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tendouluvr · 3 years

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not telling them you’re pregnant - f!reader

- fluff, sliiiight angst maybe

- characters: suna, sakusa, semi

- warnings: pregnancy (i don’t go into detail of giving birth or anything), cravings, morning sickness aka throwing up, two mention of the act of sex in semi’s, some cursing

- wc: 1.4k, 888, 946

a/n: it’s f!reader cuz pregnancy but there’s no specific pronouns/gendered terms used

also idk how suna got so long, he was the last one i wrote for bc i couldnt think of anything lmao

[2. iwaizumi, atsumu, kageyama]

SUNA

#! suna has been practicing late into the night the past few weeks

#! there’s a big game coming up and the entire team is feeling the pressure and adrenaline from the crunch time

#! you haven’t been feeling too good lately, a lot heavier and more tired than usual

#! thinking it was just stress from work and the missing presence of your boyfriend, you pushed through it and thought it would go away in the next few days

#! unfortunately, luck wasn’t on your side and you started to get sudden needs to throw up

#! it didn’t take you long to realize why your physical and mental drive have been down lately

#! you’re pregnant

#! or you believe you are

#! you bought a few tests, some of different brands so you can have a variety, and headed home to confirm your suspicion

#! a few minutes later, staring back at you was multiple positive symbols and the bolded ‘PREGNANT’s

#! taking a few deep breaths, you decided to tell suna tonight once he comes home

#! you thought it was better to let him know as soon as possible

#! it wouldn’t hurt anyone plus the faster you rip the bandaid off, the easier it’ll be to deal with it

#! so you waited

#! and waited

#! until 11pm that night, when suna finally came through the front door

#! “tarō! how was practice? can we talk?” you hurriedly greeted him

#! he was taken aback, not expecting you to be right beside him and in his ear as soon as he came in

#! of course you weren’t, you made sure to put some space in between you and him

#! but suna was stressed and tired, so everything is intensified to him at the moment

#! “can you back up?” he mumbled, pushing his way from in front of you to walk to the kitchen

#! “oh, sorry. can we talk?” you sheepishly smiled, hoping he would say yes

#! you’re not blind, you can tell that suna was tired but you really didn’t wanna put this off

#! you were just gonna tell him, he gets surprised, you both talk it out, and then go to bed and continue figuring things out tomorrow morning

#! but before any of that can happen, suna bluntly told you, “no. i’m tired. i’m sure whatever it is isn’t a big deal. can it be tomorrow? i wanna sleep.”

#! you didn’t get to answer before he was already walking away to the bedroom

#! understanding where he was coming from, you mentally agreed to talk to him tomorrow. one day wouldn’t change anything and you’ve seen plenty of people not tell their partners until a few weeks in

#! he was right, it wasn’t a big deal (yet)

#! so you waited until tomorrow

#! and waited

#! and once again, he came home late

#! “hey! can we quickly talk, babe?”

#! “i’m tired. tomorrow, okay?”

#! “oh, okay. night, rin!”

#! “g’night.”

#! night came and there was still no talk

#! this continued on for about 2 weeks, you finally choosing to not care anymore and just let him find out whenever he finds out

#! technically, you could’ve just blurted out a simple, “i’m pregnant.” any point during your nightly five seconds conversations

#! but seeing that he really was tired, springing it onto him would either put him in a full body shock for three days or he just doesn’t fully process your words until three days after

#! a month has passed, your stomach was still barely showing like most women at their one month mark

#! you decided to book an appointment for a checkup, it’ll be while suna’s at practice

#! and that doctor appointment was the exact reason suna found out

#! he was at practice when komori entered the gym

#! he had a doctor’s appointment for his annual checkup, and that’s where he saw you

#! you didn’t see komori, busy reading the directory to find your way to the right office

#! but he saw you on the way out. seeing that you looked a bit busy, he chose not to greet you and just quickly walk to his car lmao why is this funny to me

#! entering the gym, he greeted everyone and apologized for his tardiness even though it was excused

#! walking up to suna, he tapped him on the shoulder and quietly told him, “i saw yn at the hospital earlier. it’s been awhile since we all got together huh, they looked a bit different.”

#! ok so komori, being the smart person he is, deducted that you were pregnant when he saw your finger pointing at the ob/gyn office

#! and he genuinely thought suna knew so his comment was suppose to be a small joke that was meant to tease suna and his sex life

#! suna, however, was confused

#! look different? did you get surgery?

#! “what do you mean?”

#! komori rolled his eyes and gave a sweet smile at suna, “congrats you two! when were you gonna tell the rest of us?”

#! suna: 👨‍🦲 huh

#! “are you guys not pregnant?” he blinked at suna’s frozen reaction

#! suna became unresponsive so komori just walked away mumbling to himself about being sure he read the sign right

#! a loud whistle blew and it shook suna out of his daze, everyone got ready to play a practice game of 3 vs 3 while suna ran over to the coach

#! “hey coach, um i think there’s an emergency at home. can i go? ok thanks.”

#! his coach just stares after him as he sprints off, you think? is there an emergency or not?

#! suna quickly drove home, he may or may not have speed a little, and entered the apartment

#! “yn? baby?” he called out only to be greeted back with silence

#! probably still at the hospital....what were you doing there? he thought to himself while rummaging around the house to find anything that could give him somewhat of an idea

#! he was digging around in the bedroom when you came home, his head so frenzied he didn’t hear the front door open

#! but you heard the ruckus from the bedroom and immediately went into fight or flight

#! panicking, you took out your phone to call suna while quietly opening the front door to make your way back out before the intruder catches you

#! the phone rang and rang until it was picked up. “suna?” you whisper-yelled into the speaker. you had a habit of calling him by his last name when you were freaking out. he noticed and was equally alarmed

#! “what’s wrong?” he whispered back just as panicked

#! “there’s someone in our apartment. can you come home?”

#! “huh? oh, are you home?” he cackles into the phone speaker making you move the phone away from your ear, “it’s me, sweets, c’mere.”

#! you warily walked on your tiptoes over to your bedroom, peeking your head in and what a surprise, it is suna

#! “jackass! why are you home?!”

#! “why didn’t you tell me?” he cut straight to the point

#! “huh?”

#! “you’re pregnant. when were you gonna tell me?” his voice sounding stern, but the quiet smile dancing on his face tells a different story

#! “i tried.”

#! “huh? what do you mean?”

#! “all those times i asked if we could talk. i was trying to tell you.”

#! his heart dropped, eyebrows furrowing, while he stared you down

#! suna became unresponsive once again, standing there trying to think back to the first time you asked him

#! two weeks ago

#! “i’m sorry,” he quietly whispers

#! “hm? i..it’s fine....i was a bit sad, but i’m over it. at least you know now,” you casually shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal

#! “no. i shouldn’t have pushed you aside like that. even if you weren’t pregnant, even if you had just wanted to tell me about some stupid video you saw that day, i shouldn’t have told you off. i’m sorry, i love you a lot and you deserve so much better.”

#! “tarō, shut up. i accept your apology and i forgive you, now make it up to me by giving me a back massage while i show you the ultrasound pictures!”

#! he kisses you before lifting you up bridal style making his way to the bed

SAKUSA

#! contrary to popular beliefs, sakusa is not an obsessive germaphobe who finds everything disgusting but you

#! he wouldn’t be playing volleyball if he was that afraid of germs,,,,,

#! yes, he cringes if random little kids grab onto him after games because 1) he’s drenched in sweat and that feeling is not fun

#! 2) he doesn’t even know themmm

#! and 3) he wanna go home

#! but sakusa loves you and if you happened to get pregnant, he would love your kid(s) just the same

#! however, he never told you this. he never really had a reason to voice this out loud

#! so when you actually did get pregnant, you were confused

#! the only interactions between sakusa and kids you’ve seen multiple times were the moments between him and his fans

#! you guys have been to family parties and his nieces, nephews, and cousins looooves him

#! maybe it’s the fact that he’s a tall looming giant and they just want to climb

#! but besides those moments, you don’t recall him ever telling you upfront that he wants children of his own

#! and the constant stress and pressure he always seem to be working around also doesn’t help reassure you in any way

#! being an athlete for a living means always watching your body, health, and looks for the cameras (but omi could care less about the last thing)

#! he also has to make sure whether or not he’s working well with his teammates, practice and improve on anything he’s having problems with, and deal with atsumu’s dramatic ass

#! you’re an overthinker and because of that, all of these reasons were just reasons for you to postpone the pregnancy news to your long term boyfriend

#! it wasn’t too hard anyway, considering practice runs late sometimes and he’s busy majority of the time doing other stuff

#! when you guys do have alone time together, you both are so focused on one another that you actually forget that you’re pregnant and you never told him

#! you’re about to hit the three months mark now — time goes by fast — and sakusa has noticed you and your body changing

#! at first he just thought you were going through a phase of cravings and a bit of bloating, so he didn’t mention it and just let you be

#! he never got to witness you getting morning sickness because he goes on early runs or he was just out doing morning errands so he wouldn’t have to deal with it later that day

#! so when he caught you in the kitchen cutting up a lemon, the last thing he was expecting you to do was bring the lemon directly up to your mouth

#! “uh, what are you doing?” his deep voice caught you off guard, effectively stopping the hand that was holding the lemon

#! you just stare at him, not wide-eyed, not surprised, just stare

#! “eating a lemon.”

#! “i can see that.... why exactly?”

#! “dunno, the baby i guess.” you casually shrugged it off before popping the lemon slice into your mouth

#! “ah-,” he opened his mouth to stop you from eating the lemon, your words not fully processing in his mind, but cut off midway and froze when he finally realized

#! hearing him pause like that made you suddenly remembered that you never told him you were pregnant

#! you slowly turned back to look at him, mouth still slowly chewing the lemon slices

#! a moment of silence later, he unfreezes and just starts stiffly walking towards you

#! he grabbed you by the shoulders, made you look him in the eyes, before whispering, “you’re pregnant?!”

#! “y-yes..”

#! his eyes were wide, black pupils expanding as he stared you down, his lips slowly curving into a small smile

#! “you’re pregnant....,” he whispers, mainly to himself, hugging your head into his chest

#! “mhm, get off me i’m trying to eat,” you gently pushed him off but he wouldn’t budge

#! “omiiii please, if you get off i’ll give you a slice,” you tried bribing him. he couldn’t tell if you were being serious or just teasing

#! “no.”

#! “um ok, two slices?”

#! “no.”

#! “omi!”

#! he giggles before opening his arms to let you go

#! “why didn’t you tell me?”

#! you didn’t reply right away, making him start to overthink

#! did you not want the baby? or did you not want a kid with him? did you not want to be with him anymore? or was it not his?!

#! he childishly shakes his head side to side at the last question. he knew you wouldn’t do that

#! but you were still silent, making him nervously glance at you from the side

#! “sorry, piece of lemon stuck in my teeth. i just forgot to tell you,” the words easily flowing out of your mouth nonchalantly

#! sakusa’s fingers were literally about to start twitching from anxiousness beside you

#! a sigh of relief was heard from him and you turned to look at him

#! “you okay?”

#! he doesn’t answer, just gives you a smile and goes back to hugging you from behind

SEMI

#! you were currently sitting on the couch in your shared apartment waiting for semi to come home

#! he’s been on tour for a few months now, you both kept in touch by facetiming, texting, calling, and any other methods of virtual communication

#! you would tune into the live recording of all of his performances when you had time so you could watch him

#! a few weeks into tour, you suddenly felt different than usual but shook it off as nothing and probably just you missing your boyfriend

#! you believed that until one morning you were woken up by the sudden urge to throw up, dashing to the restroom as fast as your drowsy body can go

#! it was then that you realized you might be pregnant

#! the night before semi left, you both had sex to enjoy your last few hours together before he had to leave for a few months

#! with the new realization, you quickly dressed yourself to make a short trip to the store to pick up some tests

#! after half an hour of looking at yourself in the mirror, trying to wrap your head around this, you finally opened the first box

#! a few minutes later, all 5 tests were lined up on the bathroom counter showing positive

#! you stared at the tests, trying to make sure you weren’t reading it wrong

#! once you began to understand the responsibility of being pregnant a few hours later, you made a mental note to go out and buy some food for yourself the next day

#! you decided to sleep off the rest of that day

#! through all of the facetime calls with semi, you never once told him you were pregnant

#! you knew that if you told him he would freak out and either demand to go back home, or stay but all of his attention would be on you being pregnant alone at home for the rest of the tour

#! so here you are now, sitting with a 4 1/2 months baby bump waiting for your beloved to come home

#! it was around 6pm when the front door opened, sounds of shuffling bags and heavy steps could be heard from the musician

#! he cursed under his breath when he almost tripped over a duffle bag with some of his loungewear, calling out for you as he walks further into the apartment, “baby? i’m home!”

#! he was about to speak up again when he saw you asleep on the couch

#! bouncing his way over, he got onto his knees at the edge of the couch to observe your face. god i miss you, he thought to himself

#! he gently shakes you awake, you jolted in surprise not knowing you fell asleep in the first place

#! “hmm- what?,” soft murmurs falling from your lips as you adjusted your eyes at your surrounding

#! “eita!” he grinned at you, both of you pulling each other into a hug

#! “fuck, i miss you so much.” he whispered into your ears before placing his face into your neck

#! “i miss you more.” you tightened your grip around him making him move up on the couch to get more comfortable

#! you both moved around until he had you cradled in between him, your back against his chest

#! his hands going under your his shirt to caress you there when his movements stopped right on top of your stomach

#! it was silent as his warm hands rubbed your stomach in circles, the gears turning in his head

#! “are you- you feel- why’s your tum so round and hard?” he quizzically asked, still rubbing your stomach

#! “pregnant.” your voice a low whisper, he almost didn’t catch it

#! “what?”

#! “pregnant.” you repeated, a bit louder this time

#! “huh?”

#! “pregnant!” you sighed, moving his hand so you can get off of him

#! he grabs your wrist to stop you from walking away and turns you to look at him

#! “you’re pregnant?!”

#! “i just said that. yes.”

#! you knew you sounded blunt and a bit mean, it wasn’t his fault he doesn’t know at all, but your hormones have been making you crankier and it’s out of your control

#! “sorry. yes, i’m pregnant.”

#! his eyes continuously darts up and down from your eyes to your bump

#! “how long?”

#! “since you left.”

#! “was it the night before?” he was referring to your act of intimacy the night before he left

#! “yea.”

#! “wow. why didn’t you tell me?”

#! “because.”

#! “‘cuz what?”

#! “because i know you. you would either stop touring and come home, or stay but lose focus. i was just trying to not distract you because i know how important your career is to you. and because i thought that you’ll be having a six months break after this tour before your next comeback, i would tell you when you came home. i’m sorry if you’re ma-,”

#! “i’m not mad. oh don’t cry, babe, look at me.”he carefully cups your face, “it’s okay, it’s okay. i get why you kept it from me. and now that i have no schedule for the next six months, i can be there for you until the end of your pregnancy and the beginning of our baby’s life alright?”

