#i think at one point in the lax shop my voice went up so much that it almost cracked

[keilemlucent]

if you are interested, i would like to present my dear salem with hero hawks and his little horny crush on his innocent assistant bc man’s corruption kink go brrrrrr😇

okay look LOOK i have... such a thing for hawks getting a h*rd on for his sweet, far-too kind PA.

(NSFW)

word count: 2.5k

warnings: dubcon, coersion, (a little bit of) yandere hawks, reader wears lingerie, reader is sorta oblivious,  sugar daddy hawks, scumbag hawks, power imbalance, hawks is a manipulative bastard but its hot so who cares <3

...

“Are you sure this is... appropriate, sir?” 

No, no, definitely not, not at all. Taking his sweet, desperately-in-need-of-a-break PA out on a little shopping spree was definitely crossing a lot of professional lines, but how could he care? He was far more focused on the wobbly way ‘sir’ had dripped off your tongue.

It wasn’t sin, but he’d get you there, he was quite persuasive. 

The little shopping trip (literally) landed you at a luxury mall across Fukuoka, many-floored and lavishing decorated with twinkling, bright bulbs and crystal on every fixture. The stores were expensive, too expensive for you to afford on your own but Keigo knew how hard you’d been working! All that extra paperwork (he’d been purposefully giving you because it kept you around the office later and more often) had been getting done beautifully, and you deserved a treat. Many of them. 

Consider it an early bonus.

You already had quite a few bags dangling off your arms, the cords and ribbons digging into your arms (god, he wished he could make some marks of his own--). And Keigo had decided to treat you to one, final stop. He guided you to the store entrance with a hand on your lower back.

God help you, a lingerie store.

Nothing cheap, only custom-made and designer pieces. It was more of a boutique, some places private where no one would bother the two of you. 

He watched your expression, the pull of your brows and the way your pupils dilated. It might’ve been from a bit of ill-placed stress, but he’s sure he can get your eyes just as inky other ways, if given the opportunity. 

“This is remarkably appropriate, dove,” He hummed and ushered you inside the store entrance, flashing a grin to the starry-eyed salesclerk. His hand drifted downward, just over the upper curves of your ass, just to watch you squirm. “Consider it a reward! You’ve been doing so much good for me and the agency, you deserve a treat or two, don’t you think?”

You shifted the bags on your arms and dared to meet his gaze with your own, meek and wide, “I-I think this is more than ‘a treat or two’--”

“Then shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, thanking me for my generosity then?” Keigo smirked as your expression faltered. You were way too easy and god, he fucking loved it.

Before you had a chance to fret anymore, he assured you quietly that everything was alright. A bit of praise to ice the pinpricks he left behind. He shooed you into the fitting rooms, pointing a beaming smile at a clerk and getting to work. 

He’d have you spoiled, whether you liked it or not.

...

You sat on the plush bench of the fitting room, hands in fist and lip tucked between your teeth. You chewed on it, swallowing around your dry throat. Hawks’ voice drifted back from the salesfloor, though you couldn’t tell what he was saying. You could pick up words like ‘sweet’ and ‘cute’ and you could only assume the words were about the bright-eyed, big-titted employee you saw when you walked in.

You squeeze the fabric of your skirt and tried to let some of the tension in your shoulders dissipate. 

“Oh, wow, dove, the selection they have here is amazing!” Hawks whistled as he returned to the fitting room, alone, carrying an armful of padded, velvet hangers. 

“I can imagine,” You wished you could have looked around a bit yourself, but Hawks had a much better eye for these things than you did. You were very fortunate to have him around. 

He arranged them on a gold railing nearby, wings tucked to his back as to not crowd the small space of the dressing room.

It was truly just a single room, though it was large enough. Six-sided, each wall complete with a well-padded, velvet bench seat to idle on. The middle of the room had a little raised platform, leading to three, angled mirrors. They were massive and felt a bit too revealing as Hawks hummed to himself nearby.

The only thing separating you from the rest of the store was a heavy, velvet draping. 

Hawks plopped onto the cushion next to you, letting out a deep sigh and leaning back. You watched him, gaze flickering from the garments on the rack and the exposed patch of his chest visible from the unpopped buttons of his shirt. 

His feathers brushed up against your arm and you shuddered.

“Now, sweet thing,” He clicked his tongue, jerking his gaze to the hangers. “I picked out some pretty sweet pieces for you. Why don’t you try them on and let me know what you think, hm?”

You nodded, though your stomach felt like there was suddenly lead in it. From the looks of the lace and silks, those pieces weren't going to cover much of anything. You mentally sparred with yourself.

It’s not... that bad. It’s not like he’s going to see anything more than he would if you were wearing a swimsuit. 

Besides, this a gift, right? You should at least show him what he’d paid for on an actual body. 

He had you so well-trained--

You stood, moving to the rack on shaking legs and examining the pieces.

They’re all... a bit whorish. None of those soft babydolls and teddies that folks wore in those softcore pornos that you definitely never watched. The pieces Hawks picked for you aren’t the least bit modest. They’re all lace, mesh, and ribbons. Stockings and garters that looked like they might be a tich too snug. You grab the least garish-looking piece. 

And Hawks was still in the room, body lax and slumped against the cushions.

His eyes lazily opened, a bushy brow-raising, “You good, dove?” 

“... Aren’t you gonna step out?” 

He chuckled and you knew you were fucked. Just not literally, not yet. 

“Why the hell would I do that?” Hawks laughed and righted himself. His vibrant gold eyes bore into yours, though they looked more black than topaz by that point. 

You swallowed. 

“I would prefer if you d-did.”

“And if I don’t?” His voice oozed something that made your knees weak. “What then? I know you don’t like disappointing me.”

You didn’t, but this was a bit far. ‘A bit’. 

“... s-sir, please,” You begged, albeit quietly. 

This was crossing lines. As much as Hawks gave you special treatment at the agency, literally and figuratively taking you under his wing and tending to your needs as he saw them and has he saw fit, stripping and playing dress-up in expensive lingerie definitely was too far.

As much as part of you adored the attention, you tried to keep that quiet. Stuffed down and hidden. Hawks was your boss, and you had to keep yourself occupied with his busy schedule and mountains of paperwork, lest you allow yourself to dissolve into thinking his attentions were anything other than favoritism. 

Oh my god, you really were that dense

“’Please’?” Hawks cocked his head to the side, the corners of his lips curling. “‘Please’ what, dovey? Tell me.”

You let out a shaking breath, “Hawks, this is remarkably inappropriate--” 

“Maybe,” He cuts you off swiftly, a flap of his wings pushing him to his feet and directly in front of you. “You just need some help? That’s it?”

Your mouth went dry. He wasn’t wrong, not really. 

“That’s all, huh?” Hawks ran a hand through his hair, his wings curling around the room, too-wide and fluffed for the small space. “Should’ve just said something. I imagine you don’t do this kind of thing often.”

“N-no, I don’t.”

Does anyone? 

“That’s alright, I know you try your best and just need that extra push, hm?” Hawks sighed, deep in his chest. 

With the scarlet swallowing your peripheral vision, you feel like you’re suffocating. Maybe in a good way. You nodded, pliant.

He always knows you. What you want, what you crave, what you need. 

Nimble fingers untucked your blouse from your waist, and you yipped at the chill of his fingers. He was undeterred, loosening the garment and immediately going for the buttons.

One by one, they came undone and you wrap your arms tighter around your middle. Hawks ogled, openly and without a care. It made something in you writhe, but you still wanted more of it. His attention, overt affections that supposedly mean nothing-- you want it.

He slid the blouse from your shoulder, letting it fall to the ground. You watched as his feather shuddered, rippling as he let out a few harsh breaths. You knew how you must look, hot and flushed to the touch. Bare on your upper half, sans a cheap bra that had seen better. 

“Are you sure--” You weren’t sure what you were going to ask, but Hawks didn’t let you say it besides.

“Yes, of course, obviously,’” He licked his goddamn lips. A taloned-finger caught the pilling strap of your bra, snapping it against your shoulder. “Besides, look at this! Can’t have you representing the agency, me, and my brand wearing shit like this.”

Something burned in your gut, some mix of shame and arousal that was threatening to spill from the wet corners of your eyes. 

Hawks dropped to his knees, so fast you hardly could register it. His hands hooked in your skirt by the first two knuckles and tugged and he went down. The sound of splitting fabric cracked in the air, and your skirt fell to the floor in tatters.

And Hawks, the fucker, hovered just inches away from your covered cunt. The cheap cotton of your panties did nothing to shield you from the hot breath that he fanned over you.

“H-Hawks!” You cried out, attempting to push at his shoulders with sweaty palms. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Just taking a closer look,” He gave you no time to protest as those quick fingers of his pulled the elastic of your panties, tugging them down your thighs. He had the decency to tap your ankles, one at a time, so you could step out of the garment. “You don’t mind, do you?”

You let him. 

Perhaps you should’ve protested a bit more. Maybe. But it wasn’t like this wasn’t your wildest fantasy. Your sweet, too-kind boss, spoiling you. You weren’t sure if you’d thought about Hawks that way at first, but he had gotten to you at some point. The impromptu lunches, the late nights together, the walks and flights home. There was even that one he’d managed to wrestle a guy getting too handsy at a club with (how had he known you’d even been there?)

Hawks unclipped your bra, throwing the thing to the side with a  look akin to disgust. He snatched the hanger and garment from your hand and nodded toward the platform.

“Stand over there like a good girl for me, okay? Don’t take your eyes off yourself.”

You couldn’t disobey him, could you?

You’d seen what he did to people who crossed him, when it really mattered. He didn’t put his heart or energy into something unless he really, actually cared. And the handful of times you’d seen that go to shit had left memories of sharpened feathers and terror-filled eyes in their wake.

But you were good for him. His assistant who always made sure his meetings lined up with his patrols, and that everything was brief unless entirely necessary otherwise. You were the one who made sure he had caffeine nearby and a full belly, even on his most busy of days. 

He’d never do anything other than be kind, right?

You didn’t want to find out otherwise. 

He approached you from behind, the silk of the garment tucked over his arm. His eyes looked predatory, gleaming and inky. 

He only stopped when his chest is flush to your back, hands finding their home just above your hips with a squeeze. You shuddered at the feeling, new and raw and you couldn’t tell if you hated or loved it. 

“I want to see how this looks on you, god,” Hawks groaned, nails biting into your skin. “Hold still for me, dove.”

You did.

You didn’t dare move an inch as Hawks took his sweet time dressing you up. The garment is silken straps, the lace wrapping around the curves of your hips and chest, securely with expert bows that he pats into place after each one.

It was impossible to ignore the bulge pressing into your ass. Even as he pulled the pair of panties between your cheeks, stroking the lace and the fat with a wide palm, you were far more focused on the heat and hardness slowly grinding at the other cheek.

He tied you up expertly, and you watched in the mirrors, seeing each angle of it. The way his hands squeezed and pulled at your flesh along the way. The hungry glint in his eyes as he traced your figure. The way his wings seemed to shake and flutter in tandem with your short, quick breaths.

You were truly at his mercy. 

“Look at that,” He whistled low, grabbing your jaw and pulling your gaze just where he’d like. “Tied up like a pretty present I told you this would be good, didn’t I?”

“Y-You did.”

Hawks sighed, draping himself over your shoulders and nuzzling into your neck. You could feel the part of his plush lips, the way they drag over your skin. You swore you a nip or two.

His gaze met yours in the mirror. One of his hands trailed low, very low, sliding over top of the lace panties and cupping your sex. His index fingers lazily traced your lips through the fabric, idle. His other went to grope your chest, more insistent as he palmed at you, pinching a nipple as you began to sputter. 

A warbled moan cracked from your lips as Hawks fingers dipped below the seams of the pretty garment, rubbing at just the rights parts of you, tugging your body flush to his. 

“W-Wait, Hawks!” You wrapped a hand around on his wrist, begging your breath to stay somewhat even. “What if someone hears? Or one of the employees comes back? What if--”

“Do you think I care?” Hawks groaned, grunting as he ground into your ass. The unmistakable sound of fabric tearing cut through the room (again) and the fabric of his pants hit the ground. And suddenly you could feel how hard and hot he was. 

Something twisted in your gut and your legs rubbed together. Hawks caught your gaze, scarlet enveloping the room from the sides of your vision and the mirror in front of you.

Hawks shifted your face toward his, nosing along your cheek. The grip on your jaw was replaced by one on your throat; he was hardly exerting any pressure but the threat and meaning were clear.

Keigo has you right where he wants you. He always has, always will. You’re just a bit too... naive? No, maybe dumb... That’s a bit mean, isn’t it?”

“You need this just as I do,” He spoke low and rolling, touch burning like embers. “You know you do. I know you do. You trust me, don’t know?”

All you could do was nod before Keigo slotted his lips to yours, staking a claim that was only new to you. He nipped at your bottom lip, tugged until you were wincing into his mouth. He caught every sound, every little gesture of yours was his, just like you were. Keigo kicked himself for waiting for this so long, but he could be ginger, under the right circumstances. Ones that benefited him. He could only hope you were as good of a fuck as you were fun to toy with. 

You’d be sin yet, Keigo resolved as he pulled away. He just had to coax you there first, and he wasn’t against more... direct methods.

Maybe you’d finally get it then.

#salem answers #tw dubcon #hawks x reader #hawks #takami keigo x reader #takami keigo #my hero academia #PLEASE mind the tags askdljfks #i've never posted anything like this on this blog so #enjoy💕 #honeykeigo

[fukurodaze]

tryhard

pairing: suna rintarou x fem!reader genre: flangst wc: 3.2k warnings: cursing!!, uncomfy vibes, it’s the ‘good friend but shitty boyfriend’ type beat synopsis: inarizaki high’s second year trip to kyoto is infamous for its many rendezvous. you just happen to want to follow the trend.

special thanks to kei @keistays​ for beta reading! ily <3

LISTEN TO: gimme love - joji; cool girl - dodie; bags - clairo

“hey.” your hands are shoved in your coat pockets, your boots hitting against the asphalt as a small puff of smoke escapes your mouth. you meet him at the back entrance of the inn. 

he looks up from his phone. “oh, hey. let’s go.”

his shoulders are lax, but his feet tell you otherwise. he scurries along the street, then stops to wait for your slower footsteps. the stoplight is green, but he doesn’t mind waiting for you.

you don’t say anything as he looks at you with tired eyes, a light red across his cheeks. you wish it wasn’t so cold - maybe then you’d know if it was you who had that effect on him.

the light is red now, and you feel your heart pound in your chest as you stand beside him, eyes flickering every now and then to check his blank face. 

“where are we going again?” you inhale a bit of the cold air, nuzzling your face into the thick scarf around your neck. 

“kamo river.” 

“can we walk along gion too?”

suna shrugs. he tells you, “sure. whatever you want.”

the cars are less at night. only the bright green-yellow-red of traffic lights and the faraway warm glow of street lamps stay behind. kyoto’s beautiful, you think. you wish you could hang around for hours here with suna without a care for anyone else.

as soon as you two cross the first road, he lets out a sigh of relief. you then see him chuckle, almost silently. the sight of it makes you smile.

“are you hungry?” he asks.

“we can get snacks, maybe.” you’re caught off-guard at his sudden change of demeanour. or maybe you just don’t know him enough yet.

you’ve had so many questions about this boy for so long, and now that you’re here in kyoto with him - when you’re not allowed to be out, nonetheless - you’re not sure where you stand with him. 

you were introduced to suna rintarou as osamu’s friend and the notorious middle blocker of the school volleyball team. you’re friends with the girls on the cheer squad - the same ones who would always teeter between the lines of friendship and romance with some of the boys on the school's sports teams. you only know the middle blocker by association. your interactions were limited to random glances as you brought your math paper down the room and the rare hello’s when you’d pass by his desk in the morning. 

there was also the one time when the volleyball club planned a birthday surprise for suna and just had to assign you the role of the “distraction” because you weren’t in any “important clubs.” firstly, ouch, and second, why you?

yet it seemed like suna didn’t have a problem as you awkwardly approached him on the morning of his seventeenth birthday, seeing as osamu had weirdly been absent on his best friend’s birthday. 

suna talked to you like a friend, and though he seemed uninterested in you at first, you made sure to spare him the purple chuupets from the canteen, telling him that you’d rather have the white ones instead.

you didn’t really think it was a coincidence when he left you three white chuupets on your desk on valentines day. so when you texted him about it, he gladly told you they were from him. since then, there always seemed to be an elephant that entered the room whenever you were with him.

it didn’t bother you at first, but as text conversations run late and a fluttering feeling in your chest arose, there’s a question that repeats itself in your head.

you heard it the most when he texted you tonight, telling you he couldn’t sleep, and judging from the way you had stayed up until the crack of dawn texting him on multiple occasions, it only felt right for him to ask you. you told him to meet you outside, discreetly, at half past midnight, when the teachers had stopped patrolling.

suna rintarou only texts you when nobody else is awake. suna rintarou only smiles at you after the first crosswalk, when you’re further away from the inn. 

but suna rintarou also follows your every word with a question. suna rintarou also gave you, only you, something for valentine’s.

the question still stands: what are we?

the convenience store is no different to any of the ones back in hyogo. bright saturated colours and white fluorescent lights make you squirm in your almost sleepy daze. but your heart beats so fast and your skin is so cold that you’ve convinced yourself that sleep is not an option. 

suna’s arm brushes yours as you two walk through the aisles, and he reaches for the warm drinks.

“we’re going to be walking some distance to the gion. better not have you fall asleep.”

you pick out a pack of chips from the shelf, and you raise your eyebrows at him, silently asking him if he wanted any. he nods, and you take four.

suna offers to carry the shopping bags as you two begin your little adventure through the city, wary of the closed shops and dark alleyways but enamoured by the old town nonetheless. you’re not surprised to be the one leading the conversation, seeing as he had always been the one to listen. but you notice how he hums with every interjection, how he laughs with every sarcastic remark, and how he makes sure to look at you whenever you tell him something about yourself that he didn’t know before. 

when he speaks, there’s always a quiet attentiveness to him, suddenly so interested in the most useless topics and rambles you would otherwise think he’d dismiss. you notice how he tries to prolong any and all dialogue, like silence was to be untouched. you like it.

“hey, y/n,” the two of you stop and what seems to be the umpteenth red light, the area lined with closed shops and a late market just around the corner. 

he turns to you, and you look at him “yeah?”

he hands you a can of coffee. you take it, confused, and he tells you, “it’s warm. could you just hold it for now?”

a shy smile creeps onto your face, and you nod slowly. he’s sweet, isn’t he?

you watch as puffs of cold air run out of his mouth, his voice low and mellow. when you think about it, you don’t really know him. you don’t know what he likes, you don’t know how he feels, you don’t know what makes him laugh or cry.

but you want to know. you want to know everything about him.

yet, there’s doubt tugging at your heartstrings that tells you he won’t let you. (you ignore it.)

"how was your trip?” suna asks.

‘you are my trip,’ you want to tell him, having secretly anticipated his asking you out. inarizaki’s second-year class trip to kyoto was infamous for its midnight rendezvous, where people would confess and go on dates in the freedom of an ancient city before the pressure of exams in the third year would temporarily keep everyone’s love lives on hold - at least that’s what you’ve heard. though you had told yourself they were only rumours, you can’t help but grin to yourself at the idea of a late night adventure with suna. 

now, as you look down at the little can of coffee in your hands, you find that they were never just rumours.

“my group went to so many shrines...” you say, “at some point it just became the same thing over and over again, and the souvenirs just had to get more and more expensive. it was pretty, though.”

suna exhales through his nose, “all my group did was eat.”

you chuckle, “that’s to be expected when you’re with miya osamu.”

“i got good pictures, though.”

“oh? can i see?” 

suna stops to shuffle his phone out of his coat pocket and hands it to you. he unlocks it in your hand, and you tell yourself to keep quiet at the brush of his large hands around yours. 

it’s between your shock and his photos that you’re given a glimpse of the rest of his phone before you’re scrolling through a gallery of photos. for a second, you’re close to complimenting him on their beauty - you take it back when you click on the first one you see.

“suna, these are all blurry.” you deadpan jokingly.

“wasn’t my fault we were running all the time.”

you giggle, “why were you running?”

“for some reason class two and class one have overlapping routes, so the twins met.”

you nod in acknowledgement, “they don’t ever stop, do they.”

you click away from the pictures app and instead go onto the camera. he’s off talking about something funny that happened today, and as you laugh along with him, you snap a few (many) low quality pictures of you both from below, and then a video, just barely tilting the phone so that the underside of his head is visible in frame. you hope he’ll see them later - maybe even keep them in his gallery, you know, for keepsake. 

you hand his phone back to him, “here.”

he sees your little grin and questions it, but he pockets his phone and continues speaking.

you start to wonder if you’re dreaming when he holds your hand.

the air is colder when you two are seated along the kamo river.

“do you think we’ll get caught sneaking out?” suna says. you reckon it’s the first time you’ve seen him talk so much and so enthusiastically all at once. 

you shrug, snickering, “i think we already have. they just don’t care because everyone goes out anyways.”

