always does — quickly, dumping everything into her backpack as if she doesn’t care if they get damaged — and it stings a little bit that she doesn’t pack a little slower this time like he does just so that he can spend a few seconds more with her. Maybe he shouldn’t be so disappointed because it’s obvious she doesn’t care for him more than she would care for a coworker or a classmate she was randomly paired with to complete an assignment.

Falco is silently pining when Gabi speaks, startling him.

“So, the world ends tomorrow,” she says easily. It’s like she’s talking about the weather. “Are you satisfied with how you spent your last days? No regrets?”

They’re two questions that seem related, but Falco’s answers for them are very different.

He is satisfied with how he spent his last days. The past week perhaps isn’t as spectacular by other people’s standards. Falco didn’t go bungee jumping or skydiving or deepsea divings like some of his peers. Some people would argue that the way he spent his last few days was as boring as the way he spent the past month, although Falco would argue that it was infinitely better because he had Gabi. He’s convinced that however he chose to spend his last days, as long as they were with Gabi, he would be happy. He could even watch the grass grow with Gabi and he’d be completely content. So, yes, he’s completely satisfied with how he spent his last few days, but he has many regrets.

He regrets not meeting Gabi earlier. He regrets not being able to spend more than a week with her. He regrets not doing things with her that kids their age should be doing: playing soccer in the field, catching butterflies by the river and letting them go, and hanging out at the arcade and beating their high scores. But most of all, he regrets feeling this way about Gabi and not being able to tell her.

Falco doesn’t answer her question. Instead, he asks, “Do you?”

“No,” Gabi replies with a smile and it makes Falco feel a little better about the ache in his chest.

»»————- April 9, 2026 ————-««

Falco doesn’t expect Gabi to call him the next day. Before bidding each other goodbye yesterday, Gabi suggested they not see each other again.

“You should spend the day with your family or something,” Gabi said to him. “Your parents probably want to spend their last day with their kids. I’ll just do this by myself. And, you know, thanks for everything.”

He had wanted to tell her that it was fine if they spent their last day together. He spent his whole life with his parents. He should at least spend one more day with Gabi if this is his last one, but he bit his tongue and said goodbye to her with the fakest smile before turning on his heel and walking as quickly as he could to where his mom would pick him up.

Falco was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling when Gabi called and told him to meet him at the bottom of the hill near the outskirts of his town. She said her mentor was coming back today and that they could visit her to see if there was still a possibility of saving the world. Falco didn’t even question her or ask if they really have any hope after their days of research lead to nothing. He just leapt out of bed, told his parents he would be out and that he loved them, and biked up to the hills where Gabi asked to meet him.

When he gets there, Gabi is already waiting for him, bundled in a navy peacoat and a gray scarf tied loosely around her neck. Her face breaks out in a grin when she sees him and she waves a gloved hand to greet him.

“How did you get here so fast?” Falco huffs once he finally reaches her. The hill gets too steep for him to bike, so he gets off his bicycle and walks with Gabi beside him.

“My uncle Reiner drove me here,” Gabi replies, shoving her hands in her pockets. She rolls her eyes, but her mouth twitches with a smile. “He says he wanted to spend a little more time with his favorite niece before she becomes famous for saving the world.”

“You really think we’re gonna do it?” Falco asks.

Gabi shrugs. “I think if my mentor thinks so, we probably have a good chance.”

They arrive at the mentor’s house at the top of the hill. It’s small, more like a tiny cabin than an actual house. When Gabi knocks, they’re greeted by a blond man with big blue eyes. The man smiles when he sees Gabi, pushing his tortoiseshell glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Hello, Gabi. I guess Mikasa told you she’d be coming back today,” the man says. He looks over Falco. “Hello. You must be Gabi’s friend Falco. I’m Armin.” The man offers a hand for Falco to shake.

Falco nods, wondering why the man’s name sounds so familiar. It’s only when he’s shaken the man’s hand that he remembers Gabi had mentioned Armin a few days ago when they were researching in the library. He’s the genius that likes to spend his days taking care of fish.

Falco follows Gabi when the man invites them into the cabin. Falco’s a little taken aback at how simple the interior is. The living room is small and the kitchen is smaller with only the essentials. There isn’t even a microwave.

“Sit down,” Armin says, gesturing at the dining table in the middle of the room. He heads towards the kitchen cabinets where he takes out three mugs. “I’ll make tea for us while we wait for Mikasa.”

“Can we see your fish later, Armin?” Gabi asks. She’s already settled down in a chair, kicking her legs back and forth. It’s clear that she feels at home here. When she notices that Falco hasn’t taken a seat yet, she gestures for him to sit down at the seat closest to her. To Armin, she continues, “I was telling Falco about you and he was curious about what a genius would be up to at the end of the world if he wasn’t trying to prevent the apocalypse.”

Armin chuckles. “Do you like fish, Falco?” he asks. He smiles when Falco makes a surprised noise, an answer stuck in his throat. “Sure, we can take a look a little later.”

Over apple tarts and tea, Gabi and Armin fill Falco in on Mikasa. She’s Armin’s wife, Gabi’s mentor, and the key to saving the world. Mikasa has a superpower, Gabi explains, that allows her to identify other people with superpowers and what those powers are. She helps people utilize their powers, but she took off for a month when the end of the world was announced to gather people with powers that might prevent the asteroid from crashing into the earth.

“Did Mikasa tell you if she met any promising people?” Gabi asks. She’s licked her plate clean and cinnamon sticks to her lips.

Armin shakes his head, a resigned smile on his face. “Unfortunately, no. She said all the candidates she met didn’t have any sort of useful power, but who knows? Maybe she’ll meet someone on the way here that can stop the meteor.”

“Ah, it’s a meteor now?” Falco asks, sitting up in his seat.

“It’s been one for a while,” Armin says. He glances out the window for a second. It’s not blue like it was when Falco woke up this morning. It’s orange now., not like a sunrise but more like someone has set the sky on fire. “We should be able to see it soon. The estimated time of impact is soon if I recall correctly. Hopefully, we get to see Mikasa soon.” His eyebrows are knitted together in concern, but Gabi looks just as unbothered as ever.

“I’m sure she’ll be back soon,” Gabi says. She collects her empty plate as well as Falco and Armin’s before depositing them in the sink. It’s an awfully normal thing to do considering the fact that the dirty dishes won’t matter when the earth is destroyed. She lets them soak in the sink and then turns to Armin. “Can we go see your fish now? Falco hasn’t seen them yet.”

“Sure,” Armin says with a smile. He gets up from the table and gestures for Falco to follow him. “Let’s go see the fish.”

Armin leads the children to a side room. Inside is a large glass fish tank with so many plants, shells, and rocks that Falco doesn’t see the fish at first. He and Gabi crouch beside the tank, their faces not quite touching the glass. Falco can see neon fish the size of his pinky darting back and forth between plants. He spots a miniature catfish the size of his thumb hiding behind a rock while a school of ten or so black and white striped fish zips around the 50-gallon tank. There are many more fish that Falco spots, lots of which he doesn’t know the name of but Armin patiently points them all out and tells Falco both the scientific and the common names of each fish and their habits. It’s clear that he loves it, taking care of the fish and looking after them, and Falco thinks he understands a little bit why Armin has chosen to spend the rest of the world like this. Occasionally, Gabi pipes in with whatever she remembers about each fish, usually their behavioral patterns she’s noticed when she’s visited, and Armin always grins whenever she speaks.

The three don’t notice when Mikasa arrives. They’re too busy staring at the fish swimming back and forth in the tank without a care in the world. The fish can’t grasp the fact that the world is ending. After all, their world only consists of the four glass walls that encase them and anything outside doesn’t concern them. It’s only when the door to the room opens and Mikasa steps in that the three realize that she’s returned. The fish, however, just keep swimming.

“That’s a nice way to spend the end of the world,” Mikasa comments. She has a tired smile on her face. She wears a soft cream-colored turtleneck, a long black coat hanging over her arm. “I see Gabi has joined us. As has her friend.” The woman nods at Falco.

“H-hello,” Falco stammers. He’s not sure what he was expecting Mikasa to look like. Perhaps like a woman with all the answers, someone who looked like she had seen the world, but she doesn’t. She just looks like any other woman, maybe a little more tired than other women, but still just a normal person. She doesn’t look like she has an amazing superpower, but then again neither does Gabi nor any of the potential candidates that claimed to have powers. “I’m Falco.”

“Ah, yes,” Mikasa says with a nod. “Gabi mentioned you before. I’m Mikasa, her mentor.” She drapes her coat over a nearby chair and walks over to join the three of them beside the fish tank.

“Did you find anyone?” Gabi asks. She looks out towards the living room, craning her neck to see if Mikasa had brought someone they didn’t notice.

“No, nobody that could save the world, if that’s what you’re asking,” Mikasa sighs, shoulder slumped. “Although, I did run into a guy who was convinced that the only way to save the world was to destroy it. I got away from him as quickly as possible.”

“Probably a smart decision,” Armin says with a nod, and Mikasa smiles in reply.

“Well, shall we go watch the end of the world together?” Mikasa asks, putting an arm around Gabi. She looks around at the others. “I heard it was going to be quite spectacular. Like a meteor show in the middle of the day.” Her eyes settle on Falco and her smile begins to falter. Her brows knit together and she opens her mouth as if she’s about to say something.

Armin notices the change in her demeanor and looks back and forth between Falco and Mikasa. “What’s wrong? Are you …?” It seems like something clicks in his head and he quickly turns to Falco. With a hand on the boy’s shoulder, Armin asks quickly, “Falco, do you have a power you haven’t told us about?”

The question startles Falco and he jerks away from Armin’s hand in surprise. “I … I don’t know,” he says, stumbling over his words. He’s never felt like he had any kind of superpower. He’s never shown any sign of being special. He’s always just been … normal.

“You … do you not know?” Mikasa asks, her eyebrows raised. She looks at Gabi. “Falco can save the world.”

It’s too much for Falco to take in when the world is about to end so soon. He has too many questions like: What power is he supposed to have? How come he didn’t know about it before? Is there still time to save everyone or is it too late? He opens his mouth to ask, not knowing which one will come out of his mouth first, when he feels a comforting hand on his elbow. Falco looks over to see Gabi standing beside him, somehow calm despite this revelation.

“What’s his power, Mikasa?”

“He can travel back in time,” Mikasa says, still staring at Falco with her intense gaze. “Under the event of an unexpected death like, say, getting hit by an asteroid, he can go back in time and prevent it from happening. But only if he remembers that it will happen in the first place.” Her eyes flicker towards Gabi for some reason.