#! you weakly nodded against his palms, and he brings you back down to lay your head on his chest as you both softly talk about the past months without each other

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nightwishesworld · 3 years

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Oh, I have a request! How about the daughters (who love the reader very much) always taking the reader and practically stealing her every time she’s with Alcina? (Cuz we need more daughters and reader interaction 🥲) And maybe to the point of our precious big dommy mommy gettin ya know ya know jealous? ;)) HAHGSHAHAHAHA, that would be hilarious to see. Anyways, hope you’re havin’ a great time~ ✌🏻till next time!

I’m so sorry this took me so long anon! I’ve gotten more requests than I ever thought I would and I’m starting to get behind. This was a really sweet one to put together though- really enjoyed it!

Slight Gore warning for Cassandra! Nothing too detailed but it is referenced. If you don’t like it just skip her

Bela

Being the eldest sibling has made her the most level-headed of the three. After decades of ending squabbles between her younger sisters, she’s discovered the pleasures of retail therapy.

She takes great joy in popping off to neighboring villages for a few hours perusing the various aromatherapy shops.

And she takes even greater pleasure bringing you along. Dragging you, really. Even if you’re otherwise busy. Sometimes she’ll buy you a few scents or lotions that catch your eye.

She calls it “compensation for being dragged away from Mother,” but really she’s just happy to spoil you

Also loves asking you for literature recommendations. As vast as the castle’s library is, Bela had read through most of the literature over her lifetime

Is absolutely fascinated by modern day novels.

She takes you on a day-long shopping spree visiting five surrounding villages just blowing through money buying almost every book that peaks her interest

Most of your time together is spent relaxing in the library talking about your novels.

Eventually you’ve collected enough books to make an entirely new section in the library just for the two of you.

Even when cuddled up with Alcina in the library, there is simply no escaping Bela when she’s looking for recommendations or simply someone to talk to

At the end of the day, you really didn’t mind. You were more than happy to spend time with all the girls and happy they wanted to spend time with you.

You knew as annoyed as Alcina got when interrupted she found it incredibly sweet that her daughters will go out of their way to be with you

Cassandra (Cassi)

Suffers from middle child syndrome hardcore

She’s a bit too old to understand Bela’s interests, but too old to join Daniela in her delusional fantasies. So naturally, she tries to cling onto you.

At first she tries to convince you to enter the basement with her so she can show you her “Art Gallery,” but Alcina forbade it. So things between you and Cassi went quiet for awhile

Alcina says Cassandra is an artist of some sort and all her work is done in the basement

After about a month of silence Cassandra came barrelling into your private study with some kind of canvas in her hands

“I’m sorry I haven’t been around much, y/n, but I’ve been working really hard on your gift.”

You gush, “oh Cassi, you didn’t have to make me anything. That’s so sweet of you.”

She eagerly flips over the canvas to reveal her painting of a human heart.

It was beautifully detailed, the heart really jumped off the page against the black background...but something was off about it. It took a minute for you to realize it but once you did, you couldn’t stop staring. The heart was painted with blood.

You were lost for words.

“Well?” Cassi, asked with a broad smile on her face. “Do you like it?”

All you could do at first was nod you head. “Oh Cassandra, its gorgeous. You really made this?”

The girl’s eyes were rapturous. “It’s my favorite hobby! But this particular piece was my first try at observational painting. I hope I did a good job...”

“Are you kidding Cassi? It’s beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like it. Can I hang it on my wall?”

She lunges at you, wrapping you in a suffocating hug. “Thank you, y/n. I made it a heart so you know how much we love having you here with us.”

Tears were starting to prick your eyes. “I love you guys, too.”

You looked up lust long enough to see Alcina walk in your study, roll her eyes and walk right back out.

Daniela (Dani)

Being the youngest Dimitrescu definitely has its advantages and Daniela knows how to use every single one.

Gets away with absolutely everything and anything under the sun. Even things her older sisters could only dream of getting away with and it irritates them to no end.

Daniela is definitely the most daring of the three. Always pushing her boundaries with her mother and will go out of her way to annoy Alcina just for funsies.

Is comfortable (and has) appearing in your bedroom while your, erm...busy with Alcina. Literally grabs you by the arm and swoops you away in a swarm of moths giggling the entire time. You hear Alcina shouting obscenities as you’re taken away.

You’re both thoroughly embarrassed.

Daniela seems to be, just like her mother, very needy. Attention starved if you will. So of course, she’s in need of your presence every hour. Sometimes more.

And for the dumbest freaking reasons!

“Y/n come quick! Look at the birds in the garden. They’re so pretty!”

You laugh at her excitement “They’re crows, Dani. We see them every day.”

Other times she will drag you to her room and pull out her vast collection of weapons and tell you different stories associated with each one. You loved hearing how passionate Daniela was about her collection.

On a few rare occasions, she even gifted you a set of daggers, or crossbow, or whatever your favorite weapon is.

“You don’t own any y/n, which means you’re vulnerable to attacks. One day I’ll teach you how to use them.”

BONUS: Alcina being absolutely done with her girls not sharing

Late hours of the night are Alcina’s favorite time of day

She gets to relax in bed with you all to herself while shedding away all the stresses from the day.

More often than not she’ll lazily sip a glass of wine and reread her favorite novel to you while you’re nestled in her lap.

It was the only time of day she knew she had you all to herself

...usually...

One night all three of her daughters barged in your bedroom arguing who you would spend time with first. Alcina tried shouting over them to take control of the situation, but none of them were even paying her attention.

Situations like this call for drastic measures.

Alcina covered your ears and shouted at her girls from the top of her lungs. Once she knew she had their attention she reached over to the nightstand and pulled out a...spray bottle? They were about to laugh at her before she explained that the spray bottle contained holy water.

That scared them enough to make them back up a few steps. Daniela even hisssed at her, baring her fangs like a feral animal.

“I am tired of you three stealing away my y/n and I’ve reached my breaking point. This is the one time of day I’m allowed exclusive time with them and I will not have you getting in the way of that.”

You couldn’t process what was happening before you. Was Alcina really prepared to spray her own daughters with holy water just because she wouldn’t get her cuddles tonight? Really?

Daniela felt bold tonight. “As if you would actually do it. I bet that’s not even holy water.”

Alcina only arched a brow. “Well you’re more than welcome to come see for yourself, Daniela. By all means.”

The redhead was about to do just that until Bela pulled her backwards. “I guess we can wait and see y/n tomorrow. Goodnight, mother. Goodnight, y/n.”

As soon as Alcina knew they were gone she fell back onto the mattress, pulling you with her, peppering you in kisses.

“Darling,” you ask. “Is that really holy water?”

She chuckles into your neck. “No, it’s not, and they should have known that. If it were I wouldn’t have been able to hold it without it making me feel ill. But they’ll figure that out eventually and once they do they’ll be back.”

“What then?”

“Pelting them with fake silver should do the trick.”

#lady dimitrescu x reader #tall vampire lady #alcina dimitrescu #lady alcina #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu

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curlynerd · 3 years

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Just Say It

Happy gift posting day for the @starrynightdeancas gift exchange! I had two assignees, so I'm posting two fics today! My 2nd gift recipient is @deanwinchesteradjacent! She requested canon-adjacent Destiel with fluff, action, and a happy ending. I hope you like it! <3

Word Count: 7.5K Rating: T Summary: A string of violent deaths at an otherwise charming B&B was all the excuse Dean needed to drag Cas down to Florida for some fun in the sun. Things had been awkward since Cas came back from the Empty and they could finally be together, but Dean was sure that a romantic getaway was the perfect thing to help Cas get out of the training wheels stage of Angel's-First-Romance and start acting like a real couple. Just as soon as they took care of a vengeful spirit. What could possibly go wrong? Notes: Post canon, fix-it fic, oneshot, love confessions, Dean is bad at feelings, case fic, beach fic.

Also read it on AO3!

“Alright, I’m heading out.”

“Did you pack deodorant?”

“Dean…”

“Toothpaste? Mouthwash?”

“...”

“Those fancy hair products? Cuz there’s just. So. Many--”

“Dean! I’ve lived my whole life on the road. I know how to pack a damn dufflebag!”

Dean smirked, unperturbed by Sam’s whining. “Yeah but Eileen is a classy lady. She’s not gonna put up with your usual road stank.”

Sam sighed in annoyance as he readjusted the bag on his shoulder. “I’m not the one who wears his underwear three days in a row, jerk.”

“Better leave that attitude at home, bitch,” Dean said cheerfully. “It’s your anniversary, after all.”

Sam’s mouth twitched into a shy grin despite his best efforts. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be on my best behavior,” he said, letting Dean have one last bit of fun before he left. “You and Cas too. Don’t get into trouble.” He nodded in farewell before he climbed the stairs to the bunker door.

“Oh, and Sammy?”

Sam paused at the top of the stairs and turned around. Almost like he could sense what was coming, his eyebrow twitched in irritation. Dean hucked a box up to the landing, and Sam fumbled to catch it. Dean flashed a shit-eating grin as Sam read the Trojan label and fixed him with a scowl. “Make sure you wrap it before you tap it, Sammy.”

Sam rolled his eyes as he walked out the door.

Dean laughed to himself as he turned back to his laptop, scrolling through news articles looking for a hunt. He was still at it an hour later when Cas came shuffling into the room still in his pajamas, two cups of coffee in hand.

“Mornin’ Sunshine,” Dean crooned cheerfully. Cas’ hair was in wild disarray, and between that and his worn, brown sweatshirt and loose pajama bottoms, he looked more like a bear stumbling out of hibernation than a guy just waking up. “Sam already left.”

Cas set a mug down in front of Dean before slumping down into the chair beside him. “I hope he and Eileen have fun this week,” he mumbled as he hunched over his coffee.

Dean smiled at how adorable Cas looked, all grumpy and sleep-ruffled. He was still an angel...somewhat. He had Grace, if only a little. So close to mortality, Cas often needed mundane human things like sleep and food. He wasn’t particularly thrilled about it. In fact, he was so irritated about the whole thing that Dean hadn’t been able to work up the nerve to invite him to sleep in his room, instead of alone. Dean chewed on his lower lip. Maybe after this case, things would change.

“Are you looking up a case?” Cas asked, tilting toward Dean’s screen.

“Uh...yeah.” With forced casualness, Dean turned the laptop so Cas could read a headline from last year: “Gruesome Death at Bed and Breakfast Leaves Locals Worried.” “Over the past forty years, there’ve been six deaths at this B&B. All either heart attacks or a brain hemorrhage. All without a scratch on ‘em. Always a couple. Always on the same night: this Friday. That sure screams ‘ghost’ to me.”

“Key West?” Cas asked as he scanned the article. “Florida? That’s quite a drive.”

Dean shrugged. His fingers tapped against the tabletop. “It is, but hell, why not? Sam gets the week off with Eileen, why can’t we have a little vacation too?”

Cas narrowed his eyes. Suspicious. He was suspicious. Was a little time off really so bad? “You haven’t taken a vacation the entire time I’ve known you.”

“Yeah, well…” Dean struggled to come up with a good excuse. “That was, ya know. Before.”

“Before,” Cas repeated stiffly.

Dean rolled his eyes. “Before everything.” He gestured around his head. Before Cas told him he loved him and immediately died. Before Dean rescued him from The Empty. Before they wound up in this awkward, stilted Angel’s-First-Romance training wheels relationship Dean found them in.

That seemed to placate Cas. He nodded and took another sip of coffee. “The beach would be nice…”

Dean broke into a grin. “Better than nice! Toes in the sand, drinks with little umbrellas… That’s better than paradise.” He gave Cas’ shoulder a friendly pat. Then--because he could, couldn’t he?--Dean let his hand run along the broad expanse of Cas’ shoulder and gently cup the back of his neck.

This was okay, right? He’d held back on any sort of real PDA because of how uncomfortable Cas would act. And that was okay. He understood. Angels and intimacy...Well, angels just worked differently than humans. And it was all new to Cas! It took him over a decade to say he loved Dean. It would probably take awhile before he was ready to hold hands.

But this wasn’t very much, right? Just a light hand on the back of his neck. This was about as innocent as things got!

Except Cas went stiff under Dean, and Dean took the hint and pulled his hand away as he bit back a sigh. So much for that.

His eyes trailed back to his laptop. Hopefully this getaway would change things, help Cas loosen up and finally see that they could act even a little like a couple now. A romantic beach, warm sunshine, half-naked romps in the water, a cozy and only slightly haunted bed and breakfast…

What could go wrong?

----

Three days and one slightly terrifying highway over the ocean later, Dean and Cas pulled into a parking space for a charming bed and breakfast painted in a lovely pale--

“Lavender?” Dean balked at the decidedly dainty color of the siding. “I know they like their pastels here, but geez…”

“It’s just a paint color,” Cas said as he crossed around to the trunk and started unloading their bags. The duffle full of salt, shotguns, and various iron weapons clanked ominously. He shouldered it carefully so it wouldn’t make so much noise.

“This whole street is like friggin’ Candy Land.” Dean eyeballed the canary yellow house across the street suspiciously as they made their way to the front door.

The inside was clearly the result of a scandalous love affair between a Jimmy Buffet concert and a Hallmark store--All tacky tropical themed furniture and a dizzying array of porcelain figurines.

Dean grinned from ear to ear and elbowed Cas. At Cas’ inquisitive eyebrow, Dean nodded his head to a shelf full of long-haired, sad-eyed blonde angels. Cas rolled his eyes while Dean laughed to himself.

“Hello! Can I help you?” An older woman sat behind a small reception desk, smiling warmly at them in the glow of her ancient computer.

Dean put on his best people-pleasing smile. “Yes you can. Hi, I’m Dean, and this is my, uh…” Dean glanced over to Cas and his eyes crinkled in delight. “Cas. This is my boyfriend, Cas.” Just the word caused a giddy bubble of effervescence to float inside Dean’s chest. After all this time, they were really here. This was real.

Cas offered the receptionist a small, tight smile before turning his studious gaze to the figurines on the wall shelves. The woman furrowed her brow, so Dean charged forward with the conversation before Cas’ awkwardness put her off. If they were going to pry into the case here, they needed her to be friendly with them. “I booked a reservation for this weekend. It--Are you guys still open? It’s kinda quiet in here.” Dean glanced around the empty living space. There weren’t any other cars parked outside either.

The woman waved off his concerns. “Oh yes, it’s just the off season right now. Some weekends are like that.” She spoke a little too quickly as she clicked through her computer. Dean suspected all the news articles about bloody deaths had something to do with it. “Not hard to find your reservation. You’re our only guests tonight.” She grabbed two keys off a hook and held them out for Dean. “You’ll be in room 4, down at the end of the hallway upstairs. It’s the largest one. If you need extra towels or anything, let me know. I’m Susan.”