“nights of romantic rendezvous, they say.” he turns his head to you, a ghost of a smirk evident on his lips.

though you give a playful push to his shoulder, you scoot even closer.

“doesn’t that make us one of them?” you cringe at the question. you find your body turning to him, and it seems like he’s doing the same.

are we going too fast?

you don’t miss his mouth parting and his eyes staring at your lips. you can hear him breathe - he’s so close. 

you hesitate a little; a lot. you succumb to small looks over his shoulder and quick glances back at the water until your mind starts to wander off into uncertainties and questions you don’t even know how to answer - because you can’t. you ponder why you’ve never really heard him laugh before tonight; if he’s keeping close to you because he wants your warmth or just simply hates the cold; why you find yourself second-guessing the moment you’ve wanted to happen since valentine’s day.

although your head is loud, your surroundings are quiet. then it becomes a matter of head and heart.

so you listen to your heart. 

you want to kiss him, and that is what you know. the hunches and hesitations in your head aren’t concrete - at least not yet.

slowly, little by little, you let his lips collide with yours, closing the space in between. it’s cold and dry, yet the feeling is enough to enshroud you in a blanket of warmth. it’s short, as you expected, like a prolonged peck. you still feel a tingling sensation on your lips afterwards.

it’s then, for a fleeting moment, that you start to think that maybe you could find comfort in this fluttering feeling.

“have you seen anyone else going out?” suna asks like nothing happened.

you shake your head, “mina-chan snuck out with ayane-chan, and i think sakuragi-san with hirai-san... but that’s all i know.”

suna’s eyes widen at the mention of your friend, ayane. not that he cares about her, of course. he clears his throat.

“ayane? dating mina?”

“all the girls think they’re dating, but i guess it seems like a friendship for others.”

you inhale the cold air, and you feel yourself starting to regret the mention of her name. “i know ayane’s been out for a while. i’m glad that everyone’s been so accepting, too. she seems so lively all the time.”

suna’s eyes bottom into a sullen gaze, “yeah, ayane. i’m happy for her too.”

you snicker, “could’ve said that with more enthusiasm, no?”

suna shrugs, “we’re- yeah.”

perhaps he does care about her.

but suna stops himself as his eyes meet yours, “anyways, i bet sakuragi and hirai just wanna find a love hotel.”

you reply with a laugh.

“and i think akagi’s getting close to someone lately.”

you take a sip of your coffee, “really?”

“yeah,” suna zips up his coat tightly, “shit, it’s cold...”

you agree with him. 

despite suna’s conscious efforts, conversation dies out when it’s meant to die. whether it be the tens of questions swimming in your head, the hundreds of i-told-you-sos that play in your mind, or the biting wind, you know neither of you can’t stall anymore. 

it’s so pathetic, you think. you just kissed this boy and now you don’t know if it’s the coffee or his lips because the truth leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.

“suna, what are we?”

he doesn’t answer. he doesn’t even do so much as to react to your words, like if he prayed your words away, you never said them. his eyes bear holes into the ground, skimming through a mental encyclopaedia of answers he could form without hurting your feelings.

it’s then that the distance between you and him feels as wide as the river. it’s two in the morning, and you find yourself hugging your own legs instead of hugging him.

it feels like betrayal, almost.

not that he betrayed you; more like you betrayed yourself. in truth, you were tired of chuupets, always fighting your sleepiness when he texted you late at night, willing to put up with his shit talk behind everyone else’s backs. 

yet you still worried that your legs wouldn’t look just right to him in the jeans you wore tonight.

you take a bag of chips from the shopping bag with snacks you two had splurged on earlier. it makes a quick pop as you open it, and suna hears a crunching sound beside him, away from his peripheral vision.

he’s frozen when you reach the bag out to him, offering him a chip. you’re relaxed, he thinks, even after asking that. it’s okay, he tells himself.

suna still shakes his head in decline and takes another sip from his convenience store coffee. he braces himself, because it’s only now that he’s realised the mess he’s put himself into.

“we’re-” he pauses.

you take another chip in your mouth, savouring its saltiness as you inwardly flinch at his hesitation. 

suna takes a deep breath, “i mean, not everyone who goes out is-”

you see it now; you should’ve listened to your head.

“it’s ayane, isn’t it?” you brush it off. all of it.

he’s unmoving, not daring to even blink. but he opens his mouth to speak.

“i wanted it to be you.”

you want to laugh at him. at least he didn’t deny any of it.

“but it’s not, right?” you shake your head, bitter chuckles falling from your mouth, “and you have no choice because she likes girls, huh.”

“i’m sorry. i fucked up.”

you know you can’t cry, but you sure as hell would like to. maybe then he’d really feel bad about it, after knowing so well even back when he’d given you sweets on valentine’s that you were just a compromise. 

“yeah, you did,” you pick at the grass around your soles, “what was even more fucked up is that i still thought i had a chance.”

“i still care about you.”

you exhale, hating the words that fall from his mouth. “of course you do! i’m your friend, osamu’s friend, ayane’s friend.”

you hate that you can’t hate him. you hate that you can’t hate how you genuinely get along with him, how his laughter and words hold no lies, how he’s honest with you. but that doesn’t change the way you hate how he’s led you on - and how you let him.

“is that why you were so smiley and eager tonight? because you were trying so hard to ‘win me over’ so you could forget about her?”

suna sighs. he needs to say something, he tells himself, because it’s only starting to sink in that he might even lose you as a friend. he kissed you, damn it, and held your hand, and asked you out on what everyone calls a date.

what a ‘friend’, huh?

“i’m so sorry.”

you wish he could at least say more. you feel a slash of anger, and though it stops quickly, you make a jab at him.

“you’re too lazy with your words. too lazy with your feelings.”

silence.

“i wanted to be wrong, but,” you shrug, “turns out you have a few things to work out yourself.”

his shoulders fall even lower, “i’ll stay out of your sight. i’m sorry.”

you laugh again, bitterly. your feet bring themselves to stand, and you decide to take the shopping bag and hug it. you think it’d look funny from afar, but you know it’s only to fill the hollow feeling in your chest and the burning embarrassment on your cheeks.

you look back at him, and his eyes are full of worry. they’re so wide that you almost feel flattered at his display of regret. you know he regrets it. you know osamu’s going to beat him up for it. you know the cheerleaders will talk about it. but you’ve forced all your focus on the bags of chips you’re holding and the feeling of a soft mattress back at the inn. the plan to gion is long forgotten.

suna stands up immediately, shoving his hands into his coat pockets, just trailing behind as you make no effort to slow down. you only speed up, briskly walking through the streets you remember from tonight.

you even cross the road on different green lights. 

you don’t wait for him. not anymore. 

the inn is a fresh breath of heated air, the reception dark and the stairs creaky. you tiptoe every inch of the way, not once looking back. 

eventually, when you reach your room, you slide the door open, seeing nothing but your friend’s nightlight. you take care to place the bag of snacks in a corner of the room, hidden yet still available for any of your roommates to see. you’re quick to shed your coat and change into the gym clothes everyone’s been wearing since dinner, sliding into your futon and forcing your eyes closed like you hadn’t just drank an entire can of coffee. 

you don’t cry, you don’t sob, you simply lay there. now you want to laugh at yourself, for knowing that something definitely was wrong, but having too big of a hopeful pride to even consider it.

your hands crinkle the thick futon and bring it up to your neck as you curl yourself up. warm. not electric nor addictive, just comfortable. 

you wanted electric.

you wanted to take back all your words and ignore everything because he kissed you and held your hand and waited for you at the crosswalk, only for you to be some replacement for someone he can’t be with. it makes you wonder if he thought of her when he kissed you. 

you hear the creaking of the wood boards and two voices. you know that it’s other people returning from their own little kyoto dates. their voices are high and squeaky and one of them had whispered something that you could hear three rooms away. 

it stings even more. too bad.

“fucking embarrassing,” you mutter under your breath, turning in your futon, “so fucking embarrassing.”

you’ll tell osamu that you’ll be hanging out with the kids in class 3 for a while. you’ll ask your friends to save a seat for you on the train tomorrow. you’ll make sure to give away the snacks to everyone later. it’ll be a hassle, but you’ll do what you have to do.

at least you can let yourself sleep now.

#suna x reader #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #suna rintarou #hq angst #hq fluff #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu angst #suna scenarios #suna angst #suna rintaro imagines #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu!! x reader #suna rintarou x reader #inarizaki x reader #suna imagines #suna fluff

[treasureswordsgirl55]

Nice to Meet You, Again

Character: Shang Chi

Pairing: Shang Chi / Best friend!FemReader

Warnings: Shang Chi and Legend of the Ten Rings Spoilers! (Don't read this if you didn't watch the movie!!!) Confessions. Jokes. Airport things. Fluff.

Inspired by: Willow - Taylor Swift

Author's Note: Hello! Hello!

I know that I've been disappear for a few days, but I'm with some exams from the University and I'll doing my best to approve them. (It's a torture. Three exams in a week is a torture 🤦🏻‍♀️)

In the end, in the middle of all of this, I saw Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and I just can say one this: This movie was amazing! Definitely is one of my favorite movies of all the MCU.

If you haven't watch it yet, do it!! It's amazing!!

And this is my first fic with Shang Chi. So please,don't be rude with me!! I'd tried to do my best with it but I'll do my best next time 'cause I have some ideas with him *karaoke, maybe*!!

So, I hope this fic likes you and thanks you for all the replies, always are appreciated 💖 XOXO 😘

-----.-----.-----.-----.-----

"The more that you say, the less I know, wherever you stray, I follow. I’m begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans, that’s my man..."

- You know, I did not tell you, but my mother is coming for me - Katy's strong voice makes the other passengers turn towards her with a frown at her scream, while Shang Chi frowns without turning to his best friend, while delicately taking out his small handbag with his clothes and among them, his father's rings, which surprisingly did not sound on the metal detectors at the airport. He had been through so much in the last two weeks that it was impossible for him to emerge unscathed from all of this and continue to be amazed by those artifacts of mass destruction.

- She'll pick up both.

They walk slowly behind the people towards the exit of the plane and in the hallway, Shang Chi turns towards the plane as she feels that part of him was left in Ta Lo.

- No, actually, there is a different transfer for you. I hope you don't mind that I took such a bold move.

- Why's that? - The murmurs at the exits of the greetings, hugs between people who did not seem to see each other for a long time and laughter make both of them smile. They both felt much more relaxed now that they knew they had a path in their life.

Or that perhaps they had found the right way to go.

And much happier to know that the warm San Francisco received them with a beautiful day.

- You'll understand me when you see it. And you will thank me.

- If you say so - Katy's cell phone begins to ring while Shang Chi begins to notice the murmurs of the people around him as well as some of them point out, surely recognizing it from the bus video. He just gives them a smile as he watches Katy keys something into her device and turns to him to slap him on the shoulder. - You're acting strange. Are you okay?

- After everything we went through there? Wonderful.

Katy stands on tiptoe and when she sees over Shang Chi's shoulder who she was looking for, she tells her friend to turn around.

- You'll thank me later, handsome.

----. -----. ------. ------. ----- .-----

I walk quickly through the crowd of people leaving the main entrance of the airport even more nervous than when I received that strange message.

"LAX Airport. Saturday. 6:30 PM. Shaun"

And my heart almost stopped with relief for a few moments.

Two weeks ago, I had gone to meet Shaun at his apartment for our outing, and I mentally prepared myself not to think of it as a date, but just seeing myself in the mirror dressed in clothes other than my blue and red outfit. My best friend's coffee shop already made me feel like I was going to one.

The day I met him I thanked heaven that Colbie decided to open her coffee shop in front of the hotel where Shaun worked. And I must admit that staring at him the way I did shouldn't be legal, but there was something about him that I found adorable. And I confirmed it when I got to the coffee shop for some coffees and began to chat with me between jokes, complaints about work and the odd anecdote of his time in karaoke with Katy.

Needless to say, that, that day, there was no 'date'. When I got to his apartment, I met a lady, who I assumed was his neighbor, telling me that he had left "like a soul carried by the wind" with a bag in the company of a somewhat hyperactive young woman. I assumed it would be Katy.

I did the only thing I promised myself not to do when she came to have a coffee and left her phone number along with the tip and my name on it. I sent him a message. And after a couple of days of not getting answers or signs of life from Shaun, much less Katy, I started to worry.

The only accurate answer I got was from Katy's brother, who had just dropped that her mother was really furious that Katy had come to her house and that she had just left with Shaun for China.

China?

I didn't know any more about it until now, when I got the strange message about Shaun.

And here I am, looking for someone I don't even know if he wants to see me. I look for a moment on the screen for flights from China and I notice that there are 5, but only three of them have an arrival time of 18:30. One of them with a delay of 40 minutes.

- Door 6, Door 9 ... Door 1. What will it be? - I mumble while doing a kind of mental ta te ti and I decide on door 6, hoping not to have to return to international arrivals without any response.

I slap the cell phone in my hands as I think of the video that circulates on the internet about Shaun fighting with a guy with a knife in the place of one hand, as if he were some kind of Mortal Kombat avatar and a little chill runs through my body at the remember Katy mentioned that he could barely defend himself.

What are you hiding, Shaun?

A couple of people quickly dodge me, I hardly notice that the speakers around us turn on with a small annoying noise to inform that the flight from China to land at gate 6 is 2 hours late.

My phone starts ringing and I realize it is a message.

"Are you here?"

- Of course.

"Well ... It's door 9. Shaun needs you, please let him speak. By the way, I forgot, I'm Katy."

My heart thumps against my chest and I run to door nine, and just when I get there, I see a huge number of people come out of there, and still, I can't distinguish it from the crowd.

I look for him quickly and when I see him, smiling at a group of young people as if he had been on vacation for only a few weeks, I feel relief run through my body, causing me to laugh and a tear to fall down my cheek.

It's okay. Stay calm. He's fine.

I watch him turn around as Katy starts to walk to the other side of where he is and winks at me as he crosses himself up to the sky. I would thank you later for this.

Shaun sees me and smiles while he dodges people quickly, he approaches me and as soon as he arrives, he stands a few meters from me. Doubting whether to approach.

I make the decision for him and closed the distance as I wrap my arms around his neck and press my body against his, standing on tiptoe to try to hug him and bring him as close as possible. It takes a second but I feel his arms press against my waist as he lifts me up very easily, like a teddy bear.

- Are you here. Are you okay? I thought something bad had happened to you ...

I feel his grip tighten even more and I hear his breath caress my neck when he sighs. He missed hugs from him.

"This is the best welcome he could have received." He tries to get away from me, but I don't let him. He gently leaves me on the ground and forcibly separates himself a little, taking my hands in his-I'm sorry for not telling you that I was leaving, but everything happened so quickly and I needed to get to my sister before me. dad.

Insecurity is present in his voice and I see that his eyes are opaque, as if the characteristic glow they used to have has disappeared forever. I hope is not like that. Did he say sister? Questions start to invade my head and I focus on saving them so I can ask him about it later.

- I sent you a message.

-I lost my cell phone-he smiles as if he's hiding some kind of private joke and I see his cheeks start to blush-It's been a lot.

- Do you want to talk about it? - I ask while people see us annoyed for not moving from the center of the exit road.

- I need to tell you so many things ...

I entwine my fingers between his and he stares for a second at our joined hands.

- What do you think if we could start by taking a walk and tell me about it, will you, Shaun?

I smile at him as I see people watching us and I know it's from the video. I don't want to tell you about it, but I also don't want to pressure you into talking about it.

- There is something I must tell you.

-I Listen- He hesitates a second and I can see the gears moving inside his head. - Shaun ...

- My name is not Shaun. It's a kind of nickname-I frown at his words and nod, being aware of how many people usually have nicknames, so I don't give it much importance, but no-Never call me Shaun, it was a lie. It was a name to hide from my family.

Something in his words makes me tense, as fear begins to creep into the back of my mind, but I only tighten my grip on his hands, remembering Katy's words.

I must let him speak first.

- Shang Chi - I curse for a second whoever came up with creating the accents.

- Sorry? - I know I could repeat that out loud but I would not feel comfortable insulting several generations of China with my poor attempt at pronunciation.

- Xu Shang Chi is my birth name - The corner of his lips move in an attempt to smile at my question, but he just touches my nose, making my frown disappear - You're adorable.

I blush at his words and feel him caress my cheek with the tips of his fingers, as if he were making some kind of drawing on it.

- Have you seen the video?

- Yes, you are well known on the internet - I look for his gaze and when our eyes meet, I feel that even though what he was going to tell me is the strangest thing in the universe, I trust him - What happened to you has to do with that situation on the video?

- Yes.

- Well, I've already seen a Nordic God save New York a few years ago, so nothing should scare me at this point.

His laughter invades us and is so contagious that it makes a smile settle on my face. I enjoy with it for a few seconds and when he looks at me again, he blushes again.

Why does he have to be so adorable?

- I'm kind of a superhero, too.

- I know. Or I guess, actually.

- And why are you still here?

He laughs as I let go of his grip and hug him again, feeling him relax against my body and I feel his heartbeat get more erratic, as much or more as mine.

- If I did not leave scared of you in a year, I do not think I will now.

Rest his chin against my head as I feel his body vibrate with laughter.

- We'll see ... I hope you don't.

He pulls away as I pull him toward the exit. I hear him tell me about his hometown and his parents, especially the stories surrounding Ta Lo village, where his mother was one of the village guardians. And it all feels so magical that I dare not interrupt it.

And I know I would like to find out.

I pull up close to where my car is and I feel like the man walking next to me is the same man I met a year ago but still, there is something different about him.

- If you're going to talk about everything with me, let's do this right - I extend my hand between us, catching him off guard, but he quickly recovers as he gives me a mischievous smile that goes wonderfully with the beautiful sunset around us - I'm Faith.

- Shang Chi. Nice to meet you, Faith - Take my hand before pulling me up and pressing me against his chest- I thought I would have a welcome kiss.

God, don't do this with me.

- Sorry, I don't usually kiss strangers - I hear him curse in Chinese for playing the game, while he lets me go and I give him a push at the same time that I indicate the car with my head - You must teach me to pronounce it. I don't want to offend your ancestors.

He shrugs but I get a mocking smile in return.

- You have done well ... But we can do something to improve it. How about a kiss?

- In your dreams, Shang Chi. In your dreams.

#marvel cinematic universe #fanfic writer #marvel #marvel fanfiction #avengers fanfiction #shang chi #shang chi x reader #shang chi x you #shang chi x y/n #shang chi and the legend of the ten rings #shang chi fanfiction #shang chi imagine #i write for myself but you can read it too

[slippinmickeys]

The Annapolis Grant, part 3/?

Despite being in first class and further away from the engine noise at the wings, the throttle up when the engines went to full on the runway never failed to wig her out. She gripped the armrests and closed her eyes, willing her pulse to go down. She repeated safety statistics silently in an attempt to remind herself that flying was still the safest way to travel, but it did little to assuage what she fully admitted was an irrational fear.

“Are you a nervous flyer?” Mulder’s voice rumbled at her shoulder. She opened her eyes to look at him, and he was leaning toward her, a look of concern in his eyes. She wanted to ease her grip on the armrests and give him a reassuring smile, but found she couldn’t. She nodded at him, pulling her lips into her mouth on a breath.

“Would it help to hold my hand?” he asked, rather sweetly holding out the palm of his hand toward her. She was about to refuse when the plane tilted sharply left. They’d opted to fly out of National rather than Dulles, which meant the aircraft had to bank more steeply at takeoff to avoid the no-fly airspace of the Capitol. Before it had even leveled out, Scully found she was gripping Mulder’s hand tightly, which he squeezed and pulled to rest gently on his knee.

His hand was warm, dry and soft, and he twisted it to interlace their fingers, his own long and elegant. Piano-playing fingers, her mother would call them.

“I’m not sure how much of a touchy-feely person you are,” he said after a couple of minutes, “but this is probably good.” He nodded toward their interlaced fingers. “How much public affection are you comfortable with?”

“Honestly?” Scully said, “Not much. But… I think I need to get over that for the purposes of this week. If we’re going to pull this off, we need to be convincing.” Mulder nodded and squeezed her fingers. “I’m not saying we need to lay it on thick,” she went on, “but, you should feel free to put your arm around me or hold my hand, or…” her voice trailed off as her thoughts spun.

“I’ll follow your lead,” he said, then lifted her hand and placed a soft kiss on it.

She felt her stomach dip. What was going on with her?

“Why don’t you tell me about yourself,” he said, “and I’ll do the same.”

“Good idea,” she said, and leaned back in the plush comfort of the first class seat, telling him everything she could think of about herself, starting at the beginning of her life and going onward. He was attentive, occasionally asking questions, and several times made comments that made her outright laugh. “And that’s… me.” She finished, “I work long hours, I practically live in my lab-”

“-and you recently acquired a devoted and loving fiance,” he finished for her.

She chuckled. “Yes,” she said, “and that.”

She looked down at their laced fingers, realizing that somewhere along the way, she’d forgotten to be scared of flying.

“So what about you?” she asked him. “What should I know about you for this week? What will we tell McKay?”

“I’m going to pivot a bit here,” he said, “go with it?”

“Okay...” she was curious.