“What … what does that mean ‘only if I remember’?” Falco asks Gabi.

Gabi’s biting down on her lip, expression contemplative. Finally, she tells Falco, “My power is that I’m unforgettable. If you reset your time after the meteor hits, usually you won't remember what happened, but you will if I use my power. You’d be able to remember me and everything we’ve done together. If you go back in time, maybe you can find a way to save the world because you’ll know what to expect.”

“Then … then that’s good news!” He doesn’t know why everyone around him isn’t jumping up and down in excitement right now. They’ve found a way to save the world. If not this time, then the next time or the time after that. “Isn’t this good news?”

“I mean, it is,” Gabi says. She doesn’t sound as confident as she usually does. Instead, she’s hesitant, almost shy. Falco doesn’t think he’s ever seen Gabi shy before. She’s looking at the floor now, kicking at the hardwood floor with her sock-clad feet. “It’s just that … I have to make you fall in love with me to make you remember me.”

Falco’s mouth falls open and no words come out.

“It’s not like it’s hard,” Gabi says almost hurriedly, more because she’s embarrassed than in a rush to save the world. She’s shed off her embarrassment and assumed her usual confident demeanor. “I’m very lovable, you know. It’s just …” Her voice trails off again.

“She has to seal it with a kiss,” Mikasa finishes, and Falco can see why Gabi was so embarrassed. His cheeks redden just from the thought of kissing Gabi. Mikasa adds rather apologetically, “It’s just the way it works, her power. She needs to kiss you.”

“Only if you’re okay with it, of course,” Gabi adds. She’s still avoiding his gaze, her eyes on the floor. “I’m fine if you’d rather not. You might just be stuck in the loop all by yourself. It’d be a little less painful since you won’t remember each time but still -”

“I’m okay with it,” Falco says.

Gabi looks up, surprised. “You are?”

“Yeah,” Falco says. “I’m … I’m fine with it. Let’s save the world. Together. That’s what our entire plan was, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Gabi repeats and she smiles. It’s different from how she’s smiled at him before. It’s a little bit bashful, a little bit excited. It looks nice on her, Falco thinks, and he’s so distracted that he’s surprised when he realizes she’s holding his hand.

Mikasa tugs at the elbow of Armin’s cardigan and the blond man nods. Taking Mikasa’s hand, he turns to the kids and says, “We’ll be out there just to give you two some privacy. Hopefully, we’ll see each other again soon.”

The door shuts softly behind the two adults. Falco doesn’t know if they wait in the living room or if they’ve gone outside to admire the sky. From the window, Falco can see that the sky has changed from a burnt orange to an explosion of different colors: shades of violet, pink, blue, and yellow all together almost like a watercolor painting. There are streaks of white in the sky. It’s like a meteor shower in the middle of the day just as Mikasa had said.

When he turns to Gabi, she’s looking at him with her hand still holding his. She’s chewing on the inside of her cheek, but she smiles when she sees he’s looking at her.

“Are you still up for it?” Gabi asks.

“Y-yeah,” Falco says, his voice cracking. He feels his face flush, but he likes the sound of Gabi’s giggle even if he’s the one she’s laughing at. He licks his lips nervously and leans in just the tiniest bit. “Is … is it okay if I kiss you?”

Gabi bites her lip and nods. She leans in too and Falco takes it as his cue to close his eyes and close the gap.

He doesn’t know what to expect from this kiss. Maybe warm lips pressing against his while his heart threatens to beat out of his chest. Maybe Gabi’s hands gripping his arms while his hands hover awkwardly around his waist. Maybe the world ending and, when his eyes open, Falco waking to thoughts of Gabi and how to find her next. But none of this happens. Instead, Gabi puts her hands on his shoulder and pushes him gently but firmly away.

“I can’t do it,” Gabi says.

“Wha-?”

“I can’t do it,” Gabi repeats with a shake of her head. She looks upset, but Falco doesn’t know why. He wonders what it is he did to offend her. Maybe she doesn’t want to kiss him. Maybe she finds him repulsive and doesn’t want to kiss him even if it means saving the world. Falco thinks this would be the case if Gabi didn’t look so apologetic. “I can’t kiss you. Not like this.”

“What do you mean?” Falco asks, panicked. He takes a glance at the window. Outside, the meteors in the sky look brighter. It’s like a million stars are falling to the earth. It’s only a matter of time before the world ends. He doesn’t know why Gabi is doing this.

“I don’t want to kiss you just to save the world and I don’t want you to kiss me for the same reason,” Gabi says, taking a step away from him. She shakes her head, tears pricking her eyes. “I want you to kiss me because you like me, not because you have some responsibility to save the earth so … so find me again and kiss me. Find me again and tell me you like me and kiss me hard. And then … and then we can save the world.”

But he wants to kiss her now. He wants to kiss her because he likes her. He wants to kiss her because the world is ending. He wants to kiss her even if the world isn’t ending. He wants to tell her that, but he doesn’t have the words.

Ever since Mikasa had revealed Falco’s power, everything has suddenly made sense to him. Falco understands now why his life felt so empty before he met Gabi and why he never felt the desire to do anything. He knows why he was so drawn to her when they first met that day in the city and why he felt like she completed him. It’s because they were meant to meet each other, meant to be together, meant to save the world.

Falco wants to kiss her so badly. He wants to hold Gabi’s face in his hands and put his lips on hers and kiss her until the world ends and when he wakes up again he’ll find her and kiss her again and again and again. He wants to tell her he likes her now and that he’ll like her again. He wants to tell her that he’d like her even if the world weren’t about to end, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t get to tell her anything.

A bright light flashes from the window. All Falco sees is Gabi and then white, and then nothing.

»»————- March 9, 2026 ————-««

Falco wakes up and rolls out of bed. He brushes his teeth in the bathroom and brushes out his hair before blearily heading down the stairs where his mom is making breakfast. His father hasn’t left for work yet, he notices, which is rather strange. His mother hasn’t finished making breakfast yet and his brother isn’t dressed for school. He stares at them, wondering why they’re acting so odd. It takes them a moment to realize he’s there.

“The world is ending next month,” his mother tells him. She points at the TV screen that Falco’s father is staring at. On it flashes a picture of an asteroid hurtling towards the earth. The little banner underneath the picture says it’s far too big to burn up in the atmosphere. Scientists have no hope of human survival.

“If I knew, I would have slept in,” Colt mumbles.

His family looks shocked by the news, but Falco doesn’t feel anything. He grabs a banana from the fruit bowl in the kitchen and starts to head out the door.

“Wait, where are you going?” Colt asks him.

Falco pauses by the door. “I don’t know,” he says after a moment. He’s not sure what to do now that the world is ending. There isn’t anything in particular that he wants to do. “I’ll go to school, I guess.”

He leaves after assuring his parents that it’s fine, that he really doesn’t mind going to school because he isn’t sure what else to do. He stops by his mailbox and looks up at the sky. It’s clear and blue, no asteroid in sight.

He takes a deep breath and then releases it. It sounds like a sigh.

#falbi #snk #sf8 au #falco grice #gabi braun

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official-weasley · 3 years

Text

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 7, Ch. 2

PART 7: THE YEAR OF HIDING AND PASSION Chapter 2 - Helping Hagrid

Warnings: SMUT in the broom closet!

Charlie

I think it was easy to say that between being in my last year at Hogwarts, going to Romania 2-3 times per week working with Dragons, and being in a relationship with the girl I liked since Third Year, this is the happiest year of my life. I imagined and daydreamed about how it would be if Nova returned my feelings but I didn't even dare to think it would be as good as we have it. She is so amazing and beautiful and I love her so much! We both marked the Summer at the Burrow a success even though Ginny and Bill know about us. I know Ginny is too excited for Nova to join the family to say anything and Bill was going to find out sooner or later anyway. I can't deny I'm glad he knows because I can go for him for advice now. He taught me the Protection spell and Merlin's beard is that being handy and I know if I didn't talk to him about our first time, I would be way more nervous than I was. It was so beautiful and Nova loved it. I wanted to do something romantic so she could feel as relaxed as she possibly could and to be honest I needed that too. I remember how careful I was with her as if she was the most fragile thing. I really wanted to do it as right for the first time as one can and I didn't want to hurt her but make her feel as comfortable as I could.

It was as beautiful as it was awkward which we expected and we weren't bothered by it. We did it two more times that night, fireflies around us, and we began to feel better about it. We were curious and we both felt something between us that we couldn't wait to explore. Nova was pretty shy when it came to sex at the beginning and I found it adorable. We talked about it one night, gazing at the stars and she said that it helps her gain confidence if we talk it through. So we like to discuss what each of us likes and how it feels and she's getting there and so am I. I fancied her for such a long time that I still stare at her sometimes and I can't believe how amazing she is and that I am lucky enough to call her mine. I am so in love with her that sometimes I can't believe I am capable of all these feelings. One of the last nights at the Burrow, Nova surprised me with a midnight picnic. She was very suspicious the whole day and there was something in the way she was looking at me that just turned me on so much. She started to take off my shirt and pushed me to the ground and I couldn't get over her confidence, it was so sexy. I didn't do much that night as she locked me to the ground by her being on top and to say that I didn't remember my name afterward, was an understatement. Charlie, who?

—

When our Seventh Year started, we knew we would have to make a plan because our friends still didn't know about us and we wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. The twins kept disappearing Merlin knows where and I knew that if I let them pass through my fingers they might just keep our secret if we tell them or they see us. Percy was so into his books that he probably wouldn't notice anyway so we really wanted to just be cautious around our friends. We usually sneaked into the Forest. We did try the Room of Requirement a few times but it became boring as we ran out of ideas how to change the room and there was something about doing it in the Forest, knowing it's a bit dangerous, that doing it in bed couldn't compare to the feelings in there.

A few months into the school year, Nova was a completely different person. She was still shy around me and I could feel how much she loved me but her confidence when it comes to sex grew from not looking me in the eyes during the act to rubbing my thigh and going a bit too close with her hand while biting her lip and winking at me during class. To be honest, I didn't know how we were going to pass this year. Almost everything we did, even a simple look, turned us on and it was all we could think about. We just couldn't help ourselves. It has been too many years of tension. Too many years of hidden feelings. Too many years of denying them for the sake of our friendship and now we can finally let go. We're at the age where we're supposed to be adults and act responsible but the energy and passion we feel when we're embraced, all hot and sweaty is the best piece of magic I have ever encountered. We finally understood Jae and Tulip that they couldn't take their hands off each other last year, we were acting the same now.