Sensing they were about to be dismissed, Dean swerved into a distraction. “You know, we’ve been on the road for ages. Do you have any coffee or anything like that? A little wakeup before we hit the beach?”

Susan pushed back from the desk. “Oh of course! I was about to get some for myself, actually. I’ll be right back.”

“Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, Cas,” Dean muttered as Susan disappeared down a hallway. “Anything out of place or really old. You know, haunted stuff.” Cas nodded, and Dean covertly pulled his EMF reader out of his jacket pocket and flicked it on. It was silent. They both made a pass of the room, pretending to look around.

“Here we are!” Susan said brightly, expertly holding three coffee mugs in her hands. Dean jumped a little and hastily put his device away before turning around. “I hope cream and sugar is okay.”

“Any caffeine is fine,” he assured her as he and Cas took their mugs. “So Susan, what is there to do around here? You know, other than what Yelp says. The insider’s scoop.” Dean winked as he took a sip of his coffee.

Susan smiled. “Well, if nightlife is your thing, there are some great spots within walking distance.”

Dean chuckled. “C’mon, Susan. Does this guy look like much of a dancer?” He grinned fondly at Cas as he draped his arm over his shoulders. It was ridiculous how much his stomach fluttered from the small action, but dammit, after all they’d been through to get here, Dean had earned a few butterflies. He squeezed Cas’ shoulder even though Cas didn’t really react. Dean was definitely going to have to clarify that the personal space rule didn’t apply anymore.

“Well, the restaurant down the street also does an excellent brunch,” Susan offered instead.

“Now that’s more our speed.” Maybe if the hunt went well they could actually stay the night, instead of getting the hell out of Dodge before the cops chased them down. Keep their salt and burn quiet and enjoy a nice night in. Dean tried not to get his hopes up for sharing a bed with Cas.

And he did mean sharing a bed. Things were moving so slowly between him and Cas he’d be thrilled just to spoon, nevermind anything else. Dean bit back a sigh as he swept over all of the knick-knacks and decorations, hoping for some sort of clue as to the identity of their ghost. “I’ve gotta say, I love the decor. Is all of this your collection?” Maybe a haunted object? Or a cursed one?

“Most of it.” A faint twinge of wistfulness colored Susan’s words as she looked over the porcelain figurines. “My Marcy liked to collect the angels, but that was years and years ago.”

On a high shelf was a large urn next to an oil painting of a young woman that immediately pinged Dean’s hunter’s instincts. “That’s a lovely painting over there,” he said, catching Cas’ eye meaningfully. Cas turned around to look too.

Susan’s face melted into a quiet, sad smile. “Yes, that’s my Marcy right there. A self-portrait. She was such a talented artist.”

Cas tilted his head. “She was your...wife?” he guessed.

Susan’s face crumpled. “No. No we were never…” She took a deep breath and continued in a steadier tone. “She was my business partner, but I loved her. Very much. And I knew she loved me too. So I suppose you could say we were almost together. Should have been together.” Her lower lip trembled.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what stopped you?” Dean felt bad for pressing her for information that was clearly upsetting, but people’s lives were at stake. Possibly Susan’s own.

Susan curled her hands around her mug, staring into the steaming coffee with a far off look in her eyes. “I was afraid. Of my own feelings. Of opening myself to getting hurt. So I...When Marcy needed me to be honest about how I felt I...I let her down. She got mad...We fought...She ran off. There was an accident, and...Well...” Susan took another deep breath. Her eyes were glassy with tears and heavy with regret. “Today is the anniversary of the day she died.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Dean said, injecting even more sincerity into his words even though he expected as much. Marcy was the best lead so far. Was she attacking people on the anniversary of her death? She was obviously cremated, but perhaps there was something keeping her tied here?

“Not your fault,” she said with the heaviness of one who had heard those words hundreds of times. She shook her head. “You’re not the reason she--” Susan cut herself off and swallowed down her tears. Despite her best efforts, a single tear trailed down her cheek.

“It sounds like you loved her very much,” Cas said, his voice infused with genuine sympathy.

“She was my world. I loved her more than she’ll ever know...” Again Susan fell silent, this time lost in thought.

Then, with a deep, resettling breath, she wiped at her eyes with the edge of her finger and forced a cheerful expression. “But enough of that. You’re my guests. You don’t need to hear all of that! Do you need anything while you get settled in? More towels? Recommendations for restaurants?”

Dean shook his head, “Appreciate it ma’am, but we’ll probably just grab whatever’s convenient around here.”

“Well, would you like to eat here? Usually I don’t serve dinner for guests, but since it’s only the two of you, I can cook up something if you’d like. I honestly wouldn’t mind the company.”

Sensing another opportunity to interview Susan, Dean smiled his very best ‘comforting the bereaved’ smile. “We’d like that very much, Susan. Thank you for offering.” Then, carefully timed almost like an afterthought, he added, “Oh, and what’s the wifi password?”

Upstairs their room was somewhat small but airy. The walls were a crisp, breezy blue, the linens bright white. There was even a gauzy white canopy draped around the four-poster bed. Dean grinned. One bed. Surely that was cause for some optimism about tonight.

“I dunno about you, but I’m gonna sleep like a log tonight,” he said with the most casual tone he could muster as he grabbed the weapons bag off Cas’ shoulder and deposited it on the duvet. “What about you? Think you’ll need a couple z’s?” ‘Please say yes.’

Cas eyed the bed. Something strange flickered across his face. Something heavy, even sad. Dean immediately felt like a jackass for reminding Cas about his weak Grace. “I mean, who knows how you’ll feel tonight,” Dean added hastily. He started digging through his bag for his laptop. “Get some sea air in your lungs, and you might wake right up.”

Cas pursed his lips. “I suppose so,” he said, his voice carefully neutral. He turned away from Dean and started roaming the room, looking over the artwork on the walls and the little beachy decorations on the furniture. He came to a stop.

“This looks like Susan and Marcy,” he said, letting his fingers trail along the frame of a painting over the dresser.

“Yeah?” Dean looked up from his booting laptop. It was an oil painting like the one downstairs, with a young couple in bright dresses making each other laugh in front of a backdrop of a stormy gray ocean. One was undeniably a much younger Susan. Marcy looked the same as she did in the painting downstairs.

Cas frowned a little and pulled his hand back from the frame. He glanced around the ceiling and only relaxed when he saw an air-conditioning vent gently humming nearby. Dean shrugged it off and turned back to his laptop. He set right to work searching through the local newspaper archives and breaking into the coroner’s office servers. Finding their ghost was only a matter of time.

“Got it. Marcy Daniels. Died forty-three years ago tonight.” Dean flipped his laptop around so Cas could read the news article. “Hit by a car. Right outside this house. Died before she even got to the hospital.”

Cas squinted at the screen. The photo attached to the article looked just like the woman in the paintings. “And you think she’s the ghost?”

Dean shrugged. “Seems as good a guess as any. Violent death. Susan said they were fighting right before. Probably something happened between them that left Marcy pissed off enough to stay in the veil.”

Cas nodded. “We should ask her about it.”

“Nah, she’s not gonna let us grill her about her dead partner like that. We’ll strike up a conversation at dinner. That should give us enough time to figure out what’s keeping Marcy here before she attacks tonight.”

Cas deferred to Dean’s hunting experience. “Well then what should we do until then?”

Dean grinned from ear to ear. “What do you think we should do? To the beach!”

---

Dean shut the trunk of the Impala and straightened his back, lifting his face to the breeze blowing in from the sea. He breathed in deeply. “God, smell that salt air…” he said with a wistful smile. When he turned to Cas, the angel was looking at him with fondness, warmth making his blue eyes brighter. Dean’s smile grew, and he lifted up his sunglasses to flash Cas a playful wink. Cas quickly ducked his head and started walking.

Dean bit back a groan as he followed behind him with their beach bag. What was he doing wrong? He was trying to be gentle, to give Cas enough space to adjust to the idea that they were together now on his own. After all of the crap they’d been through together, after so many things keeping them apart, he understood why Cas was struggling. Hell, he’d been squashing down his feelings for so long, Cas probably didn’t know how to let himself have this happiness.

At least, that was what Dean kept telling himself. Deep down, though, he was afraid that Cas’ feelings were changing.

“There’s a good spot,” Dean said, jogging up behind Cas and forcing down his depressing thoughts before they could meet up with his self-loathing and really cause problems. He grabbed Cas’ arm and tugged him toward an unoccupied part of the sand. The weather was a little too temperamental this time of year to attract huge crowds, but there were still plenty of people out enjoying the sunshine.

Cas let himself be led, his flip-flops flapping awkwardly over the sand. Dean laughed a little, even though his footing wasn’t much better. When they’d walked far enough away from the boardwalk, Dean unceremoniously dropped their bag and dug out a large blanket to lay out.

“Perfect,” he declared as he tipped up his sunglasses to survey his work. He plopped down on the blanket and shucked off his shirt. A quick glance up let him catch the way Cas’ eyes widened for a fraction of a second before his expression smoothed over. Dean wiggled his eyebrows at Cas, but he didn’t see because he turned around like a friggin’ Victorian lady in order to pull off his own shirt before he sat down in front of Dean, facing the ocean. Dean’s gaze swept down the broad, muscular expanse of Cas’ back, and he could barely contain the heat in his eyes and in his grin.

Only then did Cas glance over his shoulder and catch Dean’s eye. Dean bit his lip suggestively, his grin widening, but Cas’ cheeks turned lightly pink and turned his head away. He rubbed at the back of his neck. Nervous, huh? Well that was alright. Dean could lighten the mood.

He held up the bottle of sunscreen. “Alright, let’s spackle your back.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Dean,” Cas said, not turning around. His voice sounded even more gruff than usual, which was certainly saying something.

“Nonsense!” Dean was already squirting a healthy dollop of sunscreen in his palm. “You can get sunburned, same as the rest of us.”

Cas sighed heavily. His shoulders twitched, tense, but he didn’t protest when Dean slapped his hand at the middle of his back.

Dean set to work rubbing the cream into Cas’ warm skin. “See? This is nice. It’s like a mini-massage.” He made sure to move slowly, almost caressing him. His stomach fluttered with the faintest whisper of excitement. This was the closest thing he’d gotten to action in months, after all. And Cas’ back was nice. Broad and firm and far more muscular than Dean would have guessed. His heart did a little tapdance at knowing that he was allowed to freely ogle now.

“I like seeing you out of the trenchcoat,” Dean said, now using both hands to stroke up and down Cas’ skin. Cas tensed again. “I mean, you look good under all those layers,” Dean said hastily, afraid that the reminder of his waning Grace was too painful. “When did you get so beefy?” Dean slid his hands up to Cas’ shoulders and then down his thick arms. He squeezed them playfully as he shifted closer, letting his knees bump against him.

He leaned in close so he could almost whisper, “Wish I could see it somewhere other than the beach.”

Cas’ back became hard as marble. He lowered his head. “That’s enough, Dean,” he said softly. His voice trembled with some barely contained emotion Dean didn’t understand.

Disappointment rose up Dean’s throat like bile. “Seriously? I’m almost done!”

Cas twisted around, his face pulled into a scowl. His cheeks were flushed. “Dean! I’m an angel! I don’t need this!”

Dean pulled back. “What? I can’t even put sunscreen on you now?” he demanded.

Cas didn’t have an answer to that. He only glared, his eyes flickering with something Dean couldn’t quite figure out. Pain? Longing? Regret?

Knowing Dean’s penchant for screwing things up all the time, it was almost certainly the latter.

Cas breathed out a long, frustrated breath and rose to his feet. “I’m...going for a walk,” he said. He folded his arms over his bare chest.

“Cas,” Dean pleaded. What had he done wrong? Why was Cas so mad?

Cas shook his head. “Please, Dean.” With one last glance filled with that strange, heartache-inducing emotion, Cas turned and started walking down the beach alone.

Dean stared after him as he left. “What the hell?” he said under his breath. The sting of rejection quietly throbbed in his chest as he turned his gaze to the ocean. What had he done to piss Cas off? Had he really crossed a boundary, or was something else wrong? Cas had been so weird since he’d been back. Shouldn’t he be happy? Hell, telling Dean he loved him was the happiest Cas had ever been, right? That was part of his deal with The Empty!

Did he regret it? Did he change his mind? Maybe Cas really didn’t want to have Dean. Not for real. Maybe that was why Cas never told him how he felt before. He had to have known Dean loved him long before his deal with The Empty came along. Maybe there was a reason Cas hadn’t said anything about it before.

Maybe Cas knew that Dean would screw things up if they got together. Maybe he was trying to pull away from Dean, make it easier to break things off when it all came crashing down.

Dean stewed in his thoughts, his expression dark as he watched the waves. He lost track of time until a pair of children came racing past him, screaming in delight and startling him out of his thoughts. He pulled at his phone to glance at the time. Cas had been gone over half an hour. Way too long. Dean looked down the beach, almost expecting to see Cas trudging back up the beach back to him, but he didn’t see any sign of him. But Cas couldn’t have left left. Dean had the car keys! Quietly cursing, Dean pulled out his phone and dialed Cas’ number.

...And heard a familiar ringtone coming out of their bag.

“Dammit, Cas!” Dean growled as he hung up. He stood up, but he still couldn’t see Cas. Had something happened? What if he’d gone in the water? What if he’d gotten pulled out to sea by a riptide? Despite knowing Cas didn’t even know how to swim, worry dripped ice cold down Dean’s spine, and before he knew it he was walking down the beach along the path Cas had taken.

“Cas!” he called out, but he didn’t see him. Dean started walking faster. He scanned the beach for a familiar dark head of hair and the bright orange swim trunks Dean had picked out for him. “CAS!” He was beginning to fear the worst.

“You lookin’ for someone?” a concerned voice called out. Dean whipped his head around to a small family sitting underneath an umbrella.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, my buddy Cas.” Dean jogged over to them. “You see him walk by? Kinda beefy, kinda dorky. Dark hair, orange trunks, about yea high.” He held his palm flat about eye level.

The woman who spoke nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I saw him walking back toward town, though.” She pointed over her shoulder.

Dean furrowed his brow. Did Cas walk back on his own? Irritation flared in his chest as he forced a cordial smile and thanked the woman before jogging back the way he came. He didn’t see any sign of Cas back at their blanket either.

Dean scowled. Maybe he had walked back. Running off without a word was infuriatingly in-character for him. Dean cursed under his breath as he hastily packed up their things and started stomping up the beach toward the car.

What was even such a big deal? If Cas supposedly loved him so much, was rubbing his back that bad? Dean was trying to give him space, he really was, but the way Cas was acting, it was like he didn’t even like Dean, nevermind love him!

