#i spend my afternoons preparing classes

[yanaromanov]

my sweet assistant

- professor!natasha x lawyer!wanda x reader

part summary: you take a position in assisting professor romanoff after classes to make up for a missed assignment. your flustered state only continues as you’re forced to spend one-on-one time with her, even more so when her wife is introduced into the equation…

part warning(s): teacher/student relationship, age gap (r is of age), power dynamics, married wandanat (no cheating), pet names, mentions of anxiety, mentions of bad family relations, minor death, funeral etc. minors dni

authors note: this took me a bit longer to write and release than i would have liked thanks to my broken arm and writers block so apologies for that. but even tho i kinda hate it, it’s here now, so i hope you enjoy! :)

part two of the inescapable love series

inescapable love series

･ ｡ﾟ*. 18+, minors DNI . * ｡ﾟ･

11.5K words

People say life comes with its ups and downs, something you had come to learn was rather true, but why did it always seem the downs came at the worst of times? A call from your mother was never really a good sign to begin with, usually her nagging being the only thing waiting on the other end of the line, but this time when you picked up and heard what she had to say, not good turned to terribly bad. It wasn’t the extent of the problem as such that worried you, more so the timing. Your Russian class had an assignment coming up, due in less than a week, and thinking you had enough time to get round to it, you still hadn’t started. Something that would have been totally fine if not for your mom’s name popping up on your phone last night and sharing news that would throw your entire schedule off.

The way your mom had picked up the phone had immediately informed you something was wrong, but a death announcement was certainly the last thing you had been expecting to hear on a Sunday night. It was your grandmother, on your dad’s side. She’d passed away over the weekend, finally giving up on the hospice care she’d been dependent on for months. The news itself hadn’t been too much of a shock, the old woman’s health deteriorating for years, and it didn’t much upset you either. You’d never really been close to your grandmother, your brother being the one favoured from your family, keeping you distanced whenever you visited her house. Your teenage self had already mourned for the relationship you had never had and that felt more painful than the actual loss in front of you now.

The main thing concerning your mind now was how you were going to complete your assignment. On the phone, your mom had told you she’d already booked the flights for you coming home, prepared for the funeral just that week, a quick turn around due the arrangements been made in advance from the anticipation of her death. It would see you in England the entirety of the week, leaving tomorrow afternoon and not returning until late Friday evening. Even with the extra days you had at home, the funeral tea and family gatherings would no doubt leave you no time at all to complete your assignment.

You knew what you had to do now, had done it many times before for other classes, but something about this time felt more intimidating. As you sat in the lecture theatre, watching your professor teach at the front of the class, your heart pounded in your chest at the thought of asking for the extension. More time alone would have to be spent with your Russian professor, the last time still lingering unwanted in your mind. The thought of speaking to her one on one once more was enough to send your anxious mind into a frenzy.

Desperately, you tried to cling on to the reality of things as your lesson continued. It was the day of the week where your class would practice your Russian speaking, conversing with one another whilst Professor Romanoff would walk around, listening in and correcting any mispronunciations. In the end, it would build up to the speaking exam the end of semester held, a private conversation that each student would have with your professor which was then graded alongside your written tests.

The girl sat beside you had claimed the spot as your partner when the first speaking lesson had started up, thankfully not the same girl who’d passed you dirty looks after your perfectly scored paper. The two of you worked through the worksheet in front of you, sounding out the words and building them up into a conversation. Your partner seemed slower than you to grasp the concepts, but you found you didn’t quite mind, allowing your thoughts the moments in between to plan exactly how you’d make your request to Professor Romanoff.

When the class had finally drawn to a close, everyone began packing up their things, worksheets handed back down towards the front. Professor Romanoff stood against her desk, collecting papers as she shouted out across the clamouring hall. “Remember your assignment is due on Friday everyone. Do not use google translate. I can tell!”

It seemed your class wasn’t paying her announcement much notice, instead focused on making it out of the double doors and out into the corridor. Like you had done before, you packed away your things slowly, lingering in the row of seats until almost everyone had left the room. Only when the last few stragglers were close to the door, did you begin your descent towards the central desk. Professor Romanoff stood wiping clean the board once again, back facing you. This time, however, you cleared your throat to make your presence known. The woman’s face was slightly bewildered as she turned, melting away immediately as she spied you standing across the way, a smile appearing on her lips instead. “Miss Y/L/N,” she said, wiping the chalk dust away from her hands and turning back to close the distance between you. “Is everything alright?”

"Uhm, yes," you said nervously, watching as the woman came to stand in front of you. "Well...no, but-" You shook your head, attempting to dispel the anxious thoughts that clouded your brain. Fingers began to fidget as you looked back up at your professor with a nervous smile. "I was wondering if I could possibly get an extension for the assignment?" The redhead in front of you raised a single brow, looking inquisitive to your scenario and hence, drawing more of and explanation from your chest. "It's just my grandma passed away and I have to fly back to England for her funeral this week. I'm not going to be back till Friday night and with all the travelling and family stuff and jet lag, I probably won't have enough time to do it." Your hands gestured about, trying to find anything else to do rather than anxiously pick at your nail beds. "I don't need a long extension, maybe just till Monday? I can get it done over the weekend when I'm back."

The spill of words finally fell short in the silent room, your blurting echoing ever so slightly in the emptiness of the hall. Professor Romanoff stood in front of you, today wearing a matching black skirt and blazer, a white shirt neatly tucked in. "I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother." Your gaze raised up to the pair of green eyes as she spoke, a soft expression held between her features. "Are you doing alright?"

The question had came unexpectedly. You shook your head as you answered. "Oh yeah, I'm fine." You smiled sheepishly, shrugging your shoulders. "We were never close."

"Well," Professor Romanoff replied, gaze softening further. "I'm still sorry to hear about her." She passed you a gentle smile as she stepped towards her desk, leaning against the front of it like it seemed she had a habit of doing. When she looked back up at you, her expression had changed. "As for an extension..." Her emerald stare met yours, always seemingly able to make you shy away. "You're a good student Y/N, so I'd really like to say yes, but unfortunately I have a policy against extensions."

Your memory fleeted back to the first day of class, suddenly recalling the rules your professor had set out. Extensions would only be given to those with medical absence, provided they had a document signed by a health professional. Only remembering that now, you felt entirely stupid for asking for the extension in the first place. "That's right," you blurted. "I'm so sorry, I totally forgot. Listen, forget I even said anything." You adjusted the straps of your backpack as you made to turn your body towards the door. "I'll try get it done on the plane or something. Thank you anyway."

You made it about three steps away before you heard your name being called out from behind you. Slowly, you turned your shoulders, looking back at the woman who still sat against her desk. "Yes, Miss Romanoff?" you called in response. A single manicured nail raised up, the finger curling to beckon you back in the direction you'd came. Biting down on the skin of your cheek, you turned fully, slowly closing the gap that had formed between you and your professor. When you stood in front of her again, you began to rub one of your arms nervously.

Professor Romanoff inclined her head towards you, a faint smile on her painted lips. "I can't give you an extension but I can offer you an alternative. Some extra credit that will cover the assignment, worth the same percentage of your grade. And I'll even give you the full marks."

Your head angled in both curiosity and uncertainty. The prospect of the extra credit sounded like just what you needed, but you couldn't quite grasp the notion that your professor was suggesting. "Full marks?" you asked. "As in, a hundred percent on the assignment?"

A painted smirk pulled at the corner of your professor's mouth, her body leaning ever so slightly closer to yours. "Don't act like it's such a miracle, sweetie. We both know what you're capable of, hm?"

As her words hit you, you could immediately feel the warmth they brought to your cheeks. Face feeling flushed, you tried to distract your brain, unfocusing on the perfect pair of lips still smirking in your direction. "What would I have to do for the extra credit?"

Professor Romanoff sighed, adjusting herself on the desk. You diverted your eyes as her arms crossed her body, once again pushing her slightly-revealed cleavage up against her chest. "Well, my assistant for this year pulled out on me last minute, which has left me just drowned in work." Green eyes met yours as a wide smile spread across the redhead's lips. "So, just give me a helping hand after class for a few weeks and the credit is all yours."

This proposal seemed almost too good to be true. Simply helping out your professor in turn for a perfect grade? It almost didn't seem fair. As you thought over her offer, the idea couldn't help but make you feel a little flustered. After all it would entail spending time alone with the red haired woman, something that seemed to leave you an oddly ruffled mess. But the entire thing sounded far too good to pass up, an opportunity practically laid out on a silver platter. Sounding easy enough to follow through with, you nodded your head with a smile. "Yeah, I can do that."

The smile on Professor Romanoff's face widened at your agreement. "Perfect," she said, green eyes glinting. "Can I see you back here next Monday? Say...three pm?"

You nodded once more. "Yeah. That works for me."

"Alright then," the redhead replied. She stood up from her desk, smiling down on you from the height accentuated by her heeled boots. "Don't you worry your pretty head about the assignment and I'll just see you here next week."

The words seemed to wash over you with a flush, something igniting inside that you couldn't quite put a finger on. Nervously, you looked to the floor, picking at the ends of your jumper while Professor Romanoff moved to stand behind her desk, seemingly unaware of your heightened nervousness. Before you could properly formulate a response, the other woman was already speaking once more. "Go on then. Don't want to be late for your next class do you?"

Her words seemed to shake you back to the present, that nervous little smile appearing on your face again. "Right," you said, adjusting your backpack. "Thank you, professor."

She smiled back at you. "It's no problem, honey. Now run along."

You found yourself nodding as you turned to leave, urged on by her commands. A few steps away she called out to you. "Take care of yourself, Y/N."

You looked back over your shoulder, flashing a small smile. "I will Miss Romanoff. Thank you." And with that, you were walking out the door, headed towards your next class with you mind focused on what exactly your assistant duties with Professor Romanoff may entail.

———

"When are you back again?"

"Friday night. About nine-ish?"

You passed the raven-haired girl a quick glance over your shoulder as you continued to fold the items of clothing in your hand. A loud sigh filled the space as you heard Kate roll over in her bed, rustling the top of her sheets. "That's four whole days of you leaving me completely alone."

As you placed the last of your clothes into the open suitcase, you swiveled around to look at Kate. Your brow furrowed as you noticed your best friend sprawled dramatically across the covers. "Kate, you do realised we have other friends?" you replied with a soft sigh.

But it seemed the girl took no notice, throwing her hand up to cover her eyes as another noise of discomfort slipped from her lips. "I'm gonna look like such a loser at breakfast." The truth was that the pair of you did have more friends at university, with whom Kate could definitely speak to while you were away, despite how the majority of the time it was always just the two of you. This could be down to the fact you were the only ones still sharing a dorm on campus, most of your friends having moved out to apartments around the city. You and Kate had looked into that option but your loan wasn't enough to cover the rent, so you'd both settled to remain in the on-campus accommodation, still sharing your meals in the wide dining hall.

You sighed again. "I'm sorry my grandma dying is such an inconvenience to you." At that, Kate shot up in bed, immediately looking less irritated and instead concerned. The way you smiled playfully back at her, however, made her brows drop ever so slightly, the fear of her actions hurting you slipping away. You'd already told her you weren't all that bothered by the passing, more so annoyed by the bother of it all, but it seemed despite how dramatic she could be, Kate was still worried about your feelings. "Relax Bishop," you said, a gentle smile tugging at your lips. "You know I'm kidding. I hate the fact I'm going just as much as you do." With all the hustle of trying to get through your work that day, you hadn't had much time to think about the reality of going home. Now packing your things, the dread of it all was beginning to settle on your shoulders. Still, you forced a smile on your lips as you walked across to Kate's bed, sitting yourself down next to her. "I'm sorry I'm leaving but I'll make it up to you, yeah?"

Just then, a spark seemed to light up in Kate's eyes. She turned to you, a wide smirk plastered on her lips. "Will you come to a party with me?" The proposal was one Kate often brought up, and one that was just as often shut down. Whenever Kate was getting ready to go out for a night, you were always cooped up in your textbooks, ignoring her complaints of how you studied too much and focusing instead on memorising every piece of material on the paper. For three years, your best friend has had to drag you to every party you'd ever been to, sometimes even snatching the book from your hands and then pleading you with puppy dog eyes. Those same eyes looked at you now, silently begging.

"Fine," you said finally, causing Kate to throw her hands up in the air. You raised your hand before her excitement could get out of hand. "But only one and not until after midterms."

The girl looked slightly disheartened but her smile still remained wide. "Fine," she replied, looking to already be planning the event she'd drag to you in a few weeks time. As Kate settled herself back in her bed, you stood to cross the room, returning to your almost-packed suitcase. You placed the last item in one side - a long black coat Kate had let you borrow to wear to the funeral - then zipped up the first half. All the other half was missing was your toiletries bag, of which would have to wait until the morning to be packed. As you were closing things up, you threw a comment to Kate over your shoulder. "I spoke to my Russian professor today about that extension for the assignment, remember?"

You heard Kate's head turn towards you, becoming distracted from her party planning. "Oh yeah, what'd she say?"

As the final zip on your suitcase closed, you turned back around to your best friend. "She doesn't really do extensions so she said I can help out after class instead to make up my grade."

Kate's brow furrowed. "What, like an assistant?"

"Yeah, exactly. Hers apparently dropped out so I'm filling in for a few weeks." You bent down to push your suitcase under your bed, ready to go tomorrow morning, then stood again, shrugging your shoulders. "She said she'll give me the equivalent of full marks for the assignment."

"Wait, what?" Kate shot up in bed, her jaw hanging slack. "You just help her plan a couple lessons and get a free ride to a perfect score?"

You breathed out a laugh, not only at Kate's theatric tone but also at the improbable truth of the scenario. It hadn't really hit you until now how easy you had it, an exceptional gateway to an easy 'A'. "Yeah," you giggled out, taking a seat on your bed. "I mean, she said I'm a good student so she expected me to do well anyway." You tried to ignore the strange tingle in your head as you recounted your professor's words, instead focusing on Kate who flung herself up in her bed.

"Dude," she said, looking at you incredulously. Her eyes shifted, looking down to the floor. "Maybe I should have taken Russian this year."

Another laugh spilled from your lips as you stood, closing the gap between you and your best friend. "I think you should focus on the classes you're already taking." Your hand reached out for Kate's pulling her up from her bed before she could get a chance to reply. "Now, let's go get dinner. I'm starving."

———

The setting sun streamed in through the wide windows of Natasha's office. The entire room was painted in a soft orange glow, guiding the redhead as she finally began to pack up for the night. Today had been a long day for her, her daily schedule packed and evening full of essay marking that needed to be completed by tomorrow. Finally, Natasha had managed to get finished up, closing her laptop and packing away her notes for the night. She tucked them away into her bag to bring to work the next day before shutting off the lamp inside the room and retiring from her office for the night.

Her feet padded across the wooden floors as she made her way out of the home office. The sun's glow followed her, let in by the expansive windows her and Wanda's house contained. When she reached the living room, Natasha spied her wife curled up on the corner of their sofa, a blanket draped over her legs and an open book sat in her hands. Her footsteps were silent as she made her way over to the other redhead. Though she imagined her wife had still felt her approach, as she didn't flinch when Nat's hands came down for a hug from behind. Natasha's arms wrapped around her wife, a small hum escaping her lips as she pressed a gentle kiss to the pulse point of her neck. "Baby," Natasha whispered, her voice low. Wanda simply hummed in response, her eyes still focused on her novel, her attention only slightly skewed when Natasha leaned in closer, pressing more kisses down the skin of her neck.

"I need to speak to you about something." Natasha's voice remained low, her words fanning out on to her wife's collar bones. She'd been waiting for this moment now for a while, anticipating just the right time to bring up her scenario to her wife. The thoughts had been circling her head for a small while now, perhaps longer than she liked to admit, but she found she couldn't wait any longer to share.

"What is it, moya lyubov?" Wanda's eyes finally raised from her book, head turning over her shoulder to look up at her wife. Though, this position didn't last long, as Natasha lifted her legs and swung herself over the back of the couch, landing in a position beside her wife. This was a habit Wanda hated, forever telling Natasha to 'use her legs like an adult', but this time she didn't have time to pester the redhead as she'd already began to speak. "Do you remember that student we spoke about? The one that got the perfect score."

The slight look of annoyance from Nat's behavior was quickly replaced by an inquisitive expression as Wanda furrowed her brow. The redhead finally closed her book on her lap, sliding a bookmark into place. "Yeah, I do. What was her name again?"

"Y/N Y/L/N."

Wanda hummed, a small smiling appearing on her lips. "That's it. Cute name. What about her?"

Natasha inhaled, her mind passing over the already scripted conversation she'd created. "I spoke with her again today. Came in asking for an extension for an assignment." The redhead smiled, remembering the interaction from that morning. She took another deep breath before she uttered the next words from her mouth. "I think I've maybe taking a liking to her."

"Oh?" Wanda's eyebrows raised, her expression changing to one of surprise. It wasn't new that the couple were searching for someone else in their relationship, the openness of the topic having been in circulation almost since the two had first got together. But the surprise came from the fact Nat had perhaps found someone she believed could slot into their duo, her and Wanda's standards usually far too rigid to find anyone to spend more than a night with. If Natasha was bringing up a girl like this, she must have seriously considered the possibility of a longer association, and that thoroughly intrigued Wanda.

"Now," Natasha continued. "Of course I don't want to do anything we don't both agree on, but..." She paused for just a moment, smiling a little up at her wife. "I would be lying if I said I hadn't already been playing around with her. Just a little bit." Natasha held up her fingers, signaling the small amount of teasing she'd subjected her prized student to. "You know, I didn't want to come asking your permission for a girl who turned out to be a bore."

The more Natasha continued to talk, the more Wanda became interested and invested by the conversation at hand. She slowly slipped her book to the couch beside her, leaning in closer towards her wife. "And is she?"

A wide smirk appeared on Natasha's lips as she relished in her wife's question. "Not in the slightest." Her expression only deepened as she recalled the little moments of you she'd been observing in class. "She's so fucking cute," she said, stating the obvious right off the bat. "She's always early for class and always paying so much attention. She shows up in the sweetest little outfits, like she doesn't even know how good she looks." The redhead smiled as she remembered the sight of you in your small summer dresses or slightly oversized sweaters. "Oh," she said, reminded of her favourite bit of all. "And she has this adorable little English accent."

With the last of her wife's words, a similar looking smirk began to appear on Wanda's own face. "Well now I'm intrigued.”

Natasha smiled back at her words as she shrugged a shoulder. "As I said, I played around a little bit and Wands..." The redhead had to suppress a sigh as she reached for her wife's hand. "I just know how much fun she'd be," she continued, her voice almost a whine. "I mean, she gets flustered so easily. One little pet name and she's already hiding away her flushed face."

Wanda's smirk deepened as Natasha continued to talk, stirred further by the slight desperation she could hear in the redhead's voice. She had to wonder just how long she'd been wondering about this one student and just how much fun she was getting to have without her... "Go ahead, malysh," Wanda replied finally, squeezing her wife's hand gently. "I trust your instincts. You'll just have to introduce me sometime soon."

Natasha's brows shot up. "You're sure?"

"Yeah," Wanda chuckled back slightly, amused by the excitement underlying Nat's voice. When she spoke again, her lips had formed a devilish smirk. "It'll be fun. It's been a while since we had somebody to play with."

———

The funeral was awful. Of course, one never expects such an event to be the epitome of joy, but this particular funeral was like your own personally curated hell. Your entire family was gathered in one place, meaning not only were your parents’ critiques breathed down your neck the entire time, but they were also joined by those more distant. Grandparents and judgmental aunts seemed to team up on you, all obsessing over your university career and what your future plans were. Many pestered the question of your singularity, claiming that ‘a pretty young thing like you should have been swept up by a man a long time ago’. Unfortunately, the almost-compliment that could be found in their talk, was quickly diminished by the discussion of how it must be something wrong with your personality rather than your face, comments all whispered from where they thought you couldn’t hear.

There was no escape from the constant berating, your schedule full of family meals and teas, and far too lengthy conversations around the fireplace, of which you could not be excused due to your mother’s abhorrence of anyone ever thinking of her children as rude. To make matters worse, you were exhausted from jet lag and the flight, something certainly not helped by the endless hours of socializing and pressing on a smile for your family.

Still, you pushed through like the perfect daughter you always tried to be. You sat politely at the funeral, wearing an old black dress and Kate’s coat, the perfume of your best friend aiding a little to your torturous discomfort. Though your family cried, your eyes remained dry, silently staring at your feet and trying not to draw any attention to yourself. At the funeral tea, you shook hands and smiled softly at family members, answering any questions they asked with the grace your mother had forced upon your shoulders at a young age. Of course, she found her usual pride in parading you and your brother around like a pair of trophies she’d spent hours shining. The entirety of every event was exhausting.

Even at the will reading, there was no break to be given. Your late grandmother had graciously scattered her belongings to her loved ones, though seemingly biased to those who she deemed more palatable. Your brother received a chunk of her money alongside her old ring, something the family gushed over due to the prospect of his long-term girlfriend who he could now finally pop the big question to. Your rolled your eyes as they pandered over him, all blatantly dismissive of the old bible you’d been left, with your grandmother’s handwriting inside with a note of how she wished for it to be read out of at your wedding when you finally found yourself a suitable husband. You had simply rolled your eyes and shoved it to the bottom of your bag.

All that being said, it was a huge relief to you when you finally made your way back to the airport. Though you’d had to spend the journey constantly criticized by your mother about your uni work, as soon as you stepped on to the plane, relief was flooding over your shoulders. As the sky came to fill the widow, clouds passing by, you were more than grateful to be heading back to the true place you thought of as home.

Kate came to pick you up from the airport, hugging you immediately and beginning to rant about the idiots she’d encountered in the car park as she pulled your case towards the exit. The pair of you went straight to a mcdonald’s drive thru, your hunger unquenched from the bad aeroplane food you’d been offered. Fries and hamburgers were shared in the front seat of the car as you relayed back your awful week to Kate, telling her everything that you hadn’t even had the chance to text her due to your family’s never-ending nagging.

That weekend was very stressful. Due to the packed schedule you had followed back in England, you’d had next to no time to complete any of your work from that week. So, from morning until night, you cooped yourself up at your desk and ground it all out. At times, Kate had to drag you down to the hall for some food or persistently remind you to even go to bathroom. In the end however, you managed to get it all finished. By eleven o’clock Sunday night, you were finally all caught up from your missed classes and had completed all your deadlines. The light in the room were low, only your small desk lamp lighting up the space. Kate slept in her bed, hair fanning out across the pillows. You were quiet as you cleaned your space, eyeing the untouched plate of food Kate had brought up for you after you’d refused to go down for dinner. It was long cold now and you felt a little guilty throwing it out, but you were far too tired now to think about eating. Instead, you simply turned off the light and slid yourself into your bed, finally letting your mind rest and prepare itself to return to your regularly scheduled classes the next morning.

———

"Alright everyone, that's all for today's lesson. Are there any questions?"

Like always, the bustle began began your professor could even finish his sentence. Everyone was already packing away their things, drowning out the teacher's voice with their own hustle to leave. It happened almost every class, and almost every time you felt bad, one of the only people who remained still until they had officially dismissed you. But today, you found yourself following the crowd more than you usually would have. See, your professor had droned on a bit too long that afternoon, moving into the passing period you had between classes. Most times that wouldn't have been a big deal seeing as it was your last class of the day, but today was the day you were supposed to meet Professor Romanoff and thanks to your English professor's extensive elaborations, you were left with only a few minutes until you'd be late. So today you put your cares aside and as the class packed up, so did you, stuffing everything into your backpack and throwing it over your shoulder before joining the crowd exiting the lecture hall.

Your English building was on the exact opposite side of campus as your destination, so your feet held a quick pace as you flitted between the crowds of students on your way. Pathways were held up by casually conversing people, all relaxed now their days were over. They all annoyed you severely as they slowed down your journey, obviously uncaring that you still had places to be. By the time you had reached the building in which your Russian class was held, the clock was already a few minutes passed the scheduled time. You almost burst in through the doors of the hall, ever so slightly out of breath from your fast paced journey across campus. As soon as you entered the room, you spied the redheaded professor sat at her desk, head buried into her laptop. She looked up to you as you walked across the floor, nervously adjusting the backpack straps on your shoulders. "Hi," you breathed out, trying your best to seem casual despite your racing lungs. "I'm sorry I'm a little late. My last lecture ran over a little."

A pair of perfectly white teeth smiled back in your direction, Professor Romanoff looking you over. "Y/N," she said, her gentle voice falling upon your ears. Something about it in that moment made you realize you had almost missed it over your break, but the rational part of your brain soon took over and told you you were being ridiculous. "Don't worry about being late, you're barely two minutes over." She smiled again as you closed the final distance between you, moving to stand by the edge of her desk. She stood as you did, displaying today a pair of grey slacks and a soft black jumper, all adorned with delicate gold jewelry. Her smiling face looked down at you, that forgotten odd feeling of warmth spreading through your gut. "It's good to see you again. How are you? How was your trip?"

You ignored the sensation in your stomach as you smiled back at her. "I'm good. The trip was fine. A little boring but fine." There were many worse words to describe your trip than ‘boring' but you decide to settle for that, not wanting to bother your professor with the complicated details of your family and more so, simply wanting to leave the entire week in the past and not think of it again.

“That’s good,” Professor Romanoff replied with that same easy smile. “I’m glad to hear you’re alright.” Her hands lifted from the pockets they hid in, reaching out to open a drawer of her desk. You wondered for a moment what she might be looking for before she pulled out a small stack of papers, extending them out towards you. “These are some extra notes from last week’s lectures.”

You smiled, slightly surprised. “Oh, thank you.” Most of your university work could be found online for both absence and revision purposes, but it never was quite the same as attending the classes themselves. Usually you hated using just the online notes to catch up, never grasping the material as well as you’d like, but this weekend you’d had to make do. That was, of course, until Professor Romanoff handed you the extra notes. “That’s very kind of you.”

“Well,” your professor replied. “I wouldn’t want my best student falling behind, would I?”

Her words worked to form that warm sensation across your cheeks, the given title heating up your insides with flustering pride. You were grateful the woman had started to busy herself at her desk with something else as you tried to brush off her compliments as smoothly as possible, attempting to hide the flush of your skin.

“You can grab a chair from the side. Bring it over.”

You nodded, almost snapping back to reality once more with Professor Romanoff’s words. You placed your backpack down beside her desk, quickly slotting the extra notes into the large pocket before moving to grab a spare chair from the edge of the room. When you returned, your professor had seemingly found what she was searching for, a large stack of papers now sat in the centre of the desk.

“Sit,” Romanoff beckons with a smile, gesturing her hand towards the front of her desk. You pull up your chair, positioning yourself across from her own seated position. “These are tests I need marked. They’re all multiple choice and there’s a marking scheme.” The redhead lifted a single piece of paper, handing it over your way. “So you’ll just have to see if the letters match up on both papers. That sound okay?”

You nodded once more, her instructions seeming simple enough. “Yeah, sounds fine.”

“Great.” With a smile, Professor Romanoff slid the pile of unmarked papers across the desk towards you. She explained that if you needed any help, just to ask, and that she’d just be busying herself on her laptop. You nodded again, reaching into your backpack quickly for a pen before you began to work away.

It was an easy job really, simply matching the circled letters on the quiz papers to that of the marking scheme. In truth, it was almost relaxing to have something to do that didn’t require much brain power. Professor Romanoff sat across from you, typing away on her laptop. Occasionally, you’d look up to take a glance at her, catching moments of concentration or boredom on her face, but your eyes would never linger long, too scared of getting caught looking her way. She’d turned on the radio to fill a bit of the silence, music humming softly from a black stereo on the edge of the desk. All in all, the endeavour was a blessing in disguise - much simpler and easier than the effort the equivalent assignment would have took.

“You getting on alright, milaya?”

The voice brought you from the almost trance you’d put yourself in as you marked the set of papers. Your head rose from them, more than half the stack already complete as you smiled back at your professor. “Yeah, all good.”

She nodded, smiling at you with her perpetually perfect red lips. Under her gaze, you felt your eyes drop back to the papers, for some reason feeling entirely too see every time she looked your way. She went to turn back towards her laptop, your hand reaching out to continue marking, but a lingering question had been vibrating in your head. You had been too afraid to ask before, to be the one to break the soft silence of the room, but now was your opportunity. “Are these law papers?”

Professor Romanoff looked back at you, her expression soft. “Yes,” she said, simply. “I also teach a beginners law class alongside my usual Russian.”

You felt your eyebrows raise, unexpecting of her answer but also rather impressed. Now it made sense why the papers you were marking were not at all taking about Russian vocabulary but instead legal terminology.

“I studied a law major at college,” the red haired woman continued. “It was going to be my career until I decided to teach instead.”

“Huh,” you hummed, interested by the new information you were discovering about your teacher. “Why’d you decide to switch?”

Romanoff shrugged a shoulder. “Honestly, I love teaching.” A small smirk then appeared on her lips as she leaned in closer across the table. “Besides, my wife is a lawyer and just between me and you, I’m not sure I’d like her as my boss. She can be a little scary sometimes.”

There was a playfulness to her tone that you easily pick up on, the entire interaction meant as a jest, but somehow it left you with a strange feeling in your chest. You listened to your professor’s words, but your mind seemed to stick on one. Wife. In that moment, you suddenly realised you hadn’t pictured her being married - not that you had pictured her at all, your mind chided in defence. Now you quickly realised that she was indeed with another person, and not just that, but with a woman. Suddenly you had to push your mother’s berating thoughts from your head.

“So what about you?”

“Sorry?” you replied, mind crashing back to the present moment. Professor Romanoff looked back at you with an almost playful looking smirk. It only added to that strange feeling inside your chest.

“What’s your major?” the redhead elaborated.

“Oh.” You sat up straighter, trying to adjust your jumper in an effort to conceal the fact you’d gotten lost in your thoughts once more. “I’m an English major.” Romanoff raised a brow, the smirk on her face widening to almost a smile. You sighed softly, throwing your head to the side. “You can make the joke if you want, everyone does.”

An English girl studying English. You’d heard almost every variation of the joke, mostly from drunk boys at frat parties that thought they were the pinnacle of humour. Shouldn’t you already be an expert at that? Wait, they don’t teach you English in England?

You were expecting some similar turn of phrase to escape your professors lips, following in the footsteps of everyone you’d had this conversation with before. But to your surprise, she simply shook her head, frowning ever so slightly. “I think I’ll refrain,” she said, frown turning into the same wide smirk. “I hate being unoriginal.”

A laugh bubbled up in your throat, pushing out through a smile and into the air. Your professor followed, chuckling with you. After a moment, she stilled, looking back at you curiously. “So, tell me,” she said, leaning in closer to the desk. “What does bring you all the way to America to study?”

Because I can’t stand being at home with my parents. “Experience, I guess,” you said with a shrug, hiding away the truth behind a smile. “And I got a full scholarship when I applied so…” Your words died down, not quite sure how to finish your explanation.

Thankfully, your professor seemed to pick up the conversation easily. “A very smart girl, hm?” Her lips met as she hummed and it seemed you could feel the vibrations running down your spine. Your eyes fell back to your lap, trying to hide the awkward smile her praise had brought. You were unsure of what exactly you should do, contemplating if her question was rhetoric or not, and praying the former due to your inability to think of a response. Blessedly, Professor Romanoff cut through your mind’s distress with another question. “You’re in fourth year, right?”

Your eyes picked back up, meeting hers. “Yeah.”

She smiled, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared back at you intently. “And what exactly lead a fourth year English student to my beginner’s Russian class?”

You were getting a little bit of deja vu of the conversation you’d had with Kate multiple times. This time, you settled on the short answer. “I thought it sounded interesting,” you said simply, smiling as you shrugged your shoulders.

Professor Romanoff seemed amused by your answer. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”

You felt yourself smiling back in response. So am I, your brain mused, but your consciousness refused to let anything move past your lips. Instead, Romanoff was picking up the conversation once again. “What’s your plans for after?”

Your eyebrows raised, suddenly surprised by her question. “Sorry?”

The redhead chuckled. “Once you graduate, sweetheart,” she said, voice sounding slightly amused. “What do you plan to do with the rest of your life?”

“Oh right,” you fumbled. You felt a little stupid for thinking she ever meant anything other than that. “My, uh…my mum wants me to go to law school actually…”

A red brow raised in your direction. “Oh yeah?”

You nodded, reminiscent of your previous chatter with your professor. A funny little coincidence that you two may be following a similar path. Although in that moment, you couldn’t help but be a little jealous. She had eventually fallen away from law, moving to a career she was truly passionate for. You were unsure if you’d ever get that opportunity. It had taken months just to convince your mother to let you major in English, claiming it was good for getting into law school after college. And after three years, you still hadn’t been able to convince her away from that same dream of hers, now unsure if you ever would.