—

One morning I came down to the Great Hall and Nova was sitting with Tonks at the Ravenclaw Table. “Good morning.” I sang and looked around to see if there were any familiar faces before smooching my girlfriend. I still get goosebumps saying she's my girlfriend. I'm the luckiest fucking bloke on the planet! I was so happy that Tonks knew about us. She was so understanding and never asked questions and she even covered for us a couple of times when Penny almost busted us. Sometimes we were so caught in the moment that we forgot we were supposed to be sneaking around.

I didn't tell Jae yet even though I knew he wouldn't make a big deal out of it and wouldn't tell Tulip as I hid their relationship from Nova last year. Still, it never came up in the conversation so I decided to stay quiet. Nova thought Tulip knew about us as there were days when she came to her dorm pretty late but then she said that Tulip tried to persuade her to share her feelings with me and she knew she didn't have a clue. If she only knew about the feelings we shared.

Penny was Nova's biggest concern. I knew it was tearing her apart because she wanted to tell her best friend. I told her that she can if she wants to but she was still not ready and felt uncomfortable answering the questions she knew Penny was going to ask her.

“Wotcher, Charlie. How did you sleep?” Tonks yawned. She looked tired most of the days since the beginning of the school year. “Great.” I grinned and looked at Nova, who was looking at me, her eyes all dreamy. I felt my cheeks turn pink. “You okay, Tonks?” “Never better!” She leaned on Nova's shoulder and pretended to snore. Nova chuckled and my stomach turned. She still gave me butterflies.

“What are you two love birds doing today?” Tonks asked. It was so nice that we didn't have to hide from her. “Each other.” Nova said casually, winked at me, and almost made me spit out my orange juice. “That reminds me...” Tonks lifted her head. “Have you ever done it in a broom closet?” I liked how casual we were about sex. We both shook our heads but by Nova's look, I already knew she was up for it. “Second Floor to the left. Looks like an abandoned room.” Tonks began to explain. “Not that much space but it's nice and tight if you know what I mean.” I chuckled. Never saw her and Barnaby having the type of relationship that they had but I was happy it was working out for them. She was still telling Nova about it but I completely zoned out when Nova started brushing her leg against mine under the table. She was so sexy when she was turned on and the more details about the broom closet she got from Tonks the bigger her naughty grin got. A letter broke our eye contact and I wasn't even mad about it. It was beginning to get too hot for such a public place. It took a lot of power to look away from Nova and open the letter Pip brought me but someone had to be strong in this relationship, even though I knew we are going to be in that closet, our bodies pressed against one another and enjoying the moment in about 10 minutes.

“It's from Hagrid, Nova. He wants us to help him with something in the Forest.” I finally focused as I pulled my legs closer to my side so she couldn't reach me. I didn't want to but she was frying my brain. “Is that your new code for doing it in the woods?” Tonks winked at me. Nova chuckled. “No!” I smirked. “I'm serious.” I gave Nova the letter. “What'd you reckon it's about?” She asked, excited. I was the one that was going into the Forest with Hagrid a lot, while Nova usually had other things to do, and sometimes she was a bit jealous that she couldn't join us but this time Hagrid asked for both of us. “The last time he said something about some animal disappearances but he didn't want to give me any details.” I answered. “It looked like he was hiding something and couldn't trust me with it.” “Then it definitely has to do with that.” I nodded to her response.

Usually, when Hagrid did something that he wasn't supposed to tell me about, he always let something slip before realizing he is talking to a student and then I always received a letter a week later to help him with whatever he got in trouble with anyway. I like Hagrid a lot and I am very appreciative that he took the time to write me a recommendation letter for my job and I would help him with anything he needs to return the favor. Tonks now looked as if she was snoozing on Nova's shoulder and I was beginning to be a bit worried about her. “Tonks, how come you're so tired all the time?” I asked gently as I didn't know if she actually fell asleep. “Fucking Barnaby!” She lifted her head and buried her face in her hands. “Are we talking about the act or the person?” Nova laughed at my question. “Yes.” She looked at me and nodded. “I barely get any sleep, we have been at it all night for three days now.” She yawned again but by the look on her face, she didn't seem that bothered. “Why don't you guys take a break?” I smirked. “Can you take a break from YOUR girlfriend?” She winked at me. I looked at Nova who was biting her lip again. I could never take a break from her. “I get your point.” I laughed. “Wait, what do you mean your are you and Barnaby a couple?” I was so deep in my fantasy again that I needed a moment to figure out what Nova was asking her. “Might as well be.” Tonks shrugged her shoulders. “We didn't talk about it but neither of us is seeing anyone else and seeing you lot act the same with the exception of holding hands when no one's looking, what's really the difference?” She did make sense.

“Well, do you want to be in a relationship?” Nova asked her. “I dunno.” She answered honestly. “I thought I didn't want to be because I am not a lovey-dovey person like Penny and Tulip is too hardcore for me.” We all laughed. It was interesting how different all of our relationships were.

“But hearing you lot having so much sex and you call yourself a couple I am giving it a second thought.” It was true, Nova and I were quite active and I never imagined us to be when we started due to how shy we both were but we both enjoy it so much and it's so magical every time that I don't see the problem.

“Tonks, being in a relationship doesn't mean you can't have sex.” I chuckled. “Some are more gentle and romantic and others are more passionate.” I was lucky to have both with Nova. I enjoyed cuddling with her as much as I enjoyed being inside of her. Once per week, we had a date in the Room of Requirement and we always made it so romantic that it was almost cheesy. We usually ended up sitting in front of the fire, talking and cuddling.

“I see your point, Dragon boy.” She got up. “Where are you going?” Nova asked her. “First of all, the energy between you two,” she pointed her finger at both of us, “makes me not want to be a third wheel right now and second of all I need to get some sleep or that Slytherin will be the death of me.” She rolled her eyes but I knew she liked it. Nova chuckled and Tonks left the Hall. “So we go down to Hagrid's now or do we have some time?” Nova asked and I knew what was on her mind.

“Don't we have class?” I chuckled. She just shrugged her shoulders. What a loyal Ravenclaw she was. “He said in the afternoon so I think we have some time.” I winked at her and got up.

I know we have N.E.W.T.s this year and I would be more concerned about skipping class if I didn't already have a job secured. I was here so I wouldn't listen to my mum for the rest of my life how I didn't finish my education and that I could spend more time with Nova.

She snatched my hand and dragged me out of the Hall. I pressed her by the wall at the entrance. She looked at her watch. We were already breathing heavily. I couldn't wait for our bodies to become one. “We have half an hour until our Defense Against the Dark Arts, you reckon you can be so quick?” She leaned her head to me and bit my lip. “I'll do my best.” I whispered in her ear. “Do you want to give the broom closet a try?” Without answering she was already dragging me down the corridor. We reached the door Tonks described. We knocked just in case and tried the doorknob. It was locked. “Alohamora.” Nova whispered and the door creaked open. We looked around. It was small but it would do. It had shelves on every wall, dusty abandoned objects on them.

“So against which wall do you want to be pounded at?” I wrapped my hands around her from behind and bit the tip of her ear. “How about the middle one?” She turned around and pushed me into the shelf. She poked me in my chest and dragged her finger slowly across my body until she reached my pants.

That naughty smile was making my blood pump faster. She opened my pants, kneeled, and pulled them down. Her eyes glowed when she pulled down my boxers and started sucking. My eyes rolled back and my knees got weak. She was too good at doing that and her moaning in between didn't help my cause. I made her stop and helped her get up. I pressed her against the shelf on the right. “Mind pulling yourself up a bit, love.” I said between my heavy breaths. She looked up and grabbed two shelves above her head. It was my turn on the knees. My head disappeared under her skirt. I don't know how I feel about knowing the real reason why Tulip wears skirts so much but they were practical, I'll give her that.

I ran my finger across her underwear and she trembled. I knew I was torturing her at this point. I gently moved her panties away and when my tongue touched her she moaned. I loved making her feel good and feeling her twist from pleasure was a special kind of satisfaction and besides, I liked being between her legs. She suddenly pulled my hair and made me look up at her. “Fuck me.” She said between her breaths. We were far from 'making love' at this point even though we did have moments when we liked it nice and slow. This was not one of those times. I got to her eye level and she stuck her tongue down my throat. Did I mention how good of a kisser she was? I was keeping her steady by the waist with one hand and moved her underwear to the side so I could enter her. “Wait, my wand.” She breathed. I was halfway inside her. “That would be me, love.” I whispered and we both chuckled. “No silly! The Protection spell!” We used it every time even though I am not going to lie we almost forgot a few times. Usually, I was the one who remembered to cast the spell but thank Merlin Nova's brain was still functioning that she remembered this time because my mind was already gone. “Muffliato.” She whispered another spell. Tulip told her about this one when she told her stories about her and Jae. I don't know where she learned it from but it worked wonders. Nova wasn't exactly the quiet type when it came to sex and the spell came in very handy.

I entered her and she moaned. Our bodies moved together as one in a tight and sweaty embrace. If I wasn't the luckiest bloke in the entire school for having the most amazing girl return my feelings, then I don't know who was.

—

“Damn it, we're half an hour late.” Nova looked at her pocket watch as we were getting dressed. “You promised you would be quick.” She smirked at me. “A minute ago you didn't seem to mind me lasting so long.” I winked at her and she bestowed me with an amused look. I was pretty proud of myself for it and I knew she didn't want it to end by the sounds she was making. “Should we just go down to Hagrid's?” “You're serious about skipping class?” She said shocked. She was a Ravenclaw after all. “We can tell Rakepick Hagrid needed us. I am sure he is going to vouch for us.” I pulled my jumper over my head. “I guess.” She gave it a second thought. “If we show up to the lesson right now everyone will know we were doing it anyway.” She chuckled and pointed at her hair which was everywhere but in place. “I love you so much, Nova Blackwood.” I kissed her gently and could see her cheeks turn red saying those words. “I love you too, Charles Weasley.” She pulled me into a hug and I loved how we could switch from what we were just doing to being attentive and gentle with each other within seconds.

We carefully slipped out of the broom closet, happy nobody saw us and ran down to Hagrid's to see what he needs help with.

Nova

“Comin'!” We knocked on Hagrid's door and we could hear him stand up.

“Nova, Charlie! What are yeh doin' 'ere?” He opened the door, surprised.

“You wrote us a letter to see you.” Charlie said.

“In the afternoon.” Hagrid moved away from the door and invited us inside.

“It sounded urgent, so we came straight away.” His letter was pretty casual but we needed an excuse not to go to class.

“Yeh know meh too well. It is an emergency.” He sat down and sighed. “But yeh missin' yeh lessons!” He stood back up. I could tell he was nervous.