The thought clenched tight around Dean’s heart as he drove back to the bed and breakfast. Maybe he didn’t anymore. Maybe Cas was getting sick of him. Twelve years in each other’s lives, it was bound to happen eventually.

Maybe what angels considered love and what humans considered love was just different.

Dark thoughts still swirled in Dean’s head as he returned to the bed and breakfast and marched up the stairs.

“Dude, what the hell?!” Dean charged into their room, anger burning hot as his glare zeroed in on the angel sitting in a chair. “You can’t just go running off like that! You left your phone behind!”

Cas carefully closed the book he was reading. He was fully clothed again. “It’s not a long walk back here. I assumed you’d know where I’d gone.”

“I was worried sick about you! What if you went in the ocean and something happened?”

Cas narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t do that. You know I can’t swim.”

“You can’t just go stomping off whenever you get mad!”

Cas closed his eyes. “I’m not mad,” he said, though the growl in his voice suggested otherwise.

“Like hell you’re not!” Dean shot back. “So what is it? I can’t touch you now? It’s freakin’ sunscreen, Cas. Is it really that big of a deal?”

Cas’ eyes flew open. “Yes!” he said, deeply pained. “Dean, does it really matter so little to you that you’re okay with just ignoring it?”

Dean was brought up short. “Does what matter?”

“Me!” Cas plastered his hand over his chest. He almost looked like he could cry. “I told you how I felt and you insist on acting like nothing happened!”

Dean blinked. “What? That’s...that’s not true, Cas!”

“Dean! You didn’t say anything! Not once since you brought me back, have you said anything about the fact that I love you! And you may think that by ignoring it and trying to force things back the way they were before that you can lock up that Pandora’s Box again, but you can’t! I can’t. I can’t…”

Dean took a step forward, his expression darkening with confusion. “Cas, what’re you talking about?” He didn’t understand. Why did Cas look so hurt? So heartbroken? Cas loved him. Dean loved Cas. So why wasn’t he happy? What had Dean done wrong? “Cas, I--”

Cold mist curled up from Dean’s mouth.

They both went tense and still as they noticed just how cold the room had gotten. The lamp on the bedside table flickered.

“Shit,” Dean muttered under his breath. His eyes darted to the open dufflebag on their bed with all of their weapons.

He made a move for it, but a figure flickered into being in front of him. She was wearing a torn, bloody sundress. Her long, straw-colored hair was plastered to the half of her gaunt face where it was smashed in, blood staining it crimson. The ghost took a step toward Dean. Thick, dark blood dripped from her head but never reached the floor.

“Marcy,” Dean breathed. Guess she didn’t need to wait for nightfall after all.

“Coward,” the ghost menaced as she took another step closer. Dean carefully backed up. “Can’t even say it. Even when you’re hurting him. Coward!”

Dean’s eyes flickered to Cas, who was edging toward their weapons bag. He tried to make the movement quick, but the ghost noticed. With a vicious growl she flung out her hand and Cas went flying into the far wall.

“Don’t worry,” the ghost said to Cas, and the venom in her voice dropped into twisted sympathy. “I’ll take your pain away soon.”

Cas struggled to his feet as the ghost rounded on Dean again. Her outstretched hand aimed directly at Dean’s head, fingers curled into a wicked claw. But before she could touch him, Cas made another attempt at the duffle. She shrieked in fury and sent it spinning through the air toward the window. A single iron poker tumbled out of the open zipper as it flipped over and smashed against the glass, shattering it. The bag tumbled to the ground below.

Cas lurched for the poker. “Dean!” he called as he tossed it through the air, directly through the ghost. She howled and dissipated into smoke while Dean barely managed to close his fingers around the weapon. Cas and Dean stood back to back as they circled the room, Dean holding the iron poker at the ready.

“Salt,” Dean barked. “We need salt!” Except all of theirs was now two stories below. Dean silently cursed. “The kitchen! Go! I’m right behind you!”

Cas nodded and made for the door. The lights were flickering again. He and Dean narrowly made it into the hallway when their bedroom door slammed shut behind them. They raced for the stairs and nearly collided with Susan.

“Cas, Dean, what’s going on?” Her eyes were panicked, taking in the cut on Cas’ temple and the iron poker in Dean’s grip. Mist followed her words out of her mouth.

“Look out!” Dean reached for Susan, but he was flung backward by an invisible force. Marcy flickered into existence over him again. “Salt, Susan! We need salt!” he cried out before the ghost clamped its cold hand around his throat. Dean scrambled from his poker, but it had fallen just out of reach. His other hand grappled with Marcy’s, trying to pull it away.

He couldn’t see with the ghost pinning him down, but he was pretty sure he heard Susan’s footsteps racing away. Good. Even if she didn’t come back, at least she was somewhere safer. Black dots started to swim in Dean’s vision.

“Hey! Marcy!” A ceramic angel went flying through the air and smashed into a framed photo on the wall next to them, shattering the glass. Marcy snarled and whipped her head around. Her grip on Dean’s neck loosened a little, and Dean sucked in as many painful gasps as he could get.

“This is what you’re about, huh?” Cas goaded. He stood next to an accent table full of figurines, another ceramic angel in his hand, fat load of good that would do against a ghost. “Exacting revenge against shitty lovers?” Dean stretched his arm until his muscles strained. He could barely feel the length of the iron rod brush against his fingertips. If Cas could keep stalling for just a little longer... “I think anger has clouded your judgement.” Cas’ lips twisted into a bitter smirk. “You have no reason to attack Dean. Can’t you tell? He doesn’t love me.”

The statement caught Dean completely off-guard. His hand stilled as he gaped at Cas. “What?” he rasped around the ghostly hand on his throat. Didn’t love him!?

The ghost growled at Cas. She raised her arm as if to psychically toss him toward the stairway, but right at that moment, Susan barreled up the stairs, a blue canister of salt in her hand.

“I have the salt!” she said, and with panic and desperation in her eyes she blindly flung the open canister at Dean and the ghost. Salt flung in a wide arc and rained down on Marcy, who screamed and disappeared instantly.

Dean rolled onto his side, coughing weakly as he grabbed onto the iron poker and clutched it against his chest. Cas ran to him, only stopping to grab the canister of salt. He hastily drew a circle around them, draining the last of the salt on their protection ring. “Susan, get in the circle!” he commanded as he knelt beside Dean.

“You don’t think I love you?” Dean choked out between gasps for air. His head was spinning. Cas’ hand on his shoulder helped a lot, but when Dean asked his question Cas quickly yanked it away. “How could you think that?” he said, genuinely confused.

“What’s going on? Why did that...that thing look like my Marcy?!” Susan nearly flung herself into the circle with them. She clutched at her chest, casting her terrified gaze around the room.

“Her ghost,” Cas said, though he didn’t take his eyes off Dean. His brow furrowed. “Dean, you haven’t--”

“Ghost?!” Susan screeched. “Then what the hell are we doing standing here?!”

“Salt repels ghosts,” Cas replied with way more patience than Dean would have had. “She can’t come into the circle.”

“What’s going on?” Susan’s eyes went huge, her face going pale. “She...She killed those people last year, didn’t she? How do we stop her?”

“Usually burn her remains, if anything is left,” Cas said, “but she was cremated, wasn’t she? So something else is tethering her here. Perhaps a locket? Something she cherishes.”

Susan frowned, panicked eyes darting around in front of her as she mulled it over. “Her painting,” she said with a gasp. “The one in your room. She finished it right before our argument! Right before she ran out into the street and was hit by the car. It was precious to her. She put her everything into it, tried to use it to confess her love for me, and I...I was too much of a coward to say it back. That’s why we fought.”

Cas and Dean’s eyes met, and they both nodded. Dean grunted as he pushed himself to his feet, poker still clutched to his chest. “Susan, stay here. Whatever happens, don’t leave the circle. Cas, I’ll keep her busy. You burn the painting.”

As one unit Cas and Dean left the salt circle.

Immediately the hallway burst into chaos. Doors slammed shut everywhere. The knick-knacks and travel guides on the accent table went flying through the air. The lights flickered until their bulbs burst, leaving only the light of the window at the far end to help them see.

They ran.

“You don’t think I love you?” Dean demanded, because a deadly ghost hunt seemed as good a time as any to have this conversation. Some things were too damn important to wait for downtime.

“Because you don’t!” Cas snapped. He threw himself at the shut door of their room, but it was supernaturally sealed. He grunted and tried again. Marcy appeared at his side, a ghostly hand reaching for his chest, a snarl on her lips.

“Cas, of course I love you, you idiot!” Dean swung at Marcy, forcing her to disappear again. Cas slammed himself against the unmoving door. “How could you think I don’t?”

“Dean, I died--” Cas slammed into the door again. His eyes glowed faintly with his weakened Grace. “Telling you how I felt. And you said--” Another crash; the door cracked ominously. “Nothing about it since I’ve been back!”

Marcy flickered into being next to them again. Dean knocked her away with the poker.

“I thought you knew! I thought you didn’t love me and that’s why you never said anything!”

“I told you!” With one final crash, Cas burst through the door and into the room, Dean hot on his heels. They ran for the dresser. “I told you the one thing I wanted, I couldn’t have! That thing was you, Dean!” Cas yanked the painting off the wall and threw it on the ground, shattering its glass and exposing the paper.

Marcy screamed in fury and appeared in front of him. She flung him at the dresser just as Dean dispersed her with a forceful swing. He flipped the poker in his hand, readying himself to strike again while Cas scrambled to his feet, lighter freed from his pocket and held at the ready.

“Because of the Empty!” Dean insisted. Marcy’s form materialized again, and Dean raised his weapon as she approached. “You couldn’t have me because of the deal with the Empty!”

Cas fumbled with the lighter. “I can’t have you because. You. Don’t. Love me!” It finally lit. Cas threw it onto the painting, sending it up in flames.

Marcy howled in agony as her body sparked and burned. She raised her head skyward as if to escape from the rising flames, but in a flash of heat and bright orange light, she was gone, and Cas and Dean were left standing alone in the room.

They stared at each other in the sudden, violent silence. Cas’ face was a mask of frustration and pain.

“Dean, I’ve been back for months. Months. And you have said nothing about how you feel. Do not lie to me now because you feel sorry for me.” With one last heartbroken glare, Cas stomped out of the room, leaving Dean behind to stamp out the flaming remains of the painting.

Once Dean didn’t need to worry about burning the house down, he went looking for Cas. He found him outside, loading up their scattered weapons into the trunk of the Impala.

He looked shattered. His face was crumpled with pain, his eyes dull, deep furrows in his brow. It brought Dean up short. Guilt welled up so intense that Dean almost couldn’t say anything at all. Except, well, that had gotten him into this situation in the first place.

“I thought you knew,” Dean called across the distance between them. Cas stopped and turned to look at him. The bitterness in his eyes made Dean’s stomach churn. “I thought you knew,” he said again. He took a step toward Cas. “For years I thought you knew. But, you know, you’re an angel. I thought you didn’t...I thought you couldn’t…” He trailed off. Cas’ forehead was furrowed in confusion, but he was at least listening, so Dean swallowed down his discomfort and barreled forward. “I thought angels couldn’t fall in love. Except...then you died telling me you did. Telling me that the reason you couldn’t even tell me how you felt was because being happy would trigger your deal and…” He shrugged.

“You thought I was deliberately keeping us apart?”

“Because if you told me you felt the same, then we’d be together and you’d be happy and you’d die.”

The bitterness had faded from Cas’ eyes, replaced with something that Dean was loath to acknowledge looked a little bit like pity mixed with profound frustration. “So when I came back, you thought there wasn’t anything left to talk about?”

Dean scratched the back of his neck and took another step forward. “Yeah well…What else was there to say? You said you, you know, loved me. And I thought you knew that I, you know…” He trailed off.

“Dean.” Dean had never heard Cas sound so pained just saying his name. “You.” Cas scrubbed at his face. His mouth twitched as he struggled to find words for all the ways Dean had screwed up. Was continuing to screw up.

“The hoops that you jump through to avoid talking about your feelings astound me,” Cas finally said. He dropped his hand with a sigh of defeat, and Dean’s heart sank. This was it. The death rattles of a relationship that hadn’t even really started. Dean never had what he truly wanted, and he never would.

Dean ducked his head, unable to look Cas in the eye. “Right. Yeah. That’s me, alright.” He swallowed around the hard lump in his throat. The long drive back to Kansas was going to be awful.

“Say it,” Cas said softly. His words were a command, but when Dean looked up in surprise, his eyes were pleading. “Please,” he breathed, almost like he didn’t deserve to even ask, and something inside Dean cracked.

“I love you, Cas.” One step, two steps, he crossed the distance between them and threw his arms around Cas’ shoulders, clinging to him the way he wished he could have before the Empty took Cas away. “It’s you, Cas. It can only be you. It’s only been you for years. I promise.”

Cas’ next breath stuttered in his lungs. His arms wound tightly around Dean, desperate. “Dean,” he sighed, this time like a prayer.

“I’m right here, buddy.” Dean held him tightly, the way he should have when he first got Cas back from the Empty. The way Dean wanted to all these months when he thought...Well, when he was an idiot. “You can have me, you know. You already have me.”

Cas pulled back enough to look Dean in the eye. His eyes were glassy. Dean’s didn’t exactly feel dry either. ‘I wonder if I can kiss him,’ Dean thought, milliseconds before Cas did just that.

Cas’ lips were warm against his own, and Dean gasped softly as his hand wound through Cas’ thick hair to cradle the back of his head. His kiss was eager, if not clumsy, and Dean smiled a little as he let Cas take the lead anyway. When they finally pulled apart, Cas’ normally pale lips were flushed pink, and Dean’s soft smile morphed into a huge, affectionate grin.

“Hey,” Dean said, his voice surprisingly husky after a largely innocent kiss.

Cas smiled back. “Hello, Dean,” he said, and Dean couldn’t help it. He laughed. God, how he loved this angel.

“So whadya say, Cas?” Dean said when his laughter quieted. “Ready to get the hell outta Dodge?”

Cas’ hands slid down Dean’s back until they were resting on his hips. “Actually…” His gaze turned wistfully in the direction of the distant beach. “I had a different idea.”

---

“You sure this is okay, Cas?”

“Dean…”

“Cuz I mean, I want to respect your boundaries.”

“Dean!”

“And I totally understand if I’m crossing a line here.”

Cas twisted around and gave Dean and his closed bottle of sunscreen a baleful look. Dean couldn’t help but laugh. “If I get sunburned, you can get your own room tonight.”

“You’re probably not even going to sleep anyway,” Dean shot back.

“I’ll sleep just to spite you.” Cas scowled, but Dean could see the corners of his lips twitching playfully. With a rush of affection, Dean shifted so that Cas’ bare back was pressed against his chest and Dean could rest his chin on Cas’ shoulder. Cas went stiff against his body, but it only lasted a second before he practically melted into Dean’s hold. Dean wrapped his arms around him as he watched the waves.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dean said with a sigh.