“Do you have a ring?” he asked her. “An engagement ring?”

“You know, I’d thought about that,” she said. She remembered the first thing McKay had done when she’d mentioned a fiancé, was glance at her ring finger. “I told McKay that the engagement was new and that we were having the ring sized. I went to a couple pawn shops and an antique store this weekend, but I couldn’t find anything that would really work.”

“I may be able to help with that,” he said, letting go of her hand so that he could reach into his pocket, pulling out a small velvet pouch. He set it on the tray table in front of her.

She reached forward and pulled open the drawstring, shaking out its contents onto her palm. She gasped quietly. The ring was gold with an aged patina, a large diamond solitaire sat in the middle, flanked by two emerald cut sapphires.

“Mulder…” she said, looking up at him.

“It was my grandmother’s,” he said. “I find in these… situations, that sticking as closely to the truth as possible can help, well… sell the story. I’ll obviously need the ring back at the end of our arrangement, but little details might help this McKay to…”

“Believe the lie?” Scully offered.

“If you like,” Mulder said kindly.

Scully slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly.

“Good fit,” he said.

She smiled at him and met his eye. “So stick as closely to the truth as possible?”

“Whenever you can,” he said, tucking the empty pouch back into the inner pocket of his linen suit. “So. I’m going to tell you about myself -- things you should be comfortable sharing with McKay -- that way we won’t talk ourselves into any corners.”

“That sounds sensible,” she said, “one thing though.” He raised his eyebrows inquiringly. “What should we tell him you… do. For a living.”

He shrugged. “The truth.” It was her turn to raise eyebrows. “I’m pursuing my PhD,” he clarified. Her eyebrows went up even higher. “I was midway through my degree when my parents were killed in an accident. My sister was badly injured. She was in the hospital for months. I had to sell my parents house, move back… It cost a lot of money to get her where she is today. I do this job to finance my degree and to take care of her.”

Scully’s heart went out to him. Whatever she’d been expecting, it hadn’t been that.

“Is she okay, your sister?” she asked him.

“Samantha,” he said. “She has good days and bad. We’re getting through it.”

For the first time he seemed to clam up and his openness closed off a bit. She wouldn’t pry.

“What degree are you pursuing?” she asked him.

“Psychology,” he answered.

“Where?”

“Oxford, until the accident,” he said, “now Georgetown.”

Scully looked at him. He was absolutely full of surprises. She looked down at the ring on her finger. It was exactly the kind of thing she would have picked out for herself.

“I’m… I was not expecting…” she started to say before she was aware she’d even opened her mouth, she stopped herself before she insulted him, “this level of service,” she finished lamely.

Mulder stared at her baldly. “We’re a full-service boutique, Dr. Scully,” he said.

Scully felt her face flush.

The flight attendant came by then with hot towels, and Mulder turned from her to politely thank the attendant.

“Mind the prongs on the sapphires,” he said as Scully shook a little heat out of her own before using it, “they have a tendency to catch on sweaters and towels.” She looked over at him and he gave her a quiet smile.

Xx

They were the first off the plane, out of the jetway and snaking into the masses -- LAX was absolutely packed, filled with travelers either coming or going for the Independence Day holiday. As they passed a gate that was about to board, a man wearing a huge backpack turned around, not paying attention to the added bulk strapped to his shoulders and bumped roughly into Scully, who stumbled. Mulder smoothly grabbed her elbow, righting her. From that point on, he led her gently through the busy terminal, one hand resting on the small of her back and the other held out to keep people out of her space.

He collected their luggage as it came off of the carousel, taking her suitcase and his own garment bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He then nodded toward an area near the exit doors.

“Come on,” he said, taking her hand, “I think that’s our driver.” There was an impeccably liveried older gentleman standing with a sign reading “SCULLY.” When she looked up at him, his eyes were bright and focused on her.

It was odd. She'd dated men who'd been sweet and conscientious. She'd had boyfriends that made her feel safe and taken care of. She'd met men (and a few women) who made her feel wanted -- who looked at her with a hunger that made her skin feel tight around her bones. But she'd never experienced all of those things at once, all from the same person. An odd feeling that crept up her spine, but she shook it off, following the driver McKay had sent to their waiting limousine.

XxX

She had forgotten about the traffic in LA. Despite the fact that the airport was very near where McKay’s yacht was docked in Marina del Rey, it still took forty five minutes to get to the marina, enough time for Scully to have second thoughts. And third. And fourth. By the time the limo crawled to a stop in a narrow parking lot adjacent to the docks, Scully was as tense as a tightrope, ready to snap.

The driver opened the door nearest Mulder, who rose confidently onto the hot asphalt and held out a hand to help her out.

“This way, please,” the driver said, turning on his heel to lead them toward the docks. Scully turned back to the car to inquire about their luggage, but there were already two -- what Scully assumed to be dockhands or porters, pulling their baggage out of the trunk -- they were dressed alike, each in navy shorts with a walkie talkie clipped to their waist, and a crisp white polo shirt with the name “Dominus” embroidered on the front.

When the driver led them to the plank leading to the boat, she heard Mulder’s small intake of breath. She was bowled over, herself. She’d expected it to be big, but the Dominus was massive. She could see various crew members darting about on the various decks, and there, standing at the top of the teak and chrome boarding plank was Alexander McKay himself. She took a deep, steadying breath.

A man and woman dressed in the crew uniform met them at the bottom of the plank.

“Hello,” the man said, extending a hand. “I’m Greg, I’m the head steward for the Dominus. This is Krista,” he gestured to the woman, who smiled at them warmly, “she’ll be your personal steward. Anything at all you need, find one of us. We’ll be sure your baggage gets to your stateroom. Welcome aboard.” He gestured them toward the ship.

Mulder and Scully both gave them their thanks and then turned to… well, to walk the plank, thought Scully. Into the depths we go.

Just as she was about to take a step, Mulder put a hand on her shoulder and leaned down to place a kiss into her hairline. She looked up to see McKay watching, a smile she couldn’t read playing about his lips.

With Mulder close behind her, she stepped aboard.

#fanfic #msr #my fic #the x-files #au #prompts #don’t get used to daily updates #😅

[willow-tree-writes]

✾Bet {3}✾

JJ Maybank x Reader

Summary: The good girl finally realizes the catch as to why such a bad boy would go for her. But the bad boy has a catch in his own heart and he can’t shake it or figure out why.

Request: N/A

Author’s Note: Merry Christmas! I’m so sorry this took so long! But I wanted to get it out today for all of you! And thank you so much for 100 followers! I’m thinking about making a prompt list, so if you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them.

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: Cursing, Angst

Part 1 ♥ Part 2  ♥

!I don’t own this gif!

“Put me down!” You laugh as you struggle in the arms of JJ.

He simply shook his head and spun around in a circle, effectively spinning you in a circle.

You caught a blob of yellow amidst the spinning, desperately trying to recall who you saw wearing that color today. “Kie! A little help please?”

You couldn’t see it, but Kie smiled and crossed her arms. “Sorry, Y/N, but I’m with JJ for this one. Goblet of Fire is not the best one.”

You groaned, giving up trying to get out of JJ’s arms.

JJ decided after a couple more dates that you should start hanging out with his friends. Today you were supposed to all go out on the HMS Pogue and have a day on the water, but a storm got in the way of that. So, instead, you were having a movie marathon.

You weren’t the kind of person to get sick when dizzy, but you also weren’t the kind of person that got this dizzy.

“JJ, please.” You begged with another laugh.

He eventually gave in, but it wasn’t right away. He spun you around maybe two or three more times before dropping you down on the coach with a thump.

“Is the argument over?” John B and Pope peeked their heads from behind a door, pretending to hide and be all scared. They actually had gone over there to grab some blankets.

Kie laughs and looks between you, who is motionless facing down on the couch, and JJ, who is standing over you. “For now.”

The two boys came over and tossed a couple blankets down on the couch. One of which fell right over and covered you.

You felt the blanket be pulled off. “Come on, Y/N. You’re hoggin’ the couch.”

“I’m one with the couch.”

You could tell he didn’t want to laugh at that, but cracked a smile nonetheless. “If you say so, couch.”

Slow and steady, like a turtle, JJ started to sit himself down on your back. He was going slow to let time for you to get up before he put his full body weight on you.

You weren’t budging.

You weren’t budging until he sat fully down, crossed his arms, and leaned back.

You were budging.

“Okay, okay. Please get off me! JJ!” Your voice was muffled by the cushions, but you weren’t that hard to hear.

He listened the first time with this and got up basically immediately. “Still one with the couch?” He pulled you up by your arms and made sure you were sitting up straight.

“That’s for me to know and you to figure out.” You sit back and cross your arms.

“Alright, alright. That’s enough bickering.” Pope cut in, sitting down next to Kie. John B and JJ both sat on their side of you. “Are we gonna watch the next movie now?”

Everyone collectively nodded their heads. 

As the title screen played out, your head drifted down to JJ’s shoulder. His arm wrapped around you almost instinctively. 

It was a moment like this that got you wondering why he chose you.

----

“He’s not gonna ask for a second date.” You shook your head before taking a sip from your milkshake. 

Di and Kelly looked at each other and rolled their eyes. “And why is that?”

You set down your drink on the table and got ready to start listing things. “I barely talked. He did a lot of it.” You were using your fingers to count your reasons. “He is probably one of, if not, the hottest guys at school, and I’m a potato. I have the personality of one too. I-”

Kelly cut you off before you could finish the overflowing list. “First one, perfectly normal. You’re shy. Second, you can be hot when you want to be. And third, your personality is amazing. He will see that once he gets to know you more.”

You groaned and took another sip of your shake. “Aren’t you supposed to be shopping with Mom?”

“You’re just saying that cause you know I’m right.” Kelly laughed.

Rolling your eyes, you repeat, “He’s not gonna ask for a second date.” This time, you were a little more certain of it.

Di sat up, as if getting an idea suddenly.

That idea was immediately forgotten when your phone chimed, signally a text.

Before you could make any more to grab it, Di had it in her hand and was looking at it.

“Come on, give me my phone.” You sighed, reaching for the device.

She made no move to hand it back to you as a smile grew on her face. “I think he’s asking for a second date.”

She turned your phone to face you, and there it was: a text from JJ asking when you were free next.

You normally would lie about this, but there were two people to witness it. It being the smile that stretched across your cheeks that made them hurt.

----

JJ took his eyes off the movie for a second to glance down at you. What was meant to be a quick look turned into a patient stare.

You had curled your hair for the day, but the rain made it just a complete mess. You were wearing one of his shirts, since your cover up didn’t cover much up when you got soaked. Everyone’s clothes had dried by now, but he could tell you were closer than usual for warmth.

He realized he was looking for a bit too long and quickly looked back to the movie.

Why did his gaze always seem to linger on you? It was just a bet. Why did he feel like smiling every time he caught even a glimpse of your face? It was just a bet. 

Why did his heart feel weird and different when her hand brushed his?

She’s not just a bet anymore.

----

“You gotta tell her the truth.” John B hit JJ on the shoulder as the hammock had swung close enough.

JJ sighed and threw his head back. “I know, I know. Geez. Just give it like a week more. Douchey will make his move, and you guys won’t be JJ-less for a day at a time.”

Kie rolled her eyes at JJ’s laxness with the subject. “That’s not why you need to tell her.”

“Come on, Kie. Don’t give me this bullshit again.” JJ got up off the hammock and grabbed a beer. “I’m not gonna hurt her.”

She shakes her head. “You will if she starts liking you.” 

No one considered JJ might start liking her.

“I’ll make sure it doesn’t get to that point.” JJ shrugged and got back on the hammock.

JJ didn’t consider JJ might start liking her.

“Dude, none of us took the bet for a reason - it’s fucked up.” John B tossed his second empty beer can over towards the trashcan Kie set out.

No one considered JJ felt bad for leading her on.

JJ groaned as Pope jumped in. “It’s not right to lead someone on like this.”

JJ didn’t consider JJ felt bad for leading her on.

“Look,” he got up once again. “I get it, okay? Gavin’s a fucked up dude for coming up with this idea. But I’m not gonna let it get too far. I’m gonna try and not do anything stupid to hurt anyone.”

----

JJ gave you a ride home. It might not have been the best idea - two teenagers riding on a motorbike in the rain - but it was better than walking.

When he got to your house, JJ tried to get as close to the front door as he could before hopping off. He gave you a hand to help you off before taking off his jacket and holding it above you two.

“Sorry this date went so fucking downhill.” He started walking with you to the door.

You laughed a little and shook your head, walking close to him. “It didn’t. I had a really nice time, just hanging out.”

You both stopped in front of the door. “Then I guess this could be a weekly thing, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” You tried to dim down the smile on your face, but your cheeks were already starting to hurt. Going on your tippy toes, you gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning and grabbing the door knob.

JJ’s hand on your shoulder stopped you. “Wait a second.”

You give him a playful sigh, turning to face him again dramatically. “JJ, if I stand out in the cold any longer, I’m gonna get sick.” You joke.

He smirked a little. “Then I can take care of you. You know, make you some nice, warm, chicken noodle soup.”

“JJ.” You laugh.

“Alright alright, I don’t know how to make soup. But I can try. And I’ll do a damn good job trying.”

You couldn’t help but laugh again. “What do you want?”

With a cocky smile, he said, “A proper kiss.” He stooped down to your level. “I’ll make it easier on you.”

You knew however you responded, he wasn’t going to let you go until he got what he wanted.

You bit your lip to pull away your smile before leaning in. “Only one,” you whisper before pressing your lips to his.

It felt like the first time, and you never wanted that to change.

He was the one who pulled away first, surprising you a little. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Red.”

“Wait, what?” You called out as he started to back away. You were confused as to why you would be seeing each other tomorrow, and why he called you red.

He chuckled a little, getting onto his motorbike. “There’s a kegger tomorrow. I better see you there.” 

Before you could object or ask anything else, JJ gave you a little wave and rode off to the Cut.

Why the hell did he call you ‘Red?’

----

You got out of the car just in time for it to speed off, not even waiting for the door to close.

“Your brother is kind of an ass.” You shake your head as you walk with Di the rest of the way to the boneyard.

She laughed a little and hooked her arm with yours. “You don’t need to tell me twice. Can’t wait for him to go off to college.”

You laugh and shake your head as you make it to the boneyard. The kegger was already in full swing. Not that you expected anything less.

Di nudged you a little. “So, are we gonna go talk to you boyfriend and all his friends?” 

You couldn’t help the blush that trailed up your neck and over your face and ears. You had yet to call each other ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend.’ “If you want…” You tried to shrug it off, but the damage had been down.

She practically squealed at your reaction and grabbed your hand to drag you over. “You’re too slow!”

You didn’t know whether to laugh or to roll your eyes. So you decided to laugh. Laugh, at least, until you bumped into someone’s back.

You heard Di start cracking up laughing beside you. “Good job, Y/N!”

Rolling your eyes slightly, you take a step back and look up at who you bumped into. “I’m so sorry.”

You vaguely recognized the guy before you. If you heard his name, you’d be like, “Oh, right.” Maybe it started with a G…

“Whatever.” He didn’t so much as look at you as he walked away.

“Rude…” You mumble, shaking your head.

Di grabbed your hand again and continued to drag you. “But hot af!”

You wanted to cringe. “You did not just say ‘af’ instead of ‘as fuck,’ did you?”

She laughed. “I did, and I won’t take it back.” She abruptly stopped and you almost smashed right into her back. Today apparently wasn’t your day. “Now introduce me!”

She nudged you forward as she whisper-yelled right in your ear. 

“Okay, okay.” You approached the five figures that Di stopped at. All their backs were turned to you, so you had to tap the boy in the center’s shoulder.

He spun around and a smile instantly spread across his face upon seeing you. It was a natural smile. “Hey, Red.” A smile he wouldn’t just give to anyone.

“Hi, JJ.” You still weren’t completely sure as to why he called you ‘Red.’ It didn’t make any sense.

“This,” you gesture to Di, who waves at everyone, “is my best friend, Di.”

Intros were done pretty quickly; everyone just said their name and started up a new conversation that involved the two girls.

It had maybe been half an hour when Sarah, a well known Kook and girlfriend to John B, JJ’s best friend, had pulled you off to the side. After, of course, JJ untangled himself from you (with much dismay).

“I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve talked.” Sarah started once you were a good distance away.

You laughed a little and nodded. “Yeah, about five years, I think.”

The two of you chit-chatted, just catching up with each other.

It hadn’t ever occurred to you that dating the JJ Maybank would be good for you. That he would get you to do new things. Meet and talk to new people. Just enjoy life like you should.

After a moment, something popped into your mind. “Oh! I’ll be right back, I need to ask JJ something.” He had done so much for you, you wanted to do a little something for him.

You walked up to the group, furrowing your eyebrows a little. “Where’s JJ?” You ask, noticing it was just John B, Pope, Kie, and Di talking.

The three Pogues looked between each other, as if they were trying to think of something to say.

“He went home.”

“He went to get another drink.”

“He’s in the water.”

They all spoke at the same time, and each answer made you even more confused. Something wasn’t right.

You take a quick glance around, noticing JJ a few feet away, talking to the guy you bump into earlier. You glance back at the group, feeling like your head was spinning. “He’s right there…”

Glancing at Di, she shrugs to you as you start your way over to the two.

“Y/N, wait!” Kie called out to stop you. “Don’t… Just wait for him to come back over.”

You turn and look at her. You had known Kie when you were younger, but kind of grew apart as you both changed. It was nice to connect with her again, but you couldn’t yet understand what went on in her head.

“I’ll just be quick.”

All the others seemed to want you to also stay, but you didn’t understand why. And if they weren’t going to tell you, you’d figure out yourself.

Both of their backs were turned to you, which you were a little surprised with. If this conversation was so important that you couldn’t interrupt it, they’d at least want to see if you were coming.

“Does $200 cover it?”

You knew listening in on conversations wasn’t the right thing to do, but you couldn’t help it.

“Dude, look-” JJ was trying to say something but the guy, maybe his name was Gavin, cut him off.

“We are so close. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Gavin handed JJ something.

“I’ll give you a little more next time. Believe me, Y/N can be a bore.”

What? Why were you a part of this? And a bore?

“How much longer do you want me to do this?” There was something in JJ’s voice you couldn’t discern.

Gavin patted JJ on the back. “I know, I know, Y/N’s hard to date. But, if you can at least keep dating her for two weeks, I’ll triple your paycheck.”

What? 

“Gavin, I-”

“You’re dating me for money?”

The shock coursed through every part of you as you tried to comprehend what you heard, and even what you said.

Both boys turned around, JJ a little more quickly than Gavin.

“Y/N-”

You shook your head, taking a step back as he tried to get close to you. “I should have known....” You mumbled, trying to hold back the tears you felt reaching the peak of your eyes.

He reached out for you, but you didn’t want him to touch you. You did, but you didn’t. “I can explain.”

“I don’t wanna hear it.” You snap, letting a couple of tears out. “I actually thought you liked me…”

“Just listen, Y/N-”

“No!” You were a little louder than you had wanted to be, as unwanted eyes turned. “Fuck you, JJ. Enjoy your money. I hope it was worth it.”

You turned your back on him and just started to walk away. You didn’t care if anyone was trying to talk to you or stop you - you just wanted to get out of there.

Di came up beside you and hooked her arm in yours, repeating reassurances to you. They didn’t work.

JJ watched as you retreated.

The look on your face had broken something he didn’t think could be broken anymore. The shake of your voice and quiver of your lips sent him to a place he had been before, but was new to him.

He cleared his throat a little, looking towards his friends. The friends that tried to warn him. That tried to stop you from learning the truth too soon. The friends that gave him sympathetic looks that had a hint of disappointment.

“Damn, everything was going so well…” Gavin muttered, shaking his head. “If you can do some major accident repair, I’ll-”

JJ snapped his head to look at Gavin. “Shut up.” He spit, shaking his head. “Shut the fuck up.”

---- ----

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[zackcrazyvalentine]

hewwo! may i please have a scenario for Sam from TWST with a really flirty fem!MC? it can be as sfw or nsfw as you see fit

Okay, ahem, first off…. Sorry if this sucks  orz, I’m one very HORRIBLE flirt

But for you guys and your requests, anything u.u ❤️

This pretty much is SFW! Just some suggestive comments are used

(forgot the name of this one aaa)

This will be: "Enjoying the view~"

-- -- --

Sam, the school’s shopkeep. A very fun soul to be around, and a very charming man, in her opinion. Was it any wonder the girl’s heart was stolen by this mysterious man so early on her stay at Night Raven College?

[Name] would frequent Mr.S’s shop with any and every excuse, all to spend some time with the Shadowman. Running errands for her friends, wandering out into the dark because Grim got a late night craving, her feet would even unconsciously take her to the enigmatic shop when making her way to some unimportant part of campus.

Sam himself enjoyed her company. Her reactions were delightful, and the warmth that painted her cheeks whenever he winked at her was adorable.

“Cheeky little devil she is.” Fleeting touches and playful smiles accompanied her farewells… and he could honestly not complain about that. 

Is it wrong? Most probably. But does he want to be right? Not really.