“You can write us a note.” Charlie said quickly. “Your thing is obviously more important.” Smooth, Weasley. Very smooth.

“Yeh right.” Hagrid sat back down. “I don't know wha' to do.” He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“Hagrid, what happened?” I sat down next to him and placed my hand on his back.

“It's Fang. We were in the Forest this mornin' and we got a bit lost, yeh see, and there was this sound and when I turned around 'e was gone.” Hagrid burst into tears.

“Hagrid, that IS an emergency!” Charlie stood up at once.

“I know!” He sobbed. “I didn' want to worry yeh in case yeh couldn' make it but I could use yeh 'elp searchin'. I dunno who else to ask.” He buried his head into my shoulder. I looked at Charlie, worry in his eyes.

“Take us to where you last saw him, Hagrid.” Charlie said with a determined voice. We helped Hagrid stand up and he took us outside.

I was really happy that we were the first people to come to mind to help him save Fang. But then again, we were probably the only ones mad enough to go so deep into the Forest. We have sneaked in more times than I would like to admit and I knew that Charlie has been at least twice as the number of times I was but by the look on his face, he hasn't been so deep either.

“Hagrid,” I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy, “are we still on the right path?”

“Just a bit further.” He was still sobbing but tried hard to focus.

We have been walking for what seemed like an hour more. Charlie and I exchanged looks here and there and I could see he would rather be yelled at by Rakepick for being late to class than be so deep in the Forest. He was about to open his mouth and say something when Hagrid stopped.

“'ere.” He said and burst into tears. I looked around, there was nothing that would indicate that something could've taken Fang. I gestured to Charlie to look around. I stepped to Hagrid and tried to calm him down as much as possible. I have no idea what creatures lurk so deep in the Forest and Hagrid didn't exactly try hard to be quiet.

“Nova, I think I found something.” Hagrid and I ran in the direction of Charlie's voice and stopped in front of a hole next to a tree.

“It looks like a tunnel.” I whispered and got closer to it.

“Hagrid, do you think Fang could fall inside?” Charlie asked him.

“I dunno. Perhaps.” Hagrid's voice became a bit more hopeful.

“Then we have to go in.” I sat down on the edge of the opening, ready to jump down.

“What are you doing?” Charlie grabbed my shoulder, preventing me to go.

“I'm going in, what does it look like?” I frowned.

“You're not going first!” He offered me a hand to pull me up.

“And why is that?” I slapped his hand away.

“We don't know what's in there.” He hissed at me.

“I don't see your point, Weasley.” I turned around and was ready to jump in.

“No!” Charlie grabbed me under the armpits and pulled me up.

“Merlin's beard, what is up with you!” I moved around so he would let me go.

“It can be dangerous. You're not going first!” He stepped in front of the hole, preventing me to get any closer. There was something in his eyes that I have never seen before. He seemed afraid. Not for himself but for me.

“Char...” I said softly. We have been together for almost half a year now and he showed me every day how much I mean to him but it just hit me that there wasn't a thing in the world he wouldn't do for me and it scared me.

I didn't want him to go first just so that I could stay safe. I didn't want him to risk his life for me, not now not ever. And I most definitely didn't want to see that look in his eyes ever again, the look that said that he was terrified of losing me.

“We are not doing this here.” I tried sounding harsh, even though I had to fight every muscle in my body to not pull him into a hug. Hagrid was still too busy crying to pay attention to our fight. I pushed him aside instead and jumped into the hole. I could hear him shouting my name when I hit the ground. It was pitch black and the smell was foul.

“Lumos.” I looked around. It looked like a passage.

“It's a tunnel!” I shouted up to the surface. A few seconds later, Charlie landed on his feet right next to me. I knew Hagrid would have to stay behind because he was too big to fit the hole.

“What was that?” He snapped at me. I haven't seen him this angry in a long time.

“Charlie, I know I'm your girlfriend, but you can't tell me what to do!” I barked at him.

“The hell I can't!” I gasped at his response.

“Excuse me?” I wanted to hex him on the spot.

“I just started my life with you, I am not losing you!” He shouted in my face.

“It's just a hole, Charles! Stop making such a big deal out of it!” I yelled back.

“And what if you got hurt?” Our noses were touching now.

“And what if I did?” I stood up on my toes.

“Nova,” his voice went from high to gentle, “I can't bear to lose you. You don't understand what being with you means to me.” He placed a hand on my cheek.

“I know, Char.” I covered his hand with mine and I lowered my voice too. “But you can't protect me from every little danger that comes my way.” I kissed him gently.

“How do you think I feel every week when you go to Romania and I know you might come back with a scar or two. I know how dangerous Dragons are and I am not shouting at you every time you go.” I support him 100% when it comes to his job even though I'm a nervous wreck every time he goes.

He already has a scar on his chest, his left leg, and a rather big one on his right shoulder. And every time he comes back and I see he's okay I feel relieved but I never tell him how worried I am because of the grin he has on his face when he tells me all about it. I know he doesn't worry about getting hurt and I know he's quite proud of his scars.

“We both knew what we were getting into when we started dating. You working with Dragons and you know my list of animals I want to study.” I continued after his silence. His lips curved. He knew there was nothing safe about the creatures I wanted to work with.

“I'm sorry. I got a bit carried away.” He pressed his lips to mine. It was one of those stronger kisses, the ones that made me tremble and reminded me how good we have it.

“A bit?” I poked him in his chest. He laughed.

He leaned in for another kiss when we heard a sound. Our eyes locked.

“Fang!” We exclaimed at the same time and without even thinking about it, started running through the passage. We started to speed up when we saw a dim light. The stench was getting worse and when we both stopped, we understood why the smell was so bad.

We reached a room, lit by candles. There were blood pools everywhere on the ground and a pile of bones in one corner. I heard Fang cry. Charlie and I both looked in the direction of the sound and saw him laying on the floor.

“He's hurt.” Charlie said as he kneeled next to him.

“Can you pick him up?” I took a step closer to them, my wand ready. “I don't want to be here when the thing that got Fang comes back.”

Charlie carefully picked him up. He was howling from pain but we knew that we had to take him out of there. We were almost at the entrance to the tunnel when I heard something behind us.

“Is that...” Charlie's voice shook. I narrowed my eyes to see better.

“Red...” I whispered.

“Cap!” Charlie finished my sentence. “Nova, RUN!” He started sprinting through the tunnel and I followed him.

I could hear the sounds the creature was making but I tried to forget about them. My heart was beating so fast. I knew what Red Cap's were and I knew that no matter what spell I would throw at it, it would probably dodge it. They were really dangerous and could only really be stopped with a Beautification potion. Something, we did not have.

We got to the spot where we dropped down into the hole and Charlie started shouting for Hagrid to help us. The Cap was still after us but I knew that if we hurried we could get out of here, safe and sound. Charlie gave Fang to Hagrid.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” I shouted to give Charlie a boost. He grabbed Hagrid's hand and pulled himself up. I heard the creature getting closer and just when Charlie grabbed my hand, I felt excruciating pain on my calf. I lifted my other leg to pull myself up to the best of my abilities while pressing my lips together not to scream from pain.

I looked back down and saw the creature crawling after me. “Reducto!” I knocked it to the ground and Charlie pulled me up.

“Nova! Are you alright?” Charlie put his hand on my shoulders and started observing me.

“My leg.” I mumbled and showed on my muscle.

“Hagrid, we have to go!” Charlie lifted me in his arms and him and Hagrid started running. I could hear Charlie saying something to Hagrid but I couldn't really pay attention. My vision got blurry and I could hear nothing but ringing in my ears.

—

I felt like opening my eyes but it seemed my eyelids were too heavy. I heard someone move closer to me and I winced.

“Nova.” I heard Charlie's gentle voice say my name and I felt his hand on mine. “Madam Pomfrey! She's awake!” I heard him say and I opened my eyes to the best of my ability.

Charlie was standing up, a chair behind him. He had dark circles under his eyes and a look of worry. Madam Pomfrey opened the curtain that was separating my bed from the rest of the Hospital Wing.

“Let me see you, dear.” She came closer and gave me a glass of yellowish liquid. “Drink it. It will make you feel better.” I took the glass and tried getting up. My whole body was in pain. Charlie put two pillows behind my back so I could properly sit.

“What in the bloody hell happened?” I whispered. I couldn't recall the event that brought me the pain I was feeling.

“You were poisoned, Miss Blackwood. Went straight into your blood.” Madam Pomfrey explained and disappeared behind the curtain again.

“She said that your wound is almost healed. You just have to get your strength back.” Charlie said softly and kissed my forehead.

“Red Cap!” Memories finally came back to me.

“He got your leg pretty messed up. Wasn't pretty to look at.” Charlie tried to smile even though I could see the concern painting his face.

“Is Fang okay?” I asked hastily.

“He's going to be fine.” Charlie smiled. He knew I cared more about animals than myself. “A few broken ribs, bit off tail, and a broken paw.”

“I got off easy then.” I chuckled but then winced as my whole body ached.

“You scared me so much, I didn't know what happened to you.” Charlie tried hard to keep a steady voice. “You just mumbled something about your leg and fainted.” He shook his head trying to get the memory out of his mind.

“Charlie, I'm alright.” I placed my hand on his cheek and his lips curved when I touched his skin. “It's just a scratch.”

“Don't get me mad, love.” He frowned but didn't say anything else. With the number of scars he already had from Romania, he knew he wasn't the one to talk. He then told me that he has been with me every day all day and that Penny brought him notes from classes so he could copy them.

All of our friends came to see me, including Fred, George, and Percy who accidentally mentioned in one of his letters to Molly that I was hurt and Charlie had to write her 3 letters to calm her down plus write to my mum because, of course, Molly wrote to her at once. Fred and George even smugged Pip in the Hospital Wing so he could see me and they got a week's worth of detention because Madam Pomfrey caught them.

After a week of me being awake, it was finally time for me to get released from the Hospital. I knew that the first thing I had to do was see Hagrid. Charlie told me he felt so bad seeing me unconscious that he couldn't even bring himself to come to see me again.

“All he does is just sob all day long no matter how much I tell him that you are okay.” Said Charlie as we were leaving the Wing.

“So basically, he's you.” I smirked at him.

“Not funny, Nova. You have no idea how worried I was for you.” His voice broke. I stopped him and pulled him into a hug.

“I'm fine.” I whispered.

“I know but if anything worse had happened...” His whole body shook.

“Char, look at me...” I cupped his face and it pained me when I saw he had tears in his eyes. “I just got hurt, I'm alright. Please stop worrying.” I pulled him back into a hug.