“And what to do you want to do?”

“What?” Your professor’s words took you by surprise. When you looked up, it felt as if her eyes had seen straight through you, like she’d been able to hear your every thought.

“Your mother wants you to go to law school,” Professor Romanoff reiterated. “What do you want to do after you graduate?”

Your voice was unsteady in your response. “Go to law school?”

Professor Romanoff raised a brow as she angled her head. “Are you asking me?” All you could muster was a shrug, feeling suddenly very small in the large hall. You didn’t much like talking about what you wanted to do in your life, haven forgone the gesture years ago due to your mother’s constant coercion. But then your professor leaned in slightly, a small smile crossing her lips. “You can tell me the truth, sweetheart,” she said. “I’m very good at keeping secrets.”

The endearment fell on your already blushed cheeks. Most times you wouldn’t have said anything at all, hidden behind the lies your mother had constructed about your person, but something about the redhead’s smile almost drew the words directly from your mouth. “I guess if I could do anything, I’d be a writer,” you said, playing at the sleeves of your sweater.

“A writer?” Romanoff repeated, raising a pair of curious brows.

You felt yourself nodding as a small smile crept on to your lips. “Yeah. I love books and writing, and I guess it’s what I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a little girl.”

“Why don’t you do it then?”

Her words came as a shock, your system unsure of how exactly to respond. You shrank back under the redhead’s gaze, reminded of the words you’d been told so many times they were engraved into your mind. “It’ll be good for me to go to law school. My mum says I’ll get a better job.”

“Maybe…” Professor Romanoff hummed. Then her expression changed to something you couldn’t quite understand as she leaned in closer, her emerald eyes trained on your face. “But do you know what my birth mother used to say about me? She used to tell me I was useless little piece of shit that wouldn’t get anywhere in life.” Your eyebrows raised slightly in shock as you heard her words, especially on the fact she’d cursed so easily and how oddly good it sounded coming from her lips. Then her expression shifted again, an almost smugness taking over that drew your attention away from your own thoughts. “Thirty years later I’m a professor at one of the most prestigious universities in America. I’m married to a very successful lawyer, and living quite frankly an amazing life with a pair of adoptive parents who love me very much.”

Professor Romanoff finished with a small smirk, seemingly unaware of how her words settled on your shoulders. The entire statement was so weighted, so much shared about her as a person in so few words. Something in you felt slightly honoured that she could be that vulnerable around you, or perhaps her story wasn’t one she kept bundled up in her chest like you did, like a weighted lock on your heart. Still, you felt a sense of solace in learning more about your professor, a sense of trust being built in up inside. Her smiling eyes met yours as she leaned in even further on the desk. “Don’t let people who don’t know the real you keep you from what you want. We only get one life, Y/N. Don’t waste it trying to be someone you’re not.”

Her words settled in your stomach with an odd sensation. Her reassurance felt like another brick added to that wall of trust, perhaps her intention to try and learn more of your story. But maybe that trust wasn’t quite strong enough yet.

You shied away, unwilling to share more of your story despite how open Romanoff had seemed, years of criticisms sitting heavy on your shoulders. “Maybe,” you said lowly, picking up your pen once again. But you knew you’d never truly be able to follow through with what she was proposing you should, knew your future fate was already sealed by the woman who’d brought you into this world. She’d have a perfect daughter with her perfect career and wouldn’t settle for less, no matter how it made you feel. For now, all Professor Romanoff’s words could provide was a little fuel to that already dying fire of a dream inside your heart.

The pair of you quickly fell back into the steady silence of your work after your conversation, you pen dotting over papers as your professor turned back to her laptop. The radio played quietly in the background as you tried to push whatever words lingered in your head, both from your mother and the redhead in front of you, too many feeling provoked from the subject to allow you to focus properly. Dispelling them from your mind, you trained your eyes on the marking schemes in front of you, though having some of the answers memorised by now, and continued to work away at the stack of tests on the desk.

Time passed quickly once more, your speed increasing as the papers became more familiar in your hands, easily noticing the same mistakes made over and over. Occasionally you heard Romanoff begin to hum along to a song on the radio, focusing momentarily on her soft voice before refocusing on your work. In your mind, you became determined to finish them as quickly as you could, absentmindedly hoping to impress the woman they were for.

You were almost finished your task, down to the very last paper when a shrill sound cut through the soft atmosphere of the room. Both you and your professor’s heads shot up from your work, eyes turning to your backpack from where the loud ringtone emanated. Shit, you thought, obviously accidentally turning on the ringer that you always kept silenced.

“I’m sorry,” you said, glancing over at your professor in slight fear of her reprimand. But in return, you were only met with a soft smile.

“Don’t worry, milaya,” Romanoff replied gently. “This isn’t class time. You can answer your phone.”

Relieved by her answer, you let out a soft sigh. Reaching over, you began to dig through your bag to find your mobile, the nonsensical tune still ringing out. With no suprise, when you found it, Kate’s name and profile picture covered your screen. Quietly, you apologised again before accepting the call, slightly turning away in your chair as you held your phone to your ear.

“Hello?”

“Y/N!” Kate’s voice replied back from the other end of the device. She sounded slightly off but you couldn’t quite tell why.

“Are you okay? What’s up?”

A small sigh sounded in your ear. “Okay, please don’t get mad at me again but-“

You were replying with a sigh of your own before Kate could even finish her sentence. “You forgot your key again, didn’t you?”

“I’m so sorry,” the girl on the end of the other phone pleaded.

You sighed again, shaking your head. “Kate, how many times-“

“I know! I know,” she cut off. “I’m the worst person ever. But I slept in this morning and just forgot to put it in my bag. I’m sorry.”

Your sigh turned less frustrated. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” At your core you weren’t a confrontational person. You could never stay mad at anyone for long, especially Kate.

“Well, I came back to the room and you’re not here,” your best friend continued through the phone. “I thought you were finished english at three?”

“I am,” you replied. “But I’m helping out Professor Romanoff, remember? I’m in her class right now.”

You could hear Kate’s realisation through the call. “Shit. I am so sorry.” There was a pause. You could picture Kate dancing on the heels of her feet, the same way she did every time she needed to ask you a favour. “Uhm, could I possibly swing by and pick up your key then? Please Y/N, I really need to finish my computing assignment. It’s due at five.”

If there was anyone who would leave their work until one hour before the deadline, it was Kate. Another soft sigh escaped your lips. “Fine.”

Kate’s smile could practically be heard through the phone. “Thank you! What room are you in?”

“Language building, room ML4.”

“Okay,” Kate replied. “I’ll be right there. You’re the best, I love you.”

You couldn’t help but smile a little as you responded. “Love you too.”

With that, Kate hung up the call. You pulled your phone away from your ear, switching it off and throwing it in your pocket as you turned back in your chair. “I’m so sorry,” you began, facing back to your professor. “It’s my roommate, Kate. She’s locked herself out again.”

Romanoff raised a curious glance. “Again?”

“Bad habit.” You smiled back sheepishly, shrugging your shoulder. “She’s just going to stop by and pick up my key, if that’s alright?”

The redhead smiled back at you. “Of course. That’s perfectly fine.” A small sigh of relief escaped your lips, glad that the encounter wouldn’t be a problem. “But I think we’re actually almost done here,” Romanoff continued. “How are you getting on with those papers.”

“Oh, yeah,” you replied, pulling yourself back towards the desk and the stack of papers sat atop of it. “I’m actually just on the last one.”

“Well if you just finish that up, you can run along with your friend when she gets here.”

“You’re sure?” you replied, looking up. You didn’t want Kate’s endeavour to disrupt any of the help your professor needed. But the redhead simply nodded in response.

“I’m sure, Y/N.”

“Okay then,” you responded, nodding your head softly. A small smile was passed between the two of you before you were grabbing your pen once more, reaching out to finish marking the final test in the stack. Your hand moved quickly as you corrected any of the mistakes, flicking through the sheets of paper at an impressive rate. It was just as you were marking the last question that the noise of the hall doors opening drew your attention.

Clamouring in, Kate appeared inside the hall, her backpack momentarily getting caught on the handle before she was able to free herself. She stood sheepishly inside the room, looking across the way and spying you and your professor sat at the desk. “Uhm, hello,” the girl announced. You could tell she was trying to play it cool but she had that same almost awkward look she got whenever a girl she liked try to talk to her. “I’m, uh, Kate Bishop. Y/N’s roommate.” Her finger pointed to you, as if trying to prove she hadn’t barged in for no apparent reason.

Professor Romanoff had stood from her desk as Kate had entered, her hands finding a place resting inside her pockets. Now, she smiled across at her. “Yeah, she mentioned.”

Kate gave that awkward little laugh of hers and you had to refrain from not giggling at her yourself. “Sorry to just barge in on you guys. Are you still…” Her hands gestured towards you and the desk, trying to gage where you were with the work.

But Romanoff simply shook her head in response with a short smile. “No worries, Miss Bishop. We were just finishing up.”

Kate’s eyebrows raised. “Great,” she replied, sticking one of her thumbs up.

You had to stifle your laughs at her awkwardness. Was this how she interacted with all of her professors, or just the ones she didn’t know? As you hid your smile, you tidied up the stack of papers on the desk, piling them up neatly before rising to your feet. “Okay, Miss Romanoff,” you said, slightly pushing them in her direction. “Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do for you?”

The woman turned back to you with her gentle smile, her voice soft. “That’ll be all for today, Y/N.”

“Okay,” you replied, adjusting your jumper as you reached down for your backpack, throwing it over one shoulder. “Well, thank you again for this.”

Romanoff smiled. “No, thank you. I’d be drowning in work without your helpful hands.” A smirk seemed to form on her lips as she sent an emerald wink your way.

The action left you suddenly stuttering for the right words, embarrassingly affected by such a simple action. “Right,” you finally managed, voice jumbled. “I’ll uh- see you on Wednesday?”

Thankfully Professor Romanoff didn’t seem too bothered by your flustering state, if anything you might have said she even looked amused. “I’ll see you in class, Y/N,” she said, smiling down at you.

You returned the gesture as you turned away, walking to close the distance between where you and Kate stood. As you met the raven-haired girl’s side, a voice called out to the both of you. “Have a nice night, ladies.”

You turned briefly to Romanoff, smiling as you and Kate hummed a thanks in unison. As you passed through the doors to the hall and exited into the corridor, you felt your shoulders loosen ever so slightly, that perfect emerald stare still lingering in your mind. You couldn’t quite understand why you left that class always feeling so worked up.

This time, however, there was little space for you to think about it, as merely a few steps down the hallway, Kate was grabbing hold of your upper arm. “Holy shit, that’s your Russian professor?”

You turned quickly to your best friend, both startled and shocked by her sudden comment. “What? Yeah?”

Kate breathed out a laugh. “Y/N, you never told me she was hot as shit.”

“What?” you stuttered, taken about by Kate’s choice of words. “She’s not- I mean -I-I never noticed.”

The girls hand shook your arm slightly as the pair of you continued to walk. “Never noticed? Y/N, you must be blind because that was one of the most attractive women I’ve ever seen.”

The words come as a bit of shock, not expecting Kate to think so highly of the woman you’d been spending the last weeks of lessons with. The raven-haired girl began to mumble on about how she should have taken Russian and how it was unfair how she always got the old, ugly professors. But in all honeslty you weren’t paying her much mind, instead focusing on the words that had spilled from Kate’s mouth previously. Sure, Professor Romanoff was a nice-looking woman, you’d noticed that the first time she’d walked into the room, but that didn’t mean you should be attracted to her. That was wrong, she was your teacher, she was married for god’s sake. You shouldn’t be thinking about her in that way. You weren’t thinking about her in that way. Sure, she made you blush every time she spoke to you, and her stare made a strange warmth pool in your stomach, but that didn’t mean you found her attractive. Right?

———

Term continued on with its usual snowballing effect. The next couple of weeks began to fill up with more and more work as you progressed further into the year. You and Kate spent many of your time outside of lessons bundled up in the library, spending hours revising for your upcoming midterms. The pair of you were also beginning to write your final dissertations, the main project that would lead to your graduation at the end of the year. You'd had your topic picked for months and had already started your research over the Summer, which left you room to help Kate find something she could write about, having struggled finding a topic she didn't find extremely boring.

Your usual meal time chatter turned away from mindless gossip and instead to lesson content, both of you complaining about how many assignments you had due. The carefree start of term was officially gone and the usual endless list of deadlines had crept back up on you just like it always did. Luckily for you, you'd managed to maintain the rigidness towards studying you'd possessed since doing your exams in secondary school. You could maintain focus for hours, staring at your laptop or notes until everything was photocopied into your mind. Sure, it sometimes meant you'd miss a meal or a few hours of sleep, but it was all worth it for the perfect grade you were determined to achieve in the end.

Your sessions with Professor Romanoff continued on over the next couple of weeks too, still just an hour after your final class on a Monday. You'd offered her more help if she'd needed it but the redhead had politely refused, claiming she didn't want you wasting your time when you had exams to study for. In fact, she told you that she'd only require your help for a few more weeks, just up until the midterm, then you were free to go with that easy 'A' tucked into your pocket. Surprisingly, when you heard the news, you found yourself feeling slightly saddened. Over the time you'd spent with Professor Romanoff, you'd rather enjoyed yourself. It wasn't that the work was particularly exhilarating or you two ever did much other than look at papers, but the small moments you'd been able to find in between had been rather pleasant. Whether it was the soft lull of the radio music that you both would hum along to, or the small conversations she'd have with you about your home or your studies, the time you spent with the redhead somehow always left you with a warmth in the pit of your stomach.

One particular rainy Monday afternoon, the pair of you were comfortably sat at her desk in your usual positions, your chair across the way from hers. As she often did, Romanoff typed away on her laptop, while you sat stapling together test papers for her advanced Russian class, having previously just photocopied the stack. The paper was still warm against your skin as you organised them into the correct order, the feeling almost soothing you into a trance-like state. You hadn't even noticed it at all until it was suddenly shattered by a soft sound echoing through the room.

Your head picked up, readjusting itself to the real world before turning to the right where the sound emanated from. The sight that befell upon you caused your brows to raise ever so slightly in surprise. As the door to the lecture hall swung closed, a tall, unfamiliar, but smartly-dressed woman entered through them. Her heels clicked confidently across the floor, eyes trained on your professor who sat at the desk. You watched as the redhead stood when the woman reached her, smiling softly. "Detka, hi." Romanoff placed a small kiss on the woman's cheek as they hugged briefly.

"I tried to call but it went straight to voicemail," the other woman replied. She stood a few inches taller than Professor Romanoff, her hair a lighter shade of red straightened almost perfectly down her back. She wore a deep copper suit with a crisp white shirt, a designer handbag thrown over one shoulder. In all honesty, you couldn't tell if she'd came straight from work or a catwalk. When her body turned to stand side by side with your professor, you noticed her eyes shimmered down at you with a soft olive green. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise you would still have company."

At that, you noticed Professor Romanoff turn towards you, as if she had just remembered you were there. She smiled as she gestured to the taller woman. "Y/N, this is my wife, Wanda."

Right, wife. The idea she'd slipped a few weeks ago had almost left your mind entirely. Now that said woman was standing directly in front of you, looking down with an expression you couldn't quite read. "So you're the star pupil my wife has been telling me about, hm?"

Her voice was playful when she spoke, but at the same time low and almost sultry. Everything about it, including her words, left you stuttering over what to say. Had Professor Romanoff really been speaking about you to her wife?

"This is she," the redhead replied, covering for your inability to form a full sentence. She looked back at you with that same easy-going smile that seemed to make you shift in your seat.

Wanda passed you a similar expression as she inclined her head towards you, smirking just slightly. "Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Thankfully, in that moment, your ability to speak seemed to return. "It's nice to meet you too, miss."

A small chuckle escaped the older woman's lips as you spoke. She glanced at Natasha, the pair sharing a look you couldn't interpret, before her sparkling eyes were back on you. "Oh please, honey. You can just call me Wanda." Just then you realised it wasn't only your professor's use of nicknames that seemed to send a shiver down your spine, Wanda's words setting your nerves on edge as you felt the heat flush to your cheeks. You looked down to your lap in an attempt to hide it, not wanting either woman to see your embarrassed state. From the corner of your eye, however, you saw Wanda wasn't going to let you hide that easily. She sat herself on the edge of the desk, leaning in closer to you and the stack of papers close by. "Working hard, are we?"

You looked back up to meet her eye, the action seemingly stripping away your speech once more. Thankfully, your professor stood up to answer for you. "Just getting some papers organised for my lesson tomorrow," she said, sitting herself down at her chair once more. Her eyes met her wife's. "Sorry, I didn't realise we'd run so late." Just then, you assumed why Wanda had shown up so unnanounced. Professor Romanoff had mentioned in passing that her wife would sometimes meet her after work, meaning that your sessions couldn't run any later even if she did need the extra help you offered.

"No, need to apologise," Wanda replied with an easy smile. "I don't mind sticking around while you guys finish up. Especially when your little assistant is so cute." Her eyes turned to you, a smirk playing on her lips. The entire action seemed to freeze you in place, entirely unsure of what to say or do.

"Cat gets her tongue sometimes."

Your eyes flicked to your professor as she spoke, a very similar smirk appearing on her face to match her wife sitting next to her. The taller redhead hummed lowly at her comment, her gaze tracing over you. Sat in that chair, you felt entirely too seen. Your eyes darted around, unsure of where exactly to look while the pair of older women watched you. If there was something you were supposed to say, you mind could not conjure it. In that moment all you could do was sit awkwardly as two pairs of green eyes traced your every movement.

But then, a familiar tune rang out to your rescue. When before you'd cursed your forgetfulness to turn off your ringer, now you silently thanked yourself. Your eyes rushed to your backpack, then quickly back to your professor and her wife. "I'm sorry," you stuttered out. "Could I?"

"Go on, milaya."

You tried your best to ignore your professor's comment as you reached into your backpack for your phone, quickly holding it up to your ear. To no surprise, it was a familiar voice singing a familiar tune. Still, you found the situation grateful for its diversion from the stalemate conversation you'd been stuck in beforehand. As you hung up the call a minute later, you turned back to the desk with a sheepish smile. "It's Kate, she's locked herself out again."

Professor Romanoff raised a perfect brow. "That really is a bad habit of hers, hm?"

You fought back a small chuckle at her words, surprised she even remembered you'd said that. "Yeah," you smiled back, then dropped it into a small frown. "I am so sorry-"

Before you could even finish your sentence, the redhead was holding up her hand to stop you. "Don't worry about it, milaya. You can run along. I'll catch you in class on Wednesday."

Your eyebrows raised, not wanting to be an inconvenience to her yet again. "You're sure? I can easily-"

"I said it's fine, Y/N," Romanoff reiterated, her voice coming out more stern. It wasn't quite angry, just firm, but it was enough to shut your mouth right up. You looked back, eyes wide, afraid that you'd annoyed her by leaving early twice due to your roommates negligence. But at your response, the redhead simply smiled down softly at you angling her head towards the door. "Go on. I can handle the rest."

You found your head nodding almost on its own accord, directed by not only your professor's watchful eye but now that of her wife's too. Your words came out little and few, a mumbled thank you and another apology spilling from your lips as you packed up your bag and threw it over your shoulders. One last reassurance and smile sent you walking out the door, headed back to your dorm where Kate would be waiting for you. As you went, you were hyper aware of the two sets of eyes trained on your back, picturing the two redheaded woman still sitting at the desk watching you walk away. What you weren't exactly aware of was how their gaze dropped even lower, both staring at the short black skirt you'd decided to wear that day, watching how the material grazed lightly against the back of your tight-covered thighs. When you exited out the door, you couldn't see the way the taller redhead turned back to her wife, looking down at her from where she still sat on the desk, a wide smirk appearing on her face as she bit into a perfectly painted lip. You couldn't see the way the pair looked at each other, leaning closer in, nor hear the words Wanda uttered back to her wife before their lips met in a kiss.

"You're right, she is cute. Let's keep her."

#inescapable love au #professor natasha romanoff #lawyer wanda maximoff #natasha romanoff x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #wandanat x reader #wanda x reader #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff #platonic kate bishop x reader

[kquil]

JAMES POTTER | JOINT SCHEDULE

request. : Hey can you do some more ice hockey player James imagines? I love them sm! —@prongsbandit

sum. : you booked the university's ice rink to practice your routine for an upcoming competition but so did the university's ice hockey team, whose captain screwed up the timings

g. : fluff ; modern au ; ice hockey player james ; figure skater reader ; shy reader ; university au ; jock james potter ; supportive figure skating coach ; supportive hockey team

length : 1.6k

In preparation for an upcoming figure skating competition, you were dedicated to getting in as much practice as possible. Thankfully, you were able to book the university ice rink for two months in the lead up to the competition. Your regular practice sessions were every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for five in the late afternoon until seven. It was a bit excessive but you wanted to win. Many of your friends view you as someone sweet and docile but also hard working and quite the perfectionist. What they don’t realise is how competitive you can be behind the scenes. Everytime you cancel plans, you usually excuse yourself with the ‘I’m busy’ reasoning that your close friends readily accept, believing that you were working through papers and research articles for uni classes when, in actuality, you were spending time in the rink. 

Today, you had brought with you your portable stereo to go through the routine with the music over and over again, gradually perfecting the appearance of your more grandiose moves as well as the sequence of your steps on the ice. It felt good being at this stage of your development, the entirety of your routine has been choreographed already and had been revised by your coach, who suggested some minor changes but approved it overall — you knew what you were doing, it was just the case of perfecting things now, something you were talented at and even enjoyed. 

The main focus for today’s session was the polishing of the big jumps and ambitious spins of your routine. It was a little tiresome and you don’t believe you’d be able to cover all of them for this session but you never really expected to in the first place. Your only saving grace was that you had some time to apply light makeup earlier in celebration for the new figure skating set you were gifted by your parents. It was an all black set that paired a sleek skort with a long sleeved turtle neck top that had lacing to decorate the open back and thumb holes in the sleeves as the hem reached half way up your palms. You liked feeling pretty in practices, it always helped to encourage your self-confidence so there was always a little spike in your performance. The praises of your supervising coach was all you needed to confirm this fact. 

“Brilliant, my girl! Again!” Vera sang her high praises from the stands and helped you control the music whenever you wanted to repeat a particular part of the choreo. For this routine, you had settled for something more elegant and based the choreography around the ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ by Tchaikovsky. The soundtrack made you miss the time you did ballet until you were fifteen before eventually falling in love with figure skating. A lot of your routines tend to be based around the elegance of ballet in addition to the complicated turns, spins and jumps that encompassed figure skating; your coach, Vera, loved how you were able to combine both sports in such a seamless way. 

The music kept playing even after you had repeated the skid spiral so you naturally flowed into rehearsing more of your choreo, allowing muscle memory and the music to guide you over the ice as you subconsciously waited for Vera to pause the music and ask you to repeat something that didn’t look quite right. Polishing up the routine was filled with more critiques than any stage of creating your final performance so your anticipation for Vera to pause the music, repeat a move and provide additional tips lingered in the back of your mind as you flawlessly spiralled into one of your most difficult spins — a one-handed beillman. 

“Beautiful Beautiful!” Vera praised, clapping as you gradually spun out of the position before abandoning the routine and grinning widely to yourself, proud and giddy for finally nailing the transition and spin. 

“Vera!” you shout across the ice and over the music, cheering with your fists raised to the air in victory, “I did it!” It was then when you realised that Vera’s clapping was accompanied with an entire audience of applause and your panicked eyes fell upon a grinning hockey player standing beside your coach, behind them was a team of hockey players, some whistling and whooping in between their applause. 

As you tried to catch your breath and suppress your bashfulness, you gathered that Vera had neglected to reply to the soundtrack to discuss something with the hockey player, and so, it seems that the entire hockey team just saw a glimpse of your routine. Eventually, Vera paused the music and motioned you over, looking to discuss something. 

“Wh-what’s wrong?” you ask upon reaching the sidelines, fiddling with the hem of your sleeves as you avoided the hockey player’s eyes. He was dressed in most of his equipment, only missing his headgear, and was sporting the dopiest grin on his face. “It appears as though the university hockey team had booked the rink to practise for a match happening early next week, however, there was some miscommunication over the timings and schedules,” you furrow your brows as Vera explains the situation before shyly glancing up at the hockey player beside her, who had unruly dark curls and glimmering hazel eyes behind a pair of cute glasses. It seems your simple acknowledgement of him was enough to prompt his self introduction. 

“I’m James,” he reaches out his gloved hand for you to shake, quickly taking it back to rip of his glove off before reaching to shake your hand once again, “James Potter, Captain of the Hockey team,” behind him the rest of the hockey players wave at you, some with friendly grins and others sporting a mischievous smirk as they regard their captain’s behaviour around you, “Vera explained that you were practising for a competition and also booked the rink in advance but since you got here early, we’ll put the decision to you,”

You raised a brow and tilted your head slightly, prompting him to continue, “make a decision on what?”

“On whether to kick us out and continue your practice or finish your practice early and allow us to have the rink for drills exercises and plays,” James finished, grinning at you with no malice and insinuating that he wouldn’t hold any ill-will over either outcome. 

“Oh!” your cheeks heat up under his warm voice, amiable manner, pretty eyes and charming dimples and you couldn’t help but stare for a moment before eventually shaking your head and giving him your resolve, “I’d be happy to give you the rink, I’ve covered a lot of ground already so I don’t mind,” James’s smile reaches his eyes once more and he nods. 

“You heard the lady boys, what do we say?” he shouts back to his team, his voice commanding attention and is as firm as his build, encouraging an ensemble of ‘thank you’s to sound from behind him, “Thank you very much,” James finishes and nods to his boys, signalling them to set up the rink and get ready for practice while you also take the time to shake off your nerves and walk off the ice, where James greets you once more.

“I hope you have a good and productive practice,” you wish him and offer a warm smile, your heart finally settled down to a semi-heightened beat. He’s really quite handsome…you think to yourself but quickly look away to, again, keep from staring too long. 

“Thank you and thanks again for letting us have the rink,” James takes your hand and lifts your knuckles to his lips — an act of gratitude that has a dangerous heat creeping up your neck to occupy your cheeks once more, “you’re very beautiful on the ice, by the way. I’m sure you’ll smash it at the competition, your competitors don’t stand a chance,” the two of you share pleasantries and more smiles before you finally make your way to the locker rooms to change with a straighter back and a lighter heart. 

What an encounter. 

“She practises every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 7pm,” Vera says out of nowhere as she approaches James, who stares off to where you had disappeared. 

“I’m sorry?” 

A stone cold look crosses over Vera’s face, “avoid those times at all costs,” she warns, her russian accent suddenly thick and intimidating, “my student doesn’t need any distractions,” the statement makes James raise a brow in question, “her competition is on the 14th November, held in the city community rink, and it starts at noon, don’t be late,”

Suffice to say, James wasn’t late to your competition, in fact,  he was early and he brought the entire hockey team with him to support you. You won second place but felt like a gold medalist when the hockey team hollered the loudest for you at the awarding ceremony and lifted you onto their shoulders with the congratulatory flowers James brought you in your arms and your silver medal around your neck.  To return the favour, you attended their next hockey game and made sure to shout the loudest whenever their team scored and eventually when their team won the match.

“When do you think our captain’s finally gonna grow some balls and ask out his ice skating ballerina?” Sirius whispers to his taller brunette friend.

“Let them take their time,” Remus replies, the two staring as James throws his arm over your shoulders and you wrap your own around the back of his waist, “everyone already thinks their dating anyway so they’ll get it eventually,”

“Wait! So they’re not actually dating yet?” Peter asks with a surprised face as the other two laugh, “But I swear I saw them kissing by the locker rooms before the game earlier!”

a/n : i know nothing about ice skating or ice hockey but i tried my best! i'm sorry if this is not very realistic. i also hope that the request was fulfilled to a satisfactory standard despite the long wait, i'm really sorry for that by the way (┳Д┳) nevertheless, i tried my best and i hope this made you happy, darling, thank you for the cute request (ɔˆ ³(ˆ⌣ˆc)

navi.

taglist : @ghostgardn @fredweasleysjumper @rosalyn-s @melinajenkins @astonishment @until-i-found-you @corp0real @sageskisses444 @celestcies @lovelydoveval @inlovewithremusjohnlupin @calums-betch @futurecorps3 @hihihi1112 @simpingforthe80s @yrluvjane @neeezza101 @chaosofmanyfandoms

#james potter x reader #james potter x you #james potter x y/n #james potter #james potter fluff #ice hockey player james potter #hockey player james potter #james potter fanfiction #𐂂 : timestamp #james potter imagine #james potter fic #marauders #📝 : request

[roosterforme]

The Younger Kind Part 17 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: You manage to help Bradley calm his nerves before his preliminary court appearance. Even just five minutes spent with you feels better than anything else. But when he sees Meredith again, the resentment and fear return. And he still can't help but dwell on why exactly she's so determined to get custody.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, swearing, and age gap (18+)

Length: 4400 words

Pairing: Single dad!Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x babysitter!female reader

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On Sunday night, when you were getting ready for bed, you dodged a phone call from Greyson. But a minute later your phone rang again, and this time it was Bradley. You answered it immediately. 

"Hi, Daddy."

Bradley's soft groan through the phone had you grinning. "Princess. I miss you, baby."

You flopped down onto your bed with the phone clutched to your ear. "Okay, Bradley. But you can't just say that right now when I can't even come over and see you."

He hummed into the phone, and you closed your eyes. You'd been there with him last night after Noah's party. You'd had his mouth on your body while he hummed just like that. But you wanted him around you all the time now that you had it in your mind that he could be yours for real if it weren't for Meredith. There could have been a label on this.

"When I manage to get the shit show that is my life sorted out, you can come over anytime you want," he promised. "You can have some playtime with Noah before he goes to bed, and then you can have a different kind of playtime with me." You could literally hear the smirk in his voice.

"Can I wear my crown for both kinds of playtime?"

Bradley sighed and said, "Absolutely. It's hanging on my bedpost, just waiting for you, Princess."

You closed your eyes and thought about how adorable Bradley looked when he had been wearing the green crown you and Noah had made for him. "How's Noah?" you asked softly. Because you truly missed both of them.

"He's fine. Asked for you all afternoon when I let him eat the ants on the logs you left for him."

Your heart soared and ached at the same time. "I wish I could come over tomorrow night and spend some time with him. With both of you."

Bradley was silent for a beat. "I talked to Tracy right before I called you."

"Your lawyer?" you asked, suddenly alert and worried. 

"Yeah," he replied, his voice raspy with frustration. "I'm scheduled for a preliminary court appearance on Wednesday afternoon."

You sucked in a deep breath and sat up and gripped your phone to your ear. "Bradley. Will Meredith be there? Does Noah have to go? Can I do anything? I can skip my classes." You could barely even breathe as you waited for his response. It was just a few more weeks until you graduated, and you were trying to end with top grades, but you'd skip if they needed you. 

"No, I don't even want you to worry about it, okay?" he asked. "I'm just telling you, because I want you to know what's going on. Penny is going to watch him for the afternoon, and I'm going to use some of my vacation time."

"Do you think things will be settled on Wednesday?" you asked, heart pounding at just the thought of Meredith being around Noah again. You ran your fingers down your arm which was mostly healed as you shuddered. 

"I'm hoping, Princess. Will you call me tomorrow night?"

---------------------------

By Tuesday evening, Bradley was a nervous wreck. After he put Noah in bed for the night, he called Tracy to go over a few last minute items. She was always very calm with him, but he had been assured that she could turn into a bulldog if the occasion called for it. 

"What else do I need to do before tomorrow afternoon?" Bradley asked. They would be the last hearing for the day, and he already had a plan in place for Penny to watch Noah so he wasn't late for daycare pickup.

"Just prepare yourself to see Meredith, and stay calm. I'll be with you the whole time," Tracy promised. But when Bradley ended the call, he paced around his house and out onto his back deck in the darkness. 

He had too much energy. He needed an outlet. All week long, when he started to get like this, he had cleaned his house. Now everything was spotless, almost like the nights when you had been over to watch Noah. The nights when he had gone out with women from the dating app.

"You're so fucking stupid," he told himself, walking back inside to the kitchen and locking the door. He could have been in a relationship with you for a month now if he had just stopped trying to deny the way he felt. He could have saved you the pain of having to listen to him lie to your face.

Bradley knew nothing else was going to make him feel the way you always did, so he grabbed his phone and called you.