He’s made contracts and rituals that have definitely stained his history, so what’s another blot in his pages? As soon as any clause is broken, his friends will drag him to his own personal hell. What can he do but enjoy life any way he wishes to?

It’s not like he’s that old, either… He also isn’t her teacher, so…

Tuesday, 4 p.m. Sure enough, the bell signaling someone entered the shop rang clearly through the silence within.

“Hello, Mr. Shadowman~” [Name] greet him, making her way to one of the shelves right in front of his counter. “May I know how you and your shadow friends are doing today?” She asked while bending down to reach whatever product she needed. It couldn’t be more obvious that she did it on purpose, the sway of her hips and how she shifted her weight from one feet to the other a clear telling sign.

He felt one of his shadows elbow him lightly, gesturing to the expanse of soft skin her short skirt revealed in her position. Sam leaned over to admire the sight properly, teasing smirk slowly forming on his face. “We’re doing just fine, dear… More so now that you’re here, I admit.”

The girl flinched a little, straightening up at the comment. “Remain calm, [Name], play it cool.” Sure, she acts like a tease and a flirt with the older man, but damn did it take some of her guts to keep the natural face.

“Oh, is that so~? Should I come over and make you company more often, then? I’m sure Grim wouldn’t mind much. He’s always pestering me for privacy and all that, y’know.” She took her time making her way to the counter. 

Once there, she propped her head on her hand with a playful smile directed at the clerk. “Could you be a dear and prepare some [tea leaves/coffee grounds/beverage mix] for me? We’ve ran out back in Ramshackle.”

The magenta eyed leaned close, so very close, to the girl. “With pleasure, little demon.” He let his voice drop low, the way he knew would evoke a wonderful blush to bloom on her cheeks. He promptly got to work.

Meanwhile, the [hair color] bit her lip to silence a squeal, but her lips definitely widened the smile they already formed earlier.  Bright [color] eyes remained trained on the shopkeep, enjoying the way he (purposefully) put on an entertaining show to prepare the consumable along with his shadow friends.

Sam would throw glances her way, she basked on the attention. Soon enough, the tradesman began filling a small metal tin with the brew stuff.

“Little devil, you know it’s rude to stare.” He said.

“Oh, sorry, but it’s hard not to when the view is so… nice” That cheeky glint returned to her eyes.

The magician got caught off guard, noticeable by his slightly widened eyes. Still, he brushed it off with a small chuckle. “Is that so? Well then, I can say I very much enjoy what you did to your uniform.” A sideways glance was what she got, “Especially the lax necktie.”

The girl mentally high fived, “Yes! He looked at my chest!” But keep her cool she must.

“I think I know where it’d look better.” Couple silent seconds passed before she smiled in mock innocence at the man, “On your floor~” The act was completed with a cute tilt of her head.

Sam pointedly looked at her now, feeling warmth of his own crawl up to his ears. “My, my!” He was truly impressed.

His shadow friend returned. It pointed at the [hair color] and did an “OK” hand sign (aka 👌), along with multiple thumbs up.

Very well then, he’ll play along.

“Really now, love?” She became alert at the new nickname. “Then let me propose you something.”

Once more, he leaned close to her after placing the items she was to purchase right beside them. “For anything you would like to buy,” Without breaking eye contact, his hand went to play with the sloppy tie around her neck, “Prices are negotiable.”

Oh, that did it.

That, paired with his handsome smile and those purple eyes shining with mischief… broke her.

A gasp left her lips as a furious flush covered her entire face. Nerves and excitement fired the fight or flight instinct, and flight she tried.

[Name] jerked away from the object of her attention, leading her tie to unravel and her to almost lose her balance from the sudden movement. Thankfully, a magical shadow clung to her own and pulled her back on her feet.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry Sam! I-I just..! It just-!” Embarrassed, she turned away and used her hands to cover her face.

The clerk remained stunned, but a rich chuckle of his own broke him out of the stupor.

“No, no! Little demon, it’s fine! Don’t worry!” It took some time for his laughter to die down, this only helped increase the student’s shame.

“C’mon, turn around. I promise it’s alright, [Name].” He reassured.

Begrudgingly, she heed his words and lowered her hands once they were face to face. Her eyes remained averted, though.

Sam smiled fondly at her, “Listen, it’s fine if you decline, but I want you to hear the idea first.”

Trying to swallow her mistake, she nodded quickly and looked at him. “How does a date sound? Casual, to a café or something. I know some good places to eat delicious meals at a low price.”

She took some time to regain her confidence. “S-Sure, sounds good…” Her voice trembled a bit, her nerves were still aflame.

“So, we’ve got a deal?” He held out his hand.

A lovely bashful smile finally grazed her lips, “Deal..!” She shook his hand a couple of times.

“A-And please…” Taking the discarded tie, [Name] wrapped it in a proper ribbon to his wrist, “Keep it.”

With a last smile, Sam handed her the two products she had on the counter. “On the house… and do take a little extra on your way out.” One last wink.

The girl giggled while walking backward, “So, I take it I should drop by soon to settle out the date?”

“Yes, indeed, cheeky devil! But your company here will always be welcomed, regardless!” With that, she waved at him and exited the shop.

The way they both celebrated the accomplishment that night, on their own ways.

[END♡]

-- -- --

YOOOOOO!!!! I ENJOYED WRITING THIS MORE THAN I THOUGHT I WOULD! OMG THANK YOU FOR THE REQUEST!!!!!! 💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞

Hope it was to your liking~! 

It is said that: you shouldn't trust anyone who flirts with you super smoothly (unless it’s playful banter between friends). If they really want to woo you, they will be nervous

That’s why I decided to add Sam blushing a little and Fem!MC getting super nervous like that c:

Thank you, once more!  ^ ^

#SO MUCH FUN OMG #March 2021 special #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #sam #sam twst #twst sam #sam x reader #sam x MC #Fem!MC #soul cuddle #ig #zack writes #request pavilion

[fallen029]

Adult Swim

Laxus was very careful as he sank into the steamy water of the bathhouse, hissing as his muscles and wounds all cried out momentarily from the heat, but this was quickly quelled as the soothing affect of whatever the water had been infused with won out.

It had been a long, hard few days for him.

It was rare for a job to go so poorly.

Sneering some to himself as he played back the vents of the past week or so, Laxus was certain that this was not only a fluke, but one that he wouldn't easily come across again. It wasn't even that his opponents had truly bested him a battle, but rather outsmarted him. Though this should have made it hurt less, the sting felt more sharp, as he could always prove his magical prowess, but mental was much more difficult.

He felt ashamed.

When he was a little boy, if he returned from a job unsuccessful, he'd do so with his tail between his legs, avoiding his father and grandfather as not to admit to them his folly. As he grew, he stop returning from those sorts of jobs at all. Rather, he had pretty sound record for doing all that he could to take care of anything he was hired for.

It was very rare for him to be bested.

Much less outwitted.

"It's going to hurt your teeth in the long run, if you keep doing that, dragon," he heard a voice through the steaminess of the room and though it was difficult to place her, his mind was calmed at the sound. "Grinding them like that. Are you in that much pain?"

Instead of answering, he called out to the woman, "What's with the temp, huh? And what's in this water? You do this all for me?"

"Of course, Laxus." And he found her now, edging into the giant pool of water the room was mostly filled with. At the sound of her sinking into the water as well, he stiffened some, listening in rapt silence as she assured him, "I'd do anything for you."

Stifling some, he coughed a bit before questioning, "Are you sure we're alone?"

"Would I be here," she questioned as water sifted around had he could hear her, swimming towards him, "if we weren't?"

"No," he gave in as, even if their relationship was more public, he couldn't imagine her risking such a stunt around the others. "But…"

"But?"

And she was before him now, completely visible even in the heavy steam and Laxus reached out to brush his bruised knuckles against her pale cheek, getting just a hint of red to appear at the gesture. She was as nude as he was, the water only hiding everything just beneath the mid-level of her breasts and Laxus was disappointed that the steam did keep him from any glimpses of more.

"But," he went on as he smiled for the first time in days and it hurt a bit, all of him hurt a bit, maybe, treading water there with the demon, it was the good kind. "We could pretend."

"Mmm," she hummed as she turned her head, when he tried to kiss her. This was no problem for the slayer though as he only pressed his lips to her rosy cheek instead, humming some himself as he heard her continue, "I don't like that much, Lax. Pretending."

"Is that right?" he whispered with an edge of husk. "Demon?"

"I like things that are just more," she remarked as she ran a hand down his chest, dipping a bit lower, beneath the water level, "real, you know?"

"It's all pretend, demon, if you think about it," he reasoned, maybe a bit, hissing some as her hand deviated at the last moment, coming up a bit to stroke at one of his bruised hips instead. "What the fuck even is magic? Or this? Any of this? A guild. Jobs. What the fuck ever happened to running a shop or a store or fuck, do people even raise cows anymore? And chickens and shit? Why is it all magic and bullshit? I want to be a farmer."

She was quiet the entire time he was speaking, letting the man get it all out of his system, before the most feminine of giggles escaped her lips and he cupped one of her breasts, sighing some at the sound.

"Do you always give up when something does go your way?" she asked. "Dragon?"

"What are you talking about?" he questioned as his toothy grin fell a bit. "Just spending time with my woman. My demon."

"You're sulking," she told him softly and, annoyed by this, Laxus shifted away from her somewhat.

"I'm injured."

"Are you?"

"I am."

"Then why did you not come into the infirmary?" Mira asked. "Huh? Gone up stairs, gotten all bandaged up and medicated-"

"When I could have you just put some sorta shit in the bathhouse water? Heat it up for me all nice?" Snorting, Laxus questioned, "I'm a very important person, ain't I?"

"The most important," she offered.

"You kid."

"I'm not."

"But," he insisted, "I'm serious. I want you to make over me, demon."

"Well," she began with a click of her tongue, "I'm not one to judge, but you could do for a some concealer and your lashes are so great, but could you imagine them fuller? Because I have."

"What?" Laxus frowned down at her for a moment before remarking, "Mira, I mean I want you to tell me how great I am and how I need to keep my head up and I'll get them next time and that I'm still the greatest slayer of all time and-"

"I get it." Mira even smiled. "You want me to stroke your ego."

"I want you to stroke a lot of things."

"Laxus-"

"But yes." And his grin returned, toothier than ever before. "My ego is so bruised."

"Bullshit."

"Mira." Laxus made a face, confused by her language. "What-"

"You've been hurt before." This time when her hand pressed against his chest, it was to push it, hard. "Badly. Been down to some of the lowest of depths."

"Why are you-"

"And you've felt bad about yourself," she kept up and he was shifting backwards, until his back was against the pool wall and he took in a deep breath. "A lot, actually. You hide it better, usually, but I've seen you when you're really upset. Lax. When you get all quiet and reserved and you won't even talk to your little body guards. Or me."

"You studying me, woman?"

"I know you. From being around you." She pressed herself against him and Laxus shut his eyes for a moment, as she added, "From being in love with you."

He took in a breath, Laxus did, before whispering, "What is it then, doc? What's wrong with me?"

She hummed again and the sound felt heavenly, as she almost seemed to do so in a tune. It had been a long week, as Laxus has surmised before, but now he longed for a late night, in apartment, with the demon strumming at her guitar as he laid around, listening. Watching.

It wasn't unlike how they were now.

He wanted her so badly now, in that moment, and whatever he'd originally been angling for was beginning to get edged out. But just as he was planning on making a real move, the woman spoke.

"I think you're worried about something."

"W-What?"

"I think," Mirajane kept up, "that something has you worried. Dragon."

"I don't worry about shit," he grumbled. "I'm the fucking top dog around here."

"Top dragon."

"Damn straight." He puffed out his chest. "I run this place. I control it. Me."

"Laxus, you only show up like once a month. If that. And that's only to flirt with me."

He didn't dispute this, but rather countered, "And yet I'm still the most fucking important. I always has been. I'm the Dreyar. I'm the reason this whole thing exists. Me."

"All that and you're just a farmer."

"So what the fuck," he kept up, "do I have to be worried about?"

"It's gonna be a cold autumn," Mira mused, "so I suppose your crops."

"I'm practically a Wizard Saint."

"Sure," she agreed, "if you don't include any of the glory or voting or prestige and you're only even in the consideration because of Master-"

"Fuck, Mira."

"Sorry." She was the one to shift away then, tossing up both hands. "You can play pretend about being a Wizard Saint if you want to."

"It's not that." Huffing, the man told her, "You know that I don't wanna fucking hear about him right now. The old man."

"You can't possibly still be fighting with him."

"Why do I have to be anything about him right now?" Laxus questioned. "Huh? I mean god, Mira, we're about to fuck."

"Are we?"

"Are we?" He questioned back with a raised eyebrow, but Mira only made a face.

"You both are so stupid, you know that?"

"Demon-"

"You are," she insisted. "You're fighting with an old man, Laxus."

"I'm skinny dipping with my girlfriend, Mira."

"What did he even do to you, huh? Just because-"

"You always take his side."

"He's my Master." She was acting as if he were the stupid one. "Of course I do."

"I'm your boyfriend." Laxus frowned. "I'd think that trumps that."

"Boyfriend, master, boyfriend, master, boyfriend, master." Mira held her palms out, lifting them on alternating intervals, as if weighing her options." Boyfriend-"

"Knock it off," he finally remarked. "Your wording is kinda creeping me out."

"Master wasn't trying to pick a fight with you," she tired instead. "Honest. He just-"

"What are you now? His parrot?" the slayer complained. "And what is this? A setup? Did you purposely lure me here?"

"Lure?" She snorted. "Hardly."

"Tricking me with implications of sex-"

"You," she remarked with a sharply pointed finger, "got naked in this pool first. Not me."

"You stripped down in the men's section and got into it with me!" He couldn't believe they were now arguing over this, but, well, Laxus never rightly could let someone else feel as if they had one. "I'm not the one in the wrong here. If anything, considering you work here, you're kind of abusing your privileges now."

"Who are you going to tell? Your grandfather?" Mira huffed, not liking the idea of being beaten either. "No, considering you won't even talk to him."

"You did set me up!"

"Laxus-"

"This is unbelievable." He shook his head. "I have half the mind to leave right now." When Mira glanced at him though, he added, "I mean, I'm not going to, but-"

"You've been acting like an asshole for two solid months," Mira interrupted. "You know that? And everyone's been worried about It. And then you came back from this job unsuccessful and I just thought.."

"You just thought what? Huh? That you would corner me and make me and my grandfather make up?"

"I thought that I would figure out what's been up with you."

"Demon-"

"But yes," she admitted then and she shifted closer to him once more, staring up into the man's hard eyes. "I did kinda sorta know it's been about the Master this whole time."

"That's shady." And he got to wag his own finger then. "You know that?"

"He's old, Laxus," she defended then. "And has been all bent out of shape too, this whole time, because the two of you are on the outs."

"Has he ever heard of apologizing?"

"Have you?"

"That's not-"

"What was it even about? Huh?" Mira reached out and up then, for his cheek, but Laxus turned away and the affects were wearing off. In the water. He could feel it. Whatever magic she'd infused was dissipating and now they were just in a boiling pot of steamy water for no reason. "Dragon…"

"You don't know everything, Mira." Laxus still refused to look at her. "He's my grandfather. Yeah, he's something to you. He's something to all of you. But I'm different. He's different, to me. You don't understand."

"That's true," Mira whispered after a moment of allowing them man his moment to feel just in that assessment. "But I know that I love the two of you, very much-"

"Awe, gross, demon-"

"I do. Your grandfather is very special to me-"

"You're intent on ruining this moment, huh? Just absolute deadset on it?"

"It would just make me happy, Laxus," she decided, finally, to land on. "Alright? Seeing both of you bent out of shape at the other bothers me. I know that he can be overbearing and obnoxious and perverted-"

"Yeah, one of those, thankfully, isn't as big of an issue for me-"

"-but he's my master." When she reached out that time, it was to physically grab his face, holding his jaw in her grasp as she forced the man to keep eye contact with her. It truly did feel like being in the death grip of a demonic force. "And you're my boyfriend. Who I think is handsome and caring and generous and powerful and strong-"

"Go on," the man tried to get out, but it was difficult around her grip.

"But-"

"No buts."

"-you're also stubborn." She released his jaw then, but he didn't look away. Only glared as the woman insisted, "You have the ego the size of a small village and you can never swallow even an ounce of your massive pride."

"Yeah, well, you cry sometimes and it really bums me out. What about that, huh? And you have dorky siblings. So there."

"Laxus-"

"What do you want me to say, Mira?" he asked defensively.

She only shook her head. "You're both Dreyar men. Which means that you're hardheaded and have a hard time making up with others. I get that. I've seen that. I've lived that. But it would just mean a lot to me if I didn't feel like I was walking on eggshells between two of my favorite people in the whole world."

He slumped some, in the water, and all she'd wanted had escaped her now, leaving the two of them in a steamy bath, alone still, in an empty guildhall, how they always liked to be, but the mood was off and neither saw it being recaptured.

The night ended with Mira leaving him alone in the bath area, while she finished closing up the hall and when Laxus returned to her, it wasn't with malice or disappointment, but just a dreary tiredness that she felt as well.

Makarov was around the guildhall that next morning, grumbling into his first mug of coffee Mira presented to him, but she merely forced a smile for the old man and, well, it was hard ot stay mad at that.

But somehow he managed.

It was a normal day of there ever could be one in the Fairy Tail guildhall regulars intermingled with those returning only for a short stay while Mirajane and Kinana served them the warmest of breakfasts in the early hours and stiffest of ales the rest.

When Laxus showed up around noon, it was to find the Thunder Legion already there, prepared to lick the man's wounds for him, and he would attend to that, of course, eventually, but he had something of a ritual in those days. Mirajane was his woman after all, and it was hardly an uncommon sight in those days to glimpse the slayer leaning against the bar as he gruffly flirted with the woman in a way only a demon could appreciate.

But when he leaned against the bar that day, it wasn't to complement the woman on her dress or request one of those stiff drinks for himself.

No.

Though Mira was before him in mere seconds, Laxus wasn't rightly looking to her as his vision was instead on where the old man sat, perched atop the bar with his staff in one hand and a mean look in his typically jolly eyes.

"Ay, Gramps."

Makarov seemed equally surprised as he was apprehensive and defensive, right out of the gate, as he turned his dark eyes onto his grandson, prepared for whatever the young man might send the way. It was difficult for him to even remember, really, what the two of them were so mad about now, weeks out, but oh, he knew he wished he could go back and tar young Laxus' hide even more, if it meant putting even the smallest amount of respect into the boy's future self.

But he threw the old man off, Laxus did, as he smiled in a rather comfortable way, toothy, but not exactly showy, offering simply, "You ever think about doing work around here or what?"

It would've felt tense, were it anyone else, but this was hardly a true slinging of words out of the mouth of Laxus, especially to his grandfather and Makarov lost the anger behind his eyes, it instead being replaced momentarily by confusion though that quickly morphed into something else.

Annoyance.

But a pretend one, as his brows weren't even furrowed and his grumbled voice felt far more mellow than when the man truly was agitated.

"And what do you know of work, Laxus?" he huffed. "Nothing much, from what I hear."

"What do you hear, old man?"

"More than you do, with that damn music always playing in your ears."

He laughed, maybe, or at least Laxus made a strange noise as he said, "Every time I come around her recently, you're sitting around doin' nothin' while my poor demon's working herself damn near to death on your behalf. Why is that?"

"Laxus," Mira warned, finally speaking up some, but Makarov only snorted at his grandson.

"Mirajane enjoys helping me," the man defended. "She's actually grateful for my presence, unlike you, you big brat. Always have been. So ungrateful."

"I'm grateful for plenty, Gramps." His smile for Mira felt different, when Laxus looked at her, but it was brief as he was quickly remarking, "Not exactly the conversation to be havin' in front of everyone though. Showing you up."

"Why you-"

'So," Laxus kept up, not allowing the older man's gripes as he said, "how 'bout I take you out to dinner tonight?"

"W-What?" This stopped Makarov short.

Laxus merely shrugged "Me and my demon have been thinkin' about trying that new place down by the canal. The one that replaced the old card shop? But if you don't want to join us-"

"I didn't say that." Makarov looked to Mirajane then. "Did you put him up to this?"

"I don't know anything about this, Master," she told him honestly before, tilting her head, she admitted, "Although, I have been wanting to try that place. But it's rather expensive and with how slow things have been around here recently-"

"Good thing you have a flashy boyfriend that can't wait to treat you to it then," Makarov remarked to the woman. "Not to mention his grandfather-"

"Is that what I agreed to?" Laxus griped himself a bit before, leaning across the bar once more, it was to press a short kiss against Mira's cheek. Then, taking a step back, he only glanced between the two of them before saying, "Buncha leeches, the two of you."

"Yes, well," Makarov began as he jumped down then, from the bar top so that he could stare up at his towering grandson. "I guess I do have some paperwork I should attend to. Before the evening rolls around."

"I left a stack on your desk, Master," Mira called after him as, with a sharp nod at the by then void once more Laxus, the man set off for his office. "And Laxus," she called after him as well, when he headed over to where his three best friend were trying hard to not appear as if they had been eavesdropping on every last thing that had just taken place between the two Dreyar men, "I'll be over in a minute with your drink."