We walked down to Hagrid's in silence. He was holding my hand so tightly that I couldn't feel my fingers but I didn't care. I knew this was something he had to do to feel better and I didn't blame him. I wanted to tell him that what he was feeling while I was unconscious I was feeling every time he was in Romania, but I knew that if I did, he would never go again.

After an hour of Hagrid sobbing and me telling them both that I am fine and not as fragile as they think, they both relaxed and Hagrid finally forgave himself. We stayed for dinner at Hagrid's and I could see Charlie letting go of what happened and grasping the fact that I was completely healed. It was sweet that he was so concerned but at the same time, I couldn't help but worry about what will happen to us when our school year is over.

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twoidiotwriters1 · 4 years

Text

Never give up (Diego Hargreeves x Fem! Reader)

A/N: This is the second and final part of the previous one shot: Just One Chance , I hope you like it -Val

The requests are still open!

Words: 2,853

"How could you betray me? I thought we were best friends," says Allison from her phone. I roll my eyes.

"It's not treason, it's just a date" I say walking towards my closet. "It's not a big deal, Al."

"Sure, because it's a good idea to date the guy who practically used you as a punching bag."

"Al, Diego has never hurt me physically, at least not on purpose ... not that way."

"Right, if he did, all my brothers would kill him," I nod, even though she can't see me.

I reach out my arm to take two dresses and put them on my bed.

“Hey, which dress should I wear? Blue or red?"

"It seems that you do have a lot of interest in your date..."

"I thought you were against it."

“Hey, it's not my fault. I remember when you were crying when Diego made fun of you, then you got over it and now you ask me for fashion advice for a date with him-"

I sigh as I sit back on the mattress.

"Do you think I should cancel?" I ask nervously.

Allison is right, although all of our fights were childish, I really thought Diego hated me, but when he explained everything –I don't know-

"I can't help you with that."

"Come on, Allison. Now I feel the betrayal."

“You're going out with my brother and even if I don't want to admit it, if he gets hurt, I'm also hurt. I love you, you know, but I also love my brother, Y/N."

“Okay, let's forget for a moment that we had those problems when we were kids. What if I'm wrong to give it a try? You know that I don't have luck with my relationships..."

"Hey, no, no, no, don't start with that. We've talked, they were the idiots, you're great and it's their lost. Enough doubts and insecurity, forget what I told you!" She remains silent for a few seconds. "I could say that red would highlights everything, but I know that blue dress you mentioned and I'm sure that you'll leave my brother breathless. I vote for blue." I smile a little. “Listen, like you said, it's just a date. And I know you very well, if you don't go, you will regret it."

I sigh.

"Thanks."

“It's nothing, sweetie. Don't forget to tell me how it went!" She says and then hangs up.

I stare at the blue dress.

"Please don't be a disaster" I implore.

***

Diego

"Do you want to review?"

I nod unable to stand still.

"Well, I hear you," says Vanya sitting from her bed.

"First I'll go for her and I must give compliments, avoiding mentioning her breasts or butt," I say quickly. "I'll take her to the restaurant that is two blocks from her house, we'll have dinner, we'll talk… I'll confess everything and hopefully she won't yell at me or kill me."

"Diego!" says Vanya scolding me.

"Can I say something?" Sissy asks sitting down next to my sister. "I don't think it's a good idea to plan a date like that."

"What?" I snap looking at the blonde.

"I'm not saying that you're doing things wrong," She says, trying to calm me down. "It's just that, I think it's better when you don't plan it and you're just yourself..."

The three of us remain silent for a few seconds.

"Honey," says Vanya, taking her hand. "We already tried that."

"That doesn't help me at all," I growl.

“Diego, relax. If she sees you tense or calculating, she'll think it's just a game," adds Sissy.

"It's not."

"Then just think that you're going to date a cute girl, if you want things to go well, you both have to be comfortable with each other."

I analyze her words.

"And breathe, please," Vanya adds.

"Ok," I stretch my arms, walk up to the mirror and adjust my jacket, making sure everything is in order. “I-I'm going out with a beautiful girl. A d-date,” I nod in front of my reflection.

"You can do it, Kraken," says Vanya in a mocking tone making me laugh.

***

I ring the doorbell of her house, I wait a few minutes until I hear a "I'm coming" from inside. I step away from the door and breathe calmly again.

Don't rush, let everything flow.

She's the boss, keep an eye on the signs of affection.

Just relax.

The door opens and my breath catches at the sight of the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my damn life.

"Hey," She says with a shy smile. I shake my head and smile at her too.

"Hey," I look at her blue dress -which looks spectacular- without stopping in some inappropriate place... for now. "You're beautiful, Angel." I say without thinking much about the little nickname, but I know it was the best decision since I see a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Thank you, you don't look bad either, Hargreeves," She closes the door, we both go down the stairs. "What's the plan, Knife boy?" I smile at the mention of the nickname from when I was a child.

“There's a good restaurant two blocks from here. We can go walking.”

"Sounds good."

We both walk in silence for a few seconds, until she giggles.

"What?" I ask with a nervous smile.

"Oh, it's just that... I'm so used to it– I thought you were going to make fun of my outfit or something."

"Well, sorry, I don't have material. You look beautiful and it's not that I'm an expert, but blue looks good on you,” I say scratching the back of my neck.

We soon reached the restaurant, where Vanya made reservations. Truth be told, I appreciate my sister's suggestion, this place is great for a first date.

After ordering our food I can see her in more detail while she's distracted, my heart races when I notice her playing with her hands, she constantly takes a strand of her loose hair and looks at all the decorations to avoid locking eyes with me. Is she as nervous as I am?

"You're good?" I ask.

She looks up at me.

"Yes, I am, it's just that ..." She shakes her head. "Forget it, it doesn't matter."

"Hey," I lean in and put my hand over hers. "If you feel uncomfortable, we can go somewhere else, no problem."

She tilts her head and frowns slightly.

"No, it's not that," She says moving her hand away. I also take away mine and fix my jacket. "This place is beautiful..." She looks at me. "Everything has turned out well in a short time, I don't know, I'm waiting for you to say nonsense, just... something hurtful."

Her words make me grimace. I can't blame her, I felt like an idiot for so many years, but even so, I'm trying my best, I haven't done anything wrong and she still thinks I'll hurt her.

"I won't," I say seriously. "But, if you expect something like that even after what I told you the other night, I don't understand why you agreed to this."

Maybe I'm willing to make a fool of myself in front of the girl I like, but I can't let my efforts be in vain. She tenses and leans in the chair.

"No, no! I didn't mean I- uhm" She stutters. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, you're right."

I sigh.

“Ok, let's promise something,” She looks at me carefully. “From now on, we will both be honest with each other. Let's forget tonight how stupid I was. I promise there will be no more games, or anything like that."

Y/N relaxes instead.

"Unless you want it," I add with a smile and she laughs.

"I promise to be honest with you, too."

The food arrives interrupting the conversation, but as soon as the waiter leaves, the tension is long gone.

"I can't believe I'm actually on a date with you," I say shyly.

“Trust me, me neither. My twelve-year-old self is over the moon,” She says.

I raise my eyebrows ."And what does your today self say about now?"

"She's still thinking things through."

The rest of the night we talk about what we've been up to lately. I told her about my boxing, some stories I had from when I help people -omitting some violent parts - the stupidest times I got arrested and she tells me about her life. She just finished law school and now works with a friend of hers, she tells me some funny cases, some sad cases, she also tells me the story of when her friend found out that she knew the guys from Umbrella Academy.

“I swear, she has all the action figures and some posters in her room. At first it was kind of adorable, but she's always asking me to introduce her."

"Is she hot?" I ask mockingly and she throws a grape at me, making me laugh. "Just kidding, just kidding!" I raise my hands in surrender.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," I say nodding.

"Why did you wait until now to ask me out?"

I stir in my place, a little uncomfortable.

"It's ridiculous," I clear my throat. "But, since my break up with Eudora, I uh-" I look down until I feel her delicate hand on mine.

"You can tell me, Diego." I look at her and I feel the warmth of her hand, sighing.

“I see my brothers, Allison with Raymond, Vanya with Sissy, even Klaus has Dave. I uh- I've been thinking, lately, about my relationships, all a mess. Not that I'm comparing myself to my siblings -we both know I'm amazing- but, I-I don't know. I see them with their partners and I can't help but want something like that,” I scratch my face, right where I have a scar. “With Eudora, we had a lot of problems, we wanted different things. Then I met a girl, Lila..."

Y/N looks at me confused. My relationship with Lila is not known with my family, I think only Five knew her.

“It didn't work either, but the point is that, when I give myself moments to think about a future next to someone," I take courage to see her in the eyes. "You are always there."

I pray to God that it doesn't scare her away.

“When we were children, I didn't know how to act next to you,” She says shyly, “if someone said your name, I would get nervous and was afraid of making a fool of myself in front of you. So my best solution was to evade you. Then you started with the jokes and I thought you hated me, but to be honest, my feelings for you didn't change overnight. I remember when Allison comforted me, while I was crying thinking that I could never be with you."

Maybe if I can convince Five to travel back in time and tell my twelve-year-old self that he's being a jerk, everything would be better.

"I'm very sorry, the least I wanted or want is to hurt you, Y/N".

“I know,” She laughs slightly. “Now that I think about it, we were just kids, Diego. None of us knew how to handle our feelings. With time I gave up." She bites her lower lip and then smiles. "But apparently, you didn't."

"I don't give up so easily, Angel," She nods.

"I'm glad you didn't."

Quite cheesy, but I feel like there's a lot of movement in my stomach and it's not the food.

We decided to take a walk through a park close to the place.

"Diego," She says, and I stand in front of her. She looks away. "You have to know something, before anything happens..."

"You're married?" I try to joke, but her words actually scare me to death. Her laughter reassures me. I'm proud to be the cause of those.

"No, you idiot," She sighs. "You were honest when you told me about your relationships. I suppose I must be too," She fidgets. "I haven't had much luck either, my last boyfriends haven't been the best, they ended up... badly," She says with teary eyes. "I'm afraid that something like that will happen again."

My heart clenches and I just want to hug her, but I stop. I take her chin and slowly lift it.

"I don't know the whole story, but I can assure you that they're assholes," I whisper as I wipe a tear from her cheek. "Although, I'm glad they're not in my way."

"Diego-"

I cup her cheek.

“Y/N, I'd do anything to be by your side, to even hold your hand, listen to your day, kiss you... I've waited for years. I'm sorry, but if you agree to be with me, it'll be difficult to get rid of me later, no matter how many stories of ex-boyfriends you tell me."