"Hi," came your soft, breathy greeting, and he was already smiling. 

"Princess," he replied, taking a calming breath. "If you're busy studying, or you need to-"

"I'm not," you promised. "I was planning on calling you anyway. You okay? Ready for tomorrow?"

Bradley walked back to his bedroom and peeled his tee shirt and jeans off. "Yeah. A little nervous." He didn't need to elaborate more than that for you to understand, and your encouraging words were right there.

"You can do it, Daddy. You'll do it for Noah, because you love him so much, and he deserves to be with you." 

Bradley could feel the warmth of your words wash over him. He should have told you what was going on with Meredith from the start. 

"If I were there, I would help you relax," you added. "Ease your nerves for you."

"Oh yeah?" he grunted, settling on his back in bed. "How would you do that?" 

You laughed softly. "Remember how much you liked it when I went down on you on your living room couch, Daddy?"

Bradley closed his eyes and let his head sink into the pillow while he thought about your glossy lips wrapped around his cock. "Yeah, I remember. You gave me the best head of my life, and you broke my year long dry spell."

When you moaned his name, his cock twitched for you. "And you remember how relaxed you were when I was done with you?" 

Bradley pulled his briefs down so his cock was standing at attention. "I just remember being shocked as hell that my kid's hot babysitter called me Daddy and let me cum in her pretty mouth."

You giggled as Bradley started stroking himself. He put you on speakerphone and pulled up a photo of you. He was a mess for you, he really was. 

"You know what I love, Daddy?"

Bradley groaned and slid his hand down his length while he looked at the photo of you in your crown. "Tell me."

You sighed softly and said, "I love the way your cock feels on my tongue. Big and velvety soft. And so heavy." 

"God damn it, Princess," he moaned. Your voice really got to him, every single time. He could almost get hard for you when you were simply asking about his day, but when you were spewing out dirty talk like it was no big deal? He was fucking ready to go. 

He expected your voice to be tentative, but you sounded bold. "Are you touching yourself right now?" 

"Of course I am," he grunted. "You're talking about sucking me off."

"But I didn't even mention how much I loved burying my face against your skin and smelling you while I kissed your balls."

He kept stroking himself as he rasped, "If you're trying to get me off, it's working."

He could practically hear you smile as you whined, "Next time, just cum all over my face."

It was the picture of you in the crown that was really doing it for him, because he could imagine it so clearly: your tongue catching ribbons of his cum while you laughed and lounged back naked on his bed.

"You want me to make it messy?" he asked, panting harder as he jerked himself off. 

"I want it everywhere. Dripping off me."

"Fuck!" he cursed, and then his eyes were squeezed closed as he was coating his own abs with his cum and thinking about you licking it up. He was virtually sure you would if you were here and he asked you nicely. 

"Did you make a mess, Daddy?"

"Yes, baby. I really did."

"Next time, I'll clean you up with my tongue."

Bradley sighed as you told him you missed him and asked him to call as soon as he could tomorrow. You really had managed to help ease his stress, and you weren't even here. He couldn't help but think of how much better he would feel if you were. 

--------------------------

"Morning, bub," Bradley whispered as he scooped his son out of bed early on Wednesday morning. He held him close while Noah buried his face against his neck. "I'm taking you to see Penny for the day."

"I want my babysitter," Noah whined, and Bradley held him a little tighter. 

"Me too, bub. Hopefully one day soon she can be here a lot more often."

That seemed to make Noah perk up a bit as Bradley got him dressed. And then He held Noah on his lap while they both ate bowls of cereal. Bradley didn't want to let him go as his nervous energy about the court appearance returned. He just knew he was going to want to rage as soon as he laid eyes on Meredith. But he would have Tracy with him the whole time. He needed to remember he didn't have to do any of this alone. 

On the way to Penny's house, Bradley stopped at the coffee shop with Noah, and the barista started making both of his drinks right away. And then she made a fuss over how cute Noah was while Bradley used the sharpie to write the appropriate names on both cups. Then he drove to Penny's house, and he hustled Noah inside as quickly as he could. Because he saw that your car was still at your little house down the street. 

"Thanks, Penny. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're willing to help me out right now."

Penny kissed Noah's cheeks and shot Bradley a surprised look. "I'm more than happy to help out anytime, Bradley. Honestly, Noah is so sweet, he reminds me of how Amelia was!"

Bradley just laughed and handed Penny a bag of some of Noah's things. "Well, regardless, I appreciate it. Especially this week."

Penny eyed him closely. "I know your usual sitter isn't available during the day. This is really no problem at all. Just call me later. And good luck today."

Bradley swallowed hard and ran his hand over his khaki uniform. "Thanks." Then he gave Noah one more kiss on the cheek.

He ran back out to the Bronco. Your car was still there. He quickly drove down the block, and when he parked in front of your house and grabbed the cup of coffee that said Princess with a little heart next to it, he saw your front door open. You were wearing your navy blue scrubs, and you had your tote bag of books, and Bradley's heart was pounding. 

When you looked up and saw him standing at the end of your sidewalk, your lips parted in surprise. "Bradley!" It was half laugh and half gasp, and you just dropped your bag and rushed toward him. He held your coffee out in his left hand as you collided with him, wrapping your arms around his neck. "What are you doing here?" you asked, kissing his cheek and his lips and his mustache.

"I missed you," he whispered, his voice deep and raspy as he held you close with his right arm. "A lot." He kissed you harder as you ran your fingers through his tidy hair, most definitely messing it up. But he didn't care one bit.

"Where's Noah?" you asked against his lips. Bradley smiled, because you always wanted to know where Noah was, you always wanted him to be safe.

"I just dropped him off with Penny."

Your cheek came to rest on his chest along with your palm. "You brought me my coffee?" When he hummed and handed it to you, your laughter made him smile. "Thank you, peasant."

"You're welcome, baby." You looked up at him, and he kissed your forehead before you took a sip. 

"Wait, why are you in your uniform? Are you wearing that to the hearing?" you asked, running your fingers along his pins and straightening out his nametag.

"I'm working until lunchtime," he replied, taking your hand in his. "Then I'll change into my suit to go meet Tracy."

You just nodded up at him. "You have nothing to worry about. And if for some reason things don't go your way today, Nat told me she has your back no matter what. She's actually a little scary?"

"She's very scary. I tried to tell you that when you met her."

You pressed your face against his uniform shirt and murmured, "When I met her, I thought she was your date, and I was jealous."

Bradley froze with his hands on your hips, and a smile found its way to his lips. "Really?"

"Yes, really," you told him, hiding your face close to his armpit and making him laugh. "I had a big crush on you, okay?" 

"I love that for me," he said, kissing the top of your head. "Princess, I need to leave, and you need to get to class."

When you looked up at him, all he wanted to do was carry you up to your bedroom and spend the whole day there with you. "You'll do great. Call me later, Daddy."

After one more kiss, Bradley waited for you to leave first before getting in his Bronco and heading to base, desperately trying to keep his mind off of Meredith.

--------------------------

By the time he was walking up to the San Diego superior courthouse in his suit, Bradley was a nervous wreck. And as soon as Tracy saw him, she must have known it. 

"We can do this," she promised as soon as he reached her. "I'm ready to go, and as soon as we get in there, you'll be just fine. This is our preliminary hearing."

Bradley took a few deep breaths and looked at some pictures of you and Naoh together before he turned off his phone and stashed it in his pocket. "You're right. And the sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get back to my normal life. I just know I'm going to be a lot more nervous if the judge wants Noah to come next time. I hate putting him through this. But I'm ready."

"That's the spirit," Tracy told him with a nod as she took him by the elbow and led him inside the building. "We will handle everything as it comes. We're a team, and we're going to do this together."

"Together," he repeated, because as soon as he was inside, he saw Meredith and her lawyer in the hallway. Bradley's breathing grew shallower, and he had to swallow against the desire to run back outside. She wanted to take Noah away from him. She suddenly wanted their son after so many years of avoidance. She wanted to ruin Bradley's life. 

"You're fine," Tracy told him, her voice sure and steady. "Let's wait on this bench." She pushed Bradley down onto the wooden seat as his mind swirled with worry. 

Meredith wanted the only thing Bradley really had that he was unwilling to part with. He wasn't going to be okay with shared custody or visitation. He wanted her gone. He wanted Noah to associate someone better as his mom. He didn't want Meredith to have any access to him, especially not after the way she tried to fuck with Bradley through you and Noah. 

"It's unacceptable," Bradley muttered, turning to look at Tracy where she was sitting very calmly next to him. "She doesn't get to ruin everything I care about."

"Just keep repeating that to yourself."

And so he did. When he made eye contact with Meredith, she scowled at him. He couldn't fathom for the life of him why she was doing this now, but Tracy had been correct. It didn't matter why. Meredith and her lawyer would spin everything to look like Bradley was keeping Noah from her. The facts didn't matter much at the moment. He just needed to block her from getting to Noah.

"It's time," Tracy told him, once again leading Bradley along with a gentle hand on his arm. He tripped along with her, and then he was inside a small courtroom in front of a judge in robes. He stood quietly next to Tracy, waiting. It felt like they had been waiting for a very long time. 

"What's going on?" Bradley asked quietly.

Tracy leaned in closer. "We're waiting for Meredith to join us." 

Great, now she was just being difficult to really mess with Bradley. She was seriously holding this entire process up now? Unreal. It was a real shame she wasn't in here yet, because Bradley was pissed off and ready to go.

A few more minutes passed, and Bradley saw the judge check her watch for the third time. Right as she opened her mouth and turned toward the bailiff, Bradley spun when he heard the door open. Meredith strolled inside the courtroom, and Bradley could see her seething lawyer in the hallway on his phone just as the door closed. 

"What the hell?" Bradley muttered, but Tracy elbowed him in the ribs, because Meredith strolled right up to the bench to the judge.

"Your honor, I would like to request a continuance." 

Judge Greene just stared at Meredith for a moment before responding with, "No. I will not allow a same day continuance. Does that mean you'll be representing yourself today?"

Bradley could see Meredith's cheeks pale as she took a deep breath. "Yes, I'll be representing myself today."

"Perfect," Judge Greene said blandly. "Mr. Bradshaw, please approach the bench with your counsel."

Bradley and Tracy walked up to stand next to Meredith, but Bradley was struggling to figure out what happened to Meredith's lawyer. Maybe Tracy would be able to figure out what was going on? Bradley wouldn't have come here today without a lawyer in his wildest dreams.

He realized he wasn't paying attention when he heard the judge ask Meredith, "Will you be finding counsel before the custody hearing?"

"Yes, your honor."

"Then for the time being, the minor will stay in his current living situation, and any further arrangements will be determined at trial one week from today."

Bradley sucked in a deep breath. Noah wasn't going anywhere right now. Or hopefully ever.

"Dismissed," Judge Greene said, and Bradley watched Meredith turn on her heel and practically run for the door. 

"What is going on?" Bradley asked, but he felt a little better as Tracy smiled at him as they made their way into the hallway where Meredith was nowhere to be found.

"I'll find out," Tracy told him, typing a note into her phone at such a rapid pace, it was making Bradley dizzy. "But it's definitely making you look more stable and better organized than Meredith."

Bradley ran his fingers through his hair. "Simply because I showed up with you and kept my mouth shut?"

"Yep!" she said, still typing away.

"Then you're worth every penny."

Tracy laughed and pulled a water bottle out of her briefcase and handed it to him. "You look a little pale. I need you to stay focused. This could all be over by next Wednesday, especially if Meredith shows up alone again, asking for a same day continuance." Tracy rolled her eyes as Bradley downed the water in one huge gulp.

"One more week?" he asked, thinking about you and Noah and pizza and popcorn on the couch. 

"If we're lucky. But just be prepared to bring Noah. Judge Greene may want to speak with him either in the courtroom or privately. And it's best if you don't try to coach him ahead of time. Let him speak his mind."

Bradley took some deep breaths and nodded at Tracy. "Right. Okay. One more week." 

-------------------------

Bradley was exhausted after he climbed in the Bronco and loosened his tie. He turned on his phone to text you, but he thought better of bothering you while you were still on campus. He'd been in the courthouse for less time than he had planned for, and Penny had texted him a few minutes ago.

Had to check on an issue at the Hard Deck. I have Noah with me. Meet me at the bar whenever you're finished. 

So Bradley made his way toward the beach as he listened to his favorite song that reminded him of you. He wondered if you'd think he was ridiculous if he made you a whole playlist. He kind of wanted to make you a playlist of songs that made him think of you. 

He was making a mental list of some songs as he strolled into the bar which was technically not yet open for the day. And then Bradley's eyes settled on Noah where he sat on top of the bar, playing with two of Penny's bartenders. His sweet son who would hopefully never have to be around Meredith. 

"Should we draw another dog, Noah?" Helen asked, sketching on a cocktail napkin while Missy got Noah a cup of water. 

"My babysitter gets me coloring books. Do you have crayons?" he asked, eating plain carrot sticks and drinking the water.

"Hey," Bradley said with a smile as he strolled toward the three of them. "Looks like you're having fun."

"Rooster! Noah is precious!" Helen gushed, straightening out her skin tight Hard Deck shirt. 

"He taught us a cute song about dinosaurs," Missy added, ruffling Noah's curls. 

Bradley grinned. That was the song he always had in his head now, the song that you taught Noah. "Where's Penny?" he asked, kissing Noah's forehead while he drew all over the dog Helen had made for him.

"On the phone," Missy said. "She shouldn't be much longer."

"Do you want a beer?" Helen asked. "Or something stronger?" Bradley was tempted to sit and have a beer while he waited for Penny. But then Helen added, "Damn, Rooster. You look good in a suit."

"Thanks," he muttered, definitely blushing as he slid onto one of the stools. "I guess I'll take that beer." He reached for his wallet and started to dig out some cash, but Helen's hand found his and folded it back up again. 

"It's on me," she said with a wink that had Bradley a little flustered. She was flirting with him. 

"That's not necessary," he replied. "Especially since you and Missy have been helping Penny watch Noah."

But Helen rolled her eyes as she filled a pint glass with Bradley's favorite kind of beer. "You can just leave me a nice tip. Or your phone number."

Bradley really looked at Helen as she shot him a smirk. She was somewhere between your age and his, and she was working for Penny to help pay for school. He supposed she was cute, but she just didn't look like you. He was very much into you. 

When she set down the beer, Bradley thanked her and took a sip. Then Noah handed her the cocktail napkin he had scribbled all over.

"Oh, wow, thanks Noah," she said with a laugh. "This is great."

"Thanks," he said, climbing down onto Bradley's lap. "My babysitter is a good colorer, and she's a Princess, too. And she's our favorite, right daddy?"

"She sure it, bub," Bradley told him, giving him a hug and feeling so much relief that this could all be done by next week. He never wanted to stop hugging his child. 

When Bradley looked up, Helen was gazing at him with pursed lips, but then he heard Penny's voice.

"Bradley! How did it go?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Should know more by next week," he replied. "How was Noah today?"

"Absolutely perfect," Penny promised. 

"He can hang out with us any time!" Missy called from the other end of the bar. 

"He sure can," Helen added with another wink. "Because he's as sweet as his dad."

Bradley finished his beer as he shook his head and laughed. He left enough cash to cover the beer and a tip, and he scooped Noah up in his arms. "Thanks again for today," he told Penny as he and Noah waved to both bartenders. 

"Call me if you need me. Noah is welcome with Amelia and I anytime."

As Bradley kissed Noah's face on the way out to the Bronco, Noah asked, "When can I see my babysitter?"

Bradley was feeling pretty good now as he buckled Noah into his car seat. "You know what? Why don't we call her when we get home and ask her."

--------------------------

As soon as your phone rang, you were scrambling to answer it. "Bradley! What happened today?!"

But you heard Noah's sweet voice instead. "Hi! Can we sing the dinosaur song?"

"Of course!" You sank down to sit on your stairs as you and he sang the song together, and you could hear Bradley's laughter in the background. 

"Helen didn't sing it right," Noah said. "And she kept talking about daddy's suit."

You closed your eyes and imagined how good Bradley must have looked in his suit. If his officer uniform was any indication, then it must have been so sexy.

"Wait, who's Helen?" you asked, and you could hear Bradley taking the phone from Noah.

"She's a bartender at the Hard Deck," he replied casually. "I picked Noah up there. And guess what."

"What?" you asked, crossing your fingers.

"Trial date is set for next Wednesday. And Noah is staying with me until then."

"Really?" you asked, jumping to your feet. "That's so soon!"

"Yep," he replied, voice raspy as he added, "but Noah and I are both dying to see you, Princess. Can we stop over this weekend?"

You looked around your sparsely decorated house and tried to imagine entertaining Noah here. You weren't even sure if the three of you would fit on your couch, unless you were cuddled up on Bradley's lap.

"Sure," you told him with a smile. "I'll stock up on some coloring books. It'll be fun."

"We can't wait to see you."

-------------------------

Princess is always taking care of Daddy and Noah. Wish she could have babysat him for Bradley that day. Hope you enjoy your fic, @beyondthesefourwalls And thank you @mak-32 !

PART 18

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[being-addie]

Sunday Resets

Setting aside time for yourself is so important. I don't think people understand how vital it is to pay attention to your body and just take a day to let your body r-e-l-a-x. We're all so busy fighting to reach the top, that while climbing the corporate ladder, we lose ourselves somewhere along the way. Burnout, depression, and monotony come into play when we don't listen to our bodies telling us they need a break.

Once every two weeks or so, on a Sunday, I turn off all my notifications and have a day dedicated to me. Giving my body some TLC, resting and preparing for the next week. If I have plans on a Sunday, such as brunch or a meeting, I shift that day to Saturday, or at the very least, a day where I have at least 4-5 hours to spend leisurely.

Things I like to do on my Sunday resets:

Wake up early/sleep in: Depending on my mood, and how much sleep I've had during the week, I'll either be up at the crack of dawn or still in bed till it's nearly noon. There's no shame in staying in bed till 11:30 if you're particularly exhausted, but I recommend waking up at least before 11 AM because then you'll feel tired and groggy (of course, this doesn't apply to everyone)

Clean my room: I always make my bed without fail, and if my room is messy, then I'll clean it. Clean the vanity table, my desk, closet, art cupboard and bookshelf, and then the bathroom. If my mom needs help around the house, I do that too.

Food: I make myself a good breakfast, taking time to move around the kitchen and just breathe. I'm getting to eat good food, the sun is shining and I'm alive. It's great. Sometimes my dad cooks for the whole family and we just sit and eat together.

The Everything Shower: I take my Everything Shower on Sundays, where I wash my hair, deep condition, use a hair and face mask, exfoliate and do a face massage. I don't shave because I get my waxing done in a salon. I then slather myself in cocoa butter lotion and apply lip balm. Then do my hair routine (curly hair). It takes a few hours, but it's worth it.

The Next Week: I prep for the next week by cooking something I can take to my classes, like granola bars or homemade pita chips. I also sit down and plan my schedule (any dinners, meetings, parties, etc) and make a rough plan of my goals for the week, like assignments and deadlines.

Errands: I usually make a list of things I need to do during the week, like any specific separate groceries that I use, art supplies I'm low on, or needing to top up the air in my tyres. Then I go complete all of those in the afternoon.

Walks: In the evening, I take a walk around the block with a friend. I usually am too busy to do this during the week, so getting some fresh air is always a treat.

Relax: The rest of the evening is spent relaxing. I watch Netflix with my family, chat with my younger sister, read a novel/play the piano/write poetry. We have dinner together and then either watch a movie or just spend the time talking about our week, or the news. It's fun.

Double-check: Before I go to sleep, I make sure to double-check that my work is done, my bag is packed, clothes are folded and all my devices are charged. I'm in bed by 10:30 PM.

Remember that not all Sundays will be like this. Sometimes I'm extremely drained, so I'll sleep in, order food and just lay in bed recuperating. It's okay to take a rest day. This guide is if you want to be more productive, and it helps the week go smoother. Be the person who has their life in charge. You've got this.

<3

#self development #personal development #self improvement #self love #self care #self growth #wellness #that girl #leveling up #level up #level up journey #level up tips #leveling up tips #leveling up journey #dream girl journey #dream girl #it girl #self love journey #glow up #college #tips and tricks #perfect #life #sunday #sunday reset

[estapa-edwards]

TUTOR - E.EDWARDS

paring: Ethan Edwards x fem! reader

word count: 4.9k

requested? no

warnings: use of y/n. slow burn!

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The University of Michigan was a place of both challenge and opportunity, especially for those who were part of its renowned hockey team. Mark Estapa, my brother, was one of the key players on the team, and his friend Ethan Edwards was right there with him. The name Ethan Edwards was not unfamiliar to me; I had heard it countless times from Mark, usually followed by tales of impressive goals and game-winning plays.

It all started one afternoon at the hockey rink. I was there watching Mark practice, as I often did, cheering him on from the sidelines. After practice, Coach Naurato approached me, his expression serious, a stark contrast to the lively demeanor he exhibited during hockey practices.

"Y/N," he began, "I've heard from Mark how smart you are. Ethan is struggling with his academics, and I think you would be a great tutor for him. Would you consider helping him out?"

The idea caught me off guard. Ethan Edwards? The very same person who had made more than one snide remark about me in class? The thought of spending extra time with him was far from appealing.

"Coach," I hesitated, "I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Ethan and I don't exactly get along."

Coach Naurato sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I understand, Y/N, but I believe you're the best person to help him. Please, just think about it."

The weight of the decision pressed on me as I left the rink. The thought of helping someone who had shown me little respect was difficult to swallow. However, the importance of the hockey team to Mark, and the trust Coach Naurato placed in me, made me reconsider.

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After a few days of internal debate, I finally decided to give it a shot. I approached Ethan after our next class together, a hesitant smile on my face.

"Ethan, Coach Naurato told me about the tutoring," I started, trying to sound as friendly as possible. "I'm willing to help you out if you're serious about improving your grades."

Ethan looked surprised, his icy blue eyes narrowing slightly. "Why would you do that? We're not exactly best friends, Y/N."

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my patience intact. "This isn't about us becoming friends, Ethan. It's about helping you stay on the team and doing right by Mark."

There was a moment of silence, tension hanging in the air. Finally, Ethan nodded reluctantly. "Alright, fine. When do we start?"

Our first tutoring session was nothing short of a disaster. Ethan's attitude was immediately confrontational, making the atmosphere tense and uncomfortable from the start. He slouched in his chair, arms crossed defiantly, as he looked at the math problems I had prepared for him.

"Are we ever going to use this in real life?" he scoffed, pushing the paper away from him as if it were contaminated.

I took a deep breath, trying to maintain my composure. "Ethan, this is basic algebra. It's not just about solving for 'x'; it's about developing problem-solving skills that are essential for understanding more complex concepts later on."

Ethan rolled his eyes, a smirk playing on his lips. "Problem-solving skills? I've got plenty of those on the ice. What's the point of all this?"

I could feel my frustration growing, but I tried to stay focused on the task at hand. "The point, Ethan, is to help you improve academically so you can continue to play hockey. Coach Naurato believes in you, and so do I. But you have to be willing to put in the effort."

Ethan leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms even tighter. "Well, this is a waste of time. I don't need your help."

The session ended with both of us frustrated and no real progress made. I left the classroom that day questioning whether I was the right person for the job, doubting my ability to help someone who seemed so determined to resist. Ethan, on the other hand, seemed to revel in his own stubbornness, as if proving a point by refusing to cooperate.

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One evening, Ethan and I were deep into our tutoring session. We had been working on a particularly challenging math problem for what felt like hours, both of us growing increasingly frustrated as we struggled to find the solution.

"Just think it through step by step," I encouraged, pointing to the problem on the paper in front of us. "You're almost there, Ethan."

He looked at the problem, then back at me, a look of concentration on his face. Slowly, a spark of understanding appeared in his eyes.

"I think I've got it," he said, his voice filled with excitement.

I watched as he worked through the problem, his pencil moving quickly across the paper. And then, just like that, he arrived at the correct answer.

"Yes! I did it!" Ethan exclaimed, jumping up from his chair.

Caught up in the moment, I jumped up too, and before we knew it, we were hugging each other in celebration. It was a spontaneous, genuine expression of joy and relief, and for a moment, all the tension and awkwardness between us seemed to melt away.

But as quickly as the moment had come, it was gone. We both pulled away awkwardly, realizing the unexpected intimacy of the hug.

"Uh, sorry about that," Ethan mumbled, his cheeks turning a shade of red I had never seen before.

"No, it's okay," I stammered, equally embarrassed.

Outside of our tutoring sessions, however, our relationship remained as strained as ever. Our newfound camaraderie seemed to exist only within the confines of the classroom, disappearing as soon as we stepped outside the door.

During hockey practices and games, Ethan and I were back to being at odds with each other. He would make snide remarks, and I would respond with sarcastic comments of my own. Mark tried to mediate, reminding us both of the progress we had made, but it seemed that our truce was limited to our time spent studying together.

It was frustrating, to say the least, to see Ethan revert to his old ways so easily. But I tried to focus on the positive, reminding myself of the progress we had made and the genuine friendship that was slowly developing between us.

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One Friday night, Mark convinced me to join him and the rest of the team at a frat party. I wasn’t much of a party person, but he promised it would be a good way to unwind and have some fun. Reluctantly, I agreed, not anticipating the events that would unfold.

The frat house was packed with students, the music blaring and the atmosphere electric. Despite my initial reservations, I found myself enjoying the night, laughing and dancing with Mark and his teammates. However, as the night wore on, I made the mistake of indulging a bit too much in the drinks being passed around.

By the time midnight rolled around, I was considerably more intoxicated than I had intended to be. My vision was blurry, my balance unsteady, and the room seemed to spin around me. I knew I needed to get out of there, but the idea of walking home by myself in my current state was daunting.

As I stumbled towards the exit, I felt a hand on my arm, steadying me. I looked up to find Ethan Edwards standing beside me, a concerned expression on his face.

"Y/N, are you okay?" he asked, his voice tinged with genuine concern.

"I'm fine," I slurred, trying to pull away from him. "I just need to walk home."

Ethan looked at me incredulously, clearly recognizing that I was in no condition to make it home safely on my own.

"You're not walking home like this," he said firmly. "I'll drive you."

I scoffed at his suggestion, my intoxicated mind unable to process the genuine concern in his eyes.

"I am not driving home with you, are you crazy?" I snapped, my words slurring together.

Ethan sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, Y/N, I know we don't get along, but I'm not going to let you walk home alone like this. It's not safe."

Despite my intoxicated state, I knew he was right. Reluctantly, I nodded, allowing him to guide me towards his car.

The car ride was quiet, the tension palpable. I stared out the window, trying to ignore the pounding headache and the nauseous feeling that threatened to overtake me. Ethan drove carefully, his eyes focused on the road ahead, seemingly determined to get me home safely.

As we pulled up to my apartment, I mustered the strength to speak, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Thank you, Ethan," I said, my words slurred but sincere. "I appreciate it."

Ethan glanced over at me, a soft smile on his face. "You're welcome, Y/N. Just... take care of yourself, okay?"

Just as I was about to reply, a sudden wave of nausea washed over me. Panic set in as I realized I was about to be sick.

"Ethan, pull over!" I yelled, my voice frantic.

Without hesitation, Ethan swerved the car to the side of the road, unlocking the doors and jumping out of the car to help. I barely had time to open the door before I was leaning out, vomiting onto the side of the road.

Ethan was right beside me, holding my hair back and rubbing my back soothingly as I emptied my stomach. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, there was a gentleness to his actions that I hadn't expected.

Once I was done, Ethan handed me a bottle of water he had in the car, and I rinsed my mouth out before spitting onto the grass.

"Are you okay?" he asked, genuine concern in his eyes.

I nodded weakly, grateful for his help despite the embarrassment of the situation.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I replied, my voice shaky. "Thank you, Ethan. I'm really sorry about this."

Ethan shook his head, dismissing my apology with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it, Y/N. Just make sure you get inside safely, okay?"

I nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted and ready to be home. "I will. Thanks again, Ethan."

As I made my way towards my apartment, I couldn't help but feel a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude towards Ethan. Despite our differences and the strained relationship we had, he had shown me kindness and concern in a moment of need.

As I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, taking a moment to collect myself, I realized that perhaps there was more to Ethan Edwards than met the eye. Our relationship was still complicated, but in that vulnerable moment, I couldn't help but feel a newfound respect for him.

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The next day, I woke up with a pounding headache and a sense of regret about the previous night's events. As I tried to piece together the evening, my thoughts kept drifting back to Ethan and his unexpected kindness. I found myself wondering if maybe, just maybe, there was more to him than the cocky, arrogant persona he often displayed.

Later that day, I received a text from Ethan.

Ethan: Hey, Y/N. Just wanted to check in and make sure you're feeling okay after last night. Let me know if you need anything.

I stared at the message for a moment, surprised by his thoughtfulness. It was a simple gesture, but it spoke volumes about his character.

Me: Hey Ethan, thanks for checking in. I'm feeling better, just a bit embarrassed about last night. I appreciate your help.

Ethan: No need to be embarrassed. We've all been there. Glad you're feeling better. If you ever need a ride or anything, just let me know.

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During a team dinner at a local restaurant, Ethan couldn't resist making another snide comment. The atmosphere was already buzzing with the excitement of Family Weekend, and I had been invited to join Mark and the team for the special occasion. Despite the festive mood, Ethan seemed determined to maintain our strained relationship.

"So, Y/N," he began, a sly grin on his face, "Do you tutor everyone on the team, or am I just lucky?"

I took a deep breath, trying to maintain my composure. I didn't want to cause a scene in front of Mark and the rest of the team, especially during a family event. "I tutor those who need help, Ethan. It's nothing personal."

He chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. "Sure, sure," he replied, the underlying tension clear in his tone.

Frustrated and tired of his constant jabs, I pulled Ethan aside, hoping to address the issue privately.

"Ethan, can we talk?" I asked, my voice low and controlled.

He looked at me, seemingly caught off guard by my request. "Sure, what's on your mind?"

"I didn't even want to tutor you," I admitted, my frustration evident. "Coach Naurato asked me to help you because Mark mentioned how much I've helped him with his academics. I agreed because I wanted to help you stay on the team, not because I enjoy being ridiculed by you at every opportunity."

Ethan looked at me, his expression changing from surprise to hurt. "I knew Coach asked you to tutor me because of Mark," he said quietly. "But hearing you say you didn't want to... it stings, Y/N."

I sighed, realizing the impact of my words. "Ethan, it's not that I didn't want to help you improve. It's your attitude towards me that's made this so challenging. Why do you do this to me?"

Ethan looked at me, a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. "I don't know, Y/N," he admitted, his voice softer than I had ever heard it. "I guess it's easier to push people away than to admit that I need help."

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by his honesty. "So, you're saying all this animosity is just a defense mechanism?"

He shrugged, avoiding my gaze. "Maybe. It's just... I've always had to prove myself, I guess I'm just used to putting up walls."

I took a moment to process his words, feeling a pang of empathy. "Ethan, I get it. We all have our insecurities and ways of protecting ourselves. But that doesn't give you the right to treat me poorly."

He nodded, looking back up at me. "I know, Y/N. I'm sorry. I'll try to do better."

I looked at him, searching his eyes for any sign of sincerity. "Alright, Ethan. I'll give you another chance. But you need to show me that you're serious about changing. And it can't just be in private, Ethan. You need to treat me with respect in front of other people too."

He nodded, determination in his eyes. "I promise, Y/N. Things will change."

Feeling a sense of relief and hope, I impulsively stepped forward and wrapped my arms around Ethan in a brief hug. To my surprise, he hesitated for a moment before cautiously returning the embrace.

Little did we know, Mark had walked into the restaurant at that exact moment and witnessed the entire exchange. A look of suspicion crossed his face as he watched us, his instincts telling him that something had changed between his sister and his teammate.

As Ethan and I pulled apart, we were unaware of the scrutiny we were now under. Mark's suspicions were piqued, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something significant had just occurred between us.

The atmosphere at the dinner table had noticeably shifted, and I couldn't help but feel a mix of anticipation and anxiety. While Ethan seemed genuinely committed to changing his behavior, the unintended consequence of Mark's newfound suspicion added a layer of complexity to our already complicated relationship.

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As the weeks passed, Ethan and I continued to spend more time together, both during our tutoring sessions and outside of them. Our relationship was slowly evolving, and the mutual animosity we once shared was gradually being replaced by a growing friendship and understanding.

However, Mark began to notice the change in our dynamics. He would often spot us together around campus, studying in the library, grabbing coffee, or even just chatting and laughing in the university courtyard. Despite our best efforts to keep our growing friendship under wraps, it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide the bond that was forming between us.