It would actually be more than a few, but that was fine, as by that point Freed had set into the job board, Evergreen had found herself busy definitely not flirting with Elfman Strauss across the bar, and Bickslow busied himself with torturing whichever sucker in the bar would tolerate him and his strange dolls.

Mira came over bearing the man's favorite ale. As she leaned down to place it on his table though, she reached over to grasp one of Laxus' headphones, pulling it away some so she could whisper in it instead.

"Thank you."

"Ay, demon." He moved to snatch the headphone back. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure," she giggled while Laxus glanced about, checking it seemed for listening ears before speaking again.

"My muscles," he told her in confidence, "are still rather tense. Even after last night. Maybe tonight, after dinner-"

"I'll have to come back here afterwards, I suppose," she hummed with a glint in her eyes. "To help Kinana clear out the late night crowd. I could be persuaded to adjust the water to your liking, while I close up."

"Taking the old geezer to dinner was the persuasion, demon."

"Laxus-"

"Just count on a late night swim, huh?" He moved to grab his ale then while the woman was distracted by the call of someone on the other side of the bar, complaining about refills. "I'll be leaving on a job again, pretty soon, you know."

"You'll have to." Mira was leaving him then, off to deal with her daily toil. "Me and Master are planning on eating you out of house and home."

"Yeah, well," he sighed softly to himself as he brought the mug up to his lips. "It's what I get for consorting with a demon."

.

I think Makarov is one of my favorite extra person to add to Mirajane and Laxus, right beside Lisanna.

#Miraxus #Mirajane Strauss #Laxus Dreyar #Makarov Dreyar #Fairy Tail #Fanfcition #Mira #Mirajane #Laxus #Makarov

[jimmys-zeppelin]

ghostin'

chapter sixteen

(table of contents)

(chapter fifteen)

july 4, 1976

be my mistake

Ellie balanced a variety of liquor bottles in her arms. Some were for her to take home, others were for the party later that night. Carolyn had asked her—practically begged on her knees—to get some and shoved a shopping list in her hands.

In an attempt to look at her watch and check the time, two bottles had begun to slip. Just before one could shatter to the linoleum tiled floor, a hand rushed in and grabbed it for her. Roger's face quickly became familiar to her as her entire body relaxed. Major embarrassment had been avoided.

"Thanks, Rog." Ellie exhaled.

"I told you not to carry so many bottles. Or at least get a basket." Roger said, guiding them toward the checkout line.

"I thought I'd be able to make it," she replied simply, letting a few bottles fall onto the belt as she adjusted the others she had been holding. Roger reached out and stood the remaining bottles up as they moved down closer to the cashier stood opposite them.

"Can I see some ID, please?" The teenager asked, stopping the belt, the bottles clinking against each other as a result.

Ellie scoffed, starting to pull her wallet from the small handbag that had been slung over her shoulder. Roger stepped in instead, handing over his own ID before Ellie could even get her wallet out.

"You the guy from Queen?" the boy asked upon further inspection, handing Roger back his identification. The blond nodded curtly, not wanting to be too loud about his identity. "Rock'n'roll, man." He eyed up Ellie, who smiled at him sweetly, just waiting for the items to get scanned so they could leave.

☆

"Why didn't you let me show my ID?" Ellie asked, handing Roger the wad of cash Carolyn had given her for the drinks while they carried the two paper bags clinking with alcoholic beverages back to her car.

"Didn't want him seeing your address." he shrugged, reaching in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes after placing the bags in the backseat.

Before lighting up, he offered Ellie a cigarette, motioning the box toward her and she decidedly took one, placing it between her lips as Roger came forward with his lighter, firing up the cancer stick as she started the car.

"Very gentlemanly of you, Rog."

"Always." he chuckled, rolling the passenger window down as he exhaled the nicotine from his lungs. He looked around the vehicle as the bottles made their existence known behind them. "What kind of car is this?" he asked.

"A P1800. Volvo. My parents got it for my 18th birthday. Neat, isn't it?"

"Very," Roger replied, running his hand over the dashboard, "You talk to Jimmy recently?"

Ellie paused, "yeah. We spoke a few days ago. Not much to talk about, though, since neither of us are doing shows. We're relatively boring people." she chuckled, taking a drag and tapping the remnants of the cigarette out the window.

"Right right. Zep's newest album was great."

"Oh, you heard it?" she asked, reflecting on the fact that not even she had heard it yet. Somehow she felt guilty about it.

"Yeah, I mean, like the energy. Great great great. He produced, right?"

"Always. I like that he produces the band's records. Really keeps the integrity within the band, you know? Like it's truly their vision that's being put out."

"I thought the one song..." he paused, searching for the name, "Tea for One! It sounded a bit like their other song from a few years back. Gosh what was the name..." Roger trailed off, snapping his fingers as he racked his mind for the title. Ellie pulled into her driveway as Roger pondered, "Ah! Since I've Been Loving You."

The two exited the vehicle and tossed their cigarettes before reaching into the backseat for the various drinks they'd purchased. Ellie got her keys ready before looking back at the drummer.

"You think so? Who was on the writing credit?" she asked, unlocking the front door and letting Roger in first, "excuse the mess."

"I think the credits were to Page/Plant." Roger replied, quickly finding the kitchen and setting the paper bag down on the counter. "Are you putting these in the ice box?" he asked.

Ellie found solace in the question, taking advantage of it and using it to change the subject, "Yeah, I'll keep it in until we have to leave and I think I have a cooler in the garage that we can take with us when the car comes to pick us up."

"Awesome, do you mind if I go get it?"

"Not at all, the door's right over that way. You should be able to find it. I'm gonna take a shower and get ready, okay?"

Roger nodded, "of course, take your time."

☆

Ellie's eyes met Andrew's as she and Roger made their entrance at the rooftop of some building in association with her label. The blonde hurried over as best as she could in her high heels while the two seemed to screech in excitement.

"I see you brought Project Blondie with you."

"Stop calling him that." Ellie said, trying to be serious, but at the same time holding back a laugh. She looked back to see Roger handing over her cooler to someone in formalwear. He pulled the man aside, whispering something to him before pointing in Ellie's direction. The blonde smiled and waved at the two when they looked over at her.

Another word of communication was exchanged between them before Roger made his way over to Andrew and Ellie.

"Hey, I was just telling him that the cooler's yours and you'd need it back before you left."

"Thanks Rog." She replied, "I don't believe you've met Andrew."

The men shook hands, "I'm the one who came out to you over the phone." Andrew chuckled.

"Ah, yes. I do recall that. It's a pleasure." Roger said, turning to Ellie, "can I get you a drink?"

"Oh yes please." the blonde stated. Roger nodded, trying to hold back a laugh as he went to grab the two of them some drinks.

Andrew reached back to the table behind him and grabbed two shot glasses. From the smell, Ellie could tell it was vodka as it was shoved into her hands. "What's this for?" she asked.

"Liquid courage." the man replied as if it were obvious.

"Courage for what?"

"You're obviously trying to please him. Maybe you'll ease up a bit with some vodka in your system."

Ellie sighed, clinking the two shot glasses together before the two of them downed the alcohol that burned its way down their throats. With a dry cough she looked up at her best friend, "I'm not cheating on Jimmy. If this is your ploy to get me to sleep with Roger you'll regret the day you were born."

Andrew feigned fear, "As if you couldn't make that decision on your own. Deep down you know what you want."

"And that's to be with Jimmy." She said as Andrew collected his things and started on his way elsewhere.

"I can't hear you because I'm walking away." he replied nonchalantly as the sound of his voice floated away with each step he took.

Ellie rolled her eyes, peering over the edge of the building where she could see three men on the ground floor setting up the fireworks display that would be going off in a few hours. Things like this always excited her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a red cup blocked her view of the ground. She looked up to see Roger, looking pleased as he held the cup out to her. Ellie took it graciously before downing a quick sip.

"It's a beautiful view, isn't it?" he asked, staring out into the West Hollywood cityscape. They faintly saw an airplane touch down at LAX before turning to look at each other.

"California's a beautiful place to be. Kinda wish I could've taken you to the beach before you had to leave. Sorry I've been tied up with my studio stuff."

"Oh, it's no bother, really. I took a walk down the Santa Monica pier last week during sunrise. It was beautiful."

"Was the jet lag bad?" She asked.

"I walked down to the pier to watch the sun rise, didn't I?"

Ellie laughed in response, taking another sip of the drink in her hand, "I never really get to go down there anymore. Always doing something."

"You're up and coming, darling. It's good that you're busy." Roger replied, taking a swig of his drink. Ellie smiled at his calling her darling. It made something inside her flutter a little.

☆

Ellie placed another glass of champagne down on a random table, nearly tripping over her feet as she did so. The number of drinks she'd downed in the hour and a half since she'd arrived at the party were already immeasurable. Whoever the barista was, she'd have to thank them later.

The boom of the first firework startled her as it did many on the rooftop. Gazes shifted to the bright lights illuminating the sky and they ooh'd and ahh'd in amazement. Ellie looked over to see Roger sitting at a table on his own and couldn't help but make him revel in amazement along with her.

"Roger!" she exclaimed, making her way over to the drummer. He turned his head quickly, seeing her barreling over to her. Quick to stand up to try to hold her before she fell, Roger set his drink down and caught her hand in his. "The fireworks, look!" she marveled.

Another was set off into the sky, the high pitched whistle as it flew through the air before it burst with a crackle caught their attention. Ellie turned to Roger, with a beaming smile on her face, "I'm so drunk right now," she whispered in his ear.

"I'm aware." The blond laughed as he guided them toward the wall so Ellie could rest on it and watch the fireworks display at the same time. The continuous, loud booms kept them from being able to speak too much, but their fingers remained intertwined as they watched on.

"Y'know," Ellie started, slurring her words slightly as she leaned into his ear, "Jimmy never came over at the Fourth to watch the fireworks with me."

"Gosh, I'm sorry about that. I hope you're having a good time though."

"Yeah, I'm having fun. Good drinks...good music...good company...drinks..."

"I think you've had enough drinks for tonight, Els." Roger said, only to be interrupted again by the drunken woman.

"Jimmy....he's completely off his rocker. He's on that heroin stuff, it's completely doing him in. I can hear it...when we're on the phone he's like....completely off in space." Ellie said absently, singsonging the end of her statement.

"Oh...uhm. I hope he gets well, then." he replied awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to the personal confession.

"I know. And like—" the boom of more fireworks, "wow. I feel bad because the whole album, I mean the whole album is about him. I don't wanna," a few more explosions, "I don't wanna seem like a sellout."

"Well, people write what they know, right? This is what's affecting you at the moment, of course you'll want to write about it."

"Y'know, Rog...you're so sweet to me," Ellie said, looking right into his baby blues and rubbing the top of his hand with her thumb. Her voice hushed slightly as she leaned in closer to him the slightest bit. Roger, being too confused to do anything, stood in place, not moving. "Maybe I should...get rid of Jimmy and get with you instead." she finished as fireworks cluttered the world around them.

Roger searched Ellie's eyes for any answer as to what she was going to do next, but the drunken haze clouded her judgement. A firework hissed through the night sky and exploded with a big bang as Ellie pressed her lips to Roger's. Confusion crossed his features and he contemplated what to do before tentatively kissing her back for a brief second.

As the gunpowder dissipated in the sky, Ellie pulled away, her gaze still glassy and not totally there as she went back to watching the fireworks as if nothing had occurred. Roger stood stunned in place, watching Ellie instead of the display of fireworks for a long moment. It was only when she looked over to him again that she realized her fingers were still intertwined with his and she giggled at the predicament.

Roger looked around. It seemed no one had noticed the kiss. He was glad on that note, but his heart sank in his chest when he realized the gravity of what had happened. Maybe he should leave. Or maybe he could pretend nothing happened just as Ellie had. If they just didn't talk about it, the occurrence could get erased from history and Roger likely wouldn't get his shit rocked by Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin's gargantuan manager for being The Other Man.

He quickly let go of her hand and walked over to the bar, "Scotch, no ice, please." he said, drumming his fingers on the bar-top nervously.

---

it's ironic because I finished writing this chapter on the fourth of july...

masterlist | playlist

Taglist: @diaryofafan17 @tophats-n-lespauls @witchesdust @jonesyjonesyjonesy @paginate54 @hejustsatisfiess @salixfragilis @princesspagey @reincarnated70sbaby @rebel-without-a-zeppelin @kyunisixx if you want to be added to the list lmk!

#*nervous sweating* #ghostin' #jimmy page #led zeppelin #fanfic #fanfiction #roger taylor #queen

[plainbrunettelbl]

ABO (A) Katsuki Bakugo x Pregnant (O) Reader Shopping for Maternity Clothes

Word count:1234

Warnings: Cursing because of angry hedgehog

Title: ABO (A) Katsuki Bakugo x Pregnant (O) Reader Shopping for Maternity Clothes

Summary: You go shopping with Bakugo for maternity clothes and an unpleasant situation happens. 

Bakugo:

💥-You had known once Suki knew you were carrying his pup that he would go into overprotective mode. You can’t even leave your house without being asked a million questions.

💥-You didn’t mind it too much because it showed how caring of an Alpha he is but you could do without the intimidating glares and growls he gives anyone who dares look in your direction.

💥-Once it got to the point that your clothes began to fit you a little tight you knew it was time to shop for maternity clothes. One thing Suki was adamant about was that you didn’t go into crowded spaces alone.

💥-He was worried someone would trample your slow-moving frame. You weren't too big yet but you had developed a small waddle. Plus your swollen feet and ankle made you walk at a slow pace.

💥-He had this picture in his mind that you would be slowly walking along and suddenly a pack of Alphas would come by and knock you over and trample on your fragile body.  

💥-That was never gonna happen because Alphas tend to be more aware of their surroundings if they sensed a pregnant Omega was near. Most being a little protective towards them even if they are not their Omega.

💥-Still, your explosive Alpha would not let you go into packed places on your own. So when you said you needed to go to the mall for some maternity clothes he took a day off from his agency to come with you.

💥-“Suki, do you think this makes me look too frumpy?” You pull the curtain back to show him a white and blue striped dress.

💥-He looked up from his phone to take a look. He took time off work but he was still going through some emails and stuff. You didn’t mind since shopping must have been quite boring for him.

💥-“No, I think it looks really good on you.” His eyes always lit up when it caught sight of your small bump.

💥-“Aw, thanks, babe. I think I saw a red one like this can you go see if they have one in my size and bring it to me?” You asked him.

💥-He stood up and dusted off his black slacks and a white button-up shirt. He was looking fine today. “Sure baby. I’ll be right back.” He walked over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before walking off towards the maternity section.

💥-The changing room was a bit far from the maternity section but you were gonna have to make do since they only had the one in the store. You began undressing and had the dress over your head when you heard the squeak of the curtain being pulled back.

💥-“Hey, babe I got the skirt you were asking for.” An unfamiliar voice spoke from behind you.

💥-You quickly yanked the dress off of your head and held it over your body as you tuned around. A shocked gasp left your mouth at the sight of this new and intimating Alpha.

💥-He looked up from his phone and looked just as surprised as you. Even if you wanted to you couldn’t stop the terrified chirp that left you. A chirp was meant to immediately alert your Alpha that you were in trouble. It could also be a happy response but not in this case.

💥-Your chirp was instantly met with explosions ringing out through the other end of the store. The sound quickly getting closer by the second. Someone had distressed his Omega and they were gonna pay.

💥-Katsuki was not a happy Alpha with the scene he rushed in on. An Alpha looming over his clearly undressed Omega who was cowering in the corner of the changing room.

💥-He quickly yanked the Alpha out and shut the curtain so his Omega could get dressed in privacy. He wasted no time shoving the Alpha up against the nearest wall.

💥-“What the hell do you think you are doing? Peeking in on pregnant Omegas? You one of those sick freaks? Well, you messed with the wrong Omega you shitty fuck!” His voice was nearly unrecognizable. Growls wouldn’t stop tearing through his chest.

💥-He was honestly ready to see blood at this point.

💥-Before said Alpha could beg and plead with him a females voice was heard. “Babe I told you I was in changing room nine! Not six! I swear I can’t bring you anywhere. Look what you did! Scaring that poor pregnant Omega.”

💥-A small Omega walked up to her Alpha and grabbed him by the ear. He was wincing and whining at her strong grip. She began walking away with him in tow but not without saying how sorry she was about him.

💥-You had come out of the dressing room at that point and heard what had happened. You had no hard feelings since the Alpha didn’t mean to freak you out and waved at the retreating pair.

💥-Bakugo was not one to forgive easily. “What does she mean he walked into the wrong room? That bastard sure as damn well could smell your sweet scent. I’m calling bullshit!”

💥-He looked like he wanted to chase after them.

💥-You were quick to calm your angered Alpha. Walking up to him and rubbing up against him. He was calming down slightly but not enough. You began sending out soft croons hoping to calm him even more.

💥-He slowly went lax but he still had a little tension in his shoulders. All the fight left his body when you took his hand and brought it up to your bump. He couldn’t help but let out a happy growl.

💥-He really wasn’t one for PDA but he couldn't give a flying fuck right now. His mate always came first. He secretly needed comfort and reassurance that you both were safe and sound.

💥-Hearing your chirp had sent him into a panic.

💥-“I’m fine Suki. I was just surprised is all.” You soft leaned up and scented him.

💥-He returned the favor. “Whatever you say.” He grudgingly replied into your neck.

💥-“I think I got enough outfits to check out. I am done shopping for the day. Wanna go to that spicy curry place down the street afterward?” You spoke into his chest.

💥-“Why didn’t you say you were hungry? Let’s go. If I didn’t know the pup was already mine I wouldn’t need a DNA test to figure it out.” He took all of the clothes you were purchasing and led you away.

Bonus:

💥-You had ordered the spiciest curry the had available and was digging into it like it was a mild order. Bakugo got the second spiciest since he liked to enjoy both the flavor and spice and not completely burn his tongue off.

💥-He was curious as to what their famous spiciest bowl of curry tasted like since you didn’t seem to have any negative effects shoving it into your mouth with gusto.

💥-A pregnant Omega wasn’t necessarily a sharing Omega but you didn’t mind when it came to him. You offered him a decent spoonful when he showed interest in trying it.

💥-He instantly regretted it and started coughing and tearing up. He tried to put on a brave front but his insides felt like there were burning.

💥-“Yup my pup alright.” He coughed out after a few gulps of water.

I was gonna also write for Tamaki Amajiki (our shy elf) and make it a duo one shot but Bakugo alone was long enough. Maybe next time if y'all are interested in reading that. 

#bnha bakugou #Katsuki Bakugō #bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #bnha x reader #bnha imagines #BNHA Headcanons #x reader #bakugou katsuki #bnha fluff #fluff #angst #pregancy #pups #Omega #omegaverse #Alpha #mates #overprotective #ground zero #angry bio #abo #my hero academia #mha x reader #mha bakugo katsuki

[onebatch2batch]

9 or 48 for the dialogue prompts :)

Hi hi! I love your writing!!! Thank you for the prompt!

(I’m a sucker for domestic Kastle, hope you are too!)

9. “You’re in love with her.” [ao3]

--

It’s been nearly a year since anyone has recognized Frank Castle in public and he’s gotten pretty lax about it. Not completely, of course. He’s never been a man who relaxes or startles easily; his military background commands otherwise. In fact, most days he can still scan a room and determine the threat level between one blink and the next, but now he finds he doesn’t have to. It’s been a year and a half since he was pardoned and given his new identity. He wears a beard again. He’s let his hair grow out into the thick curls his mother always used to love before he buzzed it all off. His wardrobe consists of flannels and sweaters, and his combat boots have retired to the back of his closet. For all intents and purposes, Frank Castle is gone and Pete Castiglione has taken his place. 

And what a place it is, he thinks. A couple feet away in her blue jeans and NYC shirt Karen is bent over, searching through the grocery store clearance bins. Like always, as soon as he lays eyes on her his entire body lights up. They’ve been casually dating for a few months now and every day feels like stolen time; the universe has never been so kind as to grant him a good thing for as long as he likes. But stolen time or not, he’s taking every moment of it. He spends the majority of his free time with her now, and she seems more than happy to accommodate his clinginess--which brings him to now, at a small grocery on the opposite side of town, watching as Karen stocks up for the week. 

You have to go early Saturday morning, she’d coached him on the way over. They mark everything down Friday nights, and then just throw it all in clearance tubs. That’s where half my spices come from. 

So here he is, forearms braced on their shopping cart as she digs through layers of marked down crap with the single minded focus that he’s come to associate with her. Her hair is in a long plait down her back and while he watches she holds up a large canister of coffee, throwing him a cheerful look before diving back in. Frank grins back at her, but she’s already elbow deep in the bins before she sees. He learned fairly quickly to stay out of the way and let her do her thing. 

“You’re in love with her.”

The voice comes from his elbow, and a sharp glance over and down reveals a tiny older woman, no taller than his sternum. She’s got a full head of thick silver hair that curls in bouncy ringlets. Glasses eclipse the whole of her face; she’s dressed warmly for the time of year (Frank himself in just a tshirt and jeans) and her wrinkled face is peering up at him in both amusement and exasperation. 