"What if we end badly?"

"My brothers will be in charge of kicking my ass," is no joke and we know it.

"What if I'm the one who hurts you?"

"I guess Allison and Vanya can take care of your ass."

She laughs again and I join her.

"You really don't plan on giving up, do you?" Our faces are very close.

"No, ma'am," I say leaning down, about to kiss her.

"Not even if I tell you not to kiss me on the first date?" She walks away.

I freeze in my place and hear her laugh. I shake my head and look at her a little dazed.

"Is it a type of revenge?" I ask.

"Well, you once left me in the same spot when we were children."

I curse under my breath.

"Hey! In my defense that was Ben, he challenged me, trying to help me to confess what I felt for you, but in the end I chickened out," I say making a face.

She stands on her tiptoes and quickly kisses my cheek. I smile at her.

I'm sure my face is now that of an idiot in love and I don't care.

"What about kisses on the second date?"

She raises her eyebrows.

"I could consider it, but this time I choose what to do."

"Deal. Do you have something in mind?

"Maybe go to the gym where you can teach me some things about self defense..."

"Are you sure?"

"You offered yourself the night of the party!"

I nod.

"Whatever the lady wants."

"It's a date…"

___________________

2 years later

"Klaus! You're already drunk and we haven't even started the game!” I complain.

"Don't be a spoilsport, Dieguito," He drawled as he sat in the opposite chair.

I roll my eyes and wait for my other siblings to arrive. This 'one night with board games' has become a tradition. At the beginning everything started well, but some don't know how to lose or even win, it always ends differently.

Luther arrives and sits next to Klaus to scold him again for being drunk, then Ben arrives along with Vanya and Sissy. After a few minutes, Raymond and Allison arrive.

"I hope you don't cry about losing this time, Y/N," says Five, Y/N walks in behind him.

“I've never cried. You're the one who always cheats!” She complains as she puts a bowl of chips on the table. She turns to see me pouting. "Right, D?"

She asks me sitting on my lap. I put my arm around her waist.

"He always does," I agree kissing her cheek. My brother looks at us with a sneer.

"Obviously your boyfriend's going to be on your side, brotherhood my ass," He complains.

"Don't be jealous, Five," I joke and he snorts.

"Well, we have to go over the rules," says Luther, drawing attention. "Five you can't flip the board again- Klaus put your glass away, the cards from the last time are still sticky..."

While he continues speaking, Y/N leans against my chest, I look down to see her.

"How do you think this will end?" She whispers.

"I say Ben will win, but Five will want to play again until he wins."

"Hmm..." She says, putting her hand on my shoulder. "I say Five will fight with Allison and it'll all be over before anyone can win."

"It's a bet?" She smiles and nods. "What does the winner get?"

"If I win, you should take me and Allison shopping," I groan. "But, if you win..." She leans close to my ear. "We won't leave the bedroom for a whole day."

I frown.

"Why wouldn't we go out?" She gives me one stern look and that's when I understand. “Oh! Yeah, okay." I smirk. "Deal, Angel," I say and then kiss her lips.

"Hey, you two!" shouts Ben in amusement. "We're going to start, so split up!"

We laugh. She turns a little to pay attention when Luther rolls the dice, I move close to her ear.

"I love you, Y/N."

She smiles at me and gives me a short kiss.

"I love you too, Diego."

Taglist (or somthing like that)

@gerim-1995 @aymiron @white-wolf-buckaroo @irenne-stans @manchuria @lindatreb @alonewolfsblog

#Diego Hargreeves #Number two #Umbrella Academy #Umbrella Academy fanfic #Diego x reader #Diego Hargreeves x reader #twoidiots writing

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proherostories · 4 years

Text

img from this post

I hope it was worth the wait!

Ao3

Ages - Always 18+ Pair - Alpha!Izuku x Reader

WC - 6159

Warnings - Biting, Bonding (which leads to mild blood), First Times, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, knotting Notes - Izuku goes through great lengths to make sure consent is unmistakable. He’s also very...thorough. To anyone who reads this and also likes Kirishima, there’s set up about Fated Pairs that applies to a KirishimaxReader in the future.

-----

It was totally, utterly, completely rare for two alphas to get together. Alpha females weren’t as common, but your parents were not only lucky enough to have the right personality mesh for it, but be a fated pair. Which...baffled so many people, but it made their lives so much easier.

What sucked? Somehow somewhere along the line Fate decided you were not going to be an Alpha like your mom and dad. Which meant as soon as your body settled as an Omega, the complete and utter opposite, not even a Beta, your life was designated to not be easy.

Suppressants up the wazzoo to keep it hidden and save yourself the embarrassment, feeling like a disgrace. People still found out somehow and gave you grief. Bullying. Your mom not being someone you could go to for advice because she had no clue. Each time your ‘heat’ was supposed to hit you the medication just went up for a time to hold it back. Being told to just deal with it, no one to turn to, no one to listen.

Then you reached eighteen. The suppressants were failing. You begged and prayed to your body and any deity to listen, needing the medication to last just a little longer. Until you graduated, until you could move out and have the right of body and mind to do what was best for you and not those around you. To finally take control of yourself, to maybe feel healthy. Man, wouldn’t that be a dream?

Somehow, someway, you survived. You made it. You were in your own apartment, you had landed a job through a friend from school with a super understanding owner. Said friend was able to go shopping with you after your first paycheck, get you nesting items, different meds to help with the pain you could only hope would work. Also helped you get...toys. The idea didn’t thrill you, but your friend was hyper concerned. Honestly, what did you do to deserve her? Part of you wished you could just be gay for her, but sadly she wasn’t interested and as much as you tried, you just wanted her cuddles, not her bond.

Then...nothing happened.

It was a relief and also a red flag. Maybe you were a late bloomer because of the suppressants? Oh dear. Your doctor did say it might take a few months to a year for your body to regulate itself. It didn’t help your body’s growth had also been stunted, so basically if it could go wrong it was.

That...also applied to a villain crashing into the shop one day. Yay. Fantastic.

Oh...oh no, but then there was that...really cute Pro Hero, Deku...there was no way. Impossible. He wouldn’t look twice at you…

Then he did.

He looked at you again and again, actually. It started with him apologizing profusely about the shop; he always did his best to keep damage to a minimum but that one had been quite a handful. He even offered to??? Help pay for repairs via his agency??? Which was...Who was this angel of a man?

Then he came back...over and over. He really liked the shop, he said. The owner called him out on buying things to help fund the place, but as soon as he blushed so bad his freckles stood out your friend giggled to you later that that was but wasn’t the reason.

It was? You?

At one point he came in with some friends, showed them around the place, and then one of them...Red Riot? Slapped Deku so hard on the back he stumbled forward in your direction. His friends laughed when he turned beet red.

He asked you to call him Izuku...Izuku Midoriya was his name, and he...he...asked you out for coffee. It was so dumb and so cheesy but…

You said yes.

That’s how you ended up here...several months later after officially dating. You two were laughing, having a great time walking into the theatre chatting about the movie you were going to see. You’d been feeling...warm all day. Part of you thought maybe you were coming down with something? You didn’t pay it any mind, but damn did Izuku look fine as hell. You had always appreciated his body, of course. Thick, muscular, his hugs were amazing the way they wrapped around you. He made you feel so safe. His scent was delicious, too! Ugh, he literally smelled like a cinnamon roll it was so unfair but today it seemed...so much more intense. You wondered why that was? Why did your body feel so tingly, too, every time you looked at him, and your breath caught with how the sunlight was washing over him.

Even Izuku had noticed you were red in the face, but you waved him off. You were fine. You’d go to the clinic in the morning, but you would at least last your date night. That satisfied him enough. Only...you barely managed to survive a portion of the movie. You were squirming in your seat the whole time…Had Izuku always looked so...sexy?

“Hey...sweetpea, are you sure you’re alright?” Izuku whispered low and frowned at you. He reached out and put his hand on your thigh...and when you let out the beginnings of a moan his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He slapped his giant, scarred hand over your mouth, “Oh no...damnit, I’m so stupid!” he muttered, this time mostly to himself, “I’m so used to your scent now I didn’t even...shit…” He inwardly promised himself to either bring you here again in the future or buy the DVD when it came out, but he stood abruptly and hauled you out of your seat. He didn’t even pay attention to the other people there, gathering both of your things and ushering you out of the row as fast as possible.

“Zuku, what are...what’s wrong?” Your brain was too hazy. “What’s wrong with my scent?” you didn’t even understand why you moaned.

“No time. C’mon, sweetpea, I’m driving.” He barely contained his vibrating body, his hand possessively at the small of your back. His touch was always so friendly, even if you two had been dating for a decent amount of time. This felt different, and it made your body feel hotter. Ignoring the people giving him stares was a lot harder now they were in the lobby, but at least the majority of people were inside enjoying their movies.

Once outside is where your mind finally cleared with the fresh air, “Zuku, what...what’s happening?” you asked, voice small and a bit scared. You were alarmed with yourself now, let alone the situation. “That happened so fast, I was fine half an hour ago!”

“Shhh, baby, it’s okay,” he looped his arm completely around your waist now. It felt so out of character, being on the edge of too tight, too close yet not enough. He was doing his best to let out calming pheromones, but your frightened scent made him dizzy too and his stomach twist. You didn’t belong to anyone, and oh no, his jaw was starting to ache… He took a deeeeep breath in as the wind blew by and ruffled his emerald locks, “I got you, if you let me. Let’s keep walking, it’s all downhill from here. I’ve done a lot of research, okay? I won’t let you down, I promise. I swear. I’ll be right here for you at least until we get you home. Just...leave the window down when we get to my car?”

“G-Got it…” his reassurances were a mixture of comforting and concerning and it was enough of confusion for you to follow him without thinking twice about it.

So now here you two were, on the road, on the way back to your place. Your head was pressed to the window of his car with it halfway down. It was cooling and helped what felt like a fever. “Izuku,” you finally speak up, scared and the silence was too much. His scent was also being sucked towards you...it was also distressed, but there was something...deeper there. What was it? “Please talk to me…”

“I’m sorry! I don’t mean to make you worry!” He immediately apologized, “Everyone used to make fun of me for rambling my ideas and stuff out loud so I was just thinking internally about what to do, how to do it...Ah, aah...um...your...your heat is hitting you, baby...that’s what’s happening. I was so focused on thinking ahead I forgot the now...Is it okay if I...ask you some things? Reiterate stuff we’ve talked about before?”

That explained everything. It was simultaneously a good thing and a problematic thing that your heat was hitting you. “Now’s a good a time as any, while the air from outside helps me think…”

“Yeah...yeah that’s what I thought. You love me...right?” he asked first, of all things.