Mark couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on between his best friend and his sister. The secretiveness of our newfound friendship only heightened his suspicions. Why would Ethan and I keep this a secret from him if there was nothing to hide?

One evening, after a particularly productive tutoring session, Ethan and I were walking back to our dorms when we ran into Mark outside the hockey rink. He looked surprised to see us together, his eyes narrowing as he took in our relaxed demeanor.

"Hey, Y/N, Ethan," Mark greeted, his tone friendly but his eyes betraying a hint of suspicion. "What are you two up to?"

"We just finished a study session," I replied, trying to sound casual. "Ethan's really making progress."

Ethan nodded, offering Mark a genuine smile. "Yeah, Y/N's been a huge help."

Mark studied us for a moment, clearly not buying our casual demeanor. "That's great to hear," he said, his tone still friendly but now laced with curiosity. "You two seem to be spending a lot of time together."

I felt my cheeks heat up, realizing that our secret was becoming harder and harder to keep. "We're just friends, Mark. Nothing more."

Ethan chimed in, "Yeah, just trying to get my grades up and stay on the team."

Mark looked between us, his suspicion not completely alleviated but not wanting to push the issue further. "Alright, just remember, Ethan, she's my sister," he said, half-jokingly but with a serious undertone.

Ethan nodded, "I know, Mark. I'll always respect that." 

Despite Mark's attempt to convince himself that there was nothing going on between Ethan and me, his suspicions continued to gnaw at him. He couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal, knowing that the two closest people in his life were keeping something from him. Even though they weren't explicitly dating, the closeness between Ethan and me felt like a betrayal of his trust.

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As days turned into weeks, Mark found himself growing increasingly frustrated and angry. He couldn't understand why Ethan and I would keep our growing relationship a secret from him if there was nothing more to it. The more he thought about it, the more it fueled his suspicion and resentment.

One evening, Mark confronted me about his suspicions. We were alone in our dorm room, and the tension between us was palpable.

"Y/N, I need to know the truth," Mark said, his voice strained with emotion. "Are you and Ethan... more than just friends?"

I hesitated, unsure of how to respond. The truth was that Ethan and I had grown closer over the past few weeks, but we hadn't officially defined our relationship. However, I couldn't deny the growing feelings I had developed for him.

"Mark, I... I don't know what to say," I replied, feeling torn between my loyalty to my brother and my burgeoning feelings for Ethan.

Mark's expression darkened, his anger bubbling to the surface. "Don't play dumb with me, Y/N. I've seen the way you two look at each other, the way you're always together. How could you keep this from me?"

I sighed, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me. "I'm sorry, Mark. I never meant to hurt you. It just... happened."

Mark shook his head, unable to hide his disappointment. "I thought I could trust you, Y/N. I thought Ethan was my friend. But it turns out, I was wrong about both of you."

I reached out to him, desperate to mend our fractured relationship. "Mark, please. I know this is difficult, but I care about Ethan. And I care about you. I don't want to lose either of you."

But Mark pulled away, his trust shattered. "I need some time, Y/N. I need to figure out how to deal with this betrayal."

As he left the room, the weight of his words hung heavy in the air. I knew that repairing the damage to our relationship would take time and effort, but I was determined to do whatever it took to make things right.

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During the next hockey practice, the tension between Mark and Ethan was palpable. Both were competitive and passionate about the sport, but the underlying animosity stemming from Mark's feelings of betrayal added a new level of intensity to their interactions on the ice.

As they found themselves on opposite teams during a scrimmage, Mark's aggression towards Ethan became increasingly evident. He was playing more aggressively than usual, delivering harder checks and playing with a level of determination that seemed fueled by his feelings of anger and betrayal.

Ethan, sensing the change in Mark's demeanor, tried to keep his cool and focus on the game. However, it became increasingly challenging as Mark continued to target him, making the practice more of a personal vendetta than a team exercise.

At one point, during a particularly heated moment in the game, Mark delivered a high check to Ethan, causing him to crash into the boards. The impact was hard, and Ethan fell to the ice, clutching his shoulder in pain.

The coach blew the whistle, signaling an end to the scrimmage and rushing onto the ice to check on Ethan's condition. The entire team gathered around, their concern evident as Ethan struggled to his feet, wincing from the pain.

"Are you okay, Ethan?" Coach Naurato asked, his voice filled with concern.

Ethan nodded, trying to brush off the incident. "I'm fine, just a bit shaken up."

Mark, realizing the gravity of his actions, looked visibly remorseful as he approached Ethan. "I'm sorry, Ethan. I let my emotions get the best of me. That was uncalled for."

Ethan looked at Mark, his expression a mix of pain and understanding. "It's okay, Mark. I get it. But we need to figure this out."

The coach, sensing the need to address the situation immediately, called for a team meeting to discuss the underlying issues and find a way to resolve the tension between Mark and Ethan.

"As a team, we need to support each other, both on and off the ice," Coach Naurato began, addressing the entire team. "Personal issues should not interfere with our performance and unity as a team."

Mark and Ethan exchanged a glance, realizing that their personal issues were affecting not only their relationship but also the team's dynamics and performance.

"We need to find a way to resolve our differences and work together for the sake of the team," Ethan said, breaking the silence.

Mark nodded, his expression serious. "I agree, Ethan. I let my emotions cloud my judgment, and I'm sorry."

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When I found out about the altercation between Mark and Ethan during practice, I was furious. I couldn't believe that their personal issues had escalated to the point where it was affecting the entire team. Determined to resolve the situation once and for all, I called them both over to my apartment.

As they entered, they could sense the anger and frustration in my demeanor. I didn't waste any time getting to the point.

"What the hell were you two thinking?" I exclaimed, my voice filled with anger. "You let your personal issues get in the way of the team's performance, and it's not okay!"

Mark and Ethan exchanged a guilty glance, realizing the gravity of their actions and the impact it had on the team.

Before they could respond, I continued, "I'm tired of this tension between you two. If you have a problem with each other, then deal with it like adults and stop letting it affect the team!"

Mark looked at me, his expression a mix of guilt and understanding. "You're right, Y/N. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I'm sorry. It's not fair to you, Ethan, or the team."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my anger. "It's not just about the team, Mark. It's about your friendship with Ethan and your trust in me. I can't believe you would let this situation escalate to the point where it affects our relationship."

Mark looked at me, his expression softening. "Y/N, I've thought about it a lot, and if you and Ethan want to date, I'm okay with it. I'd be happy to have Ethan as a possible brother-in-law. I just need to know that you're both serious about each other and that this won't happen again."

Ethan looked at Mark, surprised by his admission. "Mark, are you serious? You're okay with Y/N and me dating?"

I turned to Ethan, my eyes widening in surprise. "You would want to date me?" I asked, my voice tinged with a mixture of surprise and hope.

Ethan smiled, his eyes softening as he looked at me. "Yes, Y/N, I would. Despite our initial disagreements and the challenges we've faced, I've come to care about you deeply. I'd like to see where this relationship could go, if you're willing."

I felt my heart swell with emotion, touched by his sincerity and the vulnerability he was displaying. "Ethan, I've developed feelings for you too. Despite everything, I've come to appreciate the person you are underneath all the bravado. I'd like to see where this could lead as well."

Mark, witnessing the exchange, let out a soft chuckle. "Well, it seems like the feelings are mutual. Just promise me that you both will be honest with each other and with me moving forward. I want you both to be happy, but I also want to make sure that this won't cause any issues with the team or our friendship."

Ethan and I nodded in agreement, grateful for Mark's understanding and support. "We promise, Mark," I assured him. "Our relationship won't change our commitment to our friendship or the team."

*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨*

After Mark had given his approval for Ethan and me to date, the dynamic between the three of us shifted noticeably. The tension that once clouded our interactions began to dissipate, replaced by a newfound sense of camaraderie and mutual respect.

Mark, always the protective older brother, now seemed more at ease with our relationship. He made an effort to include Ethan in our family gatherings and often invited him over for dinner or to watch hockey games on TV. It was clear that Mark was trying to build a strong relationship with Ethan, not just as a teammate but now also as a potential future brother-in-law.

One evening, Mark organized a small get-together at our family home. It was an informal gathering, with just a few close friends and teammates. As Ethan and I arrived, Mark greeted us warmly at the door, a genuine smile on his face.

"Hey, you two. Come on in," Mark said, giving me a playful nudge and a wink. "Ethan, glad you could make it."

"Thanks for having us, Mark," Ethan replied, returning the smile. "Smells great in here."

Throughout the evening, Mark made an effort to involve both Ethan and me in conversations, ensuring we felt comfortable and included. He even shared a few embarrassing childhood stories about me, much to my chagrin, but it was all in good fun and made for a lively and enjoyable evening.

As the night wore on, Mark pulled Ethan aside for a private conversation. I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious, wondering what they were discussing. After a few minutes, they rejoined the group, both of them wearing satisfied smiles.

"Everything okay?" I asked, looking between the two of them.

"Yeah, everything's great," Mark replied, putting an arm around Ethan's shoulders. "I've got to say, Y/N, you've picked a good one."

Ethan chuckled, his cheeks turning a shade of red. "Thanks, Mark. I think you're pretty great too."

As the months passed, our relationship continued to flourish, and Mark's initial reservations about Ethan and me dating seemed to fade away completely. He became one of our biggest supporters, always there to offer advice, lend a listening ear, or celebrate our milestones as a couple.

*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨*

One weekend, Ethan and I planned a getaway trip to a cabin in the mountains. Knowing that Mark was an experienced hiker and outdoorsman, we invited him to join us. To our surprise, he agreed, and the three of us spent a memorable weekend hiking, exploring, and bonding over shared meals and campfire stories.

By the end of the trip, it was clear that Ethan had earned Mark's trust and respect. They had forged a strong bond, built on mutual interests and a shared love for adventure. As we packed up to leave, Mark pulled Ethan aside for another private conversation.

"Take care of her, okay?" Mark said, his voice filled with sincerity.

"You have my word, Mark," Ethan replied, shaking Mark's hand firmly. "I care about Y/N deeply, and I'll always do my best to make her happy."

As we drove back home, I couldn't help but feel a profound sense of gratitude and happiness. I was grateful for Ethan's unwavering support and love, but also for Mark's acceptance and the bond we had all formed together.

honestly I hate this, but I wanted to get something out for you guys. Please dont be afraid to request!

#ethan edwards #ethan edwards x reader #ethan edwards x y/n #umich hockey #hockey #ethan edwards x oc #mark estapa

[sanspuppet]

🝮 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 - 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢 🝮

𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺𐬺

Smut! MDNI-

"That fucking bastard" you thought to yourself, looking down at your skirt, frustrated. A couple of hours before you were at your dorm, which you shared with your boyfriend, whimpering desperately as he was shooting hot ropes of cum on your new panties. He smirked, handing them to you: "Wear them."

You looked up at him, grimacing: "What the fuck Min?"

"you heard me right, i want my cum to paint your pretty cunt, so you'll think of me even during your classes"

----------

So there you were, sat on your chair and barely listening to your professor talking. You played with your pen, pissed by the feeling of your lower part still wet. You craved for him so bad in that moment and you couldn't do anything about it, desperation was the only thing you felt thinking of him manhandling you, during your beloved nights. You tilted your head when you heard your phone vibrating, you took it quickly, trying to hide it under your desk while reading the notification:

Baby boy "how r u doing princess? feels nice to have my cream still inside you? can't wait for you to get home"

"God i swear imma punish him good tonight" You muted your phone after replying him back:

"you better prepare yourself, im annoyed af"

The next hours were even worse, knowing that you were getting closer and closer to finally have him under your control didn't help you spending the last classes without feeling impatient. Your eyes were constantly glued to the hands of the clock, the sound of them moving rumbled in your mind. Your fingertips were tapping on the cover of your agenda nervously.

Finally, you heard the last ring of the school bell, allowing you to get up, take your stuff and go back home. When you entered the dorm, you threw your bag on the couch, and headed towards your bedroom, where you supposed your boyfriend to be in. You looked at him with half-closed eyes. He turned his head at you, with an innocent smile:

"Had a pleasant afternoon?"

"Seems so? Because it wasn't" you quickly jumped onto the bed, dragging your skirt down as you sat on Mingi's lap. He looked at you with wide eyes, hands raised:

"W-w-woah calm down."

"You're fucking kidding me? You better take my pussy right now if you want it for the next month." your hands were gripping at his broad shoulders, your lips suddenly attached at his harshly, biting on them to let your tongue slide in his mouth. He whined at the feeling of you rubbing against his crotch: "Y/n please slow down" You looked down at him, smirking: "What? You're already begging for me and i didn't even start." He shut his eyes, breathing heavily: "Ok ok im sorry i swear, just fuck me already i can't resist anymore" you chuckled sarcastically: "Oh so you can't resist for a minute? i had to resist for six fucking hours" he dragged his hands down your waist: "Im sorry, for real, please move on"

"There's no need to beg me baby, if you'll act right i will consider the opportunity to let you cum." you grabbed his cheeks with your hand, smacking another kiss. You knelt down in front of the bed, your body between his legs. You smirked maliciously while unzipping his jeans to take them off with his boxers. Right after you hiked your blouse up, and untied your bra, Mingi instantly knew what you were about to do:

"God not that, it drives me crazy."

"Oh yes, i definitly know that." you grabbed your tits, rubbing them against his length. he started to groan when you moved your breast up and down stroking his dick with them. You played with your nipples joyfully while watching him getting closer to his high. After a few minutes you noticed that his body started to shake, his low groans getting more frequent as you fucked him with no mercy.

"Im so close- fuck im about to cum" you suddenly stop, leaving him with a frustrated look on his face.

"Oh no you're not. Not until i let you." he threw his head back, his cock twitched once you took your tits off of it. You enjoyed teasing him like that, after all he deserved it. You waited a dozen of seconds before grabbing his dick in your hand, swirling your tongue around its tip.

"Fuck! No- i mean yes- keep going."

You giggled, starting to leave kisses over his chest. He couldn't stop whimpering pathetically when you sucked on his burning nipples. No need to say that you were already extremely wet, and the need to just take him inside you was torturing you, so you wrapped your hand around his neck, squeezing it with your fingertips.

"Baby i know im making you feel good, but i want you to shut up right now." you dragged your hand down his body when he slightly nodded. Before he could realize you were already taking his length inside you, positioning yourself in the best way to ride him good. He barely opened his eyes trying to catch the sight of you lifting your hips to stroke his cock. Damn the way he felt, he couldn't even describe it, he loved everytime you took the opportunity to dominate him, it got him close to the edge faster, seeing you bouncing on him like he was your toy. You tried hard not to let him know how amazing it felt, how you both were matching so perfectly, you kept biting your lip till you felt the taste of your blood inside your mouth. He raised his trembling hands, wrapping them around your waist to help you moving with less effort. Soon after you noticed that his chest started spasming, high pitched moans suddenly kept leaving his mouth: "Fuck fuck fuck-! so close- please let me cum"

You raised your hips, his dick sliding out of you, swirling beneath your restricted area. Tears started to cross his cheeks when he felt his second orgasm leaving him.

"im not sure if you deserve it yet" you chuckled while caressing his hair. "Sorry, don't take it personally" he sighed. "even if it is."

This situation kept going for at least half an hour, Mingi was a crying mess everytime you denied his orgasm, stimulating him in any way. His cock was incredibly hot, his tip red and his veins pulsing as the blood was flowing intensely. He looked at you with frustrated eyes when you stopped again:

"Im sorry im sorry, so fucking sorry if it teased you that much but please, please im begging you to let me cum"

You hadn't cum yet too, the need to feel him breed you was taking control over you, making you unable to wait. You turned yourself around after nodding quietly, ready to ride him reversely. Shivers ran down your spine as his fingers traced figures over your back.

"Thank you baby" he whispered before you started to bounce relentlessly on his dick. You started to clench desperately after a few seconds, his overstimulated crotch unexpectedly felt way more good than usual. Your warm folds around him made him addicted to you with the first time you had an intimate moment. He always tried to make body contact with you, you were his princess and knowing that he was the only one who could make you feel like this gave him enough confidence to mark the fact that you were his girlfriend everytime he spoke to anyone.

You kept emitting little moans as you pumped yourself on him, squelching sounds filling the room from the wetness of your cunt mixed with his precum. Your ass was now red after slapping it against his waist too many times. Your hands were gripping at the sheets as you were slowly climbing your high:

"Mmmh yes... fuck Mingi you feel so good inside me."

One of his hands pulled back your hair, the other one wrapped around your waist while whispering to you:

"Yeah... gonna fill your pretty hole with my cum another time... yes keep moving like this i love it... feels like you're made for me"

His low voice dirty talking to you finally made you reach your orgasm, followed by his.

"Oh yeah, let's cum together princess"

Silence filled the bedroom as he was hugging you from behind, his lips leaving small wet kisses over your neck while releasing his seeds inside you. He was about to praise you again, when he noticed you immediately fell asleep in his arms. Mingi layed you on your shared bed, his hand caressing your body, and staring at your pretty face until he couldn't stay awake anymore.

#ateez fanfic #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez #ateez hard thoughts #ateez povs #ateez smut #ateez fic #ateez hard hours #ateez x reader #mingi fanfic #mingi imagines #mingi scenarios #ateez song mingi #mingi hard thoughts #mingi hard hours #mingi povs #mingi smut #mingi fic #mingi x reader #kpop smut #kpop pov #kpop hard hours #kpop hard thoughts #kpop fanfic #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines

[himegureisu]

The Howler: the Aftermath

Warning: Mentions of sex (once)

A/N: This is the second part of the Howler. I wasn't planning on making the aftermath until someone made a comment at AO3. I know I should be posting it there first but it seems that more people read on Tumblr than I thought so Tumblr will once again see it first. This isn't edited as much, and I don't know how this holds up to Part 1 but I hope you enjoy!

-------

The Great Hall was once again abuzz for breakfast.

It was a Monday.

Each muggle, witch or wizard, whether it be student or parent, in the workforce, dreaded this day. Their time to rest, recover, relax, party, pursue a love, or their interests disappear. Everyone was brought back to the reality of work and responsibilities when the weekday started.

The Faculty at Hogwarts was no different.

Thus, when their colleague and fellow professor, Severus Snape, came back from his week off to grovel to a certain lady, confidently and quite happily entered the Halls bearing a rare smile on his lips, and a shine to his overall aura.

Let’s just say they became jealous.

The students gaped in awe and whispers of ‘Who knew he could smile?’ were exchanged among them. On the other hand, a small number of their female student population softly giggled on how smiling looks well on their usually grumpy professor.

“How was your week, Severus?” Albus asked, the young wizard who was seated by his left, “Happiness suits you,”

“It was pleasant,” Severus simply said, It wasn’t just pleasant. It was amazing to spend that long of a time only the two of you against the world, “Thank you for taking my classes, Headmaster,”

“It was a fruitful endeavor I’d be glad to do from time to time,” Albus said, eyes twinkling in delight, “I trust you groveled enough?”

“Yes, I did,” he answered, And then some.

He wasn’t about to advertise what he did for you to his colleagues. Your second mini honeymoon was not up for discussion for them. They knew not to expect more answers from him but it seems that, that wouldn’t do this time.

“It was quite the long break, wasn’t it?” Minerva said, from across the headmaster, starting the inquisition, “Was she satisfied?”

“Very,”

You weren’t just very satisfied. You were lovestruck once again. In complete and utter bliss.

On the afternoon of that day, he arrived at an empty home and seized the opportunity to make you a home cooked meal for dinner. In the evening, he’d set up the bathroom in candles, rose petals, and oils for the both of you to soak in. In the night, after an intense round of makeup sex, he unpacked your boxes for you. On the morning after, he’d prepared breakfast in bed, and surprised you to reservations at a resort in Wizarding Greece for the remainder of the week.

You were spoiled absolutely rotten, and so was he. Though, he couldn’t admit that to any of them.

“Who is she?” Filius asked the most important question.

“Someone I hope to introduce to you soon,” Severus answered, “As you know, she recently moved in,”

“You kept her from us for how long?” Minerva added,

“Should you continue with this line of questioning, I might not introduce you to her at all,” Severus casually remarked, “Especially if you’ll also pester her with so many questions,”

“Now, now, there’s no need to do that,” Dumbledore chuckled,

“We’ll stop,” Filius said,

“We’re just curious, Severus,” Minerva said, “It has been a while since then,”

“I know but all your questions will be answered in due time,” he sighed, standing up, “And there will be no interrogation of the sort when it comes,”

“Where are you going?” Minerva asked, almost intercepting him,

“To the Potions Classroom, where else?” he answered, “I do have a class to teach,”

#severus snape #severus snape x reader #hp #harry potter #severus snape fanfiction #snape #professor snape #hogwarts #fanfiction #snape x you #severus snape x you

[m1ckeyb3rry]

── THE GLASS PRINCESS // FOUR

Series Synopsis: You wake up in a strange room with no memories, broken glass at your bedside, and a prince named Zuko as your only chance at figuring out who you really are.

Chapter Synopsis: You go to the zoo with Ty Lee. Later, you and Jia-Li watch a brutal confrontation between Kaho and an underclassman.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 5.3k

Content Warnings: complicated relationships (strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers), amnesia, alternate universe, lots of secrets and lying and mystery

A/N: big reveal HAHA jia-li is ruon-jian’s sister and kaho is chan’s!! idk if that was what people were expecting or not but i thought it was funny so here we are

To Zuko,

I suppose that, if you really are set on it, it would not hurt me to think of you as my friend. I hope that you are prepared for what that may entail.

I jest. I do not think I am a particularly difficult person to have as a friend, though you might get a more honest review from Ty Lee or Jia-Li. At least in my own opinion (which one might find to be unfairly high), I am agreeable enough to get along with most people — at least those who are agreeable in return (so, not Kaho).

Ty Lee and I went to the zoo. It was entertaining. I am fond of animals, and I found I enjoyed myself more at the zoo than in the academy. At least the birds sound pretty when they screech! The same cannot be said for my dear classmates, who are of the disposition to speak quite incessantly but without anything of substance or value to contribute.

My classes have been going well. I am already at the top of the year, which is partially due to how much I study and partially due to a different factor. I will not call it memory, because it is nothing that that is personal to me, but it is true that at times I will understand something before our teacher has even taught it. I must have been a very learned Fire Nation soldier, indeed.

I had to watch an Agni Kai. One of the girls in the year below us fought Kaho. Of course, she lost. It is such a brutal custom, you know…though of course I understand the cultural significance, it is not a joy to watch. Certainly, I don’t understand how some of the girls were eating snacks and placing bets on the outcome. Luckily, the girl who went against Kaho is alright. Kaho let her off with only a small burn, but it could’ve been much worse.

In better news, Jia-Li has invited me to spend the next break at her house on Ember Island! So I will go there instead of taking up space at the palace. I am excited — I am not sure if I’ve ever been to the ocean or not. It will be exciting to see it for the first time; or, if not for the first time in my life, then for the first time that I will remember. Of course, I will continue to write to you even on vacation, and Jia-Li has already said that I can borrow her clothes and things, so there should be no strain put upon you. If there were, then I would not even suggest it.

The next time I shall see you in person will be after the term is properly over, then. I look forward to it will hopefully be the Fire Nation lady you want me to be by then.

From, Your friend Ursa

P.S. You should not be surprised by what I am about to say: I still don’t remember anything.

“Wow,” Ty Lee said, chewing on a piece of candy as the two of you walked down a gravel pathway together. “I still can’t believe we got free admission!”

“Apparently, all students do,” you said, holding out your hand. She dropped the small, round, fruit-flavored disks in your palm, and you popped it in your mouth, smiling at the burst of flavor. “Though it makes sense they don’t advertise that.”

The Strategy Mistress was sick, so you all had been given leave to spend the afternoon as you pleased. Ty Lee had offered to take you to the zoo with her, remembering that you had mentioned wanting to go when you had woken up in the palace, and you had jumped at the chance to not be in the suffocating dormitory for a little while.

At the moment, you and her were standing in front of the dragon moose enclosure, watching as they grazed. One of the dragon moose had a calf, and it was a sweet looking animal, somehow adorable in its awkward ugliness. As you watched, it had a spurt of energy, jumping and bucking through the pasture, racing along the fence line and only skidding to a stop when it realized it was being ignored. Its ears drooped as it trotted back to its mother’s side, lowering its head to the grass once again.

“These dragon moose look a little different than the ones that pull the carriages,” Ty Lee said.

“Oh, I know why that is,” you said, eager to prove your competence. “Dragon moose are actually only native to one small part of the Fire Nation. The ones that pull our carriages are the offspring of ones that were domesticated many centuries ago. They’ve been selectively bred to best fit our purposes almost since the day our ancestors first tamed them, so they’ve evolved into very different looking animals. The wild dragon moose, such as these ones, never had that push to evolve and optimize to our needs, so they look the same as they have for all of those centuries.”

“You sure do know a lot, Ursa,” Ty Lee said gamely. “Was that school knowledge, book knowledge, or past knowledge?”

“Book knowledge,” you said. “I don’t know if I was that interested in the convergent evolution of domestic and wild dragon moose in my previous life.”

Ever since the first day of your classes, when you had discovered a mysterious aptitude and innate understanding of the rules of etiquette, you and Ty Lee had come up with three categories: school knowledge, book knowledge, and past knowledge. School knowledge referred to the things that you learned in your lessons, the offhand comments and the droning lectures that you remembered better than anyone else in your year. Book knowledge was the summation of the many pages upon pages you had committed to memory, encompassing everything from the political structures of the Fire Nation to the fauna of the Northern Water Tribe. Finally, past knowledge was the most mysterious and ambiguous category, because it meant the random things you just knew in your mind, even though you had no real reason to.

More things than you were really comfortable with fell into that latter category. It really didn’t feel fair — why was it that you could recall the pillars of etiquette and the different battle formations of the Soldiers of Agni, but not anything about who you had been in the past? Why was your identity, which you wanted to know the most, the only thing you could not remember?

In the middle of the zoo was a large, artificial lake. You and Ty Lee stopped at the fence and leaned over to watch the flying dolphin fish leap through the air before diving back into the water with great splashes. A little ways away from you, a child raced up to the fence and gripped it, staring at the flying dolphin fish in awe. One of the fish noticed him and swam over towards him before slamming its tail against the surface of the lake, bowling the child over in a great deluge of salty brine.

You and Ty Lee exchanged looks, neither of you laughing until you saw the other’s face, whereupon you burst into fits of giggles, unable to hold them in any longer.

“Should we go help him?” you gasped out, wiping away the tears gathering in the corners of your eyes. Ty Lee, who was doubled over at this point, shook her head.

“I think — I think his mother’s got him,” she said breathlessly. True to her word, an adult woman was yelling at the boy as he wailed, still face-down and drenched to the bone.

“He should’ve just stayed with the turtle ducks,” you said, shaking your head and pointing at the small flock floating placidly along, far from the mischievous flying dolphin fish. “They’re so cute!”

“From what I remember, there’s a petting zoo area somewhere in the zoo, if you want to try feeding turtle ducks,” Ty Lee said. “I wasn’t able to see it when I came with Azula and Mai, though, because Azula hates turtle ducks.”

“Hates turtle ducks? How could someone hate them? They’re so sweet and guileless,” you said. “Was she wronged by one as a child?”

“You could say that,” Ty Lee said. She didn’t offer further explanation, but considering you had never even met Princess Azula, you didn’t blame her. Whatever her past with the turtle ducks was, it was the princess’s own secret to keep or share at her own discretion.

It took you a while to find the petting zoo, as they had no signs, so you had to ask people to point you in the correct direction. Unfortunately, most of the people that you asked were other visitors, and by the time you finally found a staff member to take you there, you had all but given up on the prospect of going at all.

“Mostly, the people who come to the petting zoo are kids, or at least have some of their own,” the zookeeper said. Ty Lee scowled at her.

“Some of us are young at heart!” she snapped, earning a snort from you and a bewildered look from the zookeeper, who raised her hands in the air and back away.

“I cannot believe that was your response to her,” you said as you reached the counter where a different zookeeper handed you little bags of food to give to the animals.

“I panicked,” Ty Lee admitted. “But really, she had no reason to be judging us! It’s her own job that relies on visitors like us. Who cares about how old we are?”

“Quite right, Ty Lee, and anyways it can be argued that I have about as much life experience as a child, in one way, so she really has no ground to stand on,” you said.

“I wouldn’t say you’re all too childlike,” Ty Lee said. “You act like most anyone else our age would. Maybe more mature, even, but certainly not less, even though you have no memories.”

“Of course, it isn’t as if the effects of my formative experiences on my psyche have been erased just because I can’t remember them,” you said. “They still shaped my spirit, even if I cannot recall how they did so.”

Unfurling your fingers and offering your hand to one of the dragon moose — which was of the domesticated variety, not one of the wild ones from earlier — you used your other hand to rub its forehead.

“Ew! It slobbered all over me!” Ty Lee said as the dragon moose she was feeding swiped its long tongue over her now-empty palm and then across her cheek, ignoring her attempts to shove it off of her.

“That must mean it likes you,” you said. She stopped trying to shove it away, her expression growing contemplative as the dragon moose used its lips to play with her long braid.

“Aw,” she said. “Now I feel kinda bad for being so mean.”

“I don’t think it’s offended, but maybe you should get your braid out of its mouth before it chews it off,” you said. Ty Lee yelped and yanked her braid out of the dragon moose’s grasp, jumping away to stand behind you.

“As soon as we get back to the academy, I’m going to have to shower,” she said, shuddering.

“You do smell somewhat like dragon moose,” you said, sniffing her delicately and then wrinkling your nose. “Wanna go back to the flying dolphin fish? I’m sure they’d be happy to rinse you off.”

“Very funny!” she said.

“It feels like you don’t think it’s that funny,” you said, snickering. “Which is a shame, because I do.”

“Let’s just go see the turtle ducks. They’re the whole reason we came here,” she said, stomping off.

“You don’t want to visit the hippo cow?” you said, pointing at the enormous beast that was allowing toddlers to clamber over it as it dozed with one eye open.

“I don’t even want to think about how things could go wrong if I go near that,” Ty Lee said. “Turtle ducks are nice and safe and little. As I said, let’s go there.”

These turtle ducks were kept in a pond which had no fence, allowing them to wander about as they pleased, swimming amongst the lilies blooming in the water and hiding in the bulrushes on the part of the bank further from the path.

Crouching, you broke off pieces of lettuce and threw them towards the turtle ducks. They paddled over and began to squabble amongst themselves, racing to snag the treats before their companions.

Ty Lee joined you, and for a little bit, the two of you were quiet, tossing lettuce at the turtle ducks and observing them eat. Only once all of your lettuce had run out did Ty Lee speak again.

“I thought turtle ducks ate bread,” she said.

“They do,” you said. “They love it a lot, which is why people give it to them. But it’s bad for them. Makes their stomachs upset.”

“Then why do they love it?” she said. “If it makes them sick, why do they keep eating it?”

“I don’t know,” you said. “It must taste very nice. Sometimes, it’s like that, I guess. You do things that you know are bad for you because you think that they are good.”

Ty Lee glanced at you out of the corner of her eye. “School knowledge or book knowledge?”

“Neither,” you said. “Past knowledge, I think.”

You couldn’t explain it, but then again, when had you ever been able to explain your past knowledge? Ty Lee exhaled but did not question you, which you were grateful for. You doubted you could’ve explained further, anyways.

“There you are!” Jia-Li hissed when you and Ty Lee walked into the dormitory building together. The light mood of the outing had faded after you had fed the turtle ducks, a pensive melancholy settling over you both in place of the earlier humor as the two of you considered your own respective thoughts.

“What’s wrong?” you said.

“Where have you guys been?” she said.

“We were at the zoo,” Ty Lee said.

“Didn’t I tell you before we left? Did something happen? Oh no, did the Strategy Mistress suddenly feel better and decide to hold class after all?” you said. “We have an exam coming up. If I missed a class, then I’m going to have to double down on my studying.”

“Those are words I never want to hear from your mouth again,” Ty Lee said. “How can you ‘double down’ on your studying when you already spend almost every waking moment doing exactly that? I mean, there’s only so many hours in a day, you know!”

“Never mind all of that!” Jia-Li said. “No, the Strategy Mistress is still sick, so you didn’t miss anything — at least, nothing academic.”

“Good,” you said. “I don’t mind missing anything else. Which I’m assuming we did, considering you look near to fainting, Jia-Li.”

“One of those idiots in the class below us has been spending the entire afternoon antagonizing Kaho! I’m afraid she’s going to blow up, and sooner rather than later,” Jia-Li explained.