“Pardon me, ma’am?” he questions, baffled. 

“That woman there. You’re in love with her. Right?”

He’s not proud of it, but Frank glances back at Karen with a panicked expression before he can stop himself. However, she’s elbow deep in a clearance batch of vitamins and isn’t listening. He looks back at the woman, relieved. It’s a big declaration and not one he takes lightly. The last thing he wants is for someone else to tell her.

“Yes ma’am,” he says carefully. 

The woman turns to fix him with another amused look. “Does she know that?” 

This conversation is rapidly veering towards too personal. He tenses. “No, she doesn’t.” 

She sighs. “Thought so. Young man, would you be willing to walk an old woman around a grocery store?”

In no universe can Frank turn down an old woman, nosy or otherwise. He takes the basket from her arm, glances back at Karen, and then takes a turn with the woman. She’s funny, once she’s done dissecting his love life. Smart as a tack, too, and commanding of respect. She hobbles around on her cane and points at objects for Frank to fill the basket with, and then once they’ve cashed out and he’s loaded her trunk, she turns to him. 

“Tell her you love her,” she says without preamble just as Frank is trying to figure out how to say goodbye to someone he wasn’t planning on meeting. “When I was a young woman I let someone think I didn’t, and I’ve regretted it ever since. When you get to be my age, you ruminate--and I’ve done my fair share. I would hate to see a young couple miss out on that. Don’t let your pride or your past get in the way of something good.” 

He helps her into her vehicle, stooping down to nod at her. “I’ll keep that in mind, ma’am. Thank you.”

“No, thank you, Mr. Castle.” She laughs at his shuttered, shocked expression. Frank scrambles for something to say for the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes, but the words fail him. She doesn’t seem to mind. The wrinkles around her eyes jumble up with her smile. “I think after what you have done for this city, it is your turn to find some happiness. I read all about what happened to you, and it’s a damn shame. Now go, I’m sure that woman is looking for you. Best not keep her waiting any longer.”

Frank nods, too speechless to speak, and then stands for a long moment watching her drive away. It’s not until her car has disappeared from view that he realizes he never got her name, and now he’s likely to never see her again. The thought gives him an odd pang, prompting him to turn and reenter the store. It takes a moment to find Karen, and when he does she’s amongst the wine bottles. 

“Oh there you are,” she says absently, peering at the shelves. “I’m thinking lasagna for dinner. How does a Merlot sound?” 

The words have barely left her mouth before he’s claimed her lips, right there in the middle of the store. He wraps her up in his arms, pours all of the love and admiration that he can into the kiss. He’s strangely emotional from his interaction with the woman and even more so at the idea that he could let Karen go on any longer without knowing how he really feels. When he finally pulls away, Frank cradles her face in his hands and stares into her confused gaze. 

“I love you,” he rasps, not the least bit concerned about who hears or sees what’s happening in aisle six. Right now it’s just him and Karen and she’s beaming at him, clutching at his wrists. 

“I know, honey. I love you too--so much that I’m not going to question where you went or why you’re telling me now.” She laughs, still flushed pink from the kiss. “Now, Merlot or Cab? I’m not letting you drink Rose with lasagna.”

 Frank chuckles. “Whatever you pick is fine.”

She ends up going with the Merlot, but when she slips a Rose into the basket when she thinks he’s not looking, Frank can only smile and take her hand. 

He’ll keep stealing time with her, as long as she lets him.

#min #my writing #kastle #kastle ff #kastle fic

[pinkykitten]

truth or dare

- @someoneovertherainboww​ heey i dont know if u tak requests but i loved ur writing and i was wondering if u could make prompts 20 and/or 25 for zuko pls prompt(s):  “i’m not playing truth or dare.” “why don’t you take a picture? it’ll last longer.”

pairing: zuko x female! reader words: 2,210 genre: modern au, high school au, cafe au, fluff, comedy, requested

a/n: tysm!!! yes requests are opened atm! omg while writing this i thought of that thing that dante said at like a con or something where he was ordering at starbucks and the lady was like omg ur zuko!!!😂 art in title isnt mine! hope yall enjoy this ball of cheesiness that cures my acne and enjoy the love that i have for zuko to make me become a disaster for him （＾コ＾）V

Your back ached from the way you hovered over your laptop and sat at your desk. Your mind was focused on learning and getting good grades it didn’t mind the pain. Your eyes burned from the strenuous gaze at your blue screen. Your hands felt as if you churned butter and not to mention the mean girls were extra rude today at school. High school was tough and you needed the rest of the day to be filled with relaxation and peace before you hit the books tomorrow. 

“Where are you going?” Your best friend Sokka asked through the phone.

You hopped off the bus with all your items almost spilling out of your bag. “I’m going to Fire Tea Shop. I read the reviews online and people say its pretty good.”

“No, c’mon Y/N you had your chance. You mean its pretty lit!!!!” Sokka sounded too much like a kid that had eaten edibles. 

“I’m hanging up,” you said deadpanned. “I don’t even know how I’ve kept up this friendship this long. I’m so proud of myself.”

“Its because you love me.” Sokka sang. 

“It might be because I think you need my help. If I wasn’t with you and had your back like where do you think you would be? Probably eating crap off a cave right now and starving.” You walked up and inside the cafe was so cozy. It had an earthy yet red contrast feel to the place. It sure matched with the name Fire. It had some vintage Chinese architect to it. It was stunning and really caught your eye. And it was peaceful. “Do you want anything babes?” You asked as you looked at the menu. “They have cactus juice.” 

“No!” Sokka shouted on the phone. “I tried that, I couldn’t get out of the bathroom the whole day! Plus I thought I saw like mushrooms of some sort.” 

You snickered, “baby, I think you’ve been eating too many mushrooms!”

“I’m good. You enjoy it there.”

You said your goodbyes and hanged up the phone. As you did an old man came up with a long beard to say his welcoming. 

“Hello there, young lady. Might I interest you in trying our newest tea? White Jade tea. It’s very delicious.” He smiled wide. 

You read his name tag. He was such an adorable old man. “Hmmm, Iroh? Actually since this is my first time I want to try your most popular tea. How about-”

“So White Jade?” Iroh was about to punch in your order when you heard a shriek and what seemed to be a pot dropping on the floor. “One moment please. That is probably my angsty, incapable nephew that made a mess. Please look to see what you would like.” Iroh made a hasty get away. 

Out came a teen your age as he rubbed the back of his head. He was so handsome looking. His hair was disheveled and he wore a red apron. His attitude really attracted you. “Good thing I made a distraction, that White Jade tea is not a hit. I’m not that good at making tea also. That’s more my uncle’s job.” His voice was low and had an edge to it. It was so handsome. 

“Oh he’s your uncle. That’s sweet!” You grabbed your wallet out. “I would like a Jasmine tea please.” 

“Good choice. My uncle loves that tea. That will be $4.25.”

You grabbed your money and went to give it to him when you saw the huge scar. It was red and didn’t scare you but you couldn’t look away. The thoughts that went through your mind was how in deep pain this person must of been in to endure and cope through that painful wound. 

“Why don’t you take a picture? It’ll last longer.”

You wanted to hit yourself. You were taught to have manners and here you were staring at this young man. He probably felt self conscious and insecure and you made him feel worse. “Oh my God I am so sorry. I wasn’t meaning it like that. I’m just sorry that you had to go through that.” You read his name tag. “Zuko. Its a beautiful name.”

Zuko’s nose flared up, “yeah, thanks.” He grabbed forcefully at the money and you sat and awaited your order. 

You dug your head in your arms. ‘Why are you like this Y/N? Why did you stare?’

“Here is your tea miss,” Iroh instead brought the tea out. “My nephew felt he didn’t want to scare you away.”

You bit your lip, “I am so sorry. Please forgive me, I didn’t mean to make him feel uncomfortable. It was so insensitive for me to do that. Please can we start over.” You felt so bad and guilty. 

Iroh thought about it then pointed to the tea. “I make the tea myself. Taste it and I’ll think about your offer.”

You sipped the warm tea and no lie it was amazing. He definitely knew what he was doing. You weren’t thinking it was fantastic because you wanted to make amends with these folks but it was actually the truth. 

“Honestly?”

Iroh nodded. 

“This is really good and totally what I needed today. Thank you for this and please take this tip.” You gave Iroh the money. “Its a way to say I’m sorry.”

Iroh saw the money and smiled wide, “I can think we can find it in our hearts to forgive you.”

You finished your tea and went to the order counter and rang the bell. Zuko came out thinking you left. 

“Yes?”

“I was thinking. Do you maybe want to go to the park tomorrow and catch some lunch? Its A way for me to apologize for my behavior today.”

Zuko looked around sheepishly, “I don’t know.”

“Please,” you pouted your lips. 

Zuko agreed and the date was set. 

After school the next day you went straight to the cafe. 

You were going to be honest in saying Zuko was really cute. You were nervous and thinking about him the whole day non stop. You even dressed up for the occasion which rarely happens! Even Sokka knew and wouldn’t stop teasing you the whole day. He should of been your hype man but he made you feel like a little girl with a crush!

“You ready Zuko?” 

“Yeah just give me a sec.” Zuko went in the back and came back with a changed look. He wore instead a red bomber jacket. Could he be anymore boyfriend material?

“Love the jacket.” You poked him on his side and he blushed awkwardly. 

The way to the park was more silent and you were considering if this was a bad idea. 

“So do you go to school or are you home schooled?’ You tried to break the ice. 

“Actually, I go to the school not to far from here.” Zuko pointed in the direction your school was at. 

“Wait! I think we go to the same school! Yeah, I’ve seen you before!”

“I’m not that hard to miss.” Zuko, in a way, brought up his scar. 

“No I would remember you from being so handsome.” You smirked. Zuko almost choked. “That school sucks though. Its the same everyday. Work my butt off and then get kicked around like dirt by the schools mean girls. I feel like my life is a movie sometimes.”

“Yeah I get made fun of too.”

“I’m sorry.” You touched his arm. 

“My dad did this to me,” he pointed to his scar. “Didn’t like me as a son and loved my sister more, I guess.”

“It’s a touchy subject. I didn’t realize it, I’m sorry.”

Zuko chuckled which was something new to you and almost shocking, “you can stop saying sorry. I already forgive you. Its not a big deal. I like you though, I think you’re cool.”

“Thanks.”

“And those people that make fun of you, they're crazy. They're probably jealous of you because you're so beautiful.”

You almost died right there! You were like already ready to get married to this man it felt like. Would it be wrong to ask if he was single? You prayed and hoped he was. 

You two sat at the bench. It was such a peaceful, sunny day. You crossed your legs and faced him. “So Zuko, lets play truth or dare!”

“I’m not playing truth or dare.”

“Alright I choose dare to get it started.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. He knew you weren’t going to do this. “I dare you to ask that old lady over there if she knows any place that sells laxatives.” You shot up and Zuko immediately regretted it. “Y/N I was just kidding. Let me do another one.”

“A dares a dare my man.” You fist bumped your chest like the warrior you were. You went up to the old lady like a lost kid. 

Zuko couldn’t help but laugh hard and try to shy away from the world. 

You ran back and fist bumped the air with a skip. “In your face fire prince!” You nicknamed him. “She said around the block they got a drug store. Boom! Now your turn.”

“Okay, truth.”

“Boriiiiiiiing! Oh my God! Fine! What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?”

He groaned, “really? We’re going there? I said a joke, okay, that my uncle said and it came out terrible the punchline left the building and nobody laughed. It was [pretty brutal.”

“I would of loved to see that,” you said in awe. “That’s full on cringe right there sweetie.”

“Okay, you now.”

“Truth.”

“Sissy much?” Zuko raised his brow. 

“Hypocrite! I’m just following your footsteps.”

“Okay, feisty. Have you ever kissed anybody?”

“Totally!” You struggled on that one. It was such LIES!

“You stumbled on that one. I can tell you’re lying.”

“Yes, fine I am. I’ve never kissed anybody in my life okay. Only my pillow. I’ve practiced on that and lets just say its been through a lot.”

“Wow,” Zuko tried to stifle his chuckles, “you’re unbelievable.”

“And what about you? Have you ever kissed anybody?”

“It’s not my turn.”

“Truth or dare?” You were starting to see a different side of Zuko that you really liked. He was fun and made you smile. 

“Truth.”

“Have you ever kissed your girlfriend?” You wanted to see if he was single. 

“I’ve kissed before but I don’t have a girlfriend.”

You legit wanted to party and cry because this could actually happen. “Who’d you kiss?”

“A customer.”

“Oooh, you have to spill the tea on that later. I choose dare!”

“I dare you to try your first kiss with me.” Zuko raised his brow. 

Oh my Lord was he serious? You were sweating profusely and at an alarming rate. “Are you for real?”

Zuko nodded his head, “it is a dare. And you wanted to start this. I told you not to.”

“I’ve never kissed anyone! How do I do it?”

“Just look at me and try it out and I’ll critique it.”

“I’m kinda hating you right now.” You glared at Zuko. “Only 3 seconds okay.”

Zuko surrendered to that and you closened up on him. He smelled of tea leaves that were light and airy and a burning flame of musk. He was really growing on you. You came closer and closer until your lips met. You wanted to keep still but Zuko moved his lips so you followed. You felt the whole shebang. Fireworks, butterflies, everything. You clutched onto his bomber jacket. They seemed so strong and vigorous the kisses but they were tiny pecks to start you off. Your lips moved in sync with his because you got the memo and started getting used to it. You looked down at your watch as saw that it passed the three seconds. Separating from him you wiped your lips, breathless for a puny kiss. It seemed like such a milestone for you and something so big but in reality some kids kiss their posters longer than what you did. 

“How was that?” Zuko looked away blushing. 

“Very invigorating and exciting.” You were speechless. You were such a daredevil is what you thought to kiss this complete handsome stranger. It was like a dream though. You stood on the bench and screamed out the park, “I just had my first kiss everyone!!!”

Zuko pulled you down, “oh my God it wasn’t that amazing. Chill out. I choose truth.”

You evilly smiled, “do you think I’m attractive?”

Zuko’s blush was even redder this time. “Yeah, you’re cute. My type.”

You wiggled your brows, “you’re type? You think I’m cute? He’s think I’m cute! I have finally a guy! Who thinks I’m cute! I have a chance! At not being alone! And being a crazy cat lady!” You sang as you shook your body. “Okay last one, I choose dare again. Yolo. Living on the edge.”

“I dare you to go on another date with me,” Zuko asked as he played with his fingers. 

It was silent and you were surprised on one factor. ‘This was a date?’ You grabbed his hands and smiled at him, “I’d love to go on another date with you! And you said you didn’t want to play truth or dare.”

a/n: IROH IS SUCH A MOOD OMG 😂 and zuko is so sly and cheesy sdkgjfdskgfkgjfdgk omg. i loved this wayyyyy to much as u can tell and like made this like a chapter book bc im extra like that! would u kiss a stranger if he was zuko? i prob would bc im a thirsty nerd fam 🥵

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#atla x reader #atla #atla imagines #atla fanfiction #atla modern au #zuko x reader #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender x reader #atla scenarios #avatar the last airbender modern au #atla x you #atla x y/n #avatar the last airbender imagines #avatar the last airbender fanfiction #au #truth or dare

[hazelcmist]

A Cure for Christmas

Summary: Two Brits grounded and stranded in the middle of Nowhere, North Carolina during a ‘blizzard’ and there’s only one loaf of bread, one carton of milk and one hotel room left to share. Whatever will they do?

Pairing: Ten x Rose

31 days of Ficmas: Snowed In

@doctorroseprompts

The disastrous day began in the Heathrow airport. Normally, John Smith – the Doctor to his friends and colleagues – enjoyed traveling and took all the delays in stride, but Gallifrey Inc. was threatening to pull the plug on his latest vaccine that could improve and save the lives of millions world-wide. The vaccine had spent the last six months in the development stages, but the new CEO of Saxon Inc. had abruptly cut 75% of their funding. The stocks of Gallifrey Inc. had plummeted and the Doctor and Gallifrey Inc. were floundering. The start-up company had invested everything into the Doctor’s latest vaccine, but if they couldn’t find an immediate investor, Gallifrey Inc. would be bankrupt by the end of the year and the much-needed vaccine would never be completed.

Any hopes of salvaging his career, completing the vaccine, and rescuing the company that had taken him in like a family from financial ruin was now pinned on one company that had shown some recent interest in the vaccine.

Vitex.

Vitex’s CEO was currently at their American headquarters in Los Angeles. Donna Noble generally handled this sort of thing, but Pete Tyler had requested to meet the Doctor himself, and Donna had Bronchitis. The Doctor loved traveling, but he was anxious about the meeting and he was already running behind schedule.

Thanks to Donna’s brilliance, the Doctor had managed to get on one of the few direct flights to LAX, but the departure kept getting pushed back. By the time the pretty blonde fetched up against the bar and rammed her valise into his kneecap, the Doctor had been waiting for three hours and was two banana daiquiris deep at the airport bar.

“Oi! Mind the knees!” 

She whipped around and the Doctor’s breath caught in his throat. 

“Sorry,” she said with a dazzling apologetic smile. “Lost my balance. Think I broke one of my heels running through the airport,” she confessed with a wince.

“Let me take a look,” he offered before he could stop himself.

The Doctor was usually quite good with fixing things, but unfortunately this innate ability did not extend to women’s footwear.

Twenty minutes later, she was barefoot and sharing a stool with him at the packed bar, and they had yet another round of banana daiquiris in front of them.

“’s not your fault,” she assured him, patting his leg. The Doctor tried to disguise the shiver that went through him at her touch.

“I broke your other heel too,” he lamented. 

“’s okay,” she said, squeezing his knee, “I hate high heels, can’t run in them.”

The Doctor gazed out at the crowd passing in and out of the duty-free shop across the way and a brilliant idea occurred to him.

“Wait here,” he instructed her.

He was back in a jiffy with a newly purchased pair of Chucks for her. They even matched her red blouse. She laughed when he made sure to point this out to her and launched into a lecture on the merits of proper footwear and little shops in airports. The Doctor wished he could’ve recorded that laugh and could’ve bottled the feeling that it evoked inside of him.

Suddenly, the crew announced that they were preparing for boarding.

“Sorry, I’ve got to run for my life,” he said, throwing some money down on the bar to cover both drinks. 

It didn’t occur to him until he was seated at the back of the plane with his nose in a book and a warm tingly feeling resonating in his chest that he’d felt so comfortable with her, and yet he hadn’t even learned her name.

* 

The flight was a nightmare. Rose loved travelling and was looking forward to seeing her father and finally getting a tour of Los Angeles and the new Vitex Headquarters, but the flight had been turbulent and in spite of everything Rose had tried to do to help, her seatmate had gotten violently ill. She hadn’t been the only one. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing because of the inclement weather and one of the flight attendants suddenly taking ill as well. Rose was seated in first class and was therefore one of the first to exit the plane, only after another flight attendant assured her that the other woman would be fine and was being seen to by a doctor.

Rose didn’t know where they ended up, but it became immediately clear judging from the empty terminal, that this place was a far cry from Heathrow. All of the gates were empty, save for a few sparrows that were hopping from seat to seat, eagerly looking for crumbs. 

“Where are we?” Rose wondered aloud.

“No idea,” a voice said cheerfully and Rose turned to find the bloke from the airport bar beaming at her. “Hello again,” he greeted her, wiggling his fingers.

“Hello,” Rose echoed, smiling widely. He had some great hair, some really great hair. She honestly wasn’t sure how long they stood there staring at each other as the rest of the passengers flowed around them and ran for the baggage claim and the customer service desk.

“Nice Chucks,” he complimented her with a wink.  

“Thanks,” she said with a touch-touched grin that caused him to sway toward her as if she was magnetic. “’m Rose,” she introduced herself. 

“I’m the Doctor,” he said, taking her hand. The way his fingers curled around hers, felt right, so right that she was reluctant to let go.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. 

“Starved,” Rose admitted. “I want chips.” 

“Allonsy,” he said, leading the way. “Let’s go find a chippie.” 

*

It quickly became clear that they were not in London anymore.

“Closed?” The Doctor sputtered for the fourth time in the last ten minutes. “What do you mean you’re closed?”

“It’s gonna snow,” the manager of the fourth and final place to eat explained with a shrug. “The whole airport’s shutting down. 

“But what about our flight?”

The manager shrugged again.

“It’ll be rescheduled,” he grunted, “Maybe in a few days?”

“A few days?” The Doctor’s jaw dropped, but the manager was already pushing past him with his staff eagerly following him out of the terminal.

Rose and the Doctor discovered that while they’d wasted their time tracking down all four of the places that served food, their fellow passengers had been discussing and making rearrangements. By the time they got to the last couple of harried airport employees, there wasn’t much left.

“We don’t know when the next flight out will be,” the kindly representative, Lynda explained to them and one other passenger in a ballcap. “They’re saying we could get six inches of snow.”