“Yes,” Cas breathed, but he wasn’t looking at the sea.

Heat rushed to Dean’s cheeks. He cleared his throat and kept his gaze solidly on the ocean. “You’re such a sap,” he grumbled weakly.

“You’ll get used to it.” Dean could see Cas’ smirk in the corner of his eye. Dean tightened his embrace.

“I dunno if I ever will,” he said quietly, a soft smile on his lips as he finally got to hold his angel.

#starrynightdeancas gift exchange #userstarry #deanwinchesteradjacent #destiel #deancas #destiel fanfic #deancas fanfic #destiel fanfiction #deancas fanfiction #supernatural #spn #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester #castiel #katie writes things #long post

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peter-parkourwrites · 5 years

Text

Searching For Forever ~ Part 6. (Peter Parker x Stark!FemReader)

Summary: When everything seems almost too perfect, your family is starting to fall to pieces. Your father chooses his path, and Steve chooses the opposite, and you’re in the middle of it all. Only confiding in your best friend who just so happens to be everyones favorite Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and the one you fall for.

Warnings: Swearing, Angst, mentions of blood

Word Count:

series masterlist

When your dad came home that night, he was completely silent, he dropped the food on the kitchen island, and stormed off to his lab, Peter’s suit in his hand. You called Peter about thirty times, and no answer. He didn’t show up to school the next day and when he finally did, he didn’t talk to you. He barely even talked to Ned. So you found yourself sitting with Harry, and Betty’s friends. Which consisted of Jason who was always on the morning announcements with Betty, Cindy, and Abraham. And somehow you managed to drag MJ along, she didn’t really like it but as long as you were there she was fine to read, sketch, and sometimes even join in on the conversation.

You didn’t get the full story of what happened but you were able to piece it together. You knew Peter got his suit taken away, that much was obvious. It was even more so when your dad asked you to replace the tracker and put more locks on protocols. He told you about the ferry incident, but what you didn’t get from him you got from news outlets and twitter feed. Seeing Peter so… heartbroken and beat up over all of this broke your heart. You wanted to help, you tried to talk to him but everytime he just ignored you and even went as far as to tell you to shut up one time. So from then on you only gave him shy smiles when he glanced over at you, and sent a supportive message every once in awhile. You and Ned were still close, and he often told you about how Peter was doing, but only if you asked. You knew Ned was only trying to be there for Peter, and you were glad it was at least Ned if it wasn’t you.

When you first met Peter Parker, you were unsure how you felt about him. You met at school of course, and yeah he might have spilt orange juice all over your brand new converse but something inside you told you not to flip out on him. You didn’t know why, and you could never have known that he would be the cause of your first heartbreak, he would be your first love. You just saw him as some goofy kid, with a cute smile who tripped over his own two feet constantly. From then on everything you felt had been a confusing mess. And for the first time in your life, you were unsure how to feel about something. The way you felt about him was uncharted territory, then and now. Sure you had dated other people, but it didn’t even last a month or so until you left. Only having enough room in your heart for one other person, Peter Parker. That spot in your heart was reserved for him and only him. Sure, you ignored it as best as possible as the years went on, but you could only hide emotions like that for so long. For the first time in your life, you were finding yourself in a problem that you didn’t know how to solve…

Well of course you knew it was just a matter of if you wanted to solve it.

“(Y/N)? Hello?” Harry waved his hand in front of your face as you swallowed a fry and looked over at him.

“Personal space, Osborn.” You teased nudging his arm slightly.

“Well sorry I didn’t know asking you a question was invading your personal space.”

“Haha very funny. But what’s up?”

“Are you going to Homecoming?” He asked as Betty grinned and nodded eagerly, waiting for your answer.

“Uh… yeah I think so anyways. I just gotta figure out a dress situation but it shouldn’t be too hard.” You said with a nod as he grinned.

“Cool cool, well I guess uh… I’ll see you there then? Save me a dance will you?” He asked, standing up as the bell rang, a hand reaching down to you. You smiled and nodded, taking his hand in your own as he pulled you up.

“No promises, I’m a very busy girl. But we’ll see.” You teased with a small wink before walking off with MJ and Jason to art class.

“I gotta piss, don’t fuck up my painting.” You teased nudging MJ as you walked by her.

“Wouldn’t dream of it Stark.” She muttered, going back to her sketch.

You walked down the empty hallways letting your feet scrape against the polished floors, ignoring the small squeaks they were giving off. When you were about to round the corner you halted hearing Peter’s voice.

“Hey I thought you had calculus this period?” You raised a brow before hearing Liz speak up. You knew it was wrong to listen in, but hey no harm no foul.

You leaned a bit closer to hear what they were saying, and gulped hearing Peter’s next words.

Five simple words. Five fucking words, and you felt your heart shatter against your ribcage. Bringing a hand up to your mouth you felt a tear slide down your cheek before racing off, not even wanting to hear Liz’s answer.

“All harm, all foul.” You repeated the mantra in your head as you raced to the next closest bathroom and practically flung yourself into the stall. You let quiet sobs rack through your body as you leaned against the cool wall beside you. With a shaky hand you pulled out your phone and quickly typed a message to MJ.

You: Emergency. West corridor bathroom. NOW.

Once it sent, you sunk down against the wall and brought your knees into your chest, as tears fell from your cheek to the floor.

“Fuck fuck fuck.” You muttered resting your head on top of your kneecaps.

At first it was just a dumb rumor, and sure you were a bit nervous about it, but it was just a rumor. It didn’t mean anything at the time. But now, with blurred vision, shaky hands, and trouble breathing it was anything but a rumor. The boy, you so desperately, selfishly wanted for your own was giving up on you.

“Pumpkin? Are you almost done?! Pep and I want pictures!” Your father called as he knocked on your door. You fiddled with the ends of your dress and let out a shaky sigh. It was now homecoming night, and you were determined to have a good time. Natasha had curled your hair, and you pulled it back into a half up half down look, to go with your dress. You had a delicate looking maroon dress, it came to a stop just above your knees, the skirt was all red, as was the top but it had black lace covering it, and the red stopped at your shoulders, but the lace continued down to your wrists. You paired it with black heels, and some gold necklaces as well as diamond earrings. And you looked good. Your makeup was simple, a little bit of eyeshadow, mascara, concealer, but what pulled it all together was the killer highlight that made you glow.

“Yeah I’m good!” You called, grabbing your clutch with your phone, and lipgloss. When you opened your door, your father and Pepper turned around and both gasped before coming to hug you tightly.

Pictures were taken, and many hugs were given. As you chatted with the team, laughing at their jokes and mild attempts to threaten anyone who tried to flirt with you. The doorbell rang. You hugged everyone goodbye before your dad walked up from the front door, Harry in tow.

“Sweetheart, care to tell me why there is a boy here asking for you?”

“Harry!” You cheered and ran up to him giving him a short hug, before turning back to the group, Harry nervously shuffled behind you, all eyes on him.

“Everyone this is Harry, Harry this is the Avengers. He’s going with my friends and I. I’m guessing they sent you up huh?” You said turning towards him. He nodded with a soft chuckle before handing you the corsage.

“Okay we’re leaving now! Bye!” You called off to the team before leading Harry out of the house and to the car.

You felt absolutely gorgeous that night.

And maybe somewhere deep down you did it for yourself, MJ did tell you to mainly dress up for yourself - to feel better, or whatever bullshit she spewed at you while you were shopping for dresses.

“Why can’t we just stay homeeeee. I don’t even wanna go to that stupid dance anyway. I’d rather not watch Peter and Liz swap spit while I cry into some un-spiked punch.” You complained, MJ’s hand tugging yours into the shops.

“Because, you’re my best friend and I’m not gonna let you sulk over some idiot boy who you can’t even tell your feelings too.”

“You’re making it seem like it’s my fault Peter asked Liz to homecoming.” You suggested, crossing your arms over your chest as MJ began sorting through dress on the rack for you.

“Well yeah, cuz it is. I mean not directly. But if you told him how you felt we wouldn’t be in this shitty mess.” She remarked, quirking a brow in your direction. You flipped her off and walked up to the rack behind her.

“Okay but that doesn’t mean I should put myself in situations where I’m gonna end up crying anyways.”

“No, but if you walk in there looking hot as hell he won’t know what hit him.” She added with a wink tossing you dresses and ushering you into the changing rooms.

And boy did you look damn good. You walked, a slow strut into the gym with your small group, your arm looped through Harry’s as a small ‘fuck you’ to Peter. Of course you didn’t really mean it but hey, a little jealousy never hurt anyone.

“Oh! I love this song come on!” You cheered, placing your punch on the table and grabbing Betty’s hand, dragging her to the dance floor. You jumped around, swaying your arms and body to the music, grabbing Betty’s hands as you two spun around and laughed. As much as you didn’t want to come, you were so so glad you did.

“Harry! Jason! Come dance with us!” Betty called to the boys as they walked up to you. You grinned and grabbed Harry’s hands, beginning to dance around with him.

After about ten minutes, you could feel the sweat on your forehead. You huffed and waved them off, telling them you’d be back and walked over to where MJ, and Ned were with the rest of the group. You grabbed your cup muttering a small thank you to MJ before gulping half of it down.

Spacing out for a little bit, you jumped when Ned waved vigorously at the door and MJ gave someone the finger. Curiosity displayed on your face, you leaned over and saw Peter, the curiosity turning to annoyance. Scoffing, you rolled your eyes and turned around to face MJ completely.

“Where’s Liz? Isn’t she his date?” Cindy asked motioning towards Peter who was walking through the crowds of people. You shrugged and walked back up to the punch table, pouring yourself some more of the fruity drink.

A small gasp escaped your lips as you watched Peter race out of the gym.

“Fuckin’ hell Parker.” You muttered, slamming the cup down and walking back over to Ned. “Lets go!” You called, grabbing the collar of his suit jacket and running off the way Peter went.

Everything happened so fast, you were racing down the hallways with Ned one minute, and the next, Ned was shooting Peter’s webs at the shocker guy.

“Guys! The guy with the wings is Liz’s dad!” He cried, coming to a stop in front of you. “Call Mr. Stark and Happy Hogan tell them what’s going on!”

“Peter wait!” You called as he started to run off. “You’re gonna need this.” You said tossing him an earpiece and a tracker.

“Thanks… and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” He called, swinging away. You and Ned exchanged a shocked look before running back into the building. You and Ned raced off to the computer lab and you pulled up a chair beside him, watching as he quickly logged in and began to track Peter’s phone.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y pull up Spider-Man’s tracker, and keep me updated on movement.” You said as it was projected in front of you.

“Peter? Do you copy? Tell me what’s happening?” You yelped as Ned nudged you slightly in order to get you to quiet down. “F.R.I. put the comm on speaker so both Ned and I can work and listen.” You said swiping through your contacts and dialing Happy. You tossed the phone to Ned and took over with the tracking.

“He’s by the gamestop on jackson ave.”

“Where are the headlights on this thing? God- I’m in Flashes car!”

“You stole Flash’s car. Ha awesome.”

“No Ned not awesome! Peter can’t go to jail for this shit!” You cried before giving Peter directions on where to go. “Call Happy, hurry!” Ned nodded and dialed his number.

“Take off in five minutes! Who is this?”

“Mr. Happy it’s Ned!”

“Who?”

“Oh for god sake, Happy!”

“Kid?! What the hell, why aren’t you at the dance?”

“I am, just ugh look Peter-”

“Nope bye!” He said before hanging up. You groaned and rested your head on the desk.

“I’m gonna kill him.”

“Well would you do that later?! Kinda need to find Vulture here!”

“Right right, okay uh… he stopped at an old industrial park in Brooklyn.” You said raising a brow at the computer. “F.R.I.D.A.Y. Call my father, tell him what’s going on.”

“Copy that boss.”

“Okay wait wait! He said he was going out of town?”

“Weird, oh we reached Happy and he doesn’t seem to like you very much.” Ned interrupted.

“He doesn’t like anyone.” You deadpanned, your eyes scanning over the computer screen as Vulture’s car stayed put.

“What did he say?” Peter shouted through the comm, as horns honked at him.

“Sounded like he was catching a flight, something about leaving in nine minutes.” You froze and shook your head frantically.

“Fuck fuck fuck! It’s moving day. F.R.I.D.A.Y. Call anyone! If they all don’t answer then get me mock sixteen.”

“Are you sure? It’s not ready yet and-”

“Just do it!” You yelled, slamming your hands down on the table.

“Why what’s this about?”

“He’s going to rob the plane!” You hissed pulling your phone out of your pocket and calling Happy.

“What’re you two doing here? There's a dance.” Your teachers voice sounded through the lab as the lights flicked on. You gulped and looked over at Ned.

“Uhhh… watching porn.” He said and you smacked your palm to your forehead, muttering out apologies as you both walked out of the computer lab.

“Okay listen, you go in and stall everyone. I’ll call you when I find Peter.” You yelled as you raced towards the front doors.

“Wait where are you going?!” He yelled, pushing open the doors. As if on cue one of the drones dropped a small box with the labeling ‘Stark Industries’ on it. You grinned and pulled out the watch, slipping it on your wrist. Ned watched on in amazement as you tapped it three times and a silver and purple suit slid across your body.

“To help the guy I love stop Vulture… Thrusters engage.” You said, and blue flames poured from the feet and hands as you began hovering, “Keep me updated on what’s going on here!” You called towards Ned, tossing him his own earpiece.

“I knew you were in love with Peter!” Ned cheered, raising his fist into the air and jogging back into the building.

“I’ll deal with him later… Watson?” You asked, as the suit whirred to life, taking off.

“Hello Miss Stark. Nice to finally be of service.”

“Skip the formalities for now, access Spider-Man’s tracker and set the suits coordinates to his location.” The suit flew up into the sky, moving as you dodged buildings and flocks of birds.

“Mr. Parker has crash landed on Coney Island beach. He seems like he could use some assistance.”

“No shit, just… fuck uh, switch half the suits power to thrusters and go!” You yelled bracing yourself as they engaged and sent you flying forward faster.

As you approached Coney Island you gasped. Immediately feeling your heart rate increase.

“Ma’am your blood pressure levels are spiking and you are getting extremely hot, I believe you are having a mild panic attack shall I-”

“Waston, just turn on the air and do an infrared scan of the area for bodies.” You whispered the last part as you flew down to the destruction. Seeing your father's new mask prototype laying on the ground you sighed and kicked at it slightly.

“There is one body, alive, seems to be Mr. Parker, to your far left. And the other who seems to be The Vulture within the flames.” You groaned and flew over to where Peter was.