“That sounds like something I’d like to be far away from,” you said. “We should’ve stayed at the zoo a bit longer, Ty Lee.”

“Mhm,” Ty Lee said emphatically. “I’d take dragon moose slobber any day!”

“I don’t think this girl realizes what she’s getting into,” Jia-Li said. “See, the thing is, whenever you’re around, Ursa, Kaho’s too busy hating you to get annoyed by anyone else. But since you were gone all afternoon, she’s had nowhere to channel her inner anger.”

You made a face. “So? Are you suggesting that I should’ve stayed around and let her be rude to me or something?”

“Not at all,” Jia-Li reassured you. “It’s more that she’s seemed downright gentle recently — or, I guess, gentler. That’s why that girl thinks she has a chance, but the truth is in terms of Firebending, Kaho is probably the most talented student in the entire academy at the present moment. And when you mix that talent together with an ill temper, it’s a bad combination.”

“Has she challenged her yet?” Ty Lee said.

“Not yet,” Jia-Li said.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Ty Lee said, sighing. “Ugh. This is all so ridiculous! We should all just get along.”

“Let’s just avoid them all for as long as we can and hope everything has smoothed over by the time we go down to eat dinner,” you said. “Ty Lee, you can stay in our room, as long as Jia-Li is okay with it.”

“Of course,” Jia-Li said. “I wouldn’t send you into the dragon’s maw like that.”

“I can handle her if it comes down to it,” Ty Lee said. “And I really need to shower — bad run in with a dragon moose’s tongue, Jia-Li, it’s a bit of a long story. But thanks for offering!”

“What can she do against someone like Kaho?” Jia-Li asked you. You shrugged.

“I have no idea, but she is one of Princess Azula’s closest friends, so she must know a thing or two,” you said.

“That’s true,” Jia-Li said. “Let’s stop talking about Kaho and her idiocy now, though. There’s no point in letting her spoil our time together. Did you have fun at the zoo?”

“I did!” you said. “It was nice to see all the animals, and we got to feed some of them at the petting zoo, which was nice. They were all very friendly.”

Jia-Li smiled fondly. “That’s good. I used to love going to the zoo as a kid. My brother and I used to visit together — his favorite exhibit was the flying dolphin fish, but I always liked going to see the koala sheep.”

“Were you and your brother close?” you said, feeling a pang in your stomach. You had no idea if you had a brother or a sister or any siblings at all. What if you did? Would they be missing you right now, or would they have moved on from you already? Would they resemble you, or would you look completely different? Would they have cared for you in your youth, or would you have cared for them in theirs?

“We used to be,” Jia-Li said. “When we were very young, that is. He was my best friend.”

“What happened?” you said.

“We grew up,” she said, undoing the ribbon tying her hair back and beginning to comb through her long locks. “I came here, and he went to the school for boys. Then I suppose we just learnt to have different interests. He preferred hanging out with his other boy friends, and so I was left to find my own entertainment.”

“That’s sad,” you said. She set down the comb and retied her hair.

“It is,” she said. “What I wouldn’t give to go to the zoo with him again, or some other such activity. Actually, I just wish we were children again…but we are grown now, aren’t we? It’s fine. That’s how life is.”

“Is he much older than us?” you said.

“Only by a couple of years,” she said before brightening. “You should come meet him!”

“Uh,” you said. “Where would we do that, exactly? And why?”

“Our next break is soon. My family has a house on Ember Island; you can come stay with us! Unless you have other plans already or something, of course,” she said.

“I don’t have any plans,” you said. “I probably would’ve ended up going to the palace again, but visiting this Ember Island place sounds a little more appealing, in truth. As long as you and your family are alright with it.”

“My family won’t care,” Jia-Li said, waving you off dismissively. “My father will probably be delighted to have the girl sponsored by the royal family staying in his home, and my mother will just be happy that I’m bringing a friend home. As for my brother…nobody cares about his opinion, anyways! If he wants to complain, then he can just run along and stay at his best friend’s house. They’re going to be on Ember Island then, too.”

“Then I would really love to do that,” you said. “Thank you for inviting me, Jia-Li.”

“Sure, you’re a great roommate, so it’s not an issue,” she said. “I was a little sad about having to leave you during break, but now I’m just excited! You’ll love Ember Island, I promise. It’s so beautiful there.”

“I’m excited, too,” you said. “Actually, I was a little scared about the break — I wasn’t sure if I had a place in the palace or not, and either way, there’s something a little intimidating about staying there. It’ll be much more fun to be with you the whole time, in a place that I can feel somewhat wanted.”

“Of course!” Jia-Li said, growing starry-eyed. “And I can take you to the ocean for the first time! Do you know how to swim? Wait, you probably wouldn’t know if you do or don’t. Well, if you don’t, I’ll teach you, and if you do, we can swim together! You can borrow my things, I think we’re probably close in size.”

“Alright,” you said, overwhelmed by the many plans she was already coming with. “I’ll leave all of that to you. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

“You can count on me,” Jia-Li said, giving you a thumbs up. “I promise it’ll be the best break ever!”

Since Ty Lee had apparently gone to her room after showering, you and Jia-Li decided to make your way to dinner together in the hopes that you’d find her in the dining hall. Both of you were hungry by that point, though, and you unanimously agreed to just eat, even if she wasn’t there.

“I’m surprised,” you said when you walked in and found no traces of Ty Lee anywhere. “She’s normally so timely when it comes to dinner.”

“Yeah, but remember how long it takes her to wash and dry her hair? She probably won’t be down for a while,” Jia-Li reminded you.

“Right, I forgot about that,” you said. Ty Lee took a lot of pride in her personal appearance — rightfully so, of course, given how lovely she was — so her pre and post-shower routines were quite extensive, to say nothing of the actual shower itself. And especially because she had gotten covered in dragon moose saliva at the zoo, Jia-Li was correct to assume that Ty Lee might not be out for quite some time.

“Uh-oh,” Jia-Li said as you two sat down with your dinners. She nodded at the end of the table, where a girl you vaguely remembered being in the year below you was smirking at Kaho, whose jaw muscles were twitching with every word the girl spoke.

“Someone should stop her,” you said, though you made no move to get up, wanting to stay far away from the disaster zone that was about to emerge. Jia-Li hummed in assent, but she obviously had the same idea, remaining firmly put beside you. “It’s like she has a death wish.”

“She’s just trying to prove her superiority,” Jia-Li said. “There’s a clear hierarchy in this school, and right now, Kaho is at the top. She doesn’t like when people come for her spot, but of course, everyone wants to be there, to be number one, so they’re always trying to best her. It’s why she doesn’t like you — you’re beating her in terms of academics, which she hates, because she’s supposed to be the best. At least with you, though, you’re not a bender, so she can console herself with the fact that you’ll never be able to compete with her in any way that matters on that front. This girl, though, is challenging everything that Kaho is. She wants to be the most respected girl in the academy, but to do that, she needs to prove that Kaho isn’t worthy of that place any longer.”

“Can she do it?” you said.

“No,” Jia-Li said bluntly. “Plenty of people have tried. None of them have succeeded, except for Princess Azula, and she’s a special case in that she already was afforded a different status than the rest of us because of her bloodline.”

“Then she’s a fool,” you said.

“There’s more fools in this world than not,” Jia-Li said.

The girl continued to tease Kaho, who was obviously doing her level best to ignore her, not even affording her the dignity of looking at her. One could argue that it was maturity, but you understood it for what it really was: a way to demean her opponent, to prove that the other’s existence was meaningless to her, that she was so insignificant it was as if she truly did not exist in Kaho’s eyes.

“Honestly,” the girl said, voice lilting impishly, “I feel for you, Kaho. I mean, you used to be the top student, and then a girl with amnesia took your spot! It must’ve been embarrassing, losing to someone who doesn’t even have any memories. And to make matters worse, the prince really does seem to favor that girl, and we all know what he thinks of you…”

“What is she talking about?” you whispered under your breath to Jia-Li. “Why is she bringing me into this? What does Prince Zuko have to do with anything?”

“You’d do well to shut up now,” Kaho said, though it was the wrong thing to do, for her reaction was proof that the girl had struck a nerve.

“It’s like I told you,” Jia-Li whispered back. “Kaho is used to being at the top. When we were younger, before everything with the, ah, banishment, she tried very desperately to befriend the royal family. She was never able to endear herself to Princess Azula, but her sights were always on the prince, anyways, so that mattered little to her. It was marriage she sought; the prospect of being Fire Lady was too appealing.”

“I’m assuming she was unsuccessful,” you said. Jia-Li nodded.

“Extremely. It wasn’t even her fault, really; Prince Zuko was always kind, but unattainable for all of us. He had no interest in dallying with girls that went to school with his sister, so Kaho was never able to gain his approval in the way she wanted. Perhaps it might’ve been different if he hadn’t been…you know. They might have grown closer as they grew older simply due to her sheer persistence, but we’ll never know,” she said.

“For being the supposed best of us, you’re not the best at a lot of things,” the girl said. “I mean, I bet you’re not even that good at Firebending!”

Kaho slammed her fist on the table, standing to face the girl and glaring at her.

“Is that the game you want to play?” she said. “Fine. I’ll go along with it. I challenge you to an Agni Kai!”

“I’m assuming that’s not a good outcome,” you said.

“Nope,” Jia-Li said grimly. “Let’s just say that things have gone from bad to worse. Come on.”

“We’re going to watch?” you said.

“It’s all but mandated. I don’t like it, either, but we kind of have to,” Jia-Li said. “Hopefully, it’s over soon. Sometimes, Kaho can be inventive.”

You and Jia-Li stood in the very back of the crowd, though your view was still perfectly unobstructed. You almost wished there was something blocking your vision, though, something in between you and what was surely going to turn out to be a grotesque sight, one way or another.

“Want some?” the girl in front of you said, turning around and proffering a bag of candy to you and Jia-Li.

“No, thank you,” you said, for you were already queasy and knew that sweets would only worsen the effect.

“I’m okay,” Jia-Li said.

“I’m betting on Kaho,” the girl said, grabbing a handful of candy and dropping it all in her mouth. “Wanna join the pool? One of my friends is running it.”

“Like a betting pool?” you said.

“Yup! It’s how I could afford to buy this candy — I won last time,” the girl explained.

“No way,” you said.

“We’re good,” Jia-Li said when the girl looked offended at your short response.

“I can’t believe they’re betting on something like this!” you said.

“It’s common, believe it or not,” Jia-Li said.

“I believe it, sadly, but I wish I didn’t,” you said. “It’s so heartless.”

“That’s just how things are here,” Jia-Li said. You pursed your lips as the fight between the girl and Kaho began, deciding to keep silent, because your words would be wasted when your argument was not even with Jia-Li in the first place.

Even though the girl was no slouch in terms of Firebending, the fight was over almost as soon as it started. Kaho’s power was too much for her opponent, and she seemed bored as she coated her palm in fire and slapped it against the girl’s bicep.

“I got the first burn,” she said, miming a yawn. “So I guess that means I win. Why are you crying like that? Honestly. Just shut up. Why’d you agree to fight me if you couldn’t accept defeat like an adult?”

The skin on the girl’s arm was red and angry, already beginning to blister, but you could tell even without an explanation from Jia-Li that Kaho had been merciful. She could’ve done worse, but she had chosen to let that girl off with a warning. A reminder to never be so daring again.

There was something odd about it all, though. Despite the fact that her opponent was standing across from her, you noticed that it was not the burnt, sobbing girl that Kaho was scowling at so darkly.

It was you.

Ursa,

I’m glad you were able to make it to the zoo. I know you mentioned wanting to go a while back, so it makes me happy to know that that desire of yours was fulfilled. I wish I could’ve been there. Did you get to feed the turtle ducks? I remember doing that when I went, though of course I only visited once, with my mother, and that was a long time ago, so maybe things have changed and they don’t let people do that anymore.

I wish you hadn’t had to see an Agni Kai. They are definitely a darker part of Fire Nation culture. But, then again, for a nation that values honor so greatly, they are just a natural consequence. I hope you haven’t been frightened too terribly. Mai says that Kaho isn’t always so generous with her opponents, so there’s something to be grateful for: at least it was only a small burn. You’re entirely right — it could’ve been worse.

You shouldn’t worry about taking up space at the palace. It would be my our pleasure to host you once again. But Ember Island is a nice place. You will have fun there, I’m sure. The ocean is very, very beautiful. It’s the bluest thing you’ll ever see, and it goes on for what seems to be forever. The Fire Nation is lucky in that our ocean is warm, and the tides are not so vicious — nothing like the poles, where it is so treacherous and cold.

It is nice to know that you are enjoying yourself so thoroughly. That is what I am really concerned with; it matters little to me if you ever become a proper Fire Nation lady or anything along those lines. I would even prefer it if you didn’t. It’s more important that you are happy.

Yours, Zuko

P.S. Perhaps I am not surprised, but I am still disappointed on your behalf.

#zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #zuko #avatar the last airbender #atla #reader insert #canon au #the glass princess #m1ckeyb3rry writes

[daddy-dins-girl]

Rush

pairing: Dave York x f!Reader

No use of Y/N. No physical description of reader other than that she has hair long enough for Dave to grab... (mood board is for aesthetic purposes only)

Word Count: 5.7k

summary: You're a part-time nanny for the beautiful York family. The money is good, the job is easy, and on days when Mr. York works from home, well, those are more than enough incentive to keep you coming back. (Literally this is just PWP and I'm sorry, not sorry).

notes: the Dave York brain rot is so real y'all. I'm sorry, I know I owe you updates on other stories still! Also, this is my first moodboard EVER. How'd I do? lol.

warnings: 🔞 18+MDNI. PWP (this is basically just smut y'all). Infidelity (is it even Dave York if he's not cheating on his wife?). Implied age gap I guess? (Reader is mentioned to be in college but no actual age is specified. Dave is in his 40's). Dom!Dave York. Degradation kink. Cockwarming. Oral sex (f and m receiving). Protected p in v sex. Inappropriate behaviour during a Zoom call (Dave York is a menace and I will not apologize for that). One ass slap (as far as Dave goes I'd say this fic is a tame one).

My masterlist

A03 link

It’s like you have developed a Pavlovian response to even seeing his name pop up on your screen with the notification alert. You practically start drooling before you even open it to see what he’s said or sent you, you just can’t help yourself. There’s a heat that runs through your veins and you feel it down to your toes, the rush that comes over you over the simple four words displayed across your screen.

Incoming Message: Mr. York

You tap the message to open it and can’t even pretend to ignore the heat that floods your abdomen when you click again and open the attachment inside. The attachment your employer just sent you.

You bite your lower lip as your gaze quickly darts around the room, ensuring nobody is around to see your reaction. The girls of course are with you but they’re planted directly in front of the television, currently mesmerized by Elsa, for the third time this week, not that you’re counting, while you sit dutifully behind them on the sofa. Mrs. York is out shopping or getting her hair done or running errands or whatever it is she does for most of the afternoon that requires you to be here to watch the children. You don’t mind. The money is good, the job is easy, and on days when Mr. York works from home, well, those are more than enough incentive to keep you coming back.

You’re more than a babysitter, more like a nanny, however not full time. You don’t live there, just spend a few hours there each weekday and you’ll watch the girls on occasional evenings or weekends when needed. You pick the girls up from school each day, bring them home and sometimes one or both of their parents are home but busy, or sometimes neither of them are there. You do things like the girls' laundry and prepare their dinner as well as their school lunches for the next day and some light cleaning tasks like the girls' rooms or cleaning the kitchen after you’ve made their meals. It was a good gig that worked well around your current class schedule and the money was much better than what most of your friends made to keep themselves afloat, working in restaurants or retail jobs.Not to mention the added benefit of your job.

Today, lucky for you, is a work from home day for Dave. Mr. York. And the message he sends you leaves no room for interpretation, you know exactly what he wants. You stare at the picture a moment longer, the dark navy blue of his dress slacks with the very obvious outline of his hard-on straining against the fabric. His hand sits on top of his thigh right next to the bulge under his pants and the gold band around his finger on prominent display does absolutely nothing to dissuade you as you push yourself up from the sofa.

“Girls I have some of your laundry to finish up, just keep watching your movie ok and I’ll be back in a little bit” you tell them sweetly and Molly casually acknowledges you with a wave of her hand, Alice not bothered enough to look up from the screen.

Honestly, thank god for Frozen.

You smooth down your skirt as you walk down the stairs to the finished basement and turn the corner to the only firmly closed door in the house. Mr. York's home office. It was off limits to everyone. Everyone except you, when you were invited of course, and the text he just sent you might as well be an embossed formal invitation printed on expensive cardstock.

You don’t bother knocking. You can hear his low voice through the door. It’s muffled and you can’t make out what he’s saying but you know he’s speaking and must be on a call.

A boring conference call.

Your favourite.

You can’t help the smile that tugs at the corners of your lips as you carefully push the door open, ensuring to be quiet and gently push it shut behind you. You don’t bother locking it, not anymore. You had once, the first time, and Dave ensured you that it wasn’t necessary. The girls knew this room was off limits because “Daddy was working” and Carol, if she did bother to come down here at all, would be sure to knock first to not interrupt Dave while he was working. You think he secretly likes the thrill of it, doing absolutely depraved things with you in his family’s home behind an unlocked door, knowing that his wife could walk in whenever she wanted. Of course it’s not something he would ever want his children to see, but it's been engrained well enough in their heads by now not to come down here that he knows he doesn’t need to worry about it.

You turn around from the door after closing it and see him casually leaning back in his office chair, elbow resting on the arm of it while he rests his face on his hand, a bored expression on his handsome features. His government-provided laptop sits open on his desk and you hear a mixture of voices flooding through the speakers though you don’t pay any attention to what they’re saying. You stand near the door still in the middle of the room and begin to unbutton your blouse, ignoring the little flutter in your tummy when you notice Dave sits up a little straighter in his chair. It’s a routine by now. You know what he wants without either of you needing to speak a word. Of course it’s not always the same when you step into this room, but when Dave is on a conference call, this is what you do.

All buttons undone you shrug out of your top and waste no time in undoing your bra next, letting the straps slide off your shoulders as you toss it carelessly to the floor. Next you pull down the zipper to your skirt and tug it down your legs along with your panties, not bothering to waste any time.

Dave likes efficiency. He also likes you completely naked, always, regardless of his level of dress or what the two of you might be doing. Even if he wants you under his desk sucking his cock where he can’t really even see your body, you will be naked while you do it and he’ll likely be fully clothed with just his belt open and zipper pulled down. Those were Dave’s rules. And you were nothing with him if not obedient.

You smile coyly at him as you make your way towards his desk and he pushes his chair back slightly further as he mumbles some confirmation over the speakerphone to his underlings. You know you don’t need to worry about the laptop or the Zoom call he’s currently in, Dave had a little black security sticker placed over every camera lens on all the larger electronics in the house, always taking his privacy seriously. Even the girls' tablets had the camera lenses blacked out.

He puts a single finger to his lips as you walk over to him, signaling to you that you need to be quiet, be his good girl, but of course you already know this. You nod your head slightly as you reach him, hands instinctively running over from the top of his chest up his broad shoulders as you swing one of your legs over him until you're straddled on his lap. Your hands slide back down his front, all the way down until you reach his waist and quietly unfasten his belt, popping the button open on his slacks and sliding his zipper down. Dave helps you by slightly lifting his hips, enough that you can shove down the material of his pants and boxers just enough to set his waiting cock free. You love that even when he’s working from home he is always dressed sharply in a business suit. Today his jacket is off, hung around the back of his chair and his shirt sleeves are rolled up to his forearms but aside from that, everything, including his tie, is perfectly in place.

Dave York, ever the professional, as his personal employee gets situated to sit on his cock during a conference call.

Once he’s on full glorious display for you you look up at him, waiting on his confirmation. That slight nod of his head he gives you that says ‘go on sweet girl, sit on my cock’. Deep brown eyes stare back at you and you wait, unmoving, until he lifts his hand and presses two fingers to your lips. You dutifully open your mouth, inviting them in and suck, wetting them with your tongue and saliva for a few long seconds until he’s satisfied and pulls them away. He immediately brings those same fingers down between your legs and slowly drags them through your folds, a smirk crossing his lips when he feels how wet you are already, how you don’t even need his fingers to be ready to take him. The truth is you were uncomfortably wet before he even sent you that text. The anticipation, the waiting, the wondering if today’s a day when he summons for you, it was enough to have you already worked up.

Despite you being ready he takes a few seconds to leisurely circle your clit with his thick fingers and you have to bite your lip to suppress the moan that wants to come out. You know you need to be quiet, it’s another one of his rules. If he wasn’t on an active call you are allowed to make some noise, he likes it even, but just not loud enough that your voice carries upstairs. His hand not currently working between your legs slides past you to the computer at his desk and you hear the tap of a button and you know he’s hit ‘mute’ on his call.

“Going to be a good girl for me, nice and quiet, right?” He asks and you nod your head.

“Yes” you whimper, sounding wrecked already despite that he’s barely begun.

“That’s good. I unfortunately need to be an active participant in this godforsaken budget meeting and will need to unmute from time to time and god help you if you start moaning like some bitch in heat and somebody hears you, I’ll turn on my camera and let them watch what a slut you are for my cock, do you understand?”

“Yes sir” you nod your head enthusiastically. “I’ll be good”

God the way he speaks to you when you’re together like this, maybe you should be concerned with how hot it gets you but you’re not. You know of course it's just talk, it's a persona he puts on when you’re intimate together and he gathered very quickly early on how much you enjoyed it so these are the roles you play when you are together. Truthfully Dave is respectful towards you, always has been, before and after the first time you’d hooked up. You chalk it up to him needing a different kind of release than he can get with his wife, the mother of his children. He needs a break from reality. From white-picket fences and playdates and fortunately for you, that’s where you came in. Call it ‘Daddy Issues’, call it whatever you want, but when Dave got a little mean with you or called you names or got rough with you, well, you’re honestly worried you’ll never again feel the sexual satisfaction that you get from this man. Nobody else could possibly measure up.

“I know you will baby” he smirks at you. “Now come on, you know what I want” he says and then taps a button on the keyboard again as he clears his throat and begins speaking to his colleagues again.

It should be scientifically studied how Dave droning on about quarterly budgets and fiscal year-ends can get your pussy absolutely dripping for him.

You do know what he wants and when his hand leaves the apex of your thighs you reach into the desk drawer beside you and pluck a foil packet out of the small wooden box he keeps nestled inside his desk (using protection is another one of Dave's rules so there's always a stash nearby in his office). Once you’ve torn it open and carefully rolled the condom down his thick shaft you lift yourself up just enough to hover over it before you sink down and are fully seated in his lap, buried to the hilt. Your arms instinctively wrap around his neck and you lean your head down to rest on his shoulder but otherwise you don’t move. Dave doesn’t want to fuck you. At least, not right now. He wants you to be his good girl and keep his cock warm for him until his call is over and then he’ll decide what he wants to do with you. You hope the call isn’t a long one but sometimes in the past you haven’t been so lucky. Sometimes you sit here for five minutes, sometimes for thirty. Either way, you’ll be good while you do it and not move, otherwise Dave will become upset and punish you. And unfortunately punishment for you means he gets to come and you don’t, so you’re very careful now not to be punished. That lesson has been learned.

The meeting continues and after a few minutes Dave grows bored of his colleagues. You see it on his face and how his head falls back against the chair. Though you’ve barely been paying attention, even you know that they’ve just been talking in circles for the last five minutes.

“All right enough, let’s move on I don’t have all day” Dave suddenly barks at his computer and you hear several “yes sir”’s and “sorry sir”’s and flipping of papers as they switch topics to the next article on their agenda. Dave is still annoyed and bored and you know this because he snakes an arm between your bodies and his fingers are suddenly between your legs again where the two of you are joined. You lift your head from his shoulder again and pull back just enough so you can look him in the eyes as his fingers slowly begin to press at your clit. You pull your bottom lip through your teeth and your brow furrows slightly as he gently teases you and this… this is new. He doesn’t normally play with you when you’re meant to just be sitting still for him and honestly it terrifies you a little bit, knowing you can’t make a sound.

He’s still off mute as he occasionally responds to his colleagues and seemingly ignores the desperate plea your eyes are giving him as he rubs torturously slow circles around your little bundle of nerves. God he’s going to make you cum and you’re not allowed to utter a sound. A sly grin pulls at his lips and you know he’s enjoying this. Watching you squirm in his lap, desperate to please him as you focus every ounce of your concentration on not moaning out loud but Dave knows your body so well by now, like he’s fine tuning an instrument he’s had for years. You bury your face in his neck as your hands cling around the back of his head and the hand not between your legs comes up behind you, rubbing comforting circles across the span of your lower back. If it weren’t for the fingers at your clit and the cock buried inside you you’d feel like a small child being soothed and you might as well be because despite your best efforts, tears well at the corners of your eyes that you know Dave can feel drop hot against his skin. He’s making you feel so fucking good, but not good enough that it’ll get you to come and he knows that. He’s left you teetering on that edge as he plays with your clit with practiced precision and you need to come so badly you’re literally reduced to tears, the tight coil in your abdomen desperate to snap but can’t quite get there. He’s toying with you, and he loves it.

Your mouth mimes a desperate ‘please’ when you pull back again to look him in the eyes, hoping he’ll take pity on you. You must look a mess, tear-stained cheeks and he has to be able to feel the way your thighs are literally trembling. The smug grin hasn’t left his lips and for a moment you think he’s going to continue to torture you, but to your elated surprise he leans a bit forward to speak into his computer.

“All right everyone I think we’ve accomplished enough for one day, let’s pick this up on Monday, yeah? Have a good weekend everyone”

He doesn’t bother to wait for any of his colleagues to reply, just slams his laptop shut and shoves it aside with a sweep of his arm and you yelp out in surprise when he suddenly hoists you up and off of his cock, placing you down on your back on his desk. You whimper at the loss of him inside you but don’t have another second to complain before he shoves his chair back as he gets out of it and kneels to the ground in front of you.

“Oh fuck” you whimper, lifting your head up as far as you’re able to and reaching a hand out to place on his head.

“You were such a good girl for me, weren’t you baby?” he grins up at you from between your spread legs and you desperately nod your head in agreement. Honestly, you were proud of yourself.

“Good girls get rewarded, isn’t that right sweetheart?” he asks and you nod again.

Dave pauses for a moment and then his gaze lifts upwards to the ceiling. “Frozen?” he asks, knowing that his children are essentially mindless drones when their favourite movie is playing on tv and won’t come looking for you.

“Yes” you breathe out, your voice shaking. God, you need him so badly.

“Good” he grins again. “Want to hear you baby” is all he says before he dives in head first, literally, his mouth and tongue going straight to your core.

He begins greedily lapping at you, tongue pushing through your folds before he brings it up a little higher and swirls the muscle around your sensitive bundle of nerves. Your hips cant off the desk without your permission and you hear him chuckle before he places a strong arm across your waist.

“Easy baby, let me take care of you”

And take care of you he does. He takes his free hand and inserts one thick finger inside your wet heat, beginning a steady pace of fucking you with his single digit before his mouth closes around you again, sucking your clit into his mouth and a loud moan followed by a string of curses leaves your lips, your hands clutching into the short stands of hair at his head. Your orgasm floods over you within seconds, already being so close from the earlier teasing and Dave moans into your cunt when he feels your walls pulsing around his finger.

“Fuck,” he groans into you, apparently pleased with you and himself. His finger continues working inside of you, at a slower pace thankfully and his arm around your waist leaves you and disappears behind the desk where you can’t see it but you know where that hand is going and you let out a little whimper, causing Dave to chuckle against you.

“What is it sweetheart? Tell me”

“Want your cock” you whine. “Please” you add, because Dave likes it when you have manners.

He presses a single kiss to your oversensitive centre before he finally pulls back and gets up from the floor, settling back into his chair and looking at you expectantly.

“Well go on then” he nods towards his aching length that now rests against his clothed belly, the condom long discarded. You assume he took it off not long after he pulled you from his lap so he could jerk himself off with his free hand while he ate you out.

You quickly scramble off of the desk and onto your knees, greedily taking him into your hand and mouth, not needing to be asked twice. Your hand wraps around the base while your mouth envelops the rest of him, taking him as far down your throat as your gag reflex allows.

“Eager today” Dave chuckles from above you before a small groan escapes his lips when your tongue comes up to press into his already leaking slit.

“Fuck, the mouth on you…” he tuts, hand coming around to gather your hair so he can hold it back from your face and get a better view of how you take him down your throat. You continue to suck and lick and swallow him down, your hand moving in tandem with your mouth to ensure you reach all of him and he groans, head falling back against the headrest of his chair. The hand not holding your hair back presses down on the top of your head, forcing you further down his cock. He likes to hear you choke and gag on him, likes to see the spit and saliva and drool run down your chin and hear those debauched noises that leave your throat when you take him so deeply. Tears pick at the corners of your eyelids as the head of his cock knocks against the back of your throat and he forcefully pulls your head back, tilting it so your gaze finds his and you see the satisfaction stretch across his lips as he watches the fat tears hit your cheeks.

“Good girl. Good fucking girl” he practically growls at you before yanking you off of him. You gasp for breath once he’s pulled you from his throbbing member, your hands coming up to rest on his knees to steady yourself as you catch your breath. You know you had him close to that edge so the fact that he’s pulled you off of him has you instantly flooded with arousal again, knowing that today he wants to finish inside of you rather than in your mouth.

“C’mere” he grunts, grabbing you by the arm and hauling you up to your feet as he also stands from his chair. The moment you're both up he pulls you forward and his lips crash against yours, shoving his tongue inside of your mouth to hungrily taste you. You can’t help the little whimper that escapes you when you taste yourself on his tongue and his lips curl into a smile at that.

He pulls back after a few seconds and begins to kiss and nip along your jaw and upwards until his lips and breath are hot against your ear.

“Turn around for me sweetheart, bend over”

You follow his request immediately, turning in his arms and bending over the desk until your top half is fully resting on the smooth, hard cherry wood surface and your feet are planted firmly on the ground. Dave’s dark brown leather shoe comes between both of your feet and he hastily kicks them further apart, spreading your legs wide for him and your breath catches in your throat for a second before you let out a little giggle at how eager he is to have you. His hands go to your hips and he angles you just right so when he steps forward his cock slides right between your folds and you let out a low moan at the friction it causes. He lets you feel him bare for a few more passes through your folds as his right hand leaves your hip to begin rustling around in the top desk drawer again. You have to bite back the words that are on your tongue, ‘don’t use one, just take me’ because you figure if he wanted to fuck you raw he would have by now. Dave is always careful and for the most part, always in control of himself but sometimes you wish he’d just let go and be reckless with you. It’s not really even that reckless, you argue with yourself. You’re on birth control and Dave knows this because he’s seen the little square patch you wear on your hip for three weeks of the month. He’d asked what it was as his fingers delicately traced the shape and you’d told him. A simple “hmm” was all you got from in response. And aside from that, Dave was the only person you were currently sexually active with and you’re pretty sure Dave knew that as well. There was so much Dave seemed to know about you. It would probably be almost unsettling if you really stopped to think about it so you just didn’t. You were happy to stay in your little bubble of blissed ignorance, so long as it meant Dave would continue to show you the attention you craved from him.

You turn your head back just in time to see him ripping the package with his teeth and then his hips pull back from you just enough so that he can roll the condom on before he’s back, pressing forward and teasing at your entrance again.

“Ready baby?” he asks.

“Mmm hmm” you nod weakly, desperate to feel him inside you finally. “Please”

With that final uttered syllable Dave thrusts forward, entering you in one swift motion and burying himself to the hilt with a single rough snap of his hips and all the breath gets knocked out of your lungs as your upper body is shoved slightly further up the desk. He stills for a moment once he’s fully seated inside you and lets you adjust to him, his left hand rubbing soothingly back and forth on your hip.

“That’s it, take my cock so good sweetheart, fuck” he groans, tossing his head back and now you’re not sure if he’s stopped moving for your sake or for his own. “God damn, love this tight fucking pussy” he practically growls before he rolls his hips back before snapping forward again. He sets a hard, rough pace from there, stealing the breath from your lungs with each snap of his hips and the guttural noises that leave your throat each time he hits that spot deep inside of you sound downright sinful as they bounce off the four walls of the small office.

Not quite as sinful, however, as the smack that reverberates in the room when Dave’s hand lands a sharp blow to your right ass cheek as he continues to pound into you from behind.