“Six? That’s it?” barked the passenger with a nasally accent next to them, “Where I come from, that’s nothing. Let me tell you about the blizzard of ’78. I had to dig myself out of a snow drift eight feet high and walk all the way to the packie for a six-pack of beer-”

“We only have five snow plows for the entire state and one of them got hit by a truck yesterday,” Lynda interrupted him. “But they salted the roads two days ago, so hopefully we’ll be up and running by Wednesday.”

“Two days ago!” the passenger barked. “What the fuck is that supposed to do? Do you guys even know how to de-ice a plane? Does anyone here even own an ice scraper? Or a shovel?”

“If the snow sticks and we get as much as they’re predicting,” Lynda explained to a very confused Rose and the Doctor, “The whole state will shut down for the next forty-eight hours, possibly longer depending on how quickly it melts. I’m sorry. I can put you up in a room in the hotel across the road, courtesy of British Airways, but I’ve only got one room left.”

Rose and the Doctor were too stunned to disagree. With a few clicks the agent had arranged for them to share a room for a night, possibly two, depending on the weather. 

“There’s a convenience store right outside the hotel,” she informed them, “I’d recommend stocking up on supplies before we get snowed in and they close.”

“Where’s the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts? What about Market Basket?” the other man was demanding as Rose and the Doctor gathered up their baggage and hurried out before the shop closed.

Luckily the hotel was in walking distance, but the shop was attached to a petrol station. Rose and the Doctor were shocked by the amount of cars lined up for petrol and the amount of people who left their cars running to do their shopping. The shop was small, but what little they had was swept up into the arms of anxious, fearful people prepared to weather an apocalypse. Surely, Rose and the Doctor must’ve heard the weather reports wrong, because the shelves were practically bare. One of the clerks told them that a fist fight had nearly erupted over the last case of water. All that remained now was one slightly smooshed loaf of bread and a carton of milk that had the sell by date rubbed off.

The Doctor opened the milk up, sniffed it, and decided that it would do. He added the last three jars of some weird organic jam to their basket as well, ignoring Rose’s roll of her eyes when he insisted on opening that up to sample as well.

The Doctor actually crowed in triumph when the shopkeeper brought out some bananas that had been missed in the back. But once Rose confessed that she’d actually brought tea and biscuits from home at her father’s request, the Doctor gave her a smile so blindingly bright that her face warmed.

“Rose,” he gushed, taking her hand and swinging it between them, “You are fantastic!”

They left the shop together just as it was beginning to snow. Tiny flurries drifted down around them and the Doctor made a dramatic show of trying to catch them on his tongue. He kept her laughing right up until they approached the front desk of the hotel and found out they’d been given a room.

A room with only one bed.

“Are you sure there aren’t any other rooms available?” the Doctor asked the concierge. But the man apologized that they were all booked up because of the grounded flights and the ‘blizzard’ coming in.

“Isn’t it exciting? They’re saying we could get up to a foot of snow!” the concierge squealed, “I’ve never seen snow before. I can’t wait to build my first snowman!” He clapped his hands together enthusiastically, oblivious to Rose and the Doctor’s strained smiles as they considered the prospect of sharing a hotel room and a bed with a stranger for multiple nights.

The lift was small, but their room seemed even smaller to Rose once the door clicked shut behind them. Logically Rose knew the hotel room was probably larger than most of the rooms she’d stayed in over the last few years, but she didn’t think the Doctor had been quite so tall, so manly and so attractive until they were in a confined space together.

And that was bad, very bad, because Rose had just gotten out of an awful relationship and she had no intention of starting another one. After Jimmy Stone, Rose didn’t want to even look at another man, let alone sleep in the same bed as one.

No matter how much more fit and brilliant the bloke appeared to be in comparison to her ex.

“I can sleep on the floor,” Rose offered generously at the same time as he did.

They looked at each other and then glanced away again with a bit of nervous laughter. The Doctor rubbed at the nape of his neck and Rose sat down on the edge of the bed to unlace her Chucks that unfortunately weren’t quite broken in yet. She couldn’t quite disguise a flinch as she removed her left shoe. The new shoes had made the blisters that had formed from her ruined heel worse. 

“Mind if I take a look?” he offered, and Rose folded her arms over her chest.

“You broke my other heel,” she reminded him pointedly. “’m not sure I trust you around anything. 

“I’m a Doctor,” he assured her, “Well, sort of,” he mollified removing a pair of specs from the inside of his suit jacket, “I have a Doctorate in Physics and Chemistry, but I only did a brief stint in Engineering, Astronomy and Medicine, but that has to count for something, right?”

Rose blinked at him and he took that as permission. Kneeling down on the carpet at her feet, he carefully examined her left foot. Her eyelids slid to half-mast as he started to massage her heel and the arch of her foot, and then her toes. She was practically purring by the time he finished up with one foot and moved onto the other.

“You spend a lot of time on your feet,” he noted, repeating the same glorious patterns on her right foot.

“Used to work in a shop, twelve-hour shifts, constantly running around,” she explained, suppressing a moan of pleasure as he hit just the right spot with his magical fingers. The Doctor must’ve caught the sound she made, because he abruptly released her foot and stood up.

“Right, well, it looks like as long as you don’t wear shoes for the next few days those blisters should heal up on their own,” he said, backing away from her. The room was so small that he didn’t get very far.

“Don’t think that should be much of a problem, seeing as we’re not going anywhere for the next couple of days,” Rose sighed and looked out the window. In the glow of lamplight in the car park, she could see the snowflakes coming down faster and heavier.

The Doctor stepped toward the window and pushed the curtains wide. If it kept snowing like this then there was no way he was going to get out in time to make his appointment with Pete Tyler, and if he didn’t get the funding for Vitex, his colleagues and friends were going to lose their jobs, and the Doctor would never get a chance to get the vaccine out for a disease that was affecting millions of lives.

“You alright?”

He turned around and found Rose, bathed in the soft ambient lighting of the hotel room. The red blouse paired beautifully with what was left of her lipstick and highlighted the healthy rosy flush to her cheeks. She’d taken her hair down from its updo and her hair was longer than he expected, spilling down over her shoulders.

Rose reminded him a bit of Reinette, but there was nothing fake about her or her beauty. Her kindness and the beating heart that it came from was all genuine. It was a shame he’d sworn off relationships after his affair with the Parisian had ended in heartbreak, because he already knew that Rose was beautiful inside and out.

“I’m fine,” he lied.

She gave him a skeptical look, but fortunately she didn’t press him as she gathered up her toiletries and a change of clothes.

“Gonna use the loo, unless…” She waited for him to object, but he motioned for her to go ahead.

And then he was left alone again to contemplate how he was about to lose everything he’d worked for over the last decade, letting down more and more people with every snowflake that piled up outside.

TO BE CONTINUED...

#31 days of ficmas #doctorroseprompts #fic and chips #my writing

[ad1thi]

Bruised, Not Broken - CHP 2

...i may have forgotten to cross-post on here again, so im rectifying that!! the next chapter will be out in a couple of days!! (as long as i don’t forget)

//

chapter 2/? || also on ao3

//

She wakes up a couple hours after they’ve checked into the motel.

It’d been interesting checking in: James pillowing her head in the crook of his neck and carrying her out of the truck bridal style to the motel reception; and trying his best to convince the pimple-faced teenager who’d drawn the unlikely straw for the night shift that she was his girlfriend and James simply didn’t want to wake her. His normal guy wasn't behind the register, and it made the whole thing more complicated than it needed to be.

There was a minute when James wondered if it was easier to just shoot the kid and be done with it, but then the keys were slid across the desk and he turned back to his phone, apparently no longer interested in what James was doing with an unconscious woman in his hands.

The room they’ve been given is a couple floors above the reception, and ordinarily James would prefer a room on the ground floor, because they were easier to both enter and escape from; but this particular room overlooks the parking lot and the entrance to the motel, so he’s still got a couple of good vantage points if he needs them.

He’s left the woman on the bed, rearranging her and draping the thread-bare blanket over her body before slowly easing her out of his jacket. He doesn’t like leaving her alone, especially when she’s not even in a state to look after herself should she need to - but James needs to go back to the truck and grab his stuff.

He also needs to make a trip to the nearest shops, because he hasn’t packed for more than a day’s trip. He’s okay with wearing the same clothes over and over, but he needs to grab a couple pairs of briefs and boxers if he’s going to get through this trip. He leaves one of his guns on the bedside table; loaded but with the safety on and locks the door on his way out, to make sure that nobody can get in without his say so.

He knows that she’s awake when he gets back, because he unlocks the door to see her sitting up, blankets pooled loosely around her waist, and the t-shirt she’s got on doing nothing to hide the way that she’s shivering.

Old instincts die hard though, because the first thing that James notices isn’t that she’s awake, or the stiff way she’s holding herself, likely from all her injuries.

The first thing James notices is the gun that she’s holding; pointed directly at him.

The key jingles lightly where it’s nestled in the lock as James slowly puts the bags he’s holding down on the floor, and then straightens himself just as slowly. He’s been around victims before, and Rule Number 1 is always the same: No sudden movements.

He lifts his hands up near his shoulders, palms facing her, in a facsimile of surrender, and once he’s sure that she’s recognised the move for what it is, asks in a low voice, “You want to put that gun down, doll? You could hurt someone with it.”

Her grip on the gun loosens imperceptibly, but she doesn’t lower it.

“That’s the plan,” she shoots back, and oh, she’s got a pretty voice, “Unless you can give me some sort of reason why I shouldn’t.”

James shrugs, “You’re in a strange place, barely clothed, and I’m a strange man who just let myself into this room. You’ve got no reason not to shoot me doll.”

Her eyes narrow at that, “You’re not helping yourself here.”

“Can I step in? I don’t want to get the cold air in. You’re shivering enough that I’m worried you’re going to collapse if it gets any colder here.”

She gestures with the gun, and James takes a couple of steps forward, nudging his bags with his feet and fishing the key out of the lock before kicking the door shut with his heel.

“I’m not trying to help myself here,” he continues, “I’m trying to help you. You got no reason to trust me. From the looks of it, you got no reason to trust anybody for a real long time. I can tell you that you can trust me, but me and you both know that my words mean nothing to you. My actions on the other hand, well I’m hoping those might convince you.”

“You want to take that gun and run? I’m gonna let you do that. Hell, I’ll give you the keys to my truck too, make things easier on you. But I’ve got a job; and that’s keeping you alive until your piece of shit husband’s arrested. I’m gonna do that job with or without your trust, because I don’t need your trust to keep you alive.”

“So no,” he runs his hands through his hair, “I’m not trying to help myself here. I’m trying to help you. And helping you means telling you the truth, no matter what.”

For a couple of minutes, she’s silent, staring at him down the barrel of the gun.

If he wanted to, James could rip it out of her hand and have her on her back in seconds, completely defenceless. He could pull out the gun he’s got resting in the small of his back and fire a warning shot, not close enough to injure anything but something that’ll make her flinch. Given the way her hands are shaking, it’s entirely likely that James could just duck and she’d miss him entirely.

Pointing the gun at him isn’t about her having the upper hand. She doesn’t have the upper hand, not with his training, his years in combat, his expertise. From the moment James stepped into the motel room, he’s had the upper hand.

No, pointing the gun at him is about her thinking she has the upper hand; about her taking back control of her life, having some semblance of independence and security. James left the gun on the bedside table for that very reason.

Granted, he didn’t expect her to wake up in the time that he was gone, nor did he expect that he’d been on the business end of the gun, but the end result is the same: she’s in a position where she thinks she can defend herself, where she feels like she’s the powerful one for once.

James is willing to risk getting shot for that.

Eventually, she sets down the gun, resting it on her lap but not letting her grip on it fully lax. Almost as if she’s coming down from an adrenaline high, she realises how cold she is, and pulls the blanket to cover her chest and shoulders, shifting her hips down the bed to make herself more comfortable.

James waits for a beat to see if she’s going to say anything, before picking up his bags and making his way across the room. He sets his duffel bag on the desk, testing it lightly to make sure it’ll hold the weight of his bag when it creaks, and then sets down his shopping on the floor right next to it.

He squats down to his knees, and fishes out the brown paper bag, tossing it onto the bed. She eyes it warily, before a hand sticks out of the blanket to grab it.

“It’s a cheese-burger and fries,” he offers, and her eyes widen slightly, “It’s a bit cold now, but I figured you’d be hungry whenever you woke up.”

“You’re his friend, aren’t you?” she says between bites of fries, stuffing her mouth with them like she’s never seen them before. Given her stick figure, James would put money on the fact that it has in fact been ages since she’s indulged in anything other than a salad, “The one he told me about. You’re that retired assassin.”

James frowns, “Friend might be stretching it. But yeah, I’m the one he told you about. James.”

He settles on the edge of the bed, for no other reason than there’s nowhere else to sit but the bed, and when he sticks his hand out; she covers it with her own.

“Toni,” she swallows around a couple of fries, “I don’t know what he told me about you, but my name’s Toni.”

“He didn’t tell me anything about you doll,” James huffs, “Didn’t even tell me you were a person. I just got a call in the dead of the night telling me that I had cargo to move. ‘Bout lost my shit when I found out my cargo was you, thought I was meant to kill you.”

“Why didn’t you?” Toni asks curiously, and James has to consciously stop himself from gripping the bed sheets hard enough to tear because nobody should sound so cavalier about their own death.

“I don’t do that stuff anymore. I only got into it because there’s not much jobs for a banged up vet and I needed something to pay the bills, but the minute I earned enough to keep me comfortable? I got out of that life. Didn’t like killing people when I was in the Army, and I didn’t like killing people when I was out of it.”

Toni’s moved onto the cheeseburger, and she hums around it, “He said you were like that.”

“Like what?”

“Honourable,” she licks at her lips to catch the crumbs, “He said you were honourable.”

At that, James smiles, “I’m a lot of things doll, honourable ain’t one of them.”

“You just helped a girl you don’t even know escape halfway across the country. You put a gun on my bedside table, because you wanted me to be able to defend myself, and you didn’t even flinch when I turned it on you.” She waves her half eaten cheeseburger, “You went out and got me food, on the off-chance that I might be hungry.”

“Dishonourable men don’t do that. Trust me, I would know.”

James swallows thickly, around the lump that’s built up in his throat. It’s been a long time since someone called him honourable, had a kind word to say about him - and then there’s Toni.

“I got you some clothes,” he says in lieu of an actual response, “I don’t know what your size is, so if something doesn’t fit right, just let me know and I’ll go get something new. But I figured you’d want to change into something more than..” he trails off, gesturing at her to convey what he means.

“We're not going to be here for long, no more than a night, but the shower’s yours if you want to use it. I’ll shower in the morning before we head out.”

Toni nods, clearly nonplussed by the sudden topic change, but she slips out of bed and walks over to where James is pointing at a plastic bag of clothes, rummaging through them till she pulls out a pair of trousers and a long sleeved t-shirt.

“I couldn’t find any good jacket, but there’s a thrift store a couple miles from here that I figured we could stop at tomorrow. Until then, you’re welcome to use mine.”

“I’m just gonna - “ Toni gestures behind her at the bathroom, and James averts his eyes as she walks past him to go in. Now that she’s conscious, he’s suddenly much more aware of her state of undress; and he’s not about to ruin all the progress he’s just made for her.

He keeps his eyes trained on the floor until he hears the water turn on; then pulls out his phone to start looking up the quickest way to get to Natasha’s place.

tbc

tagging a few people who were interested in this: @favreaus, @lovelyanthony, @the-pasta-monster, @warmachinesocks

#my writing #buckytony #winteriron #bucky barnes x tony stark #bucky/tony #bucky x tony #bucky barnes/tony stark #Bruised not Broken #female tony stark #assassin bucky barnes #modern AU

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Ninety Three

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

September 21st, 1996

Remy felt like he might vaguely get sick. His mother was nodding in satisfaction at the TV, but Remy couldn’t be more devastated. The Defense of Marriage Act had been passed. God, he hated Clinton right now. He was old enough to know he was gay, old enough to know what that meant for him.

Old enough to know that now, he couldn’t get married, even if he wanted to. And Mom was of the opinion that he shouldn’t even get that choice. Without ever knowing that she was doing that to her own son.

His stomach churned. He hated this. He hated this whole situation.

  November 18th, 2003

Remy had been grouchy for the first two weeks that Emile’s parents were there, making sure that he wasn’t getting into the office without Emile’s permission. But Remy begrudgingly admitted that August was killing it at the shop, and the books were being kept well under Emile’s supervised gaze.

Dad’s phone rang, and Remy glanced over from where he had been fiddling with the magnets Emile had gotten him to “keep him entertained” during the period he couldn’t watch TV, and now he used when the headaches from screens got to be too much. “Hello?” Dad asked. Remy didn’t miss Dad bolting upright. “Hey, Barry.”

Remy’s eyes widened and he shouted, “Emile!” up the stairs. Barry was Dad’s friend in Massachusetts, who had been keeping an eye on the proceedings for same-sex marriage.

“Sure, I’ll put you on speaker,” Dad said, pushing the button and saying, “It’s just me and Remy in the room right now.”

“Well, Remy, you might want to get your future husband down there,” Barry said, his grin audible. “The decision came back, four to three. You and your fiancé can get married in one hundred eighty days.”

“Holy SHIT!” Remy exclaimed, shooting to his feet. His eyes were flooded with tears. “ Emile, you little shit, get down here!”

Emile tore down the stairs, gasping, “I was washing my hands!”

Remy ran over and kissed Emile, tears falling freely. “We’re getting married!” he exclaimed. “It went through! It went through, Emile!”

Emile whooped in disbelief, kissing Remy back. They were both tearful when Emile pulled away. “Barry, I think it’s safe to say you made these boys’ day,” Dad said with a beaming grin.

“No surprise there,” Barry laughed. “And I want pictures of them in their Sunday best when they say ‘I do’!”

“Done!” Dad declared.

As Emile cried and Remy laughed, the two of them hugged again, and Remy was filled with elation like no other moment. The only thing that could possibly compare...well, was the actual marriage itself. Or maybe having kids. Remy wasn’t sure about that second one.

They kept hugging as Dad continued to talk to Barry and Mom walked in, asking what the commotion was about. When she heard, she squealed and hugged Emile and Remy tight. Dad hung up the phone and joined the hug. Remy was practically sobbing through his laughter, and Emile was keeping him upright just as much as Remy was keeping Emile from collapsing to the floor. He couldn’t believe it. They were getting married! They were getting married! A hell of a lot of things just became way more real, but he could put that on the backburner for a few minutes. Right now, he just wanted to hug his fiancé and their parents.

When the moment passed, Remy and Emile staggered their way to the couch, and the realization of what this meant seemed to hit them both at roughly the same time, because as Remy uttered, “I’m gonna have to invite my parents,” Emile asked himself, “How do I tell Grandpa?”

The two of them looked at each other in shock, before coming to a quick agreement. “Let’s figure that out when we figure out the wedding date,” Emile said.

“Yeah,” Remy agreed. “Summer sounds nice. Summer wedding?”

“Outside reception, shoving cake in each other’s mouths for an hour or two, and dancing until the sun’s long set? Sounds fun,” Emile said. “After graduation, too. Less worrying about finals and more worrying about grad school admissions.”

Remy laughed. “If we wait until August then there’s no worrying about anything for school from you.”

“True,” Emile said with a nod. “So. August?”

“August,” Remy agreed. “What day?”

“Throw a dart board at the calendar?” Emile proposed.

“Meh. Should we plan it on a weekend?” Remy offered.

“To allow everyone to travel up there, probably. I want it in a church, if that’s okay.”

“Fine by me. Just means a Saturday, then. Uh...” Remy stood, walking over to a shelf where their calendar sat. “Fourteenth sound good?”

“Yeah, sure,” Emile said.

They both froze for a moment, before again asking, “How do we tell them?” at the exact same time.

“That was... the most ‘you two’ planning of a wedding I have ever seen,” Dad said, shaking his head fondly. “No arguing, just plain pragmatism and figuring out how to get the most bang for your buck.”

Mom laughed. “I’m afraid you both will have to tell your respective family members, whether you want to or not. Perhaps you should just...send the invitations out?”

Emile grimaced, but Remy shrugged. “You know what? My people aren’t owed an explanation. That’ll work.”

“I think I want to talk to Grandpa about it before sending off the invitation,” Emile said. “Or...well. He won’t accept my call, but...Mom? Could you warn him?”

Mom nodded with a sad smile. “I’ll let him know he’ll be getting a letter from you and Remy, and tell him it’s better to open it before throwing it away. I’m afraid that’s the best I can do right now.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Emile said with a nod.

Remy felt his grip tighten on the bookshelf as he thought about his parents. True, they didn’t exactly deserve a warning, not after the way they treated him, but he was still worried. He didn’t know how they would react. How they would respond to him marrying another man. He had to make his peace with that. And fast. Because he knew that if he sent out the invite, his parents would start asking questions. Did they deserve an explanation? No. Were they going to demand one anyway? Oh, hell yes. And there would be hell to pay if Remy didn’t give it to them.

Despite that, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t give them an explanation. There wasn’t one. He was just...like this. That was enough for him. Couldn’t it be enough for them, too?