“Oh my god…” You whispered, the mask of your suit retracting as you walked up to him. Carefully, you knelt down beside him, your hands hovering over his body as he groaned in pain. Blood was smeared across his nose, bruises littered his cheeks and collarbones.

“Wh-where is he.” Peter hissed, from pain as he slowly pulled himself up. You gripped his elbow with one hand, using the other to support his back.

“He’s back with the main part of the plane. Peter we need to get out of here he could-”

“No. I’m finishing this.” Was all he said before ripping from your grasp and stalking up to Vulture with every bit of strength he had left.

Before you could process what was going on, Vulture flew at the both of you, knocking you to the ground with a loud thud. Groaning, the mask slid back from your face again as you blinked a few times.

“You asshole! I’m going to be concussed!” You shouted, slowly standing up and looking towards Vulture.

“Hey Pedro… see you’ve got a sidekick, (Y/N) Stark. I’ve heard a lot about you from my daughter, how talented and smart you are. But I never pegged you as one to fight, what’s with the get-up? Daddy build you your own suit?”

“I built it myself headass, and I’m no sidekick.” You hissed, venom lacing your words as you raised your hand and fired a blast towards him, which much to your dismay… he dodged. He flew back at you both, and you quickly jumped out of the way, watching as Peter rolled underneath him and shot a web towards him.

When he missed, Vulture flug himself towards Peter and used the metal claws on his suit to press him against the sand. You practically roared, as you lunged at him, sending both yourself and Vulture flying off into a piece of broken plane wing. You punched at his masked face repeatedly, screaming curses at him as he whacked you with his wing sending you flying back against the ground.

He took this as another chance and quickly grabbed Peter again in his claws, now lifting him up into the air. You watched in horror as Peter flung himself from his grasp and began plummeting.

“Watson, locate all of the weak points on Vultures suit.” You instructed as you flew towards Peter, scooping him up in your arms in mid-air.

“The turbines are failing, and the whole engine is about to fall apart on his back. If you hit those he will surely go down. Although do be careful. We don’t need anything else of Mr. Stark’s blowing up tonight.”

“Yeah yeah whatever.” You huffed and placed Peter on the ground, as he groaned and sat up. You watched carefully as Vulture walked over to where the opened boxes of mini-arc reactors and felt your blood boil. You flew up and wrapped your hand around the engines, using your thrusters to pull away from the direction he was going.

“Those… aren’t… for… sale!” You groaned, your voice straining as you continued to pull back. “Now Pete!” You yelled, turning your head and watching as Peter stood up and shot a web towards to box.

“No wait! It’s going to explode!” He yelled and you closed your eyes, breathing in heavily.

“Watson, armor engage.” You said as a light blue shield formed around your suit. “Aha! It worked!” You cried, out of pure joy. This was something new you decided to add in, as a small upgrade from your dads tech figuring it’d be helpful.

“Time to go home kids.” Vulture announced, as he cut away Peter’s web and kicked you off him. Flying backwards you huffed, landing against the ground.

Your eyes watched as Vulture began to fly off, a horrified expression displayed on your face as his suit malfunctioned and collapsed against the ground with a loud ‘boom’ and flames swirled in the air for a short moment.

“Oh god…” You whispered, pushing yourself up from the sand and racing along-side Peter towards the flames. “This is such a stupid idea!” You called towards Peter as he looked at you and shrugged.

“I know. But no one dies on my watch.”

“Our watch you idiot!” You yelled, skidding to a halt, as Peter jumped straight through the wall of flames. “For fucks sake…” You muttered, flying overhead and watching as he lifted up metal with ease and dragged Vultures body from underneath.

“Watson, check vitals.” You said, panicky as you landed beside Peter as he placed him down against some crates.

“Watson?”

“Sherlock reference. Get with the times Peter.” You teased, playfully punching his shoulder. He scoffed and shook his head as he webbed him up.

“He is very much alive, however he has a broken nose, second degree burns around his arms and neck, and-”

“Yeah yeah don’t care. Come on Pete, we better get out of here.” You groaned, as you moved your arm to wrap it around his shoulders. Pain shot through your arm, as well as your head. “I think I have a concussion…” You muttered, the suit’s helmet retracting as Peter chuckled and wrapped his arm around your waist.

“Probably. But hey that’s what heroes get.” He said with a shrug as you rested your head on his shoulder.

It was quiet for a few minutes, the silence more comforting than awkward but it was still there, lingering in the back of both your minds.

“I-I’m so sorry (Y/N). I didn’t mean for you to get all… caught up in this, I just…” He let out a large sigh as you both hobbled away from the beach and over to some place to hide for a bit. “I really… uhm, like you and I know you probably don’t feel the same and that’s okay? I think? I mean not for me I’d be crushed- Not! Not that I want you to feel bad or anything but-”

“Peter.”

“I mean it’d be hard if you didn’t like me back? I mean we have the same friends and we go to the same school. Hell I work for your dad I mean he’d probably kick me out of a job… not that it’s even a job I don’t even get paid, I should talk to him about that.”

“Peter!” You yelled, placing a hand over his mouth. His eyes widened and he nodded as you dropped your hand from his mouth and slid it over his cheek. “Kiss me.” You whispered, leaning in towards him. And he did not hesitate. Peter reached his hands up to your face and pressed his lips against yours.

The kiss was a bit sloppy at first, noses bumping, teeth bumping, and the occasional awkward position switch but within seconds you had both figured it out and your lips fit together like puzzle pieces. One of Peter’s hands slipped around your waist and pulled you closer towards him, as your hands slid around his neck and played with the ends of his curls at the back of his neck. You both pulled away, blushing furiously, and catching your breath. With a gentle chuckle he rested his forehead against yours and you let out a peaceful hum.

“God I’ve been wanting to do that since sixth grade…” He whispered, his eyes moving to look into yours. You giggled and a warm smile crossed your lips. “I’m sorry for asking Liz to homecoming by the way…” He muttered and pressed a short kiss to your nose. You rolled your eyes and pulled back from him.

“And just as I was forgetting that ever happened.” You let out a small ‘hmph’ and crossed your arms, as Peter shook his head and rested it between your collarbone and neck.

“Noooo.” He whined and pulled you flush against him. “Look we’ll make a deal. I won’t ever bring it up again if you don’t bring up, me lying to your dad. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.” You affirmed with a short nod of your head as you placed a short and sweet kiss to his lips. “Now come on Spider-Boy we have a very anxious Ned to talk to,” You glanced down at yourself and then Peter and chuckled slightly. ��After we clean up a bit.” You said with a small chuckle before leaving the small shack and darting out of the guards line of sight.

“I go off the grid for two hours and you almost died!” Your father's voice echoed off the walls of the new compound as he stared down at you, face red, and knuckles white.

“Well I didn’t die. Besides Pete and I had it all figured out.”

“If you had it figured out you wouldn't have gone after him in the first place and left it to the FBI!”

“We both know the FBI wouldn’t be able to stop him Dad.” You deadpanned, lifting your legs up on the coffee table. “We had it covered. I have a suit now, and-”

“Speaking of the suit, I’m taking it.”

“No you’re not!” You yelled shooting up from the couch and moving closer to him. “I made that, all on my own! Y-You can’t just-”

“I can and I will. You don’t even know what I’m taking it for.” He said walking down the stairs to his lab, motioning for you to follow. A soft groan slipped past your lips as you stood up and hobbled down the stairs.

“I have taken the liberty of fixing it up for you, and adding some choice improvements.” He said, pulling up the holograms on the exo-skeleton of it, and tapping away. “F.R.I.D.A.Y pull up the new functions I added.” He said, sitting down in a chair and kicking his feet up on his desk. You walked over, standing beside him and scanned the screens.

“Of course boss… let’s see, Miss Stark will now have an extra set of power for thrusters. Added police scanners so you can see their radar. A special designed tracker for Spider-Man and Mr. Stark himself. You have a main comm with connection to the team, one for Peter, and one for the police if needed. The jets in the boots will be much larger, but look smaller for better flight techniques so they won’t be clunky, and a chest repulsor transmitter.”

“I also took the liberty of hooking up Watson to your spotify so now he can play whatever music you want.” He said tossing you a necklace with a mini-arc reactor pendant on it. A smile tugging at your lips you pulled him in for a bone crushing hug and he chuckled softly, bringing his arms around your neck.

“So you’re not mad?” You asked, looking up at him with a raised brow.

“Well yes, but I did worse when I was younger. But no missions yet. We need to start you with proper training first. You start tomorrow morning with Nat, Bucky, and Steve.” He said pulling up the schedule.

“Two hours?! Everyday a week?” You groaned and flopped down into his desk chair.

“Yes now go to your room, I need to give you some form of punishment.” You huffed and stood up, knocking the chair back with your legs, before walking up to the small flight of stairs.

“You do realize I still have my technology right?” You asked, turning to face him, your hands on your hips.

“Oh shut it, scram. I’ll see you in the morning. Love you kiddo.”

The next few days had gone by oddly fast. You were thrown into a new routine of school, training, more training, and sleep.

After your kiss with Peter he seemed… off? More awkward around you, but you guessed it was because you two hadn’t really had the chance to talk about what happened. Your father had you working on your own suit constantly. Giving you new additions, and suggestions every time you stepped foot into his lab. Even at the dinner table while you stuffed yourself full of pizza he’d bring up some new problem, or some type of weapon to add for your safety.

He tried putting a safety protocol on your suit, like he had Peter’s but since it was your suit, he could only get so far. The rest of the team was shocked to say the least when you started training. Sure they were supportive but they didn’t want to push you to hard. But when you insisted, they would kick your ass into next week until you got better.

“Dad! Pepper wants to know if you ordered the white lillies for the upcoming press conference.” You muttered, walking up to him as he dismissed one of his staff. A tablet lay in your arms, a check-list of what Pepper needed, and tabs with sketches of a new suit for yourself, and gadgets for the rest of the team.

You had finally been able to move up in your father's company to Peppers assistant, and helped him out in the lab. You were on ‘Inspector Gadget Duty’ as Tony liked to call it, creating loads of different things to help during missions, like Nat’s shock disks, and even faster arrows for Clint.

“Oh also Scott and Hope want to know if they need to bring their suits to the annual dinner.” You said with a small hum, as you waited for his answer. He turned towards you, clad in a black suit with dark grey stripes and his signature sunglasses.

“Yes I did, they’re in there now. And for the hundredth time, uh no they don’t. But look at you kiddo! All fancy, taking after your old man I see.” He said with a playful wink before pulling you into a side hug.

You were wearing a simple white dress that hugged your waist and legs, paired with a dark red blazer.

“More like taking after Pepper.” You teased nudging him slightly. “Anyways uh when Peter gets here for the little… initiation or whatever you want to call it I’ll be heading out with Nat and Steve after to talk with Fury about the new recruits they want to bring in. We’re going to evaluate them and test their skills in hand to hand combat, offensive techniques, and-”

“Woah woah woah slow down there roadrunner, relax. Take a minute to,” He took in a deep breath and let it out. “Breathe.”

“Always so dramatic.” You said with a small laugh before looking back down at the notes.

“Yeah yeah, well we’ve got a Spider to congratulate.”

“He hasn’t even accepted the suit yet.”

“Yeah well.” Tony shrugged and started walking backwards, towards the steps. “We’ll get there soon enough.” You rolled your eyes and walked behind him, down the large steps and chuckled seeing Peter watching as the quinjet flew off.

“Ya don’t see that everyday.” Happy said to Peter, stuffing his hands into his suit pockets.

“You do if you’re me.” You teased and walked up to them beside your father. You gave Happy a short fistbump and grinned up at him before turning to Peter.

“I like the get-up squirt, very professional.” Happy said nudging your arm sightly. “You don’t see that everyday either.”

“Oh ha ha.” You muttered rolling your eyes. “Watson, please deduct Happy’s pay this week.”

“Hey uh uh uh, no no you don’t.” He groaned and you chuckled before giving Peter a warm smile.

“Hey Pete.” You grinned and walked up to him giving him a short hug. He returned the gesture and as you pulled away his cheeks flushed red.

“H-Hey (Y/N). You look really good… I-I mean not that you normally don’t, you always look gorgeous but-” Tony cleared his throat and placed a firm hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Yeah I’ll shut up now…” He whispered, causing you to chuckle.

“Well I’m gonna steal the kids for a minute.” He said giving you a small peck on your forehead before turning to Happy.

“Seriously?” Happy spoke up, raising a brow.

“Yeah I gotta talk to the kids.”

“I’ll be close behind.”

“How about a loose follow? Boundaries are good.” Your dad said with a curt nod before walking ahead, motioning for Peter and yourself to follow. You chuckled and walked alongside Peter, brushing your hand against his as you walked.

“Sorry I took your suit. I mean you had it coming, turns out it was just the kind of tough love you needed right, to urge you on. Wouldn’t you agree?” Your dad said as he poked at Peter’s arm as he walked.

“Y-y- uh, yes?”

“Let’s just say it was.”

“Mr. Stark I-”

“Screwed the pooch hard.” You chuckled as your dad nudged your shoulder. “Both of you. But then you did the right thing, you took the dog to the free clinic, raised the hybrid puppies… alright not my best analogy .” He huffed, and the glass doors slid open. You beamed over at Peter, knowing what was about to happen.

“I was wrong about you. I think with a little more… mentoring you could be a real asset to the team.” He said patting his shoulder and walking around him, you rolled your eyes playfully and linked your arm through Peter’s.

“T-t-t-to to the team?”

“Yeah, anyways there's about 50 reporters behind that door, and when your ready…” Tony said tapping against his watch as the doors slid open and revealed his new suit. “Why don’t you try that on.” He said standing in front of it, “And then I can introduce the world to the newest official member of the Avengers, Spider-Man.”

Your mouth dropped as you let go of Peter’s arm and watched him approach the suit.

“Peter if you don’t say yes then I will.”

“(Y/N), sweetheart you’re already starting training.”

“Yeah but still Dad!” You cheered and jumped up and down slightly, walking up to Peter you smiled over at him as he tried his best to contain the excitement bubbling inside him.

“Well anyways, Happy or my daughter here will show you to your room… where's he between? He’s next to uh, Vision?” Your dad asked raising a brow, you turned towards him and nodded.

“Yeah, Vision isn’t big on doors… or walls. But he’s quiet, and makes a mean chicken parmesan… with Wanda's help.” You said with a small chuckle before turning back towards Peter.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark but I-I’m good.”

“You’re good?”

“Excuse me?!” You yelped, wide eyes looking up at Peter.

“I-I’d rather just stay… the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man for a while… ya know? Somebodys gotta look after the little guy right?”

“You’re turning me down? You better think about this, look at that. I built that with (Y/N)’s help of course, to fit your needs.Last chance, yes or no.”

“No.” Peter said shaking his head slightly.

“Okay, uh Happy will take you home.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Very well, Mr. Parker.” He said shaking Peter’s hands as the doors slid shut you shook your head, running a hand through your hair.