“Ah!” you cry out, sounding positively wrecked, because you are. “Fuck, oh my god, ohmygod”. You’re reduced to a whimpering, whining mess within minutes as Dave bucks into you with reckless abandon. His fingers dig so deeply into your hips you know for fact they’ll leave bruises. You manage to turn your head slightly back to look at him, and what a glorious sight he is. Neck veins prominently on display as he tilts his head slightly back but still manages to keep his hard gaze on you. His teeth are bared and there’s beads of sweat at his forehead from his exertion and it’s enough to send you catapulting over that edge. You come long and hard with a wrecked sob leaving your throat as your walls pulse and contract around him.

“Oh fuck, fuck, fuck” you cry out, hands stretched above your head to hold onto the edge of the desk for dear life as your orgasm crashes over you.

“Shit baby… shit” Dave curses and you know your orgasm nearly brought his own on as well. Another low growl escape his lips before he’s hauling you up by your arms. “C’mere”

Your limbs might as well be made of Jello after how hard you just came so fortunately for Dave you’re very pliant in his arms as he all but manhandles you around. He pulls out of you and turns you around before he hauls you up and off the desk. He backs up just enough to sit back down in his chair and pulls you down on top of him, situating you just right so you’re sat right back on his cock the same way you were earlier and you cry out again once he has you speared on his dick.

“Ride me baby, bounce up and down on this dick, come on” he urges you on, sounding wrecked himself and it’s enough to give you the gust of energy you need to comply. Your hands go to his shoulders to hold on and his go to your hips to help you raise them just slightly before he slams you back down into his lap and then repeats the motion, over and over.

“That’s it, oh fuck” he seethes through gritted teeth. “Such a good girl for me, oh ride that cock baby come on” he encourages and your eyes roll back in your head at how deep he hits inside you. You think you actually feel a third orgasm coming on and Dave must sense it in you too because the next thing you know his thumb is at your clit, rubbing frantic circles as he begs and pleads with you to give him ‘just one more’. And you do just that. With a cry of his name leaving your lips you come a third time, hands clutching desperately at his shoulders as he fucks you through it and then his arms wrap tight around your lower back and he presses you firmer into his lap as he pushes a few final deep thrusts into you until he finally stills, a shuddering moan released from the back of his throat as he spills inside the condom.

You stay just like that for long moments afterwards. Dave’s arms wrapped tightly around you and yours around his neck, your face buried in his shoulder and his nuzzling into the side of your face. Dave isn’t exactly a cuddler. At least not with you or in your experience with him yet. Typically when your done he slides out of you and likes to get the condom off and get himself cleaned up immediately, dismissing you to get back to whatever you were doing but today he seems content to just hold you and you’ll greedily take every second of it until he regretfully pulls away from you like you know he has to.

You're so blissed out in your post-orgasmic state that you almost don’t even hear it when he murmurs the words against your ear.

“Come away with me”

Confusion laces your tone as you push back from him just enough to search his eyes for answers “What?”

“I want you to come away with me” he repeats, clearer this time but you still don’t understand exactly what he means. He sighs and raises a hand to gently push your hair back behind your ear before his hand lands softly on your cheek. “For a weekend. Let’s get away. I’ll say I have a work trip or something and we can just… be together. No interruptions, no… fucking Olaf the snowman singing in the background while I’m trying to fuck your brains out” he adds teasingly and you can’t help the full belly laugh that escapes you.

“Do you mean it?” You ask after a moment. You want to believe it. A whole weekend with Dave sounds like fucking heaven, but you don’t want to get your hopes up if he’s just talking madness because he just blew his load and isn’t thinking straight.

Dave shrugs. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while” he remarks casually, thumb softly stroking back and forth at your cheek. “What do you say?”

“I say yes, of course!” You practically squeal, surging forward and stealing a kiss from his waiting lips. You kiss for long moments. It’s not a frenzied kiss like you usually share but it’s still heated and before long you’re forced to pull away when Dave’s cock twitches from where it’s still buried inside of you. You unfortunately both know you don’t have time for another round and so you regretfully pull apart, Dave gently lifting your hips to pull you off of him. He takes the condom off, tying it off at the end and tossing it into the small trash can under his desk before he carefully stuffs himself back into his underwear and rights his clothes. You gather your own clothes and quickly dress until you’re presentable again and then wander back over to where Dave has sat back down in his chair, undoubtedly going back to work for a couple more hours.

“Thank you” you whisper before you lean down and plant a kiss to his waiting lips.

“I’ll text you. About our… plans” he says and you smile warmly at him.

“Looking forward to it” you remark as you slip out of his office and back upstairs to check on the girls.

True to his word Dave texts you a week or so later, giving you very vague details on your trip. It’s just dates he’s told you to blackout, a friday through sunday at the end of the month and that he’ll pick you up at your place Friday at 3pm. No other details, not where you’re going, what you need to bring or pack or what type of clothing you’ll need. You assume you won’t be going far, a local hotel is most likely, but you’d at least like to know if you’ll be going anywhere nice for dinner, what kind of wardrobe you need to bring.

“What should I bring?” You settle on asking him when you reply to his text and a stupid grin forms at your lips from his simple reply.

“Just a toothbrush baby, won’t be needing anything else for what I’ve got planned for us 😈”

taglist: @janaispunk @nerdieforpedro @anotherpedrolover @survivingandenduring @vabeachazn @axshadows @suzdin @yorksgirl @lincolndjarin @pedroshotwifey

thanks to @saradika-graphics for the page dividers!

I might turn this into a little series? But it would literally just be PWP lol. Not much storyline. Just for when I need to get the Dave York brain rot out lol. So if you wanna see more of these two (or see their little getaway) just lmk!

#dave york #dave york fanfiction #dave york smut #dave york x reader #ppcu fanfiction #ppcu #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character fanfiction #pedro pascal cinematic universe #dave york x you

[writerscall]

how can i be dead to you when we’re looking at the same moon?

part two to this. the moment of truth between you and hazel holds more than one big reveal.

author’s note/s: 1.1k words. angst, hurt and no comfort for now. i apologize in advance for the ending of this chapter.

Surprisingly, it isn’t very hard to make sure you don’t spend too much time around Hazel until you felt ready to fall back into your old closeness. You were roommates, but your schedules clashed greatly — blessing in disguise? — and the only free times you had together was late afternoon to dinner, which you usually decided to spend anywhere but your room. It was just too weird. She was so ready for a blank slate and you just… weren’t. There was still a mix of guilt and disappointment and bitterness from high school, and immature as it was to not just let it go like Hazel seemed to have done, you didn’t know what to do with it.

You didn’t know what to do with her. It wasn’t fair to her back then and it wasn’t fair to her now, but how could you tell her?

You don’t. You can’t. Not without the bigger possibility of truly ruining everything between the two of you now.

Unlike yourself, however, Hazel was on a mission to get things back to the way they were before that football game. “Oh, hey! I’m so glad I caught you before you left for the library,” she says as she closes the door behind her, smiling at you even though she looked exhausted.

You wanna ask her about how that last class on her schedule was going cause she mentioned that was gonna be a loaded one, but you stop yourself.

“I was just about to leave actually—”

“Do you wanna go get take-out for dinner?”

Both of you just stare at each other for a second after speaking at the same time. Then she shakes her head and chuckles, saying, “I found this amazing Chinese place nearby. Might even say they’re a little better than that old resto we used to go to back home. Their shrimp dumplings are to die for and I know you like those, so…”

“Um,” you start, the ache already building in your chest because you know you're about to see yet another drop in her expression at what you’re about to say. “Maybe another time. I really have to get started on this reviewer for my test. Sorry, Hazel.”

You shoot her an apologetic look as you pick up your bag, but instead of the usual resigned nod and mumbled ‘alright sure, happy studying’ response that you get, you see her hands ball into fists at her sides before hearing a frustrated, “Why do you keep blowing me off?”

She’s angry and rightfully so. “You said that whatever happened back in high school doesn’t matter but it mattered— it matters to me and I don’t even fucking know what it was that made you treat me like… like I did something to make you hate me.”

Her voice cracks as she says ‘hated,’ and you take the smallest step forward but she keeps going. “And obviously it still matters to you too because you’re not acting like it doesn’t. You don’t wanna hang out, you’re barely in our shared room, you send me the most uninterested-sounding replies with every message, I,” she sighs, tilting her head at you. “Could you at least tell me what I did wrong before you go study for that test that may or may not exist?”

Moment of truth. You knew it was gonna come sooner or later and that you would never feel prepared either way. You just hoped that whatever came after wouldn’t totally suck.

“That football game… you know, the one where you guys beat up the Huntington players?”

She nods. You can feel your throat start to close up. “You and PJ kissed,” you tell her plainly with a shrug. Your eyes flit to hers once before looking elsewhere; you can’t look right at her with your next words. “And I… I had this silly little crush on you so I took it personally as some sort of sign that I should finally get over it. Over you.”

To no avail, you add silently in your head. The silence stretches between the two of you for what seems like a whole thirty seconds that you’re almost sure she’s about to either shout at you or walk out.

Then, in a soft voice that catches you by surprise (she was supposed to be mad, wasn’t she?), Hazel says, “I’ve liked you since the day we met in fifth grade, I— it crushed me when you just shut me out halfway through senior year. How could you do that? Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Well, this wasn’t how you were expecting the conversation to go.

Feeling defensive because you could ask her that same second question, you finally look at her, but she cuts you off. “Do you even know of any of the stupid things I did to get your attention after that? Even to just get you to look at me? I tried joining the clubs you joined but of course I wasn’t qualified, I waited in the hall by your locker almost everyday to try and talk to you— god, I even went to some of those stupid baseball games to see you even if I had to watch you cheer for your stupid boyfriend. And that one really hurt to sit through.”

“Hazel—”

“I feel like I turned myself inside out liking you and trying to figure out why we suddenly weren’t in each other’s lives anymore. But all this time it was because you liked me and… and what, you didn’t think I liked you back?”

The room is silent again as you just stare at each other for a moment. There was so much to say. Of course you knew she tried out for your clubs because you had a hand in not letting her in any of them. Of course you noticed her lingering nearby whenever you had to get something from your locker during breaks. Of course you saw her at those games; having to act like you were really into the sport and your boyfriend was hard for you, too.

But all that comes out is, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what else to say except that I’m sorry, Hazel. For all of it.”

Her face crumples and you just can’t be there, so you start walking towards the door. Hazel blocks it just as you reach for the knob.

“Please let me go.”

“I can’t,” she whispers. “I just got you back.”

She’s close, closer than you think she’s ever physically been in all your years of friendship. Close enough that you could close the gap if it was a more appropriate time.

Hazel seems to think it is, because barely a second passes after she eyes your lips that she kisses you.

#hazel callahan imagine #hazel callahan x reader #hazel callahan x you #hazel callahan fanfic #hazel callahan

[alloftheimaginesblog]

why can't you see {peeta mellark}

plot: you're peeta's best friend and you've loved him ever since you could remember.

character: peeta mellark x reader

fandom: the hunger games

You sighed as you watched him as his strong arms tensed and flexed as he carried in the sacks of flour for his father. The way he could lift such heavy things without even breaking a slight sweat was impressive, what was even more impressive was that smile. Bright and happy; the exact opposite of everything in District 12.

"Hey, mouse," Peeta grinned, welcoming you as he dumped the bags of flour behind the counter, "What you doing here?" You smiled at the nickname he made for you years and years ago which started when he gave you a fright and you squeaked... like a mouse. Pretty self explanatory. Even now, years later, it still made you smile and sent a flurry of butterflies flying in your stomach.

"I remembered you saying that you were swamped this weekend with baking cakes for the Madge's birthday." Madge was the Mayor's daughter who was the same age as you and Peeta and in the same class too. She was a nice girl, friendly. It was her birthday and her father was sparing no expense. She was throwing a party on Sunday afternoon and the whole class was invited. You and Peeta were going but the order for cupcakes was pretty massive so you decided to come over early Saturday to help.

"You'd help?" Peeta smiled, flashing those big eyes at you, "That would be great, mouse. I'll get everything prepared."

It wasn't uncommon for you to help Peeta's family in the bakery. Usually most weekends you would come help. Peeta's father would always send you home with a fresh loaf of bread in your bag and some pastries for your family. Peeta's mother wasn't aware of the deal you two had but if she asked, Peeta's father would say he burned them or dropped them so they couldn't sell. It also meant that you got to spend more time with Peeta.

You and Peeta had been friends for years - best friends. You spent most of your free time together. Peeta would paint, you would observe or maybe do some writing of your own. He was the nicest person you'd ever met. District 12 didn't have many people like Peeta anymore. District 12 was cold, isolated... sad and so were it's people but not Peeta. Peeta was happy, always seeing the positives and always smiling. He could always make you laugh so who could blame you for falling head over heels in love with him?

You didn't really know when you fell in love with him, maybe you always had been. All you knew was that it was a hopeless cause. Peeta Mellark could never be in love with you for he had forever been in love with Katniss Everdeen.

As the first tray of cupcakes baked in the oven, Peeta began to make the icing. You watched him work, watching as his skilled fingers plucked out the different food colourings to mix the perfect shades of pink, purple and blue.

"Oh," Peeta said, "almost forgot." He wiped his hands on his apron before grabbing a bag from underneath the counter, "From my dad. He," he glanced around, "burned them pretty bad." The two of you shared a secret smile as you dug out two perfectly crisp and baked cheese buns. You inhaled deeply, about to tell Peeta that they were your favourite when he said, "You know, I think Katniss likes these." You stopped, smile falling but quickly caught yourself and smiled, making 'hm?' noise, "Yeah, I made some for Madge's party but some really did get burnt so was selling them dirt cheap and Katniss bought them all... She doesn't ever come in usually but she must love them cause she bought all of them!"

You forced a wide smile, "Amazing, Peeta... Or maybe she just came in to see you?" It killed you to give him hope but you wanted him to be happy even if it wasn't with you. If you got to see him happy then it was all worth it in the end.

Peeta's face lit up, "You- You really think so?" Quickly, his smile fell and hope died, "Nah, I'm- I'm nothing. She wouldn't like me."

"What's not to like?" You asked softly, "You're unlike anyone I've ever met, Peets. You're..." A giant wave of sadness washed over you as you spoke, "You're so kind, always thinking of others. You're so generous and helpful. You would do anything for anyone. You're a great baker so she'd always have lots of treats to eat-" Peeta laughed, "you're handsome, one look at those puppy dog eyes and she'll be weak in the knees."

"You really mean all that?"

"Course I do. Why can't you see yourself the way I see you?" You reached out, wiping flour from his cheek, "You're incredible, Peeta, and if she doesn't see that, it's her damn loss."

"Thanks, mouse," Peeta grinned, wrapping you in a one armed hug. You breathed him in, relishing in his warmth, "I'm so lucky to have a friend like you." You hummed into his shoulder, keeping your fake smile plastered as tears burned at your eyes.

"Yeah..." you whispered, "friend."

#one shot #os #prompt #long prompt #peeta mellark x reader #peeta mellark #the hunger games #the hunger games imagine #imagine #peeta mellark imagine #peeta mellark x you #thg #thg imagine #thg one shot

[srjlvr]

SEVEN ROYALTIES

“once upon a time a prince mistakenly fell in love with the wrong princess” — kim sunoo

kim sunoo x fem!reader genre: mistakenly falling in love , strangers to lovers , fluff , a bit of angst ! warnings: none (at least not that im aware of! please update me if you find anything!!) || NOT FULLY PROOFREAD !!

WORD-COUNT ; 5.2k+

NOTE. besties its been A REAL WHILE!! i’ve been trying to balance my life but i fail miserably honestly. i wrote all of this on one of my free days instead of studying for math!!😭 you better like it or i’ll cry. please leave feedbacks!! i love reading them!! hope you have a good day / afternoon / evening / night!! mentions of jungwon’s story are here too!!<3

“y/n did you forget you have manners class today? get up!” your mother was the one to wake you up after your maids failed attempts, she pulled your blanket away and you groaned.

manners classes always annoyed you. probably because it had something to do with ‘how to act in front of your future husband’ rules and manners.

“do i have to go?” you whined. your mother raised her eyebrow, “did you really just ask me that question?”

you rolled your eyes and got up, “i’m up, you can go now”

she left your room without saying anything else. you sighed loudly and sat on your bed.

“good morning your highness, let’s get you ready” one of your maids smiled softly at you.

“give me only five more minutes” you begged and she shook her head, “your mother will get furious if you’ll be late”

you closed your eyes in defeat, you know she’s right. sometimes you wish your mother wouldn’t be so strict about everything in your life.

after getting ready you rushed to eat dinner with your parents, who were already waiting for you.

“mother, father” you greeted them, without even a good morning.

your relationship with your parents is quite weird. if you’d be asked to address it you would’ve said its a co-workers relationship. you barely talk about your problems with them, nor they ask about your well-being. all they care about is royalty, royalty and royalty.

“have you heard? hybe’s kingdom will have a ball for their youngest’s birthday” your father spoke.

“oh yes! i saw the invitation” your mother answered, “it’s a no-adults party except for his older brothers, y/n you’re invited there”

you glanced at your mother who was busy cutting her bread, “hm?”

“hybe kingdom invited all younger royals to celebrate the youngest son’s birthday, you’re definitely going!!” your mother smiled.

“you’ll be able to meet your future husband there! we didn’t want you two to meet up yet but who knows, maybe it’ll be a start of something” your father added.

“we’ll tell you into more details later, now go to your class! your teacher is waiting” your mother ordered and you did as she said.

you’ve had manners classes as soon as you turned into a beautiful young lady, according to your mom, you should’ve taken them earlier—so you’d be more prepared and will have some manners in front of her friends.

when you turned fifteen, your family already informed you they decided on your future husband, and you had no option to resist, they forced this marriage on you and didn’t even give you the chance to say no.

you’ve never heard of the man, you don’t know anything about him. the only thing you do know is that you’re going to get married to him as soon as you turn 21 which means, your clock is ticking and you’re slowly going out of options.

ever since you can remember yourself, you wanted your own fairytale love story, a one love story that will make anyone envy you, a one true love story you can use when you want to tell your future kids a night story, a one true love story where you’d be the one to pick the person you’ll spend the rest of your life with.

your parents however, thought it was a good joke, and always used to laugh at it.

“true love story? there’s no such a thing” your mother always says.

“we got married for the benefit of our kingdoms, and we fell in love through the marriage, you’ll get to experience it too” your father adds.

“marrying someone you don’t know isn’t that bad! you’ll get to know each other after the wedding” your parents both love to laugh about it whenever they could.

your manners class should’ve been called ‘how to be a good wife’ class in your opinion, you learn nothing other than how to behave around your future husband and how to take care of him. stupid primitive royalties.

“good morning y/n, let’s get to class quickly” your teacher who had been waiting for you in your usually room greeted you and you greeted her back.

“what do you do if your husband tells you that he’s tired from duties and he’s hungry but the maids are already asleep?” you teacher asked.

you sighed before answering, “i get up and massage him, then go to the kitchen and make him something the eat”

your teacher clapped her hands in excitement, “that’s all for today, good job!”

this life is tiring.

when you look at your other friends who you’ve met in ball events, they seem to enjoy their single life. none of them was promised to marry someone they don’t like, so where did you go wrong?

feeling too tired from class, you decided to go and take a short nap, it wouldn’t hurt to go back to sleep right? it’s not like you have something important to do anyway.

before going to nap you laid down on your bed and stared at the ceiling.

“will i ever get to meet the person i would choose to marry?” you asked yourself before you drafted to sleep.

“sunoo!! focus!” while you were sleeping loudly, the fifth prince of hybe kingdom was busy taking manners class.

“i was just now at (your kingdom’s name) kingdom, how come it’s easier to teach ladies than gentlemen?” his teacher complained.

his teacher is your teacher as well, but of course both of you doesn’t know that.

“i apologize” sunoo quickly then bowed as an apologetic gesture.

“focus!” the teacher tsked and sunoo sat straight.

“if your wife comes home from duties and she tells you she’s quite tired, what do you do?” she asked.

“i’d ask her to tell me how her day was and i’ll make her some food” sunoo smiled widely and the teacher shook her head.

“no, no, no! you ask your maids to make her something to eat!” his teacher sounded disappointed.

sunoo pout, he didn’t understand the logic behind it all, a husband needs to take care of his wife, and what are those manners classes? who made those stupid classes anyway?

out of all 7 brothers, his parents chose him as the one who needs to suffer the most in his opinion.

sunoo is the only one who has been taking manners classes, and he’s the only one who’s promise to marry someone he doesn’t know.

does his parents think he won’t be able to find someone he’d like to marry?

“that’s it for today, practice and study more! for the next time i want you to be better” the teacher left without giving him a chance to send her off.

she must be really angry then, huh?

sunoo then sighed and gathered his papers.

“tough day?” he heard a voice and shoot his eyes to the figure who was standing right at the door.

“you could say that” sunoo nodded and dropped his glance.

jungwon pitied his older brother, he has always been the one to suffer from their parents’ endless bickering, and jungwon always wondered why’s that.

“just hold it in for a while, it’s going to end soon” jungwon walked closer to his brother and pat his shoulder.

sunoo groaned, “easy for you to say, you already basically know who you’re going to marry”

jungwon smiled a bit, “mom and dad are starting to get on your nerves, aren’t they?”

sunoo nodded, “can’t they just let me live my life the way i want to?”

a door slammed and you woke up immediately.

“i apologize your majesty, the queen asked me to wake you up from your nap” one of your maids said, “she wants to meet you in the garden”

you dismissed your maid and went down to your castle’s garden, your favorite place on earth.

“mother,” you called her, “you were asking for me”

your mother who was sitting on one of the benches turned her glance to you and smiled, “do you know why i called you, y/n?” she asked.

you shook your head and moved closer to her.

“your wedding of course!” she opened her arms and hugged you.

you let out a big sigh, of course! why would she want to talk with you about anything else?

“i’m joking, joking” she giggled, “i was a bit bored, i wouldn’t mind some company”

you nodded and proceeded to sit on the bench next to her. both of you sat in silence, she looked pretty relaxed, but you’re always being extra careful around her.

“have you ever heard of hybe kingdom?” she suddenly asked.

“no, the only thing i know about them is that they’re seven siblings, and each one is soon to get a throne”

“their family is quite weird i must say,” your mother chuckled, “the oldest son is going to marry a commoner! can you believe it??”

you nodded, “if they really do love each other, they deserve to be happy together”

your mother looked at you in disbelief, “it’s not a good reason to break a royal rule!” she argued.

“what royal rule? they’re ancient and no one’s even looking at them anymore!!” you argued back.

“ancient or not!! a royal rule is a royal rule!!”

“sometimes love is more important than a stupid rule!!”

“you—“ your mother stopped for a second to take a deep breathe, “if that’s another way of you to try and convince me to let you marry whoever you want, it’s not going to work”

you rolled your eyes and looked away, “you don’t even realize how important it is to me” you mumbled and she stayed quiet, completely ignoring what you’ve just said.

“you’re going to meet your soon to be husband at hybe’s kingdom party, you should be prepared”

eventually you left her alone and went back to your room, you had nothing to talk about together anyway.

“there you are sunoo!! we’ve been searching for you!!” hybe’s queen remarked.

“hello mother” sunoo whispered.

“your teacher told me you’re not doing well!! sunoo, what’s wrong with you?” she raised her voice and sunoo shut his eyes.

“if you’d just let me feel free and let me do what i want maybe i’ll be able to be mannered enough for you!” he spoke back and his mother stepped back.

“sunoo!!”

“what? did i say something wrong? instead of letting me find someone i’d truly love and want to marry, you’re forcing me into it!” he raised his voice back.

“this is not up to discussion!! your marriage is final!” his mother fired back, “it’s okay if you dont love her now, you’ll force yourself into it and eventually fall in love!”

sunoo sighed and tears filled his eyes, “you’d never let me live the way i want to, would you?”

his mother stayed quiet and he slowly nodded, “got it” he whispered and went to his room.

the next mornings felt all the same, manners class and getting back to sleep, it was the same for sunoo, other than the fact that he had to help his younger brothers with their own love stories. love stories that he’d never have.

“i don’t know what to do, it hurts, i miss her” jungwon cried to his older brother as he hugged him and suggested him a few steps.

looking at his brothers living freely as they want made him really happy for them, but also envy them for being their parents’ favorite in his opinion.

eventually, ni-ki’s birthday came and everyone around the castle were busy getting ready.

“good morning sunoo! time to get ready” the maids said and he barely got himself up.

“you’re going to meet your soon-to-be wife!! isn’t that exciting?” jay, who came in together with sunoo’s maids, decided to tease him a bit.

sunoo groaned and covered himself with his pillow.

“get up sleepy head! it’s your brother’s birthday today!! at least wish him a happy birthday!!” jay took the pillow and threw it at him a few times.

sunoo really didnt want to wake up today. dont get him wrong, he loves his brother, its just something about today that makes it extremely hard for him to wake up.

“right, what was her name again?” this was the exact reason sunoo couldn’t wake up, his parents couldn’t even recall his future wife’s name!

“nevermind, you need to go get ready!” his father commented.

“you’ll know it when you see her, she’s awfully pretty!” both of them said and pushed him back to his room to get ready.

“oh my dear! you’re awfully pretty!” your mother clapped as you gave her a twirl of your dress.

“you’re only saying that because you’re my mom” you scoffed and she shook her head.

“you really are really pretty, our pretty princess” your father got involved and smiled.

you gave them a short smile, “thank you—“

“can you believe it? you’re going to meet your future husband!! are you ready for it?” your mother stepped closer to you, cupping your cheeks in both hands.

“no” you sighed. “well then, be ready for it! we don’t want him to think you’re messy and unorganized”

what does not being ready for this even have to do with being messy and unorganized??

you just nodded and closed your eyes. if you start crying now, the beautiful makeup your maid had put on you would get ruined.

“we’re so proud of you, y/n” both of them said and you just nodded.

“oh! you look exactly like a prince” his brother sunghoon remarked. “i didnt look like one up until now?” sunoo rolled his eyes but sunghoon only chuckled.

“hey im just joking, you look really good sunoo” the older complimented him and sunoo smiled, “thank you”

“off you go!! enjoy the party!” your parents said as they sent you off to hybe kingdom, with a thumping heart you smiled and nodded.

five minutes into the drive and it finally sank into your mind, your parents never mentioned his name, not even once.

quick!! what should you do?? risk it all and just continue the drive and hope to find him in mysterious way? or get back to your parents and ask them for it??

obviously option one is the best option.

“we have arrived, your majesty” your driver informed you and went out to open the door for you.

you took a few deep breaths, “you can do it”

as you got out you saw lots of princesses and princes, all entering the big and beautiful castle.

“please welcome princess y/n from (name of kingdom)” the door opened for you and all eyes were on you, you hated it, you hated this welcoming.

it was somehow a royal thing, to inform of a royal entering a castle, but then what? it drew everyone’s attention to you.

you felt everyone’s gaze on you, mumbling nothings and whispering whatever. you slowly entered deep into the crowd until the other royals didnt care about you anymore.

“hello there, beauty” you heard someone say, you turned around to meet with a very pretty looking guy.

“hello” you replied back and extended him your hand for him to kiss.

you hated this too, the feeling of a stranger on your hand, why was this even a royal rule??

“i couldn’t stand seeing you alone so—“

“and finally, please welcome the hybe family” all of your heads turned to the door.

first one to enter was prince heeseung, you could see him searching for a specific person in the crowd and as soon as he saw her, he smiled.

second to enter was prince jay, he looked super focused, he too, was searching for a specific person in the crowd.

third to enter was prince jake, he looked so peaceful somehow, as if he already knew where was the specific person he was searching for.

fourth to enter was prince sunghoon and god, his visuals were no joke, whoever will end up with him definitely won a handsome one of a kind.

fifth to enter was prince sunoo, as soon as he entered you felt as if the world had stopped.

you two somehow made an eye contact for a few good seconds, as if he already found the person he was searching for.

is he….? no, he can’t be, can he?

the voice of the welcoming of the sixth prince woke you up from your deep thoughts.

sixth to enter was prince jungwon, he looked around, smiling at everyone while obviously trying to search for someone.

“and lastly, please welcome the birthday boy, riki!” as the seventh prince riki entered, everyone clapped and cheered.

only he, was smirking at everyone. he was definitely up to something.

as the party started, you started to feel tired. what if you just ditch early? no one will notice anyway.

you started walking towards what you thought was the exit, turns out it was a door for the castle’s garden.

“great, how do i get out now” you mumbled.

you heard steps behind you and turned around immediately.

your eyes widened as you saw the person that was standing in front of you.

“hello” he said with a warm smile.

“prince sunoo” you whispered under your breath, “hello”

“you probably have already heard who i am, but i’m sunoo” he said and bowed to you.

you couldn’t understand why, but you felt your cheeks heating up. focus y/n, focus!!

is he your promised prince?

“i’m l/n y/n” you introduced yourself with a curtsy, sunoo took your hand and kissed the back of it, “you look awfully pretty, y/n”

you said you hated it, hated it when a stranger kissed your hand, but why did it feel so different when he did it?

you wanted him to keep kissing your hand, and maybe not only your hand.

no, y/n what are you thinking!!

sunoo couldn’t explain it, ever since he laid his eyes on you, he felt something.

you were so, so pretty in his eyes. he saw the whole crowd but his eyes only looked at you. he wanted to get to know you more, he’s more than 100% sure you’re promised to him, how could his parents forget your beautiful name?

and if it turns out you’re not the one who’s promised to him, he’s more than determined now to make you his wife.

“would you like to have a dance y/n?” he suddenly asked, looking into your soft eyes.

you could still hear the music at the back, you enjoy dancing anyway, so why not?

“i’d love that” you replied.

sunoo took your hand and guided you, you were extremely close to each other.

your hands were around his neck, and his held your waist.

“how come i’ve never seen you before?” he asked.

“i’m not the type to go to royal celebrations, i came here for the first time since i’m kind of forced to meet my future husband” you replied softly.

“future husband?” sunoo disappointedly looked down.

did you already find your future husband? your promised one?

you shook your hand, “i have yet to find him, but now that i’m being here with you…” you stayed quiet for a bit, “i think i found him”

oh you were bold. what if he already has someone he’s going to marry to?

“oh,” he suddenly said and chuckled, “i think i already found my future wife too”

both of you shared a long eye contact, god he was so attractive and you were so beautiful in his eyes.

you changed position and crossed your hands together, going in circle while not even breaking your eye contact for a mere second.

you didn’t want to let go of each other, as the song ended, so did your dance.

you decided to sit on one of the benches at the garden and share a little conversation.

a little conversation ended up lasting for almost until midnight. you’ve been at the garden since eight pm.

you talked about your hobbies, your family, your miserable life with your manners classes.

“no way! you’re having them too?? i thought only my parents were old school” he said in excitement.

“yeah, i guess both of us are experiencing the old school parents” you chuckled.

the conversation just kept on going further and further until the maids reminded you it’s time to go.

both of you got up from the bench and looked at each other.

“i don’t want this night to end” you pout.

sunoo giggled and put his hands around your waist.

“i don’t want it to end either” he replied.

it was a comforting silence between the two of you, until he started getting closer.

“can i…..?” he asked and you nodded.

he crushed his lips on yours and held you tightly. you kissed him back and put your hands around his neck.

the kiss was so innocent and sweet, as if you’re having your first teen love.

as you slowly let go of the kiss you opened your eyes and giggled.

“there you—am i interrupting something?” you recognize this prince, it’s prince jake.

“not at all, i was just about to leave” you said after and curtsied to the prince.

you walked away but not before whispering into sunoo’s ear, “hopefully i get to see you again”

as you left, jake pushed sunoo and cheered for him. “you found her didn’t you!!”

sunoo smiled, his cheeks still blushing from the kiss you shared a few minutes ago. it was just like in the love stories he liked to read.

“oh! her name is minju!”

no. this can’t be.

after the celebration, his parents came up to him to ask him how was meeting his future wife.

only then he realized he has been wrong this whole time.

“what?” he asked.

they nodded and smiled, “we’re so glad you enjoyed! we were actually worried about you not liking her”

“i need to sleep” he mumbled.

“what?”

“i need to sleep now” he said louder.

his parents left his room, shocked and speechless. did they say something wrong?

“y/n dear, how was the party?” your parents came up to you, they’ve probably been waiting for you to get back.

you knew they didn’t really care about the party, but more about the person you’ve met there.

you already knew that the person you’re promised to marry wasn’t sunoo, but you couldn’t help it but fall in love with him.

you realized it wasn’t sunoo halfway into your conversation. your parents told you a few facts about your future husband, and none of them matched sunoo. still, you kept on spending the night with him instead of going to search your promised one.

“it was fine” you replied.

“just fine….?” they asked surprised.

“yeah”

“what about….?”