The niggling voice in the back of his head made him doubt it, but he forced himself to not think about that. If they didn’t accept him, then they didn’t accept him. That was a problem for another day, when he wasn’t about to pass out just from seeing his fiancé’s dorky smile as Dad cracked a joke about marriage.

Mom came over to him and he forced his grip on the bookshelf to go lax. “You know we’ll always love you dear, no matter what.”

“Yeah, I know,” Remy said with a smile.

Mom frowned. “Most days, that’s enough. Is it not today?”

“I...” Remy stopped. He didn’t want to lie to Mom. He shook his head.

“That’s okay,” Mom said, patting him on the shoulder. “Today is a lot for you. And hopefully, one day, you’ll get what you need from them.”

“I doubt it,” Remy sighed.

Mom smiled softly, eyes betraying her empathic sorrow. “One can dream, can’t they? I won’t take that dream away from you.”

“That’s the problem with dreams, though,” Remy said, shaking his head slightly. “One day, you have to wake up.”

Mom kissed his cheek. “And sometimes, that dream becomes reality.”

“What are the odds of that?” Remy asked, voice growing thick.

Mom tutted and pulled him in for a hug, which he gratefully accepted. Emile walked over with a dorky grin on his face. “Rem, wanna go to the Hallmark store and get ideas for the invitations to send out?”

“Are you sure the fumes won’t mess with my concussion?” Remy teased lightly, sniffling only a bit.

“It’s been about three weeks, I think you’ll live,” Emile said with an eye-roll. “I think the sooner we send out invitations the better, don’t you?”

“For the most part,” Remy agreed. “There are some people...well, I’d rather wait. But it’s probably better to just rip the band-aid off.”

“True test of your parents’ will, doing this,” Emile said. “And, for what it’s worth, I’m proud of you for deciding to be with whoever you want to be, and be whoever you want to be, despite their wishes.”

Remy smiled. “Thanks,” he said. That did make him feel a little bit better.

“Mom, Dad, do you want to come along? Or do you want some alone time?” Emile asked.

“We’ll stay here, sweetheart. We need to get packing soon, after all. Thanksgiving’s coming up and we’re still having it at ours,” Mom said.

Emile shrugged. “Okay, suit yourself.”

“Try not to break the bed,” Remy snickered.

Mom whacked him lightly with a grin. “Don’t worry, if we do, we’ll pay for the frame and the mattress.”

Dad rolled his eyes and ruffled Remy’s hair. “Your mother might. I make no promises.”

Emile gagged. “Great. Gross. Can we go now, Rem?”

Remy wore a shit-eating grin as they walked out of the house and Remy snatched the keys from Emile, sliding into the car’s driver seat. “You’re going to give yourself a headache before even entering the Hallmark store?” Emile asked him.

“Oh, like you’re so much better,” Remy scoffed.

Emile rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I can drive back if it gets to be too much.”

Remy nodded and idly said, “You know, at some point, we’re gonna need two cars.”

“I figure whenever we do I’ll pay Mom and Dad for their old junker and we can work up from there if we need to,” Emile said, scratching his jaw.

“Work up? As in, get a bigger car?” Remy asked. “Why would we ever need a minivan? Or a regular van?”

“You’re so eager to joke about my sperm donor kids, Rem,” Emile pointed out, before clarifying, “I meant getting a nicer car, though. Not a bigger car.”

“Oh, gotcha,” Remy said with a nod. “That makes more sense.”

“Almost like that was my point in the first place,” Emile teased.

Remy stuck his tongue out at Emile.

When they got to the store, they immediately made a beeline to the cards and the invitations in particular. They generally agreed that they didn’t want something necessarily covered in glitter, if only so their friends didn’t hate them and tease them mercilessly on their wedding day. Remy liked the ones with muted colors and Emile liked the florals, and together the two of them came up with a game plan for what they’d do when they made the custom invitations.

They left the store just as Remy was starting to feel a throbbing between his eyes. “God, those fumes are strong,” he laughed.

“Yeah,” Emile chuckled. “But you lasted longer than I thought you would. You’re recovering from the concussion nicely.”

“Glad to hear it,” Remy groaned, pinching his nose bridge. “I need a break. I need a nap. I need something that is non-stressful, non-wedding related, and not going to make me regret my life choices later.”

Emile gave Remy a look Remy wasn’t sure how to interpret. “You think you’d be up for some exercise?” he asked.

Remy tilted his head to the side. “I hate exercise, Emile,” he said flatly.

“No, no, not that kind of exercise. The other kind. The kind I banned you from immediately after your concussion.”

“Oh.” Remy frowned, trying to connect the dots. Everything came together with startling clarity ten seconds later. “Oh. With your parents in the house?!”

“Well. We can send them out for milk,” Emile said with a flirty grin.

“Oh my God, Emile,” Remy laughed. “You know what? If it works? Sure. If not, you’re going to be the one answering to them.”

“Relax, Rem. We’re engaged. We’re going to get married soon. I doubt a little bit of extracurricular activity will have either of my parents clutching at their pearls.”

“I hope not,” Remy laughed. “Because that would certainly be something I would not be looking forward to. A lecture from your parents on proper bedside manners? No, thank you.”

“Yeah. Worst came to worst, the conversation would be, ‘You boys using a condom?’ ‘Yes?’ ‘Carry on, then,’” Emile said with a little laugh. “And I should know, because I brought my boyfriend home after prom night.”

Remy choked. “Wait. You what?!”

Emile just laughed.

“I’m going to need an explanation, Emile!”

#if there's a place i could be #sanders sides fanfiction #remile #emile picani #ts sleep

[itsallavengers]

Never meet your heroes

Alright. They’d gotten through the first introduction, he’d managed to make it through the lobby and up the elevator without incident, so Steve was going to say that it had gone well so far.

Now, he thought, came the tricky bit. And that was actually introducing their new colleague to the team.

He took a deep breath, hoping that no one was naked as the doors slid open.

“Okay. So seeing as you’re going to be operating as new SHIELD liaison, you’re probably gonna be seeing a lot of the inside of the tower,” Steve stepped out of the elevator with the new woman SHIELD had sent beside him, silently thankful there was no immediate chaos to be seen, and as they returned their gazes to one another Steve held up three fingers. “This means you’re gonna have to follow three important rules, for the sake of your sanity and ours.”

Her brow creased, and it wasn’t for the first time that day that Steve wondered whether Fury was making the correct decision with this woman. She seemed... easily disapproving. And serious. Steve got that, he did, especially on your first day when you were wanting to establish boundaries, but still-- he hoped that there was a bit more steel to her. 

She pursed her mouth. “Captain Rogers, with all due respect, this is going to be a partnership, not a leadership.”

“I understand that, Ma’am,” he made sure to keep his voice polite as he walked her into the kitchen, “if it’d make you feel better, you can consider them more like guidelines. But I swear, they’re in your best interest.”

“Oh, are we giving grumpy-pants the house rules?” Steve ground his teeth as he turned to Clint, who’d become visible on the kitchen counter once they turned the corner. He grinned with a mouthful of cheerios. “Is this her face before or after rule one? Because it doesn’t spell good things if it’s--”

“Please ignore the homeless man who’s taken residence in our tower,” Steve said loudly, talking over Clint and blocking him from sight with his sizeable body, “he just showed up one day and refused to leave.”

“SHIELD liaison woman, don’t you think that’s workplace harassment?” Clint leaned sideways and looked at her with a deep frown, and Steve felt a Cheerio bounce off the back of his head. He made a mental note to buy nothing other than sugar-free granola from now on.

Mary Collins, said SHIELD liaison woman in question with 14 years’ worth of experience under her belt that she seemed determined to put to good use here, simply raised her eyebrow at Steve. “I think it’s warranted,” she informed him evenly, and then let herself sigh as she raised her hands. “Alright then. Give me the rules, Captain.”

Okay, that seemed like a joke of sorts. Steve could work with that. At least she wasn’t a complete buzzkill. “Alright, rule number one. No shop-talk at breakfast or dinner. We take food very seriously, and Thor starts breaking things if he gets interrupted too many times. For Tony’s bank’s sake, it’s best if you could just schedule your meetings around that.” Bruce walked through the kitchen at that point, looking like he was leaving somewhere, but he stopped to shake Mary’s hand before he left, giving her a smile and a short ‘good luck’. Steve marched ahead. 

“Rule number two-- sometimes we have fights. And sometimes they get physical.  I know that this might be considered unhealthy on any other working unit or team, but please consider the fact that we are all incredibly dysfunctional and emotionally maladapted.” When Mary’s eyebrows lifted again, Steve held out his hands and resisted the urge to sigh. This was the fifth Liaison they’d gotten through in the last year. Most of them barely even lasted a month before they ran. “It never results in long-lasting injury, and we tend to leave Tony out of it, but there may be occasional scraps that break out while you’re in our company. Just let us work it out of our systems and don’t get involved.”

“That’s...” Mary seemed a little lost for words. “Have you considered therapy? One-on-one and group, perhaps?”

For the sake of avoiding a long and rather awkward conversation, Steve tactfully chose to ignore the question. “Rule three- possibly the most important one- is to never, ever enter Tony or Bucky’s room without giving warning. Ever. And also, just...” oh God, this was a conversation that one of those two men should be having with their new colleague, not him-- he really hated being team leader sometimes. “Get used to PDA,” he muttered eventually, “lots of it. I’d just avoid them when they’re together, honestly. And don’t get threatening with one of them when the other is present. Oh, and although the team is allowed to tease them, you’re very much not.” He turned to her, suddenly serious, because he wanted her to know this, more than any of the other rules. “I mean it. They’re happy. SHIELD don’t have any business commenting on that. We’re their friends, so we’re okay. Until you reach that status, you will politely refrain from passing comment.”

By this point, poor Mary Collins seemed utterly bewildered. Which was fair enough; outside of the tower, no one knew that Bucky Barnes and Tony Stark were an item. Bucky was still adjusting to everything, most of all himself, and so for now they were keeping it quiet. The liaison would have to know due to the simple fact that she would be spending time in their safe space at the tower, but Pepper had already drawn up enough contracts and NDAs to drown the woman as soon as she left for SHIELD again. 

Steve had to hand it Mary though. She held her ground, even as Captain America glared at her. “I take it this means Barnes and Stark are a couple,” she said eventually, having processed all the information, “which I doubt will affect my job much. I, uh, will take note of the room thing, though.” She gave the smallest of flinches. “I’ve had enough trauma from sharing a dorm with my sister.”

That was a story Steve would definitely be extracting from her when she inevitably joined in on one of their team drinking sessions, and he stored the nugget away for later use. At that point, they’d entered the communal living room, where Nat was sprawled on the couch flicking through the TV, Thor was sat idly scrolling through his twitter feed, and Bucky & Tony were both sat snuggled into the loveseat in the corner of the room. Naturally, Mary’s eyes went straight for them; they’d only just finished talking about the two of them, after all. 

And of course, they were being all romantic. What else was new? Tony was curled up in Bucky’s lap, the two of them talking quietly as Tony scraped his fingers through Bucky’s long hair and twisted it up at the back, tying it out of the way for him. They were almost nose to nose, lips moving in conversation that Steve couldn’t pick up on, and a moment later they watched from afar as Bucky started stroking his metal hand teasingly over Tony’s thigh, sneaking under the fabric of his dressing gown. Steve did not doubt that that was the only item of clothing that Tony was currently sporting. 

He coughed loudly. “This is Mary,” he declared, and Bucky paused the feeling-up of his boyfriend in order to twist his head over to Steve, “she is our new SHIELD liaison. She does not need to see Tony’s junk during our first meeting, Buck.”

Tony pouted, as if the request was unreasonable, and it was only when Steve gave him a sharp glare that he moved; giving Bucky one last peck on the mouth before sliding off the man’s lap. He managed to save his modesty with a well-placed hand, and Steve could only silently apologise to this SHIELD agent. She had her work cut out from here on in. “I suppose I can save my junk for one man,” he agreed, turning back to Bucky for a second as he wandered over. Steve watched Bucky smile at him from the love-seat, such a soft thing. 

Even when they were insufferably touchy-feely with one another, it was hard for Steve to get annoyed by it. They just made each other too damn happy, and Steve was too damn pleased for them. They deserved it, he supposed. 

“Miss Collins,” Tony extended a hand and beamed at her, lax and loose and not fake at all. Steve eyed the marks on Tony’s neck, and figured there was probably a very obvious reason as to Tony’s uncharacteristically positive early-morning attitude. “What a pleasure to meet you.”

There was a dubious look given to Tony’s hand, and Steve couldn’t blame her. They had just seen Bucky a second away from giving Tony a handie, so God knows where Tony’s own had been. But it seemed she braved the contact anyway, because she took it firmly and inclined her head. “I’ve already been given the house rules,” she said with the smallest of smiles, and Tony chuckled, clasping his spare hand over hers.

“And you will also be given a very lengthy and watertight NDA that prohibits you from saying a word about mine and Mr Barnes’ relationship,” he added on, voice cheerful as he continued to shake her hand, “were you to break any of the clauses within or make my boyfriend’s face sad in any way, I will sue you for everything you own. Just so we’re clear.”

“Tony!” Steve glared at him, but Tony just smiled back, carefree-- although Steve knew him too well not to miss the smallest hint of steel in his eyes, and also be very acutely aware that Tony meant every word. He was fiercely protective of Bucky and his mental wellbeing. It had been what had driven off the last three SHIELD agents who’d rocked up to try and take Mary’s position. And Bucky had been responsible for the other two, for largely the same reason (although Clint accidentally pushing him off the roof of the tower might have been a contributing factor in one of them, Steve wasn’t too sure).

Mary eyed Tony for a second, before stepping away. “I see what you mean about avoiding the two of them” She told Steve drily, and Steve couldn’t help but grin as he gave Tony a light shove and sent him back over to Bucky, who was waiting on the loveseat. “Message received though. If I were less professional than I am, I might have been shitting my pants out of fear right about now.” Her mouth pursed again and she adjusted her glasses on her face. “Luckily, I’m a little too caught up on the fact that the God of Thunder apparently runs a stan twitter for Ariana Grande to care about being threatened by Iron Man.”

Steve followed her gaze to where she was looking over the couch. Thor appeared to be in the process of making a tweet about the injustice of ‘his queen’s’ new song not making #1 spot on Itunes. It was followed by a gif of kermit appearing to commit suicide. “He also has one for politics,” Steve attempted weakly, “I... it’s Asgardian politics, mind you, but quite informative nonetheless.”

She nodded, eyes somewhat glassy for a moment. Steve understood. You walked in the door of the Avengers Tower expecting... uh... something other than what you got, most of the time. If you caught them while they were mid-training session, you’d definitely be impressed! But- ah- any other occasion, and this was what you were more likely to get. 

Iron Man and the Winter Solider canoodling on some piece of furniture, Hawkeye eating food without cutlery, Thor starting arguments with twitter stans, and Black Widow refusing to change out of her pyjamas until after midday. 

Steve had accepted the fact he would never have any respect to his name ever again. Actually, he’d accepted that back in 2013 when Tony had drunkenly convinced Steve to buy several golden retrievers and then pose with them on social media. Without clothes on. The dogs had artistically covered his private parts, sure, but his image had never quite been the same. 

“I’m just going to apologise in advance,” Steve told her resignedly, “you’re going to be seeing some shit. You may leave here with more trauma than you started with.”

He watched Mary adjust her bag and cock her head at him. “It takes quite a lot to shake me,” she informed him, but Steve just held out his hands to the room. 

“We’re very shaky people.”

“Oh, believe me, you haven’t met my sister.” Mary’s eyes rolled and then focused on something behind Steve’s shoulder. He turned just in time to watch Bucky drape himself over Steve’s left side, fingers pinching his cheek playfully.

“Is he telling you how delinquent we all are?” Bucky asked, “is he making it out like he’s the only sensible one here?”

“Of course he is.” Oh, and now apparently Tony had joined at Steve’s other side, “although I’m betting he’s choosing not to mention that time with the Trans-Tower Long Jump Dare and the skinny-dipping incident in Central P--”

“ALRIGHT!” Steve held up his hands and clamped both of them around each friend’s mouth rapidly, feeling his cheeks flush. Mary was staring at him blankly, but Steve did not doubt that she knew where that sentence had been headed. “Alright, I think that’s enough for the introductions. Bucky, kiss Tony so that neither of you speak again.”

“Happily,” Bucky grinned and then ducked around Steve’s side, his hand curling around Tony’s waist easily. They both giggled, Tony pausing to add a final hurried “the skinny dipping was what broke the last SHIELD liaison, so good luck to you” before Bucky stuck his tongue in Tony’s mouth and silenced him. They wandered off somewhere, probably for more enthusiastic sex or whatever-- Steve had learned not to ask. Mary was just nodding to herself, over and over and over again. She seemed to be in mild shock. Steve didn’t know what to think about the fact that it was the stories of Steve’s own... less than stellar behaviour that appeared to have been a sticking point for her. Thor ran an Ariana Grande fan account, for fuck’s sake, but it was Steve doing some harmless dares that shocked her?

“I think I might have jumped into this job a little too quickly,” she stated in the end, looking at Steve and then looking down at Steve’s crotch. “I may need some time to think this over.”

“That’s fine. You’ve lasted longer than the second guy. He walked in, saw Thor and Bruce fighting naked, and then walked out again.”

A long, heavy silence followed. Then a loud splutter. “Wh... why are you always naked when these incidents occur?”

Steve just looked at her. Again, he was sure he’d used to own more self-respect than this. “If I knew, I would tell you.”

Mary didn’t speak for a while. Steve sighed. Mary copied. “I can see Mr Stark grabbing the Winter Soldier’s ass out of the corner of my eye,” she commented dazedly.

“Yeah, they do that a lot.”

“Right.” Mary blinked. “I’m going to go home and have a drink.”

“That’s understandable.”

“A big drink.”

“Again, I get it.”

A long pause. A small cough. Then, “I suppose... I’ll be in touch.”

Oh. Okay, well-- that was better than Steve had been expecting. He’d thought she might just hightail it straight out of there. With a nod, he led her back over to the elevator they’d arrived in, once more spotting Clint, still eating from the cereal box. It truly was a miracle he was as ripped as he was. That shouldn’t be possible considering the vast amounts of sugar that constantly ran through the man’s blood. “Be quiet and eat your breakfast,” he declared sharply, before the man had even opened his mouth. They did not need to regale Miss Collins with any more stories this morning. 

Clint threw another Cheerio at him, but Steve saw that one, and he plucked it out of the air and popped it into his mouth without looking. Mary was still staring. “This house is a fucking nightmare.”

“I...” Steve tried to think of a way to defend his team. “Yeah,” he admitted, when nothing sprang to mind. He pressed the button for the lobby and then stepped out, giving her his best smile. He noticed her hands were clutching very tightly to her bag, which held nothing other than the file on SHIELD regulations and protocols that she had been supposed to get the team together and go through before leaving. 

Steve figured they weren’t quite ready for that yet, though. Her rules could not help her here. 

“Have a safe journey!” He called out to her as the doors slid shut, waving cheerily. She didn’t respond, but her hand tightened around the bag, and as soon as she was gone from sight Steve took the time to groan. Loudly. “I hate all of you!”

“You just hate the fact you haven’t got any sense of shame any more, Captain,” Clint informed him, pointing the cereal box in his direction as Steve walked through. He sulkily snatched a handful of Cheerios from the box and shoved them into his mouth, choosing to ignore Clint’s words. He was headed for the living room, but at that moment Nat and Thor traipsed out of it, looking equally as sulky as they too went for the Cheerios and grabbed handfuls. 

“Don’t go in there,” Nat said mutinously, “they’ve started canoodling again.”

“Loudly,” Thor added.

Steve looked between them all, and then leaned back against the fridge. They fought monsters on a biweekly basis. They’d been through hell together- survived torture, mind control, death and everything in between. They were Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, in every sense of the word, and there was nothing that they would not do for each other. 

“If they get bodily fluids on the couch, I’m throwing them both off the tower without hesitation,” Steve ground out, folding his arms over his chest. 

“Larry Erikson-style!” Clint whooped, and Nat smacked him over the head instantly. 

“You said that was an accident.”

“It was! Mostly. I mean-- it wasn’t my fault that he was trying to get me to sign documents while I was in the middle of playing water-tennis with Thor. I won’t do it to Mary though, she seems nice.”

Steve listened to the three of them being to argue over the merits of throwing a liaison off the tower once they got annoying, and he didn’t bother trying to tell them that was a bad idea. He just ducked down into the bottom cupboard and grabbed Thor’s Asgardian mead, pouring a generous serving into his cup of tea.

If Mary got to drink after being around the Avengers for five minutes, Steve figured he’d earned this, considering he’d been around them for five years at this point. He was fairly sure he’d lost a good 80% of his sanity in that time. 

Ah, well, he thought as he watched Thor clap him on the back and tell him that his butt looked terrific in the new sweatpants he was wearing-- you win some, you lose some. And he thought he might have won more than he’d lost. 

Just about.

--

Kofi

#this very chaotic i just got an idea in my headf woghgfdkjbfbnf #steve rogers #winteriron #buckytony #itsallavengers writes