“I’ll go tell Pepper…” You grumbled, pushing open the door and blinking rapidly, as the photographers started taking photos as you walked in. “Oh piss off.” You hissed and they immediately turned away from you.

Pushing through the small crowd you grabbed her hand and whispered what had happened to her. Her eyes grew wide as she gripped your wrist and dragged you out of the room.

“Where’s the kid? What the hell happened?” She asked, pulling you up beside her. You shrugged at your father as he turned around. “Did you guys screw this up? I told you (Y/N) should have been the one to ask him.” She said glancing towards you with an annoyed smile. You chuckled and nodded, silently in agreement with her.

“He told the kid to go wait in the car.”

“Are you kidding me?” Pepper hissed as she walked up to Tony. “I have a room full of people in there waiting for some big announcement what am I going to tell them?”

“Think of something, how about… uhm, Hap you still got that ring?” Your father asked raising a brow towards Happy. You audibly gasped and brought your hand to your mouth as Pepper looked over at you with a confused expression.

“Do I-I oh are you kidding? I’ve been carrying this thing around,” He muttered, digging into his pockets. “Since 2008.” He cheered, pulling it from his pockets and tossing it to your father.

“OH MY GOD Okay it’s happening, everybody stay calm, stay fucking calm.” You shrieked, bouncing in your shoes.

“Hey hey, don’t quote the office while I’m proposing.”

“Shut up and propose Dad!” You yelled and gripped the tablet in your hand.

“I can think of something better.” Pepper joked and leaned in for a kiss. You raised a brow and shrugged as you followed her back into the press conference.

“Pep, I gotta go! Bye!” You said, giving her and your father both small pecks on the cheek before racing out through the back door and up to the hangar for the jets.

A loud thud pulled you out of your reading, you chuckled and stood up from your bed, placing one of the new books Loki had given you on the bed and stretching.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y please open the curtains.” You said, watching as they slid open to reveal Peter, clad in his spidey suit, standing up from the ground of the balcony. You walked up to the glass doors, pulling them open and giving the boy in front of you a small smirk.

“Awe did the big mean glass squash the little spider?” You teased, faking a pout as you reached for his hand and pulled him into your dimly lit room. Peter scoffed and yanked you back, spinning you around so you were flush against his chest.

“Ha ha very funny.” He said with a roll of his eyes as he tugged off his mask. You carted your fingers through his messy hair and chuckled.

“I know, I’m such a jokester.” You hummed and placed a small peck to his cheek, before pulling free from his grasp. “Speaking of jokesters, my dad’s still peeved you declined his invitation.”

“Okay but I thought it was a test! How was I supposed to know it wasn’t?” Peter groaned and flopped down against your bed as he stared up at the ceiling. You shrugged and sat cross legged beside him.

“I dunno, maybe trust him?”

“I never said I didn’t.”

“You kinda did.”

“Ugh stop putting words into my mouth.” He mumbled, laying his forearm over his face. You rolled your eyes and picked up the book again.

“Men, so dramatic.” You mumbled rolling your eyes as you opened the book back up to the page you were on. “I don’t see why you can’t just talk to him about it. He doesn’t bite.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re his daughter.”

“Yeah but he’d kick my ass in a heartbeat if I ever did something worthy of it. And you politely declining his invitation because of a misunderstanding doesn’t call for that.” You mused, leaning back against your headboard, with a small thud.

“Okay fine then the rest of the team would.”

“Sam and Bucky maybe, but if I stopped them. They won’t.”

“But would you stop them?” He asked, now turning his body to the side, resting his chin hand as he stared up at you. You shrugged and looked up to meet his chocolate brown gaze.

“Depends.”

“On what?!” He cried and jumped up, now facing you completely, and kneeling in front of you. A small smirk curled at your lips as you cupped his cheek and leant forward.

“On if you let me do this.” You hummed and leaned forward, closing the gap between you, your lips meeting and moving in a gentle motion.

Peter reached one hand to go around your waist and the other to cup your cheek gently. Slowly, you slid your arms around his neck and began to play with a curls at the nape of his neck, tugging them softly. Peter let out a small groan, causing him to take control of the kiss and push you back against the covers, as he straddled your waist. You brought your knees up, around his body and let your tongue swipe across his bottom lip. Peter tasted like he always did, a gentle mix of mint, and cinnamon. Along with his strong smelling cologne. It sent you into overdrive as you arched your back, pushing your chest flush against his.

A knock on your door sent you shoving Peter off the bed with a loud thud. Taking deep breaths you brushed your mess of a hair back away from your face and lightly fanned yourself with your hand, to try and counteract the heat rising to your cheeks.

“Coming!” You called through the room, before peeking over the edge. “You good?” You whispered with a sheepish grin. Peter simply covered, what you assumed to be bright red cheeks and gave you a weak thumbs up. You smiled and pushed yourself off your bed before walking up to the door and opening it, squinting at the bright light from the hallway.

“Oh, hey Steve.” You said smiling at him, before Bucky appeared beside him with a slight wave. “Hey Buck… whats up?”

“We’re heading down to the gym and then going to grab some food later. Do you want to join us?” The super soldiers asked with eager smiles. You sighed and ran your fingers through your hair. “Uh, rain check? I’ve got a lot of uh homework to catch up on.” You said with an apologetic smile.

“Sure, tomorrow maybe?” Bucky asked, as you nodded bidding them goodbye before shutting your door. When you heard their footsteps fade down the hallway, you broke out into a fit of laughter and stumbled over to the bed as Peter stood up from the floor.

“Okay please never shove me off the bed again.” He muttered, groaning slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sorry Pete, I promise.” You said placing a small kiss to his cheek. “Still on for movie night?” You asked raising a brow towards the TV. He nodded and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“With you? Always.”

So yeah, things weren’t… perfect, and you didn’t really know where your relationship with Peter stood, but you were both happy. And everyone at school seemed to know you were both off limits. I mean everyone already knew anyway that you were both in love with each other, but yet you still had yet to make things official, let alone actually say the words. But you were happy. Really happy and for now that’s all you needed.

#avengers x reader #peter parker #boyfriend peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker x stark! reader #tony stark x stark!reader #tony stark #tony stark x teen!reader #tony stark x daughter reader

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injiminsheart · 4 years

Text

Acquisition of a Daffodil: Ch 4: Alone In The Big Bad World

Rating: General | Teen | Mature

Pairing: Park Jimin x Reader (?)

Fandom: BTS ARMY

Fiction Notes: BTS canon AU/ Slight future fic/ AU for personal life

Warnings: May give you some feels! :D

Do you know how that feels? Living your life day by day and knowing that painful truth. No one loves you. No one has and no one will. It's sad sometimes but mostly you're just numb.

People tell you sometimes, “no, honey, you're beautiful and you have such a beautiful personality. You just haven't found the one yet.”

Haven't found the one, yet? Do you even know how long it's been? How long is a different question. It's never ever happened. I've never even been kissed.

When I was in 7th grade--the first crush I ever had--I told him I liked him. He told my best friend, ‘I only think of her as a friend.’ I cried. I cried for so long and didn’t talk for so many days. Who made sure I was okay? No one. Well, actually, Harry Potter did. I buried myself in books. Read and dreamt to my heart’s content. Emily Dickinson did say, “the dearest ones of time, the strongest friends of the soul, books.”

But it happened again. Doesn’t it always happen again? Everytime you love, you think it’s the last, but it happens again. You fall in love all over again. And I did. It’s just this time, it wasn’t a hurtful boy, it was this gorgeous woman. I had just graduated from community college. She was my brother’s taekwondo teacher. I was working at a shop at that time. I remember like so many other Holidays and birthdays, no one remembered little old me this time either. But they remembered everyone else just fine. I had this client I helped every single time and she brought gifts for everyone in the shop but me. I had friends call me ‘lesbian’ behind my back and do things behind my back as I did all their work. It was like high school all over again. I remember being so alone and scared. So scared. It was so dark in that corner of my mind. Why was it so dark inside my own head? I was scared and I ran.

I ran and I’ve been running and here I am today. This is the story of how I met the man I loved dearly and the man who left me all alone.

First day in the great Seoul, South Korea as a university student. I wanted a place where no one would know me at all. What better way to ensure that than by moving to a different country? If the language was different, I would speak to anyone only when it was crucial at other times, I would be left alone. Just as I had been since the beginning of my life. At least this would be on my own terms.

And it was, for a while. He just didn’t want the extra attention and I wasn’t capable of another heartache. Who knew our mutual likeness of the two tables in the back of the library across from each other would lead me straight into the heart of the storm?

It began with two opposite tables and then it eventually lead to the same table after another girl took his table. She was so happy just to sit in her “Oppa’s” chair. But the Oppa sat with me instead. I knew who he was. I had my fair share of K-pop from High School to College. Those across the table interaction changed to small talk, and before I knew it, I had fallen for him. I had fallen for the famous Park Jimin.

The denial hit faster than a bullet train. I crossed the Pacific Ocean and the International date line to get away for this idiosyncratic behavior. I won’t allow myself to be like this again. There was only one thing left to do, distant yourself from him. I found a new place to study. Under the abandoned bleachers out by the old football field. It was a bit of walk so nobody really bothered to come here.

As I walk in my own world with headphones in my ears, I feel a person come up to me and put their arm around my neck. My fight or flight kicks in and I try to attack my offender.

“Hey, hey, hey. Relax. It’s just me,” says the girl, taking her arm off. The frown on my face must’ve clarified my inner questions because she tucks her hands in her pocket and says, “I’m Grace. I’m in your poli-sci class.”

“You speak English?”

“I would certainly hope so. I’m talking to you, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are. It’s just been awhile since I’ve spoken English. I was taken back all of a sudden. What can I do for you?”

“Can I study with you?”

“Umm….sure.”

A knock on the door pulls Y/n out of her own thoughts.

“Come in.”

Secretary Kim peeks into the office and asks, “Is anyone in here with you?”

“No one is in today, Grace. Come in. I was just thinking about you.”

“You were?”

“Yeah, about the first day we met.”

“You mean when I asked you if I can study with you?” Grace asks with a soft smile and making her way across the office.

“Yes, Babe. That day,” Y/n says, pulling Grace towards herself.

“Y/n,” whines Grace, “What are you doing? What if someone sees us? Didn’t we agree on staying strictly professional at work?”

“We are strictly professional all the time, but I just miss you. I haven’t been able to be with you since the last few weeks. I’ve been so busy with the acquisition and then JiHyun has been all up in my business,” sighs out Y/n as she gets up and hugs Grace and lays her head on Grace’s shoulder.

“I know it’s been a long week for you, Babe, but you gotta behave. You can’t just be falling apart in front of everyone like that. I know you used to have a thing for Jimin and him being here doesn’t help but you gotta stay strong.”

“I’m trying, but that bastard is testing my patience. I saw him throwing you a wink and eyeing you up and down. Was about to slap him.”

“Relax, Y/N. Guys do it all the time and you’ve never been bothered before, so why does it make such a big difference?”

“I just don’t like it!”

“What don’t you like, Y/n? The fact that a guy winked at me? The fact that the guy was Jimin? Or the fact that you still have feelings for him and you don’t like that he was looking at me, instead of you?”

“That’s not what I meant, Grace.”

“So tell me. What DID you mean?” Grace said furiously. She freed herself out of Y/n’s grasp and looked at Y/n teary-eyed, “I can’t keep competing with that man, Y/N. I was the one that picked up the pieces of your heart that HE shattered after he started dating AaRa in college! I was the one that kept you together all these years! I was the one that stood with you to build your business when he walked out on you. I was the one that took away all the pain. But he waltz in to your life after so many years and there you go again. Lose your mind and chase after him again.”

“You’re blowing this way out of proportion, Grace. It’s nothing like that.”

“It’s Secretary Kim for you. I’m at work,” Grace said wiping her tears.

Y/n was hurt and shocked at the same time. She felt herself breaking again. Why her? Why again.

“My apologies, Secretary Kim. You may get back to work and please cancel all my meetings for today. There’s somewhere I have to be,” Y/n said picking up her cell phone and making her way out the door.

***

Y/n’s been driving around for a while. She can’t seem to think straight so she comes back home. A bottle of vodka never hurt anyone, she thinks to herself. As she’s about to enter the elevator, she finds two familiar figures standing in the elevator. She finds herself staring at the certain Park Jimin with his arm around the girl she always hated the most in college. Little Miss Popular, Soo Hyun. Park Jimin is currently dating her college nemesis, Soo Hyun?

Y/n scoffs and lets out a laugh as Soo Hyun seemed to have recognized Y/n right as the elevator door closes to take them back up to the floor they came from.

“Bitch!” whispers, Y/n, “serves her right!”

She doesn’t want to wait for the elevator to come down and face them again, so she decides to take the stairs. Which was possibly the worst decision as she’s currently in heels.

It takes her a while but she finally makes it to the 6th floor. She rolls her eyes when she sees Ji Hyun standing in front of her apartment.

“Wow! Your eyes are gonna hit your brain like that.”

“Look, JiHyun, I’m not in the mood today. This day can’t get any worse than it already is. So I suggest you return from my humble abode today.”

“But I come bearing gifts,” he says lifting a bag upto Y/N’s face.

“Not today,JiHyun,” repeats Y/n.

“Just open the door. Didn’t think you would ever refuse your favorite bottle of vodka.”

Y/n sighs and smiles a little, “Fineeee!!! But only cuz I was going to get shitfaced drunk anyway.”

Ji Hyun shakes his head and chuckles to himself as Y/n unlocks her door. She throws her purse and phone on the table by the door and puts on her inside shoes as Ji Hyun steps into the extra pair by the door.

“Make yourself at home. I’m going to go change.”

“Into spongebob shorts?”

“Shut up and pour me a drink.”

“Yes ma’am.”

***

“So what happened to you today?” asked a tipsy Ji Hyun.

“Nothing. I had a fight with one of my very close friends.”

“Just a friend?”

Y/n remained quiet and took another vodka shot.

“Why were you here today?” asks Y/n instead.

“Hyung was visiting his girlfriend and I realized she lives in your building. I had bought a bottle for you the other day so I thought I come by and drop it off at your door. But then I saw you at the elevator and I was waiting for you to get on but you didn’t. Then when we got back down, you weren’t there. So I thought I should wait for you for a while and see if you show up.”

“So what happened to Soo Hyun and Jimin?” Y/n said without thinking.

“How do you know her name is Soo Hyun?” asked a confused Ji Hyun as Y/n bit her lip and closed her eyes realizing her slip up.

“You told me. How would I know?”

“I did?” asked a confused Ji Hyun, “no I didn’t”

“Yes you did. You said Jimin was coming to see Soo Hyun and you came along. Anyways, let me pour you a shot.”