“I…” your face turns as red as Kirishima’s hair, but for a completely different reason than hormones, “Yes I do. I love you very much, Izuku...why?”

“You...believe in Fated pairs because of your parents, right?”

Oh now that was a very pointed question now wasn’t it? You were pretty smart yourself, and you caught on, “Do you...think that we’re…?”

It was his turn to blush furiously, “Y-Yes...it’s my theory that because of being on suppressants so long, you were never able to really tell if you were a Fated because everyone made such a big deal about you being an Omega. Then you’ve been off of them for a while now, at least a year...and you’ve just been thinking you haven’t had your heat because your body needed to figure itself out, right? Well...I...I’ve never really been interested in anybody. I didn’t really know why. I mean...I’ve been able to appreciate that my friends have awesome bodies and stuff, but it never really did anything to me. No one’s scent has ever done anything to me...until you. I met you and everything changed. I disappeared for two weeks in the middle of us dating...you know how I said I was on a mission long-distance? I...I lied. I was going through my first real…ah...rut. I felt-feel! So bad about lying to you, sweetpea, but I didn’t know how to explain it! Now here you are, hanging on by a thread and...what did it start with?”

He talked so much and so fast. Usually, you could keep up with him, pick apart his muttering, but it took you a moment to even register his question. Even longer to think back to the beginning of your day. Now it was hard to tell if the blush you had was from embarrassment or from your heat. “I...was...admiring you. Your...your body. You’ve smelled so amazing all day, too...cinnamon sugar and vanilla...like a cinnamon roll and I just…” you caught yourself before you said ‘want to bite you’. That would sure as hell have implications in several ways. You jumped at the sound of his steering wheel creaking.

“You smell...really good to me, too, baby…” his voice was strained, his expression pained, but his eyes bore a hole through his windshield with how hard he was staring at the road. God, somehow his nostrils flaring was hot, too.

“I want to talk to you about so much...but...while you can still think, baby, do you...do you...want me to...stay with you? Help you through it? I-I-I mean! I’mavirginsomaybeIwon’tbeverygoodbutI’lldomybestand-”

“Izuku!”

Izuku whined but shut up. You worried for the steering wheel, but he was pulling into a gas station. “I’m sorry…”

“I’m...a virgin too, so I mean at least we’ll be in the same boat, but I figured as much after you mentioned you had your own first real rut.” You said as calmly as possible as he parked. You bit your lip, shifting nervously, “I’ve been...wondering why you haven’t wanted to...have sex with me…” you told him honestly, quiet and upset, “I thought you didn’t...want me...that way…”

“No, no, baby, please!” Izuku waved his hands frantically and he reached out, placing one hand on your shoulder and the other touched your cheek, making you look at him, “I do...God do I want you...I’m going to go grab some protection, okay? We’ve only been dating for a couple months and I don’t want to force anything on you-”

“What if I want it?”

He sputtered, completely taken aback, “W-What?”

“D-Does time really...m-matter if we’re...if we’re Fated? Like you think we are?” you asked him, blushing.

“No...but...I don’t know if you’re ready for babies, if I’m ready for babies...it may seem like we want it, your scent driving me up the wall and mine doing the same to you, but I want to talk about it all when everything settles down. Is that okay, sweetpea?” he carded his fingers through your hair, petting it, his eyes so gentle and loving that it made you fall head over heels for him all over again, “Bonding with you is different than the prospect of kids. Just because I go get protection doesn’t mean I can’t mark you…” the purr as he stroked over your neck made you shiver and squirm, “Can we compromise on that, baby?”

“Yes,” you whine this time, leaning in to kiss him but he jerked back, making you whine again at the loss, “Please…”

“Five minutes, tops,” he promised, “I want you, don’t you worry about that.” He pressed the button on the driver’s side to bring the window up, “I’ll be right back, my pretty little omega,” he soothed her, pumping a fresh wave of his sugary-sweet scent into the car to keep you satisfied, and then popped out of the car, using the button on his keys to lock it.

You watched him zoom towards the door of the store using his Quirk and it amused you. Even when he was out of sight, you were bouncing happily at the fact he’d called you his omega...this was going to be amazing! Even if neither of you knew what you’d be doing, you trusted him. He was such a sweet person, five steps ahead of everything. Fated? That explained so much. How you two were able to click on a whole other level. Growing up seeing your parents so in love even while they were both Alphas made you want your own Fated. It seemed like such a childish dream, but now it was happening!

Other things started to click in your mind, too. Namely how you two had really crappy school lives until high school. Bullying until a friend was able to boost you up...or in his case, friends, but they had become your friends, too. Ochako was the sweetest and sometimes Tsuyu’s blunt attitude helped you think more clearly. You never, oddly enough, felt jealous of them now that you looked back. That was good, you didn’t want something like that to come between you guys.

Like he said, before you knew it his scent was invading your senses again as he got back into the car, but hearing his pleased rumble made you coo in response. “Looks like your mood has improved. I’m so glad.” He stroked your cheek with the back of his knuckles, causing you to purr and nod your head.

“I couldn’t be happier, Zuku,” you agree, and this time as the drive continued you couldn’t help but watch him with an openly dreamy expression. You were so smitten it would probably embarrass you later. For now? You could care less.

Finally, finally, you were home.

You weren't nearly as shaky as you thought you might be. Izuku's soft and sweet smile as you opened your door had you feeling like you were on cloud nine. Absolutely floating! It was hard not to notice the darker smolder to his viridian eyes. That's what it was, in his scent that you hadn't been able to pinpoint before.

Lust.

It made shivers run up your spine and you took his big hand in yours, dragging him into your apartment with a giggle. It was here as you two took off your shoes, where your scent was the strongest, that Izuku finally released a long, loud groan. Immediately your own body heat spiked and you were thankful he was quick on the ball, reaching behind to lock the door with a sharp click. "This is really happening…" you breathe, a little in disbelief.

"I'm sorry it had to be like this," Izuku finally dipped his head to brush his nose along your cheek, "I wanted to be more romantic...god you smell amazing, baby…" his body pressed closer, his hands featherlight on your hips but you could feel how he trembled.

"I would...ah...say I'm not going to break, but…" your breath caught as he lapped at your scent gland, making your legs buckle and you looped your arms around his neck for support, "I know how strong you are...that's why...oh, mm...that's one of the reasons why I admire you…" damn he was assaulting your neck so good.

"Perfect Alpha material? I get that a lot...I always got so embarrassed, but with you…" he growled low, and you suddenly realized you never heard him growl before. If you weren't soaked, you were now and he definitely noticed with the way he inhaled and his nostrils flared, "Fuck, baby...does that do it for you?" He purred, "With you, I'm so glad I can be a good, reliable Alpha for my sweet, perfect Omega…"

When he growled this time it was very deliberate and when your legs gave out completely he scooped you up with ease. With your legs around his hips, and for a split second you worried your first time would be against the wall. He coaxed you to kiss him; searing, needy, desperate, burning...your mind slipped so hard and fast it didn't matter where you did it, as long as you did soon. "Zuku…" you whine and whimper.

He was quick to shush you, swift powerful steps towards your bedroom echoed off the walls as his heels thumped on the hardwood floor. Thankfully, even as you were losing your mind Izuku realized that while yes, still lust-addled, he was able to keep his head on his shoulders and not go feral. It didn't keep him from grunting and growling as you bit his lip or rocked against his growing bulge, but he could still think which was a lot more important right now.

It had to be because his rut had been over a month ago, which meant you were out of sync. That was lucky in this case. It also made him groan thinking about the future. You two had so much to talk about and it made him giddy, a bounce in his step that resulted in the two of you to literally tumble in bed. Your giggling laughter was music to his ears, making his heart flutter and a wide grin split his face. "I'm going to take such good care of you, sweetpea," he cooed against your lips in a much sweeter kiss, helping push you up against the pillows. He took the tiny bag with the box of condoms and a few snack bars plus a bottle of water from around his wrist and put it on the nightstand.

His attention to detail made your chest ache with love and adoration. "I believe you, Izuku. You're already being such a wonderful Alpha to me, I love you so much. C'mere...help me take off my clothes? I'm so warm, I feel like I'm overheating…"

"Yes, right, of course!" Izuku also got a little ahead of the game, whipping off his own shirt and tossing it into the abyss that was outside the perimeter of your bed. Fuck, he was littered with scars but he looked so delightful it made you want to drool.

Reaching behind your back, impatient and your heat not making you nearly as shy as you could have been, you easily unclasped your bra as his scarred hands landed on your thighs. "You know...I'm starting to feel like I'm drunk and on liquid courage…" you muse.

Izuku laughed softly, "It seems like it, doesn't it? It's only going to get worse, but I'm glad you're still here with me, baby…" he scooped his fingers under your top and you sucked a breath in. How did his hands feel even warmer than your body felt but it was still so good? He locked eyes with you, watching every minuscule detail of how you reacted as he danced his fingers up. When his thumbs hooked on your bra, he yanked it all up and off in one swoop.

For a moment, it was like time froze. He was looking at you as if you were the most beautiful being on the planet, and you took the opportunity to also openly ogle him. It helped distract from any embarrassment you might've felt while you were enjoying how his abs dipped and how the curve if his Adonis belt disappeared into his pants. "Wait...is that a little happy trail?" You giggle and reach out unthinking.

Izuku sucked in a sharp breath. It was apparently your turn to smooth your fingers over his tummy and play with the smattering of green hair that also disappeared into his pants. "We'll get to that," he chuckled, voice strained but clearly amused in spite of it, "You're such an adorable little Omega, aren't you? So innocent and curious." He crowded your space, forcing you to lay down flat on your back, your hair splaying on the pillow. The way you bit your lip and looked up at him with big doe eyes made him grasp your chin and a slow smile lifted his lips, "Yes, just like that. So beautiful and yet so cute. Tonight is all about you, baby. Let me have a good time learning your body, yeah?" He leaned close enough to brush your noses together, "Make you a wonderful whimpering mess, begging for more, begging for me…"

"Yes, yes, please take good care of me, Izuku," your needy whine made him shiver, "Show me more, need more...touch me, touch me all over…"

"Like this?" Izuku repeated his earlier action, starting at your hips and working his way up. He grabbed your breasts firmly but kept his strength in check. He was experimenting, after all. That included dragging calloused thumbs over already perky little nipples. Since he was now seated between your thighs, he fully expected you to start rutting your crotch against his. The warmth of your core radiated through his jeans, and he watched with fascinated dark eyes as your own rolled back at the friction, "That's it, baby, go ahead and use me...the more you orgasm tonight, the easier it's gunna be…"

"Mm...you learn that through your research, Zuku?" It was meant to tease, but you panted as he rolled your mounds in languid circles, kneading the flesh like a cat, massaging and then pinching your buds which made you gasp.