“oh, it was amazing actually, i already feel myself falling for him, he’s the person i want to marry to and no one else” you smiled, “ever since i saw him i only think of him”

your parents looked at you in confusion. they weren’t expecting to hear that from you, especially because you hated this idea.

“are you…doing okay?” they asked and you nodded, cheeks heating up after remembering your past events.

“i’ll be going to sleep now” you skipped to your room happily, leaving your parents dumbfounded.

the next day you woke up, “y/n! you got a letter” one of your maids brought your letter to you and you opened it.

‘meet me at xxxx around 9pm — sunoo’

you smiled after reading the letter, and you couldn’t help but wait for the eve to come.

around 8:30pm you sneaked out, telling your parents you weren’t feeling well and getting out slowly and surely, no one noticed you.

you arrived the place and waited for him. you sat on a bench and looked at the sky.

the sky was so dark and the stars were shining brightly, you enjoyed looking at the sky, until you couldn’t see anything.

someone covered your eyes, “guess who” you heard a familiar voice and chuckled.

“my future husband” you said.

this new nickname you gave him made him flutter each time he hears it coming out of your mouth.

he removed his hands and pecked your cheeks, “ding ding ding, we have a winner” he smiled and went to sit next to you on the bench.

“i missed you” he added.

“you saw me yesterday” you replied.

“24 hours without seeing you, my heart can’t handle it” he held his hand against his heart and you rolled your eyes, “you’re so cheesy”

“you didnt mind it yesterday” he shrugged, “i still don’t”

both of you chuckled and kept talking with a wide smile all over your faces.

the two of you knew, you knew you’re not promised to each other, you knew you won’t end up getting married to each other, so why does none of you bring this up?

you kept talking and talking without even realizing it was past 3 am. you have manners class later today, you have to get some sleep.

“you have to go?” he asked and you nodded sadly.

“my parents will kill me if i dont wake up in time” you sighed.

“let’s meet up tomorrow too, same time, same place” he said and you nodded.

you pecked his lips and ran back, leaving him with blushing cheeks.

none of you wants to admit it, but you’re not going to end up together. so you’ll just spend your time together as long as you can, holding into the fact that maybe, maybe you actually will have a chance to marry each other.

your sneaking out became a usual thing for you and sunoo, you really did keep your promise and met up every day.

“how do you want our wedding to be?” he asked you once.

your head was resting on his lap as he caressed your hair.

“my family, your family, and maybe just a few important royals, in your castle too, because that’s where we first met” you smiled and he smiled back at you.

both of you knew it’s not really going to happen, but you still held into the hope that maybe, against all the odds, maybe you will be able to change your fate.

“i love it, what do you think about honeymoon?” he asked in addition to the wedding part and you just giggled.

as you came back to your room that day from meeting sunoo, you noticed a figure sitting on your bed.

you got scared and immediately turned on the lights, just to notice it was your mother.

“mother,” you whispered.

“i thought you’re not feeling well?” she asked seriously.

“i-i went to catch some air—“ “dont try to excuse yourself” she said firmly.

you looked down and sighed, “i met up with my future husband”

her serious face turned into a wide smile, “really? what did you two—“

“kim sunoo from hybe kingdom” you cut her off as you just now told her who you met up.

“what?” she asked, the wide smile turning into confusion.

“i met up with sunoo, my future husband” you boldly said.

your mother laughed, “that was a good joke! dont scare me like that again” she continued to laugh but her laugh faded when she noticed you were serious.

“oh, you’re serious?” she asked and you nodded.

“i want to marry sunoo, mom” you said.

“that’s not possible” she argued.

“why not? i love him, he’s the person i want to marry” you said.

“a no is a no, i don’t want to argue about it” she got up.

“but i do, i won’t marry any other person, even that ‘future husband’ you’ve been telling me to marry” you’re a one stubborn child, and you’re not going to give up on sunoo that easily.

your mother sighed, “i will not argue about this with you, you’re grounded, i’ll put hundreds of guards around just to keep you here” she raised her voice.

“you can try and keep me here all you want! it’s not going to change my feelings!” you shout as she went out of your room.

sunoo wasn’t doing any better, he too, got caught as he came back.

“no!” his mother argued, “you’re promised to marry minji and that’s final! i don’t want to hear another word!”

sunoo scoffed, “out of all seven of us, you chose to be strict with me, now that i finally found someone i love, you’re taking her away from me? why did you let heeseung marry a commoner then?” he shout.

his mother stayed speechless.

“exactly, you have no good reason” he said in disbelief.

“you’re not allowed to go out anymore until you realize what you just did, minju is your future wife and no one else” she said before smacking the door.

while both of you weren’t allowed out of your castles, you could send letters one to other.

you kept communicating through that, however, it was slow and hard as one letter per day came in.

on one of the days you shared dinner with your parents, as usual you stayed quiet and didn’t talk to neither of them.

only today was different, “y/n,” your father called you but you ignored.

“we’ve decided to break off the agreement with the other kingdom” he continued and your eyes light up.

“me and your mother decided it’s what best for you, and we want nothing more than to see you happy” he said.

“does that mean…..?” you whispered and your mother nodded, “you can marry prince sunoo, we talked some sense in his parents too”

you looked at the clock and saw the time, 8:30pm.

you looked over your parents, “can i….?” and they nodded.

you pushed away your chair and ran out of the castle to search for your sunoo.

you arrived at your place with a wild smile, expecting to see him already, your smile faded as you saw no one.

your eyes teared up, until someone covered your eyes behind you, “guess who”

without waiting, you turned around and hugged the person you were so longing for.

“my future husband, my real future husband” you cried into the hug as he hugged you back tightly, not wanting to let you go.

“i missed you” he said and you cupped his face.

“i love you” you said before kissing him.

you caught him off guard but he was quick to kiss you back, holding your waist and getting you closer to him than ever.

both of you pulled away when you felt you were out of air.

you pressed your foreheads against each other with eyes closed, “it’s been so long, it feels so good to hold you again, i love you” he said and you smiled.

“i was wondering how long it’s going to take for my parents to realize i only want to marry you” you chuckled.

“took them too long” he scoffed and you nodded.

“what’s important is that you’re here now” you whispered.

“i’m here, forever and ever, i love you”

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PERM TAG-LIST ; @sungwhoonz @ohdudehesflirting @unlikelysublimekryptonite @deobiis @manooffline @miumiuoi @in-somnias-world @lovelovelovebts @filmofhybe @wonbinsnovia @daegutowns @aurumiee @soobywon @dhriti-stories @ariadores @firstclassjaylee @watamotee33 @moons-v @s00buwu @hoonheepretty @jjeoni-7 (bold means cannot be tagged)

#enhypen imagines #enhypen drabbles #enhypen reactions #enhypen scenarios #enhypen fluff #kim sunoo x reader #sunoo imagines #sunoo scenarios #sunoo fluff #sunoo drabbles #sunoo x reader #sunoo angst

[roosterforme]

The Younger Kind Part 2 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: You aren't surprised when Bradley asks you to babysit Noah so he can go out. But it throws you for a loop when he comes home from his date early and gets a little flirtatious with you instead. 

Warnings: Angst, swearing, fluff, and age gap (eventually 18+)

Length: 3300 words

Pairing: Single dad!Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x babysitter!female reader

Check out my masterlist for more!

You weren't too surprised to get a text from Bradley a few days later asking if you could watch Noah on Saturday afternoon for an hour or two. But as you read the message, your mind drifted again, as it had been doing since you met him.

Bradley was so attractive. Like honestly one of the best looking men you had ever seen in person. It was everything: the way he looked, his big hands, his voice, his mustache, how much he loved his son. 

When you ran into Penny yesterday, you told her that you'd met the boys, and that you really clicked with Noah right away. She seemed happy that you would be watching Noah for Bradley occasionally. 

She also told you that Bradley was getting back into the dating scene, and that's why he needed someone to watch Noah in the first place. How someone as good looking as Bradley Bradshaw ever managed to fall out of the dating scene was beyond your comprehension. 

He would probably be a gentleman on a date. Pay for everything, open doors, lace his fingers through yours, maybe even kiss your cheek. You could imagine him waiting until the third or fourth date to invite you back to his place. Then he'd probably rock your socks off with his huge hands, amongst other things. 

Oh, you felt a little warmer every time you thought about him. At least you'd barely see him when you were at his house. Just a quick hello when you got there, and then a quick goodbye when you left. You'd get to spend most of your time coloring dinosaurs and building castles with Noah. And that was just fine with you. 

You agreed to be there at noon on Saturday. Noah usually went down for a nap after he ate lunch, and Bradley didn't want him to start his nap before you got there, and then potentially be confused about why you were there instead of his dad. You packed up a bag of snacks and a few things to read for your classes. Then you pulled on some leggings and a tank top and headed out. 

You hoped Bradley had a coffee maker. Shit, you should have asked him if it was okay to use the stuff in his kitchen. Should you be bringing your own coffee with you? You'd find out all of this information and be better prepared for the next time. There was absolutely no time for you to stop for coffee now.

You parked in the driveway next to his cool Ford Bronco, grabbed your stuff and knocked on the door. When Bradley answered the door, he had Noah in his arms, and you smiled at both of them as they smiled at you.

"Come on in," Bradley told you, pushing the door open wider. "We just finished lunch, and someone is getting sleepy."

You watched Noah yawn and then promptly tell his dad that he wasn't tired at all. 

"Maybe we can play blocks or color before you take a teeny tiny little nap? I brought you another coloring book," you said, rummaging in your bag. "This one is safari animals."

"Okay," Noah agreed with another yawn, and you led him into the kitchen. 

You could feel Bradley's eyes on you as you turned to look at him over your shoulder. His eyes flicked up to meet yours. "You don't have to stay. I've got him," you promised, but Bradley followed you into the kitchen.

"If I leave now, I'll get there too early," he said, pouring a mug of coffee. "Want some?"

"I'd love some," you sighed, and he met your eyes with curiosity. 

He got a second mug out of the cabinet that said Top Gun, Top Dad and handed it to you. You laughed, and he grinned at you. "There's sugar in the cabinet, and I've got milk and fancy hazelnut creamer. Please don't judge me."

"I love fancy creamers," you promised, opening the refrigerator and pouring a healthy amount into your coffee. Other than that and the milk, the refrigerator was pretty empty. 

"I realize there's basically nothing to eat here, but if you see it and you want it, by all means, help yourself," he told you before sipping his coffee. "What's your favorite flavor of coffee creamer? I'll buy it next time so it's here for you."

"French vanilla. And thanks," you said, meeting his gaze again. His hands were so big, they dwarfed his oversized mug, and his eyes were the exact shade of your favorite iced macchiato from Starbucks. 

You quickly turned away from him to sit next to Noah, and you helped him color a zebra orange and green. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched Bradley fidget with the dishwasher and then finish his coffee before messing around with the stove burners. When he turned back to face you, he caught you looking at him.

"I'm just nervous," he muttered, huffing out a laugh. "I'll get going. Get out of your hair."

He kissed Noah on the top of his head and promised you he'd be back in about two hours. "No rush," you replied with a smile. "I'll put this little guy down for a nap soon, so really, take your time. Enjoy your date."

Bradley paused and looked at you with surprise. "How did you know I'm going on a date?"

"Oh," you said, suddenly afraid you had overstepped. "Well, Penny told me you were starting to date again. I didn't pry for more information though. Promise." 

But he just shrugged and ran his fingers across his lips and mustache. "It's okay. I just haven't been on a date in years. And right now.... I am dreading this," he said with a laugh, his eyes silently pleading with you. 

You nodded and handed a purple crayon to Noah. "Yeah, well, at least you're not going out with a twenty three year old guy," you told him. "At least I don't think you are?" you asked, giving him side eye.

He barked out a laugh that made you feel fuzzy inside. "Worse. I'm going out with a woman in her thirties who probably expects me to have my life together. As soon as I mention him," Bradley said, nodding at Noah, "it will in all likelihood result in a zero percent chance at a second date."

You scoffed. "Well, then at least you'd know up front that she's an idiot." You watched his eyes widen as he smiled. "Sorry. That was mean. I'm sure you must like her if you're going out to lunch with her."

"No, no. You're not wrong. And I barely know her. Plus she's a coworker. We're just getting coffee."

You looked him up and down, noting the nice fit of his gray chinos and fitted black shirt. "Well, you look really nice. If all else fails, you can probably just flirt with a barista and score a free drink." 

He laughed again, but this time it was accompanied by a pink flush to his cheeks. Were you seriously making this huge, sexy man blush. Your heart was absolutely racing now as you absentmindedly colored a hyena. Bradley was running one large hand along the back of his neck and reaching into his pocket. 

"Here, I made you a key for the front door," he said, handing it to you. His fingers felt warm and sturdy as they grazed your palm, and you just looked up at him for a few seconds. "There's always cash behind the TV if you need it. I'll leave my phone on if you need anything else."

"Sounds good. Try to have fun." You watched him nod and kiss Noah one more time before he left. But as soon as Bradley was gone, the house felt too big and too quiet as you sat in the kitchen.

Noah was absorbed in the coloring book, but he was also clearly sleepy. When you eventually suggested he just lay in his bed while you sang a song about going on a safari, he agreed. And soon he was fast asleep. 

--------------------------

Bradley didn't know how to do this. Grace was really pretty, but talking to her was tedious. She was his age, but she seemed immature. She was smart, but she didn't seem to understand his humor. 

For every positive, there was at least one negative, and he just couldn't see how there would possibly be a second date. 

"You know, Rooster," she said smiling at him across the table, "I'll only be down from Lemoore for the month. If you want to just make this casual, I wouldn't mind that at all."

So she just wanted to hook up with him. He could probably handle hooking up. He'd done it in the past with no problems. But then why was he even sitting in a coffee shop, trying to find someone who could love him and his son? He was actually lonely, and he was getting too old for this shit. 

"Rebel... I'm not really into that anymore. I'm looking for someone who wants to meet my son and spend time around him, too."

"Oh," she said, clearly startled. "You have a kid."

"I have a kid," he confirmed. "Noah is three years old. Almost four."

She leaned away from him. "I didn't know that."

He just shrugged and played with his empty cup. 

"Well, the hookup offer still stands. You can call me if you change your mind."

And then she was gone, and Bradley was sitting at the table alone. He checked the time. He'd barely been gone for an hour. He could just go back home to Noah. And you. Maybe just hang out for the rest of the afternoon. That really didn't sound half bad to him as he stood up and got in line again. 

Once he had the to-go cup in his hand, he made his way back to his Bronco and drove home. He parked next to your car in his driveway and carried the cup with his name scrawled across it into his house.

He closed the front door quietly behind him and followed the sound of soft music coming from the kitchen. Noah must still be sleeping if you were listening to something so softly. He paused in the doorway; you were reading what looked like a textbook at his kitchen table and eating one Skittle at a time. He watched your fingers dip into the bag of candy and raise a purple one to your mouth. Your fingernails were painted blue. You had on that same lipgloss you were wearing the other day. And you were singing along to a song that he just so happened to love. 

"How do you know this song?" he asked, and you jumped out of your chair with your hand over your heart. "Shit, I didn't mean to scare you." He took a step closer to you as you tipped your head back and sighed.

"I didn't hear you come in!" you said, pressing your glossy lips together and looking at him. "You were barely gone an hour."

He took a step closer to you, inhaling that wildflower scent that had taken over his kitchen. "Yeah... turns out my date was kind of an idiot."

Your eyes went a little wide. "She had a problem with Noah?"

Bradley shrugged. "Figured this whole dating thing would turn into a fiasco. Just didn't know it would happen so soon. Here, this is for you."

You eyed the cup in his hand, a confused look on your face. "For me?"

"Yeah. It's French vanilla. I flirted with the barista until they threw it at me in self defense. You were right, worked like a charm," he said, and you took the cup from him as your face softened while you laughed.

"Told ya," you whispered, looking up at him with such innocent eyes. Oh god, that feeling was back again. He didn't want to stop looking at you. You understood his humor, and you weren't boring to talk to. But worst of all, Bradley really liked the way your body looked.

He cleared his throat as you sipped the coffee and smiled. "You didn't tell me how you know this song."

"Everyone knows this song."

He shook his head. "Nobody knows this song. I love this song, and nobody ever knows what it is. It came out when I was a kid, way way way before you were born."

You giggled and said, "You're not that old. You couldn't be."

"Guess," he said with narrowed eyes. 

"You want me to guess how old you are?" you asked, licking your lips. "What's in it for me? Because if I guess too young, you'll laugh at me. And if I guess too old, you'll be mad at me."

He shook his head. "Promise I won't laugh or get mad."

You bit your lip. "Thirty-three?"

He pointed up with index finger. 

"Thirty-five?"

He pointed up again, and you looked surprised. 

"You're older than thirty-five?"

"I'm thirty-six."

"You look younger than your age," you told him, picking up your coffee for another sip. You seemed to like the drink. He would probably get you one next time too. 

"You look younger than your age, too," he said before he could consider his words. He already felt borderline inappropriate for looking at you so much, and saying you looked young would probably just make it worse. But he couldn't help himself. Your leggings were tight. Your tank top was his favorite color, and your skin looked so soft.

But you just smirked at him when he finally met your eyes again. "I look young? Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not younger. Or else you might be getting in trouble for where you're looking."

Bradley froze in place, lips parted and cheeks rapidly heating up. "Shit," he gasped, turning away from you. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," you said quickly. "I was just messing with you."

"No," he said, swallowing hard as he headed for the hallway. Oh, he was so fucking embarrassed. He was twelve years older than you. He had clearly been checking you out. You were the babysitter. "I'll go check on Noah."

Bradley made a beeline down the hallway to Noah's room. When he peeked in, he saw his son's brown eyes starting to peek open. "You awake, bub?

Noah just nodded and reached for Bradley to scoop him up. He held onto Noah's warm little body and gave him a few kisses, carrying him to the kitchen to get a snack.

You were still there, packing your books up into your bag. "Hey, Noah. Did you have a good nap?" you asked, stroking his cheek and making Bradley's insides melt. "He really is such a sweet kid. We had fun right?"

"Yeah, we colored and read a book about the muffin man," Noah said. "Can I have the snack you made?"

"Of course," you told him, and Bradley watched you open the refrigerator and pull out a plate of carrot sticks with peanut butter and raisins on top. "There you go. Ants on a log."

Bradley set Noah down on one of the kitchen chairs and watched him eat the healthy snack you made. Now that Bradley looked around, he noticed you had cleaned up a bit. 

He cleared his throat and forced himself to meet your eyes. At least you didn't look upset with him. "You didn't have to clean up in here."

"I don't mind. You're already paying me more per hour than I make at my work study," you replied, ruffling Noah's hair with your fingers. "I'm gonna go, kiddo. Maybe I'll see you again soon?"

Noah hugged you around the middle, and Bradley realized he was going to have to go on another date in order to get you to come over and watch Noah again. It didn't seem like a possibility to just invite you over to hang out with the two of them.

You picked up your things and headed for the living room. "I realize you're probably not going on a second date with her, but let me know if you need me again?"

"I will," he replied, taking one more good look at your lips. 

"Thanks for flirting so hard that the barista made you my favorite kind of coffee," you told him with a smile. "Bye, Noah. Bye, Bradley."

As soon as you were gone, Bradley was eating an ant on a log and scrambling to open the dating app on his phone. He'd line up a date right this minute if it meant getting you to come over to his house again. 

Then he froze as his fingers hovered over the photo of a woman who's entire bio was dedicated to her seven cats. He wasn't suddenly interested in you for any other reason than the fact that he'd had a shitty date and he was craving attention from a woman. He really just needed to connect with someone his own age and then get laid. 

You weren't anything special. And you were way too young anyway. You just happened to be the only one who had really looked at him and joked with him in such a long time. No wonder he felt all mixed up. 

He'd find a date on the app for real. Not just to get you to come over again. 

"Let's go play outside," Bradley told Noah after he finished messaging three different women.

------------------------

You had two problems. The first one was the fact that you had so much fun with Noah, you wanted to babysit him again. But Bradley hadn't texted you back in the last few days and asked if you were available. 

Your second problem was the fact that you actually had a gigantic crush on Bradley and wanted to see him again, too. Even if it meant he only needed you to sit with Noah because he had another date. 

He had been checking you out. You were so sure of it. He was so flustered. It all made you feel silly inside. But Bradley was really funny and witty, and you really enjoyed being around him. 

And how flattering, a thirty six year old man softly flirting with you in his kitchen. 

Every time your phone went off, you checked to see if it was Bradley. But it never was. It was always Greyson trying to get you to drive out to his place and hookup. It was Thursday evening, and you were just bored enough to take him up on the offer. You were in the middle of texting him back when you got a message from Bradley. 

Bradley Bradshaw: Any chance you can come over again tomorrow night?

That meant he had another date. Unsurprising. The man was hot, funny, and liked good music.

What time do you want me? I can be there around 5 at the earliest.

You texted Grey back and told him you'd stop over in a bit. You started tossing some things into an overnight bag, along with your books for class the next day, just in case you fell asleep there.

Bradley Bradshaw: Come at 6? I'll have dinner ready for you if you want to eat here.

You replied to Bradley with a simple thumbs up, letting him know you would be there tomorrow. Then you sighed and walked out to your car, making the drive to Greyson's apartment. 

As you watched him drink and play MLB The Show, ignoring you despite having asked you to come, you couldn't help but think about how your semi-employer treated you better than your on-again off-again hookup did. But you ended up passing out on his couch for the night after a few minutes of making out, because you knew nothing would ever happen with Bradley, no matter how much the idea enticed you. 

------------------------

She had equally flattering first impressions of Bradley...and now she has a crush. Enjoy your Daddy Rooster and babysitter fic @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 3

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#bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #rooster x you #rooster fanfic #rooster x female reader #rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw fic #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw x female reader #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley rooster x reader #rooster bradshaw x female reader #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick fanfiction #top gun imagine

[anakinsgirlfriendreal]

Ghostface! Sam

Masterlist

ACT 1

Characters are high school seniors, so 18.

Warnings: foul language, murder, blood, sam's super obvious, use of y/n, maybe some spelling errors.

You sat on the table out in the school yard, looking on as some reporters and police officers conducted brief interviews with anyone who'd entertain them. Sam sat on the bench, leaning back between your legs.

Jake shakes his head, "can you believe it? Our town's got its own serial killer."

You scoff, "the guy's hardly serial it was two people and he didn't even have the balls to do it bare faced, I mean a mask? Fucking pussy."

"Yeah but there could be more, I mean he killed people we knew, one of us could be next," Sam shrugged, looking up at you.

"Don't be an ass." You smack the back of his head and he laughs.

"Who do you guys think did it?" Jake asks looking around the group.

"My bet's on Jared, Stacy's ex. He never got over her." Amanda shrugs.

You shake your head, "no way, look at him. He's a mess," you nod towards Jared who was speaking tearfully with a reporter. "Besides he loved her, why would he kill her, though that would be pretty good motive 'if I can't have you, no one can' but my guess is it's whoever she'd stolen Randy from or some one of the other thousand people in this school she pissed off."

Jake laughs, "oh man, I forgot you're into this shit. Your girl's a freak Sammy" he nudges Sam, you roll your eyes.

Sam shakes his head, a hand running up your calf, "we should get to class, see you guys later...or not." He smiles, getting up and draping his arm over your shoulders, leading you away.

That afternoon, Sam dropped you at your house after school, promising to spend the night cause he didn't want you to get hurt, you know with a masked freak running around killing people and all.

You sigh, dropping your backpack on the floor, your parents were out of the country, as usual, God bless diplomats. You shrugged off your jacket and stripped down to just to your tan top and underwear because the place was so darn hot, settling on the couch, preparing to watch however many episodes of Criminal Minds your brain could handle.

You're invested in an episode about someone making real people into dolls when your phone rings, startling you. Assuming it was your boyfriend you picked up. "Hey"

"Hello Y/n" the voice on the other end sounded raspy and distorted, like the one the news reporters had described.

You assumed it was Sam pulling your leg, "Haha very funny Sam."

"This isn't Sam, you stupid bitch!"

You're taken aback by the sudden outburst, silence on your end.

"Oh what's the matter sweetheart? You scared of a 'pussy in a mask'?" The killer mimicked your earlier words.

You swallow, "What the hell do you want?"

"I wanna play a game."

"yeah? What game is that?" You ask warily.

"We're gonna play some horror trivia, I know you love scary movies. Here are the rules, I ask three questions, you get them right and I won't carve up your sweet little boyfriend, that sound good?"

"Fuck you, if you hurt him-"

"You'll what? Kill me" the voice laughs, you feel nervous tears roll down your cheeks.

"First question, you have five seconds. What was the name of the killer in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Five-"

"Leatherface" you cut him off.

"Very good Yn."

You feel relief wash over you.

"Second question, Which movie did the kid die in the sewer? Five four-"

"IT"

"Very nice- I love those panties by the way, black's your colour"

Fear fills you, looking around hastily you click the alarm system on your phone, locking the doors and windows. "What?" Your voice trembles.

"Final question and I want you to think very carefully about this one y/n..."

You try to steady your breathing.

"Did you just lock me in or out?"

You panic running to the kitchen to grab a knife, the alarm system disarms and a sob escapes you, as you turn it on again, only for it to be turned off again, you back yourself into the wall, too shocked and panicked to even think of hiding. You watch as the front door knob jiggled, quiet sobs escaping you, holding the knife firmly.

You're about to charge blindly when the door opens, dropping the knife when you realize it's just Sam.

He looks both confused and alarmed when he sees your condition,"baby are you okay?"

You hold onto him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. He rubs your back holding you close, he kisses your head, "it's okay, it's okay I got you. It's alright"

You sat on the couch watching him barricade the doors and make sure the windows were secure. "I'll be fine."

"You're not fine, you were scared and crying and that son of bitch threatened you." He sat next to you on the couch, your hand finds its way into his dyed hair.

"I just- thank you" you smile, he kisses your lips.

You're silent for a moment staring at the tv, when a thought crosses your mind. "You know, he said- he said, 'are you scared of a pussy in a mask' how would he know I said that?...Unless he was there" you mused. Sam looks unphased.

"Don't over think it you'll go insane," His hand travels up our thigh, planting a kiss on your lips and down your neck.

"maybe, he's one of our friends."

He laughs, "You think the killer is one of our friends? No way, Jake throws up in bio when we have to dissect a frog,Riley's a moron and Amanda well, she's not very bright."

He's on top of you now, positioned between your legs. You smile, "and you?" You meant to tease.

He smirked, "Oh baby, I'm interested in rearranging your guts in only one way."

You laughed, pushing his face away from you, "You're such an idiot, who says that."

His smiles, dipping his head down to kiss your neck, his hand creeping into your panties.

The next morning at school, when you and Sam arrive the reporters are there again, you squint, the bright sun in your eyes.

"Why are they here again?" You ask. Amanda pulls you into a hug.

"Babe, I'm so happy you're alive, good thing Sam got there or that could've been you."

You and Sam look at each other, "What could've been me?"

Riley puts his arm over Amanda's shoulder, "Principal Reed, he got attacked last night. He died on the way to the hospital, his daughter found him too late."

"What the fuck, and they're sure it's the same guy?" You grimace.

"They're pretty sure, small town three murders already. It's likely," Amanda interjects.

You take a deep breath, "Son of a bitch. I actually liked Principal Reed, he was a nice man."

Sam smiled, looking at you. "At least we know you're not the killer."

You roll your eyes, "yeah yeah I'm going to class."

Amanda shoves a flyer in your hand before you could walk away, "Halloween party Friday night at my place-you know memorial for the dead or what not, you better come."

You chuckle, of course she'd use any opportunity to party. "There's a killer on the loose, running around in a mask, just carving people up and you think it's a good idea to gather as many people as possible in one place and get them all drunk?"

She begs, "come on, it'll be fun, and gathering is safer than you sitting at home basically waiting for this psycho to come gut you...for real this time."

Sam takes the flyer studying it, "Party sounds good."

#sam monroe x reader #sam monroe #hayden christensen x reader

[thetempleofthemasaigoddess]

The art model

Nude model!reader x art student!Zoro.

Modern AU. My very first Zoro fic! This fic is dedicated to @star-yawnznn!

There is probably going to be a part two (and maybe even a part three!) to this...

*****

You had started having second thoughts on the very day you had asked Luffy to tell his teacher, Shanks, about you (or rather, you had allowed him to do so, after your friend had begged you for weeks), the anxiety mounting inside you progressively as the day of the first class drew near, and this morning, when a moment after waking up you looked at the calendar hanging from the wall and realized you were expected at the art school in just twelve hours, you felt the urge to scream loud enough for the whole building to hear.

How could you be so stupid to accept your friend's proposal? Yes, you were (and still are, barely two weeks later) in dire need of money, since you haven't been able to secure a scholarship or a loan to fund your education and your job at the bar doesn't pay enough. Yes, the classes are in the evenings and on Saturday morning, which is perfect because it allows you to attend your own lessons in the morning, spend your afternoons at the Partys', waiting tables and preparing drinks with your aunt Makino, and spend your Sundays in a coma, sleeping as much as you can to recuperate at the end of yet another hectic week. What's more, from what Luffy had told you the job is relatively easy, which certainly beat spending hours restocking shelves in a supermarket or cycling around to make deliveries for a restaurant.

Still... it is embarrassing. Absurd. A little ambiguous, also, even though you are confident Luffy would not drag you in something shady or of dubious morality; he has assured you the job is perfectly safe and even fun, but on the other had your friend's idea of amusement or security is different from that of most other people...

Even though you do need a job, part of you hoped Shanks would decide to hire someone else, given your complete lack of experience in the field, or that in the following weeks some problem would arose that forced him to look for another employee. He didn't, and (and for this you have to blame no one but yourself) since you didn't have the courage to disappoint both your friend and his teacher, you never called Shanks to tell him you had changed your mind.

Today is your first day of work as a nude model for the East Blue Art School, and you have no idea whatsoever what awaits you.

Luffy assured you that you didn't need to smarten yourself (you would be tempted to say to undress up) since what is required of a nude model is a natural look, but today, after returning home from your shift at the bar, you make sure to shave and wash your hair, and pay special attention to your make-up; the people you will pose for are students, not famous fashion photographer, but you want to look your best. You also spend a few minutes in front of your wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear, before realizing how utterly pointless the whole matter is, since you are going to pose in your birthday suit.

In the end, you decide you might as well choose something which you feel comfortable in; you have just put on your favourite shirt and a pair of new jeans when an energic, like everything he does and is, ringing of the door-bell heralds Luffy's arrival.

"(name)! Are you ready?" he asks, as enthusiastic as if he were going to escort you to the altar on your wedding day, rather than to a new workplace; as usual, he's wearing his beloved straw hat, a gift from Shanks himself on the first day of art school when he was seven, a bag with his drawing supplies hanging from his shoulder "I'm so happy you're going to pose for us! I can't wait to introduce you to the others!"

He doesn't seem the slightest bit embarrassed at the prospect of an old and dear friend, with whom he has always had a purely platonic relationship, getting naked in front of him, and having to carefully observe her body to reproduce it on paper. Well, all the better for you, you think as you invite him to come in while you finish getting ready; Luffy is one of your dearest friends and you'd hate for shame or embarrassment to cause a rift between you.

"Just a minute, I need to put my shoes on."

"Take your time, we still have half an hour before class starts. You have anything good from your mom?"

You have no talent whatsoever in the kitchen, let alone the time and energy required to prepare something good to share with your friends or to reward yourself at the end of a long day of study and work, but you have the fortune to be the daughter of a capable baker, and your mother often gifts you the fruit of her labour - what is left of it when the bakery closes, that is: brownies, cookies, bread rolls and other delicacies, that Luffy appreciates as much as you do.

You tell him your mom brought you some gingerbread last night, when she stopped by to wish you good luck for your new job, and Luffy quickly finds it in the pantry. "I'm sure you'll do great today." he says as he happily munches gingerbread as if it were the last day of his life. He once asked you if your mother could hire him part time at the bakery, but you gently pointed out that in that case the shop would have nothing left to sell, since he would have eaten everything.

"I hope so!" you comment as you join him in the kitchen, shoes donned and bag under your elbow "I don't want to disappoint you, or your teacher. I mean, everything I have to do is simply sit there, right?"

"I guess so. Just make sure not to fall asleep. Our previous model, Buggy, did it, one day he had to stay a bit longer than usual. He fell off a stool and broke his nose."

"Oh, poor guy..." you comment, snickering despite yourself "Anyway, I drank a double espresso ten minutes ago, so I should be fine."

You leave the apartment together, walking unhurriedly towards the art school, which is only ten minutes away, in a quiet neighbourhood. "I can't wait for you to meet the others!" Luffy exclaims, almost skipping along the sidewalk; besides you, your friend is particularly close to a small group of classmates, who together with him have studied at the East Blue since they were children "I'm sure you'll love them, and they you."