"Partially, but the other part is speculation. Your slick is going to be plenty of lubrication, but not only is it good to have more...you'll also, uh, be more relaxed...I'm not…" he blushed enough it practically glowed in the dimness of the room, "I'm not exactly small...and my knot could hurt you. So I gotta work you up, baby. Last thing I want to do is hurt you."

You nodded, trusting his intuition. Whatever he had planned you would roll with as much as possible. Still, your mind was growing hazier as both of your scents filled the room and you were surrounded in his cinnamon sweetness. “Please…” you breathed, not exactly sure what you were pleading for. Him to grab and massage your breasts more? To feel him more fully and not through the confines of his jeans? At this point you simply even wanted him to touch you…

“I got you,” he soothed and leaned down. At first, he kept his tongue flat, rubbing it over one of your nipples before closing his lips around it to give the bud a good suck. With the way your back arched he knew he was on the right track, swirling and teasing it next before testing the waters by lightly grazing his teeth. That certainly caused your breath to catch in a gasp, and he tugged on the nipple with it pinched between his pearly whites. With the other nipple, he rolled and twisted it between his thumb and forefinger, pinching and tugging on it at the same time.

“Izuku!” you cried out, needy and slowly becoming delirious. Your hands gripped his shoulders, your head tossed back and flipping from side to side in pleasure as you ground your hips down hard. The teasing of your nipples, the squeeze of his palms on your mounds, and the way his dick through his jeans throbbed had you going out of your mind within minutes. “If you keep doing that, I’m…”

“Didn’t I already say?” he rumbled and your whole body shook, “That’s what I want...go ahead, Omega, whatever you need…” as he said ‘Omega’ with a growl he rolled and bucked his own hips into yours, ripping another cry from your throat. Fuck, he really liked that sound, so he continued what he was doing with your breasts, switching it up and doing the opposite. He really drove you up the wall this time, and now he did it once he started humping into you, his jeans rough even through the fabric of your own bottoms and it all drove against your clit. With his ears peeled, he kept track of how your breath hitched, what made you gasp, how you whined, filing it all away for later use. If he wasn’t careful, teasing you might become his new favorite pastime...but somehow he doubted you would mind.

“Zuku...Izuku...oh god, Alpha, Alpha, I’m...hnn…” you couldn’t even think now, blabbering with need, and with a few more good ruts of his hips into your core you wailed, back arching and body locking up.

“That’s it…” he breathed heavily and took his hands off your oversensitive body. He started removing your bottoms and all the while he skimmed a kiss over your lips, and then down your neck. Flicking his tongue over each nipple he smooched your sternum, across your belly and then pulled back to strip you completely naked. Now you did blush, biting your lip as you looked at him, completely out of breath. He didn’t want to leave you feeling vulnerable by yourself, so he started doing away with his jeans. As soon as you caught sight of his thick cock your breath hitched, causing him to blush bright again.

Wanting to touch him, you sat up a little and tried to reach for him but he caught your hand. With a shake of his head and pushed you back down, “Next time,” he promised, kissing your knuckles. He kept his hips away from you now, but that didn’t matter because the idea of ‘next time’ had you whining and moaning. “I’m not done with you, pretty Omega.” That had your eyes going wide. What...what else was he going to do???

You were about to find out, but first he kissed you hot and hard as he decided to lick into your mouth and toy with your tongue for a little bit. To you relief, but slight disappointment, after he broke away from your lips he settled himself on his stomach between your legs. Immediately your eyes bugged out while he put your thighs on his shoulders, hooking his thick arms underneath you. Hunter green hair, curly and wild, disappeared between your legs as he went to town.

It was like nothing you had ever felt before. Eyes rolling back, your sensitivity from your first orgasm of the night had you already keening and trying to buck against his hands holding your pelvis down. He had to have anticipated it, locking you into this position, and it was clear you had no escape. It was so odd, having barely an inch to rock forward if he did something good or jerk back against the bed if he did a little too much. “Zuku, oh god…” was the best thing you could breathe out.

Your coil was tightening fast, and he must’ve heard your breathing pick up because he shifted his arms, using one arm, only one, to keep you in place. Everything changed as soon as you felt the tips of scarred calloused fingers prodding your entrance. This was really happening and you wanted it, “Yes! Yes, yes, please Alpha, fill me up…” you heard his muffled groan against your center and you nearly orgasmed all over those digits because of the way they slid inside with ease.

Mouth latched over your clit, Izuku pumped his two fingers in and out of you slowly but surely. He could feel his cock leaking against your bed and he whimpered himself, the vibrations causing you to jolt and gasp. Ooooh...letting a growl out he couldn’t stop the smirk and started stretching his fingers in a scissoring motion, opening you up as good as he possibly could. Could he wiggle a third in? You were taking two so nicely, and with his knot later… “Mmph…” he moaned, jerking his own hips against the sheets. He decided to try it.

“God, fuck...yeah, baby, such a good Omega, taking three fingers for me...I’m going to stretch you out the best I can, alright? So good, so perfect, just for me, all for me…” he blabbered, practically vibrating with anticipation. Your answering mewl pulled at the already fraying edges. He couldn’t last much longer himself, “Just one more, baby, my sweetpea...then I can give you what we both want...you want me to take you? Nice and slow and deep? Your slick tastes so good, baby, can’t get enough…”

You didn’t take Izuku one for dirty talk, but you supposed you were both lost in the moment and each other the words were tumbling out of his mouth much like his usual ramblings. It was endearing, and what he was saying was definitely working. “Yes, Izuku, I’ll be so good for you...you’re taking good care of me, Alpha, sweetheart, oh god...I feel so full...I’m close…”

“I know you are, I can hear it, the way your breathing changes...god I can even feel how close you are right now…” his cock twitched. He was doing good. He was making her feel this way. “Gunna make you feel even more full...you want that? You want me to fill you up with my knot?” he pumped his fingers a little faster and curled them upwards.

“Yes!” you practically screamed in response, stars exploding behind your eyes for a second time in no time flat. “Right there…” you moan wantonly.

That was it. Rearing up, your leg going limp on the bed as you turned into a puddle, he surged towards the nightstand for the convenience store bag. He practically tore the box to shreds trying to get to the condoms, causing you to giggle breathlessly. The sound distracted him long enough he blushed shyly and went slower, making sure to pinch the tip and roll it on properly, nice and snug especially over the slight bump of his knot until it was flush against his groin. “Are you ready, baby?” he cooed, leaning his body over yours and with his dick in hand he rubbed the tip against your core.

“Yes...I want you, Izuku, I need you, so much. I love you, okay?” you smile at him sweetly, reaching up and wrapping your arms around his neck, pulling him down until your nipples brushed against his chest, and you forced your jelly legs up onto his hips, “Take me, make me yours.”

Jittery, nervous, he nodded and kissed you to distract you from any discomfort as he pressed into you. Oh, this man. All yours, too, your Fated, your Alpha, your Izuku Midoriya. He was right, though, even if it was dirty talk he did, in fact, fill you to the brim, until you believed you couldn’t take anymore. Stuffed so full of his cock, of him in your heart, tears brimmed your eyes. When you saw him about to fret over you, worries filling his eyes, you shushed him by petting his hair and his face, smiling with so much love and adoration that his own expression morphed from concern into a matching one, “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, sweetpea,” he kissed your nose, your cheeks where he licked at your stray tears, and then your lips, “I’m going to move now, okay?” at your nod, he shifted his hips and you both whimpered at the loss, only to moan when he pushed back in. He even lost his balance on one arm and dropped down even closer, allowing you to koala yourself onto his body. He chuckled and repeated the soft thrust, this time with a bit more purpose, a bit more force. “Good?”

All you could do was nod into his shoulder, eyes rolled back, “More…” and he complied. Again and again. He was big enough and even curved naturally that with one more shift of his hips he was hitting your g-spot both in and out. “Oh, Izuku…just like that, baby...don’t stop…”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” he huffed into your shoulder, groaning along with you, “So tight…squeezing me so much…” Your heat-soaked scent was right under his nose. “I won’t stop until you cum again, baby. Gunna give you...such a good time…” he pumped a little faster, but more shallow. He couldn’t stand pulling out of you all the way.

Somehow, his grinding and bursts of his hips were what you needed. “Right there, just like that!” he was pressing into your cervix, you could feel it. Part of you was massively disappointed he wouldn’t be filling you up with his cum, but you also understood why. You couldn’t think clearly enough to talk about it. All you knew you wanted was this, this burning heat, the way his panting filled your ears, his scent in your face. You were trembling and whimpering, unsure how to even handle it all. “I’m gunna…” off you went for the third time.

He still didn’t stop.

Your mind was barely able to comprehend that he was kissing you with bruising force because you were nearly screaming bloody murder. His mouth swallowed everything as you thrashed and writhed against him, your nails digging into the skin of his shoulder blades. That made him groan hard into you next, and he was plowing into you now. A fourth hit you without warning and it was like a continuous one from there, but he silenced your screams with his kisses.

“Ready for my knot, baby?” he growled between your sobs. He didn’t know how long he was going to hold out. It was his first time, too, after all. You were clamping down on him so hard his knot that was swelling was catching on each pass. He could hardly think now, either. “Can I bond you? Baby, can I?” he pleaded and you didn’t know why.

“You promised…” you managed to gasp.

“Ha...I did, didn’t I?” he was too breathless to chuckle, but now his jaw really ached, his fangs coming out. Yours were as well. “So close...Omega, baby...oh…” he kissed you again and along your jaw while his hips kept snapping, his hands creating bruises from his fingertips, and when he grazed where he would bond you he yelped. It hit him so suddenly his hips jerked and stuttered, slamming all the way inside. Latching onto you, his fangs broke the skin as his knot inflated, his cum filling the condom as your blood touched his tongue. Not even a second later your own managed to bore through his neck, but he didn’t even flinch.

It all came together, and it felt like everything snapped in place as your Bond formed between you. His chaotic mind was at peace. Your aching hearts were calm. Everything was still, beautiful, as you were lost in each other’s embrace. You both found who you had been waiting for all this time.

Fate had decided to be kind.

#izuku x reader #alpha!izuku #izuku midoriya #bnha writing blog #bnha writing #mha writing #omegaverse #alpha x omega #Hold me up against the wall give it till I beg ( naughtyDeku )#notsfw #naughty #scandelous

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