"I hope so." you murmur, suddenly tense once more; Luffy's company and natural cheerfulness have momentarily distracted you from the anxiety filling your body at the prospect of having to take your clothes off in front of a group of strangers, but now that very uneasiness has returned, in addition to the worry of not making a good impression on Luffy's dearest friends. Why didn't I accept that job with the cleaning agency? I'm allergic to dust, but apart from that, it would have been perfect....

Unfortunately it is too late to change your mind, and even to turn on your heels and return home, leaving Luffy and his class in trouble, because your destination is just a minute away: a spacious, well-kept building, in which students of all ages take courses in drawing, painting, sculpture and photography. Despite the hour there are many people about, pupils, including many old enough to be your parents, walking to their classes, discussing their projects, and carrying art supplies of all types; a joyous, exciting chatter fills the air, the sounds of a place full of energy, of teaching and learning, where knowledge is cultivated and freely shared. The East Blue Art Academy is a well-reputed institute, and any candidate has to pass a rigorous exam in order to be accepted to the courses; you have no idea why Luffy's teacher has decided to hire a first-time model, but your friend has assured you Shanks can't wait to meet you.

Crossing the large double door, you find yourself in a large hall with floor-to-ceiling windows from which, Luffy tells you, it is possible to reach all the four main departments, where classes take place from early morning to late evening; a separate wing is being built to host a music school, and in the back there is also a small botanical garden, where some classes also take place, since any artist worthy of the name must learn to observe and reproduce nature.

It wouldn't be polite to keep Shanks waiting, especially not on your first day, but you linger for a minute, contemplating the decorated ceiling of the hall, the fresco representing a white-sailed ship with a figurehead carved in the shape of a sheep, sailing through the waves.

"We made this, you know." your friend proudly announces "My friends and I."

"You are kidding!"

"I'm not. The hall was renovated two years ago, and students were invited to submit their projects, individually or in group. Me and four other from my class, you'll meet them soon, won, and the rest is history; the guys from the painting department helped, but the idea is ours."

"I can't believe it, it's lovely..."

The ship sailing under the clear blue sky is a really beautiful scene, it evokes a sensation of freedom and joy that even you, who can't draw or paint to save your life and has no interest whatsoever in the field, can't help appreciating. Who knows where the small but sturdy vessel is going, and what adventures it is carrying its crew towards...

You are so focused on admiring the fresco, full of admiration for the talent of Luffy and his friends, you don't notice a young man literally burst in the room from another corridor and then, as if his life depended on it, run in the same direction you and your friend had started towards. He crosses the room at full speed, unaware of Luffy who waves at him, but he notices you, as you take a step back to admire the frescoed ceiling from a better perspective... and find yourself on the man's trajectory, who doesn't have the time to stop or dodge you.

"Aaaaahhhh...!!!"

Fortunately you don't hit your head, but the man falls right on you, his knee pressing on your stomach, making it impossible for you to breath for a minute. You hear Luffy emit a cry of surprise, and then he hurries to help the man to his feet, lifting him off you. "(name), are you all right? Zoro?"

"I'm fine." you both answer at the same time; the man bends to pick up the sketchbook and pencils that fell from his bag, checking they haven't been damaged, while you cautiously massage the area above your belly-button, already sure than Luffy and his classmates will have to draw a large bruise.

"You haven't been taught not to run inside, especially if there are so many people around?" you asks, as soon as you catch your breath; normally you would simply forget it, annoyed but still willing to let the incident slide to avoid an argument, but that guy could have seriously hurt you, on the first day of your new job!, not to mention how stressed you have felt all day "This is a school, not a running track!"

He looks at you, as clearly annoyed as you feel. "Nothing would have happened if you hadn't gotten in the way." he argues; he is tall, attractive, with bright green hair, a bandana tied around his arm and not one, but three scabbards, clearly not empty, hanging from a sash at his waist, an unexpected sight that makes you momentarily forget your argument "I know that ceiling looks nice, but why don't you look where you're going?"

"I wasn't going anywhere, I was practically standing still...!"

"Guys... guys, come on! There's no need to fight." Luffy intervenes, stepping between you and the green-haired man as if fearing you would soon come to blows "You're both all right. (name), this is Zoro, he's in the same class as me; Zoro, (name) is a good friend of mine, she's our new model."

You sigh, recognizing Zoro's name as one of those Luffy has mentioned most frequently when telling you about his classmates; from what you have heard, they are very good friends. Also, since this guy is apparently a student in the class you are going to pose for, you don't want him to complain about you with Shanks. Consequently...

"I see. Well, sorry if I made you stumble; I didn't mean to." you apologize, making an affort to sound more remorseful than you actually are; you slowly offer an hand, ready to pull it back the moment you perceive your peace offer is going to be refused, but Zoro must have reached the same decision as you, because he takes your hand and shakes it firmly.

"It's no problem; I'm sorry if I hurt you. So, uhm, you've already posed before?"

"No, it's my first time." you admit "I hope I won't be a disappointment for you guys and for Shanks."

Zoro shrugs, as if minimizing your fears - not with the intent to insult you, though. "Ah, don't worry; if you can stay still for a while you'll be ok. If that idiot Buggy could do it, anyone can."

You find yourself smiling, your resentment towards your friend's friend already forgotten; after all, you don't need any more negativity in your life. "I hope you're right."

"Well!" Luffy intervenes, happy to see peace return between the two of you, as he rests one hand on your shoulder and the other on Zoro's "Why don't we go to class? (name) has to meet Shanks before we begin."

You and Zoro follow him along a corridor, as Luffy, who has an almost preternatural ability to make friends wherever he goes, exchange greetings and smiles with most of the people whose path he crosses. According to your watch, your first day as a model will begin in less than fifteen minutes; you are still nervous, but you find yourself glancing at Zoro, still beside you. Why on earth has he carried three swords to a drawing class? Since nor Luffy nor the other students seem alarmed by it, it must be an habit of his; perhaps they are to be the subject of a drawing? Are they props? Will Shanks ask you to hold them as you pose for Luffy and the others?

You could ask him; still, there is something you are even more curious about. "Where were you going in such a hurry?" you inquire "It is still early for your class."

"Well..." Zoro rubs the back of his head, as if embarrassed by what he is going to reveal "I was afraid I would be late to class. Again."

"Oh. You got struck in traffic? Or were late after work?"

"No, I... couldn't find my way to class."

"... you moved to the school recently?"

"... no. I've been studying here since I was eight."

You are left reflecting on those words (he had lost his way to the classroom? Inside the school? After maybe ten years?!) as you glance inside some of the rooms, their doors left ajar, in which other classes are taking place; in one, a group of children are painting a vase of flowers the teacher has placed on a stool (even though most of the paint seems to have ended up on their faces!) while in another two older men are arranging what looks like a set for a photo shooting, with a large camera sitting on a tripod, umbrellas for controlling and diffusing the light, and a red collapsible backdrop. Posing for pictures, this is something you have already done, you reflect, even though in less formal contexts, during a birthday party or on holiday; of course, during those moments you always wore clothes...

"Here we are!" Luffy announces in the end; he bows at the waist next to the door of the classroom, jokingly inviting you to go in first "Shanks, this is (name)!"

The only man present in the room, busy organizing a large quantity of pencils and other drawing tools on a desk, turns to greet you all with a smile. Shanks is a tall man in his late thirties, with bright red hair. He offers you his right hand to shake; he has no choice, since his left arm is missing.

"It is very nice to meet you, sir." you politely greet him; Luffy had never mentioned his beloved teacher was an amputee, but after all, one does not need two hands to draw, does he? "Thank you for this opportunity, I hope you'll be satisfied."

Shanks invites you to call him by his name, like his students do. "I should be the one thanking you; you have no idea how hard it is to find a model."

"(name) is a bit embarrassed she has to pose naked." Luffy interjects while he and Zoro place their bags next to two of the stools.

"That's not true!" you protest, not wanting Shanks to doubt your motivation, or willingness to do what you are asked "I mean, it is just... the first time I take my clothes off... for a situation like this, I mean..."

Zoro, busy retrieving a large sketchbook from his bag five steps from you, grunts. "You know, we're not going to jump your bones as soon as you take your panties off." he points out. His tone, more brusque than what you would have expected from a person who has known you for ten minutes, doesn't give the impression he wants to insult or ridicule you, but you resent it all the same; wouldn't he be embarrassed to present himself to a group of strangers completely naked?

Maybe not; after all he is very fit, strong arms and (Zoro is now bending to retrieve a pencil from his bag) a firm backside. Who knows, you reflect as you quickly avert your gaze, perhaps for some people showing off their body is actually pleasant...

"It is perfectly normal to feel a bit of awkwardness in taking off your clothes." Shanks assures you kindly "What you have to remember, though, is that there is nothing immoral, or inappropriate, in posing. This is a perfectly respectable occupation, and as long as you are here, you'll be perfectly safe, and believe me, these students are all old and experienced enough to see you like any other subject; in the end, there is not much difference between a nude model and a bowl of fruit, they are simply something to reproduce on paper. No one will focus on your weight or your... intimate parts, if this is what you are worried about."

It is indeed, and Shanks' words do reassure you. Luffy, already perched on his stool, winks at you.

The classroom is sparsely furnished, with a desk covered with paper and drawing utensils, a few painting easels in a corner and twelve stools placed in a semi-circle all around an higher one, that you guess will be your work station; many books of all sizes are lined up on the shelves on the wall facing the door. A folding screen creates a corner with a chair and a small wall-mounted sink in which you can leave your things, undress in complete privacy... and wash away your make-up, like Shanks has asked you to do.

The students arrive while you prepare behind the screen, their chatting filling the room as they find their places; in the end you come out the screen, barefoot and wearing the dressing-gown you have brought with you.

"Guys and girls, this is (name); she'll be our model from now on." Shanks introduces you, and all the students smile and wave while you reach your stool, look at your feet as you disrobe, and sit. Shanks helps you strike a pose, with your knees apart, an hand resting on your lap and the other raised, and your face in profile; and after that, all you have to do is to remain still, which is at the same time the easiest thing ever and more than a little uncomfortable, especially considering the class is supposed to last for a whole hour.

Fortunately, Shanks was right in saying you had no reason to feel ill at ease. The students are clearly used to a naked model, since you perceive no embarrassment nor, even worse, any special interest in your body, and they are simply focused on faithfully reproducing your form on their sketchbooks; a pink-haired student whose name you don't catch mentions you have remarkably symmetrical thighs, while his friend, with long blonde hair, asks Shanks' help in deciding whether he drew your breast smaller than he should have.

None of the students moves for the first thirty minutes, the silence in the room only broken by the soft noise of the pencils rushing on the paper; even the sounds of the city outside, traffic and people arguing and the barking of a dog, sound muffled to your ears. Shanks walks among them, offering praises and gentle corrections, and inviting them to pay attention to the shape of (name)'s calf, look at the curve of it...

Luffy sits surrounded by his dearest friends, like a captain with his crew: you've heard him talk about them so many times it is as if you had already met them. There are Sanji, Usopp and Nami, and Zoro, who given the direction Shanks has asked you to look towards is right in front of you, so that you find yourself looking directly at him - for a whole hour. He is really attractive, you decide, perhaps more than most other men you know; with his athletic physique, and the elegant features of his face, he could be an excellent model, not necessarily an art one...

It is right then, while you are busy idly observing the little you can see from his body and decide that yes, he must be either an athlete or a gym fanatic, because no one who sits on his ass all day can have shoulders like those, let alone such well-defined biceps, that suddenly Zoro, who has been so focused on his drawing he seems to have forgotten the rest of the world, suddenly and quickly lifts his gaze, his dark eyes boring into you. You start, for a moment sure he has perceived your vaguely inappropriate thoughts, and with a mounting sense of panic you feel yourself going red in the face, as it often happens when you are embarrassed. What has gotten into you?, you chide yourself; and you were embarrassed the others would look at you?!

"Is everything all right, (name)?" Shanks asks, making you jump again.

"Yes! I mean... I'm fine." you stutter; a few of the students glance at you from above their sketchbooks.

"Good. Can you please left your hand a little more?"

You comply, making an effort not to look directly at Zoro even though your face is turned exactly in his direction, silently apologizing to him.

After a while, Luffy lifts his hand. "Shanks, can I approach her?"

"All right; as usual, you have ten minutes. (name), Luffy will now approach you."

"'k." you answer, making an effort to speak without moving your lips, and to remain as still as a statue, even though your left arm has started hurting.

Your friend stands from his stool and comes to kneel in front of you, his sketchbook balanced on his thigh; the pretext is to observe your face up close, but Luffy takes the opportunity to meet your eyes and smile at you, before raising an eyebrow questioningly; all good?, he's silently asking you, perhaps feeling secretly responsible since he was the one who begged you to come pose for them. You make sure Shanks is busy helping another student, and wink at him. All good, don't worry.

Luffy, who knows you well enough he could easily draw your face from memory, remains at your feet for a few minutes, after which a few of the other students also ask Shanks permission to approach one by one. Zoro is the last, and he looks... disgruntled, brows furrowed as he observes you, intent as if he had to solve a complex mathematical equation; he looks down at his drawing, that you can't see, then back at you, and he grimaces, clearly unsatisfied. You force yourself not to squirm, unsure of the reason for his discontent but sure it is somehow your fault.

In the end, you are almost caught off-guard when Shanks announces only five minutes are left before the end of the class; you had completely lost track of time. The students hurry to polish their drawings while they have you there in front of them, even though they will have another hour to work on them, and after that you'll have to assume another pose for the next two classes.

"You were great!" Luffy exclaims in the end as he helps you stand from the stool, your legs stiff after the innatural position you kept them in for an hour; you smile, as usually amused and touched at the same time by your friend's enthusiasm, while the other students start gathering their things.

"Thank you, but after all it was you guys who did all the work; I just had to sit there and look... still." you point out as you retrieve your night gown and put it back on.

"Well, you did it very well. You want to see my drawing?"

You actually couldn't wait to, and most of the other students gladly let you see theirs as well. They are all very good, you decide as you examine the sketchbooks one by one, obviously different in style but all quite life-like; Nami's is probably the best, even though Luffy's is the one you like the most. You look at them, those portrait the young artists have drawn without masking the imperfections and the parts of your body you are embarrassed of, but striving to do justice to it all the same. You don't consider yourself a vain person, a self-centered one even less, but you wish you could hang all of them in your apartment and keep them close forever, because for some reason you feel as if each of those young men and women, most of which you don't even know, now are in possession of a small part of you...

Zoro is the sole who, seeing his classmates offer you their sketchbooks and ask for your opinion, is quick to shove his in his bag; your eyes meet, and he quickly looks away, as if he had something to hide. What a weird guy! Handsome... but weird.

"So, how did it go?" Shanks asks as the students say goodbye and unhurriedly line to leave; you smile at him, much more enthusiastic than an hour before.

"I must admit, I had fun; I'm sorry if you had to correct my position."

"That's all right, you are not a statue after all, and you did very well. So..." the teacher smiles, as if already knowing what you are going to answer "You want to do it again?"

You absolutely do, and Shanks shows you the schedule for his classes, both group ones and private; you'll be busy five evenings a week, for one or two hours at a time, which works just fine for you.

"Me and the guys are going to grab a drink in a place down the road." Luffy tells you "Wanna come?"

"Are you sure? I mean, if you'd rather be among you..."

Luffy looks at you strangely, as if he didn't understand the reasoning behind your indecision. "You are my friend, and now theirs as well." he points out "Why wouldn't we want you there?"

Reassured, you tell him that you'll be happy to come; the truth is you had a long day (your own classes in the morning, a long shift at the Party's in the afternoon, and now an hour of posing after which you feel more than a little sore) and are consequently pretty tired, but you feel well and want to know Luffy's school friends better. He tells you they'll wait for you outside, since Sanji needs a smoke, and you promise you'll make it quick.

Shanks leaves as well, needing to talk to another teacher, so that you are soon alone in the classroom, getting dressed and then retrieving your bag and nightgown. You are really in a good mood: your new job promises to be interesting and even fun, and who knows, perhaps you will even meet some new friends...

At least you think you are alone, but you stand corrected when, coming out from behind the screen, you find yourself face to face with a person, leaning against the wall close to the classroom's door, arms folded, clearly waiting... for you.

Zoro.

"Hi again." you say, a little uncertain; you doubt he waited to accompany you out... unless he is the one who needs to be guided, since apparently he gets lost easily "I'm sorry if I kept you guys waiting..."

Zoro shakes his head; his hand is now resting on the handle of one of his words, a casual gesture clearly dictated by habit. "I'm not coming tonight. I wish I could, but my... father is waiting for me."

"I see. So, uhm, you wanted to tell me something...?"

"Actually... I know we just met, but I have a favour to ask you."

Zoro bites his lip (something you have always found attractive in a man, which makes you smile for a moment), as if embarrassed of having to bother a person he barely knows... or perhaps of the favour itself.

"Go ahead."

"Well... I need you to pose for me."

Zoro tells you that figure drawing (that is, drawing the human form, either by observation of a live model or otherwise) has always been hard for him, much more than drawing a still life, buildings or any sort of scenes; he is usually at the same level of, or even better than, his classmates, but when he has to draw an human body, either that of a model or copying from a book or even simply relying on his imagination, he somehow suddenly forgets how to hold a pencil, not to mention everything he knows about proportions and perspective. He does his best, really, he practices and practices, he has a whole stack of sketchbooks filled from cover to cover with drawings, studies and portraits, but he is still unsatisfied - and behind what is expected from a person who has been an art student since he was six. Even kind, encouraging and less-strict-than-most-teachers Shanks had to admit his life drawings are of a much lower quality than the rest of his works.

What do you draw exactly, stick figures?, you are about to ask, and maybe you would if you were talking to Luffy or someone you know well. "I'm sorry to hear that; it must be very frustrating."

"It is; so I was wondering... well, if you'd be ok with posing for me, to practice." he goes on, shifting his weight from one leg to the other; asking another person for help, and consequently having to admit his shortcomings, seems almost physically painful for him "I do marginally better with a model, but two classes a week are not enough."

"Haven't you asked Luffy or one of the others?" you wonder, imagining that his friends would be happy to help, especially being artists themselves "Well, maybe not Luffy, he'd never be able to stay still for ten minutes, let alone a whole hour..."

"He really couldn't. And I tried, but I get distracted if I know the other person. I know you are busy with school and your other job, but would you be available? I would pay you, of course."

You tell him you could never accept money from one of Luffy's friends, especially not from a student like you. "I have yet to learn how to teleport or how to be in two places at the same time, but if we can find a moment we are both free, I'll be happy to help you."

"Are you sure?" Zoro asks; he seems taken aback, as if he expected you to refuse, or to have to beg you "You don't mind...?"

"I just discovered I actually like posing, and Luffy's friends are mine." you easily answer "Shall I come to your place? Do you live nearby?"

You quickly discover you live a couple of blocks away from each other, close enough you can easily walk from home, or from the Partys', to the house Zoro lives in with his adoptive father. You decide to meet on Sunday afternoon, which will allow you to sleep very late and still do something constructive during the day, especially if you bring a book or your notes with you to review as you pose.

Finally, Zoro smiles, relieved and happy; he has a lovely smile, you notice, as well as a lovely face, which makes you wonder if he ever tried drawing himself... "Thank you. (name), really... I owe you big time."

"One day maybe you can buy me a pizza or something." you easily answer, not meaning anything specific by it (namely, not a date) but simply thinking back at that time Luffy helped you move to your new flat and you bought him dinner to thank him (and almost went bankrupt) "Do you mind if we walk as we talk? I think Luffy and the others are waiting for me."

Zoro opens the door for you and then follows you towards the school's hall; despite the late hour, many classes are still in session. For you this is a job, something that as much as you enjoy it you need to pay for your bills and food, but these people, the students of all ages who spend their evenings here instead that at home or enjoying their free time after a day of school or work, choose to do it and pay for the courses themselves. They do it for passion, hoping to turn an hobby in a job, to improve their skills with the pencil (or the brush, or the camera...) or simply to spend time doing what they love, without concern for the future or retribution.

It is nice, you decide, feeling strangely wistful for a moment; who knows if you'll ever find something to be so passionate about...

"Luffy says you're studying to become an accountant." Zoro says after a while, as you walk next to him, your muscles still a bit sore after an hour of stillness.

"I do; there is absolutely nothing artistic about it." you laugh.

"But you like it?"

"Many people think it is the most boring and arid profession in the world, but I like it a lot, actually."

"There you go then." he considers in a tone of approval "Who cares about what other people think?"

You smile back, and that sudden, pleasant confidentiality pushes you to ask a question of your own. "If I may... what do you carry those around for?"

"You mean my swords?"

"Yes. I have seen some original fashion accessories, but a weapon, never."

Zoro grins, openly amused, as he gently grabs the hilt of one of the swords, pure white, in a protective gesture... or maybe to show you how ready he is to draw it on a moment's notice "I use them; I'm a swordsman, I have been training since I was five." he proudly explains.

"And you use three of them?!"

"Exactly. One in each hand, the third in my mouth."

You can barely imagine a scene like the one he is describing (seriously, how can he use a sword holding it like that? Does he have a prehensile tongue?) but Zoro is clearly serious, which fills you with admiration. "So you are an artist and a sportsman!" you exclaim; it is strange, but somehow fitting as well, to imagine a person's hands having the strength to handle a weapon, and at the same time being delicate enough to use a pencil... two opposite, but equally beautiful, ways to channel his energy "Talk about the total package! I knew you were an athlete..."

"What do you mean?"

"... nothing. Err, do you attend a fencing school as well?"

By the time Zoro has finished telling you about his adoptive father, who has been his fencing instructor since he was old enough to hold a practice sword and who then adopted him when he was fourteen, you have reached Luffy and the others, waiting on or around a bench in the school's parking lot.

"Speaking about my father..."

"Yes?"

Zoro stops, forcing you to do the same. "I wouldn't normally do it, but Luffy says I can trust you." he says, looking at you right in the eyes as if warning you against disappointing your friend's trust in you, as well as his "My adoptive father... he doesn't know I study here. He wants me to focus on fencing, so when I was fourteen and I went to love with him, he asked me to leave the school; I told him I had but..."

"... you obviously didn't." you finish for him "And he doesn't know you come here, three times a week? And you had for years?"

He tells you it is not always easy to hide he spends many of his evenings at the schools, but fortunately he's old enough his father doesn't feel the need to keep track of his movements, and his friends and employer (his friend Kuina's father) cover for him. "It has been easier since I came of age, since now I can at least use the money my biological parents have left me to pay for the school. Before that I was a step away from selling my... well..."

"I see." you say, sincerely touched; poor Zoro, forced to hide something he loves doing because he fears disappointing his father, or being forced to abandon it. Isn't he old enough to decide what to do with his life? "What's your father's name?"

"Dracule Mihawk."

"I don't think I've ever met him, but if this is what worries you, I'll keep your secret; I promise I won't tell anyone. If you want, you can come to my place to draw; I don't mind, and you can simply tell your father you're visiting a friend."

"Are you sure?" Zoro asks; he seems... taken aback, as if he didn't expect such support from a person he has just met and who has refused to be paid for her trouble. But, not to sound presumptuous, helping people who pursue their dreams and passions comes natural to you; you wouldn't be Luffy's friend otherwise "That... would be perfect actually. My father usually comes home late in the evening, so we would be more or less safe at my place, but..."

"Why risk getting caught, if we can avoid it?" you reasonably point out "I... can come pick you up, if you want; to show you the way."

You quickly exchange contacts, and you find yourself smiling; becoming an accountant is still your first ambition, but the prospect of beginning a new career as a model is exciting. Even though the thought of taking your clothes off in front of someone you just met is still weird... especially if your public will be composed of a single man, in the more intimate context of your apartment...

Technically speaking, you have invited a man to your home to look as you get naked; the thought makes you blush again, even though you felt perfectly at ease as you posed for the students. Pull yourself together, (name)! After all, he wouldn't be the first, would he? Even though, it has been a long time since...

"So... we have a deal?"

"We have. I can't wait to pose for you - I mean, I'm happy to help you."

"I'll try not to waste your time then." Zoro promises with a new smile, happy and relieved, and you think he should do it more often, because he looks even more lovely when he does it... "Thank you, (name); really, I appreciate it."

You tell him not to mention it, and by now you have reached Luffy and the others, who have attentively listened to your conversation.

"Sorry I kept you guys waiting."

"No problem. You sure you can't come, Zoro?" Luffy asks, clearly disappointed he cannot have all his friends with him; he shakes his head, apologetic and sorry in the reserved, vaguely introverted attitude you have already learnt to know.

"Sorry, next time, I promise."

He grins at you. "See you soon."

"See you on Sunday, Zoro."

You wink at him, and he waves as he looks at you walking to Luffy and your new friends.

#One Piece #One Piece Live Action #OPLA #Roronoa Zoro #Roronoa Zoro x reader #Mackenyu #Bellona's stuff

[the-family-business-83]

Unexpected Calling – Part I

Masterlist - WIP

Fandom: Marvel

Prompt: A world class contract killer finds an envelope at his dead drop. Inside are $23.42 in short change and a letter handwritten by a 9-year old girl.

Type: Series

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader's daughter (platonic obviously), Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Genre: fluff, action, slight angst, might get smutty but idk yet

Warnings: Be prepared for some adult language! Nothing too crazy in this first part though, we're just getting started so that's my only warning for now.

Word count: 1.6k

Send me an ask to let me know if you wanna be added to/removed from the taglist!!

This post was Beta'd by @mariekoukie6661. Thanks a million!

A/N: Thought I'd throw my hand at a prompted fic! Hope you guys like it, I'll add a chapter directory and update as needed as the next parts are posted. So stay tuned 👀 Text dividers made by @firefly-graphics <3

Every morning is always the same when you're paid to kill. He'd been trying to be better about the whole actual killing part lately, but that didn't change his morning routine very much. He woke up to the sound of his alarm clock going off—yes, he still used one. If you asked for his reasoning, he'd tell you it's because it's less complicated and you can always count on it to work because it simply stayed plugged into the wall; in the event that the power went out? It had batteries for backup power, and you can't find that kind of peace of mind with just the alarms on your phone. He's still an old soul, sue him. He woke up at 6:45 am, on the dot, every morning without fail that way so it was rather effective.

After the blaring sound of his trusty alarm clock came the process of forcing himself out of bed and cleaning up for the day; shaving if necessary, freshening up, getting dressed, the works. This was generally when he'd change his appearance should the need arise, as well. But he didn't need to do that this morning and so he flicked the light to the bathroom off as he left the room when he was finished, heading out to his kitchen thereafter. The next step? Food. It was always 7 am sharp by the time he got done with his wakeup process, the only time that changed being when he added any extra steps in the bathroom. And breakfast was always simple: a cup of hot black coffee, sliced avocado, and bread toasted to perfection with an egg over medium to be dipped in. And it never failed to be a pleasant way to start his morning, usually followed closely after by a session of watching the morning news. He found it a good way to see what was going on in the area and across the country so he could plan accordingly.

If he didn't have a job, which by chance was the case today, he'd generally find any sort of quiet way to spend the rest of his morning; reading a book, cleaning up all his weapons, or a walk in the park if he felt like it. Today, he felt like it. And it was mostly peaceful, if you excluded the grating sound of car horns, tires squealing, and buses chuffing past. And of course, if you chose to ignore the rumbling from the subway, the people shouting either in their urgency to get to work or just simply because they were an ass, then it was really utterly plain and quiet to walk through Central Park. By this point Bucky had truly gotten used to it. He supposed in some ways it wasn't too much different from his home in the past. But that didn't mean he liked to spend too much time there anyway. So long as he got out and went back home just in time, he could skip the gradeschoolers and dog walkers that came around for the afternoon.

There had been nothing unusual about his day so far, and he liked that. He liked the rhythm of it all, and how it always went according to his carefully curated schedule. He began the process of unlocking his apartment door after making his way up to his floor, and pushed it open to take a step inside. Crunch.

What the helll...?

Bucky frowned as, seemingly, something sat under his boot and crinkled where he'd stepped, making the same sound again as he carefully pried his foot off. The poor, crisply folded, paper envelope that had earlier been slotted through his dead-drop, suffered a dirt-covered footprint but aside from that, it seemed harmless and intact as he picked it up to inspect it. A curious thing to find when you hardly get mail aside from the bills. What was even more curious was the contents within it, feeling a bit lumpy and—quite frankly—heavy for a letter-sized envelope. He closed the door behind himself with one hand, locking it once again out of habit while the other kept hold of the envelope. Moments later he flicked out a switchblade to slice it open revealing not only a handwritten letter but also $23.42.....Exactly. All in small change.

It was quite honestly the oddest thing he'd seen or received to date, and that was including the number of quite-literal backstabs he'd received, numerous other maiming injuries, and the odd encounters he’d had with a talking raccoon, tree, and robot...man…thing. To name a few. That was also including the number of odd jobs he'd been offered and peculiar payment methods he'd been given. Never had he come across such a specific payment with a letter that….upon further inspection….looked as though its penman couldn't be much older than 9 years old, at most.

'Dear mister,

My name is Rosie Jones. I am 9 yeers old. My mommy says you're vary good at helping people. Well, I need your help. Mommy also said you like to be paid for helping, so I broke my piggy bank open so you wood help us. Mommy doesn't know yet thoe, so please don't tell her.

My mommy dissuhpeered disappeered last night. She told me to hide and I did but now I can't find her and so I need your help mister becuz you're really good at finding people too, mommy said so. Please please help me find my mommy, I don't know what to do mister.

– Rosie'

"You've gotta be shitting me." He muttered to himself. The first question Bucky had, quite honestly, was how did this little girl even know who he was? Or where he lived? Not many people did, if any, truth be told. If they did? They were usually dead within minutes. It was one of many reasons that kept his renowned status intact. But here he was, sitting at his own table, with proof that some little girl knew both of those things. Frowning down at the paper and envelope of change, the assassin ran his hand back through his dark brown hair momentarily, processing what he'd just read. On one hand, it could be an elaborate trap. By all rights he had to assume it, considering the nature of the letter and the fact that a little girl of all people had written it. But on the other hand, there was a certain dedication there that he simply couldn't ignore. And some part of him couldn't help but at least look into it. So moments later, the man was pulling out his laptop and began searching for answers, anything that could give this little girl's story any sort of credit.

Much to his surprise? It checked out. Every last bit of it. There was a mother, connected to the Rosie Jones in question, who had gone missing under rather mysterious circumstances. "I'll be damned, mystery kiddo."

'Y/N Jones, aged 37, a single mother, was nowhere to be found the next morning after reports came in that a struggle and silenced gunshots were heard from the house that night.'

He probably could have gotten away with just keeping the money and letting it go. It was some little kid somewhere hoping for someone to hear her plea, he could get away with it. But it was that name…. he'd seen it before, he knew he had. In all fairness though, he really only remembered faces exceptionally well. Names didn't matter in the long run, names didn't tell him who he was shooting within a crowd of people. So why did it keep nagging at the back of his mind?...

Spoiler alert: he shouldn't have went digging. He should have just left it alone. But he had always been a curious mind and he was nothing if not thorough on top of that. Popping open the top to his bottle of whiskey, Bucky carefully poured out a favorable portion into a glass tumbler, before letting it down onto the counter as he heard an agreeable noise coming from his laptop to signal it had finished its task. Glancing over his shoulder, he sipped on his drink as he made his way back over to the table, having waited for what seemed like an hour to get the information he wanted. And the minute he looked at the screen was the very same minute he regretted it.

He knew that face.

He knew it like the back of his hand almost, he knew it the same way he knew the taste of bourbon or the sound of a .22 magnum. That was the face of Y/N Y/L/N and it was a face he had been trying to forget for years now. But most of all he knew it was a mistake to have even touched this with a ten-foot pole. Because now he had a target, he knew what the target looked like, and he had been paid in- well, maybe not-so-full, but in 9-year-old currency $23.42 was basically a million dollars considering it was all her savings.

In short?

He had to do it now.

He knew that. And it damn near made him groan at the prospect. Because this was going to be a long-ass job, and if he was going to ensure the rescue of that little girl's mother, then he needed to ensure that child's safety. The less leverage the 'enemy' had, the easier his job was. So as he sighed out, "Damnitall, this better be fuckin worth it kid," the hundred year old assassin finished off his drink and went about packing his things to take on a job that he never asked for, but knew damn well he was stuck with until it was over.

But at least if he had to go through with this, he was going to be damn sure he did it right, that was for sure.

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