***

Ji Hyun woke up with a headache and in nothing but boxers in Y/n’s bed with no knowledge of how he got there. He saw Y/n drying her hair in her bathrobe.

“Ummm...what happened?”

“Nothing,” said Y/n. She looked so beautiful and Ji Hyun’s heart skipped a beat.

“What do you mean by nothing? Why am I like this?”

“Well, there’s some lemon water next to your bedside for your headache and you drank a lot last night and were in no condition to go anywhere so you slept next to me in your boxers.”

Ji Hyun looked mortified.

“Don’t worry,” laugher Y/n, “I didn’t touch you. I just helped you into bed. We just slept by each other. That’s all. Nothing we haven’t done before.”

“I should head home, now,” Ji Hyun blushed and Y/n laughed.

“I’ll drop you off. Let me get dressed really fast.”

“It’s fine. I can Uber.”

“Relax. I’ll drop you off.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

***

Y/n was dropping off Ji Hyun when she saw Ji Hyun’s mom pulling up the driveway with Jimin by her side. Y/n looked at Ji Hyun’s shuffled hair and reached over to fix it quickly.

“Don’t freak out,” she said reaching over, “you look like you’re doing walk of shame. We don’t want them getting the wrong idea.”

Ji Hyun blushed again and they both got out of the car. Jimin looked annoyed and their mom was smirking.

“Another late night, Ji Hyun,” teased his mom.

“Yea, Mom. I went to go see Y/n and then didn’t realize when we slept.”

Ji Hyun mustn't have heard what he was saying but Y/n elbowed him lightly as she went crimson with embarrassment.

Y/n noticed that Jimin looked furious so she felt a bit better and added some fuel to the fire, “Yea, sorry about that, Mrs. Park. We were both so out of it yesterday. I realized this morning that Ji Hyun was still there at my house. So I offered to drop him off. But I have to get to work, now, so I’ll get going.”

“Come by anytime, sweetie!”

“Thanks, Mrs Park.”

***

Jimin walked past his brother and mother. Why is Y/n always infuriating him so much? She keeps pretending not to know him and if that wasn’t even enough. She didn’t even react when he flirted with that girl she used to hang out with in college. Then the same thing Soo Hyun. He had started dating her only because he knew she lived in Y/n’s building but instead of paying attention to him, Y/n was busy sleeping around with his younger brother.

He entered his room furiously and threw the first thing that came into his hands.

It isn’t fair! She’s his!

***

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a3-eng · 7 years

Text

B’s-LOG June 2017: Special Interview

Relax* Recreation!!!! (Thank you for all your votes!)

We sit down with Mr. Chigasaki, Mr. Ikaruga, Mr. Furuichi, and Mr. Tsukioka and talk about their impressions of today’s photoshoot.

—Good job with the shoot today! Now that you’re all done, could you share with us how you’re feeling?

Itaru: Since the shoot was here at the dorm we live in, we were able to relax in front of the camera. You probably got candid shots of us. Tsumugi: It was actually so normal, it’s a little embarrassing. Sakyo: The others kept poking their noses in here when we first started, so we couldn’t really focus. Itaru: They ran for it after that demonic roar of yours, though. Misumi: They could’ve just joined us~ Tsumugi: But then there would be no meaning behind the audition* we did. Sakyo: Anyway, I didn’t think even the props were going to be from here too. Tsumugi: True— the controller is Itaru’s personal one. Misumi: I want the triangle controller too~ Itaru: No way. This one’s my partner. Sakyo: The magazine you were reading, Tsukioka— wasn’t that the one sitting in the lounge? Tsumugi: It’s a fashion magazine with Tenma on the cover. I didn’t think about it when I picked it up, but it’s pretty interesting. Itaru: Whenever he’s in a magazine, Tenma does casually leave it out on the table, huh. Tsumugi: It’s kind of cute. Misumi: Yeah, Tenma’s cute, y’know~ Sakyo: Well, even if he’s got a lot of acting experience, he’s still just a brat.

—This shoot crossed troupe lines. Having done this shoot together, could you please tell us about any new discoveries you’ve made or anything that surprised you?

Misumi: I think Itaru surprisingly likes triangles! Itaru: …I’ll at least hear you out on why. Misumi: ‘Cuz you keep hitting the triangle button! I totally get why you’d pick the triangle~ Itaru: △ is base attack so the amount of… you three won’t get it even if I explain, huh? Tsumugi: Sorry. If it were Banri he’d probably understand, but… Sakyo: What do you and Settsu find so amusing about games anyway? It’s beyond me. Itaru: You say that, but you seemed intrigued when you were watching me use the controller. Would you like to play together next time? Sakyo: No.

—Regarding the audition* you and all the MANKAI Company members participated in: how did you feel when you heard about it, or how did you feel when you were chosen?

Tsumugi: I was surprised when I first heard about the project, but I was even more so when I heard the results. I really didn’t think that I would be chosen at all… Sakyo: Same here— at first, I thought it was some kind of mistake. For someone like me, an old— Itaru: Now now, you two, can’t you just be happy about it? Right, Misumi? Misumi: Mmmhmm! You said it, Itaru! Itaru: Well, I do want to know why we got chosen. Sakyo: True. We can refer to it for the direction of our fanservice and theater company promotion… blah blah blah… Tsumugi: …Seems like he’ll be awhile. Let’s just ask if we can get the results of the survey. Misumi: Awww, but it’s so simple! It’s cuz everyone loves triangles, right~? Tsumugi: I don’t know about that… I mean, I’m sure there are some who do… Misumi: I’ve got it! As a show of thanks, how about giving the participants Super Triangles? Itaru: To everyone? Misumi: You bet! Sakyo: Denied. It’s a waste of money. Misumi: Cheapskate~! Tsumugi: Ahaha. Let’s thank them with our acting, okay?

—Considering the relaxed mood of today’s shoot, could you tell us about what kind of person you’re able to relax with?

Tsumugi: For Itaru, wouldn’t it be someone who’ll play games with him? Basically, someone who has the same interests, I guess. Itaru: That sounds about right. And you, Tsumugi? A lump of muscles that’s over 180 centimeters tall? Misumi: Someone with amazing triangular muscles~? Tsumugi: Err…? Sakyo: It’s Takato, of course. Tsumugi: Ohh, I see… That’s true, I could probably relax with someone if we both know each other well. Itaru: Although when you know someone too well it can be a little uncomfortable. What about you, Sakyo? I’m personally really interested in your answer. Sakyo: I’ve never thought about it, but I don’t like noise. Peace and quiet. Those are crucial. Misumi: Sakoda isn’t quiet, y’know~? Tsumugi: And Autumn Troupe seems like the polar opposite of peace… Sakyo: That’s why it’s a problem. Forget me, you’re up, Ikaruga. Itaru: A triangular person? Sakyo: Is that even human? Itaru: Nah, just that Misumi says it all the time. Misumi: Hmmmmm, I do like triangles, but~~ It’s a bit different from “relaxing,” maybe~. I think being able to is based on a feeling~ Itaru: That’s so normal, I’m a little concerned here. Misumi: Oh, I can relax with the director, y’know. Tsumugi: Mm, I think so too. It’s like, the tension in my shoulders disappears… Itaru: Wonder if it’s her aura or something. Kind of strange, huh? Sakyo: … Itaru: Wait, is it different for you, Sakyo? I thought for sure— Sakyo: Not saying it is… Tsumugi: Okay, so let’s go with “someone like the director” as the general consensus.

*This refers to the poll held in February on the B's-LOG website.

Profile

Itaru Chigasaki: Spring Troupe member. Active in the theater company while working full-time (trading firm).

Misumi Ikaruga: Summer Troupe member. Known for his exceptional physical abilities. Likes triangles.

Sakyo Furuichi: Autumn Troupe member. Manages the company finances in addition to acting on stage.

Tsumugi Tsukioka: Winter Troupe member. Joined the company after a gap since college theater. Winter Troupe leader.

Topic: Shooting on Location in the MANKAI Dorm Living Room!?

The cover gravure shoot was taken on location at the dorm where all of the MANKAI Company members reside. It’s a relaxed scene that captures a glimpse of the company’s everyday lives. Incidentally, the magazine Mr. Tsukioka is reading appears to be an issue with Summer Troupe leader Tenma Sumeragi on the cover. Makes you wonder what kind of feature is inside!

#a3!#a3! translation #a3! translation: magazine #act! addict! actors!#b's log #エースリー #itaru chigasaki #misumi ikaruga #sakyo furuichi #tsumugi tsukioka

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estherroberts · 7 years

Text

and nothing ever does begin like nothing ever ends

chapter eight: abscission

fandom: ars paradoxica, his dark materials

words: 2315

rating: T

characters: esther roberts, bridget chambers, original characters

read on ao3

series masterpost

September 6, 1938

they break taboo all the time now that they’re back at school and back together. in their dorm, at clubs, in the library, and always when they go out and about. it’s reckless, thrilling, stupid, sure. but it’s also the best feeling in the world. they can’t hold hands when they walk down the street without getting hassled, but they can switch daemons with no one the wiser.

galené sits on esther’s shoulders as they walk, and sure, it’s a little odd for esther without ritsa on her wrist, but feeling this constant and electrifying surge of— whatever the fuck it is, love and protectiveness and understanding— from bridget is enough to erase that entirely. she’s pretty sure bridget’s feeling the same, from the way she keeps stealing glances and biting her lip gleefully.

esther really wants to lean over and kiss bridget’s cheek, but she settles instead for kissing lené’s wings, and bridget’s face-splitting grin makes that just as good.

when they get to the cafe, bridget lets ritsa slide along her arms and tuck her face into her elbow as galené settles into esther’s lap.

“it still feels like we’re getting away with something,” bridget tells her, shaking her head.

“well, we kind of are. did you get a chance to—“

bridget lights up. “yes! i was in the library for hours the other day while you were taking your philosophy exams, and i convinced catherine to let me have a look at the witch-lore section.”

“there’s a witch-lore section!?!” esther’s sure her shock shows on her face.

“only the librarians know it exists, and only they have access to it,” she grimaces. “and it’s not like there’s much there anyway.” she stops again, sucking air in quickly through her mouth.

sometimes the sensation of switching is still intense enough to render them silent, so esther casually asks, “you alright?” as though she isn’t buzzing wildly herself.

“mhm.”

“so did you find… anything?”

“scraps.”

the waitress comes by and takes their order, and esther feels like she’s gonna bust out of her skin the whole time. “what did they say!” she asks as soon as the they finish ordering.

“it’s not what's normally thought of as a common practice, but there are several records of consensual switching occurring throughout history. it’s clearly not as taboo as everyone thinks it is, especially if we have proof that witches are keeping record of it.”

esther can tell there's something else there that she's not saying, so she sits forward in her chair.

"all those cases, though? one time incidences. no one else that i could find switched with the same frequency or for such extended periods."

"so...” this time, it’s esther who gets momentarily lost in the overwhelming feeling of her daemon safely tucked into her girlfriend’s arms. she takes a long breath, letting it wash over her. “so, what you’re saying is, we’re special.”

“no shit. i mean, obviously we need more data in order to reach any kind of solid conclusion—"

"as any good philosopher knows."

"uh huh. but it sure seems like we're outliers."

the waitress brings them their drinks and for a short while, they can only sip quietly, smirking at each other every once and awhile.

esther grabs bridget’s hand and squeezes twice, and bridget does the same back.

December 16, 1938

“JEAN AND RUDJURO ARE ON THE MARCH!” one of the girls from myrielle hall runs down and knocks on each door, starting a wave of ruckus that spreads throughout the dorm.

from their pushed-together bed in their room toward the end of the hall, esther groans.

“room inspection? the RA is coming?” bridget asks, rubbing her eyes.

“uh huh.”

“fuck me.”

“we don’t have time.”

bridget whacks esther gently and rolls off the bed onto the floor. “we have… so much to do.”

“so let’s get cracking!” esther hops to the ground and starts stripping the bed. “come on!!”

“mmmmmph.” bridget gets up slowly. “toss me the sheets.”

esther hurls them across the room and they smack bridget in the face. “wake up!!”

bridget giggles and picks them up, galené gathering up the pieces that drag. they toss them into their closet, and pull out the two sets of twin sheets. in revenge, and mostly to prove she's awake now, bridget throws one of them back at esther, who catches them deftly. somehow, she has already dragged her half of the bed back to the wall and is making it.

the sounds of jean walker’s room inspection outside grow closer. her power walk and gila monster daemon have been putting the fear of god into the hearts of myrielle hall girls for the last few years, and today is no different. the other girls in the hall are more worried about hiding illicit substances or organizing their stuff, but bridget and esther are doing their best to make their room look as normal and heterosexual as possible.

ritsa is trying to separate their desks by herself but, without limbs, is having a bit of trouble. “go help.” bridget gestures her own daemon in that direction, and starts making her own half of the bed. she looks over at esther, and smiles. “hey, ettie.”

“hey, bridge?” esther’s bed is made and she’s taken pity on the daemons, separating the desks herself.

bridget finishes making her bed and comes over to the desk to organize her side. “ever think about, ykno, separating our shit the night before a room inspection?”

esther looks up at her and grins. “now, my love, what fun would that be?”

bridget picks up ritsa and lets her coil around her wrist as she turns to grab the picture of the them with the two gay guys they’d met in a bar. after she hangs it up, she turns back to see esther grinning at their newly straightened room. actually, maybe she’s grinning at her daemon on bridget's wrist. yeah, it's definitely that.

bridget kisses ritsa gently just as jean walker throws the door open. immediately, bridget tucks her arms behind her back and esther slides into her desk chair, carefully keeping her own hands under the table and away from lené’s back.

“how’d we do, miss walker?” bridget asks, holding her breath as she waits for an answer.

jean squints at every inch of the room, taking a tentative step toward the cracked open closet before deciding better of it. “looks good. up to standard. but it’s hasty. be better prepared next quarter.” she stops again and looks at bridget, then at esther. "hands out, ladies."

reluctantly, bridget pulls her hands from behind her back, and esther pulls hers out from under the desk.

jean studies bridget's arms carefully and turns to esther. "miss roberts, isn't ritsa your daemon?"

"no, miss walker." she holds out her arms, and lené flies right into them. "galené is my daemon."

jean whips her gaze to bridget, trying to gauge her reaction.

bridget shrugs, doing her best to disguise the shiver that just ran down her spine, an involuntary reaction to the most intense confirmation of esther's love that there is.

"if you say so." jean leaves, shuts the door, and esther pulls galené closer to her, cackling.

bridget grins and lifts ritsa back to her face for a nuzzle.

May 31, 1939

"i think she’s bigger than this, lené.”

"bigger than us? than the school? the city?"

if a bee could look concerned, this one certainly does.

bridget sighs. "i don't know. all of it? she's just—“

"brilliant? powerful? destined for greatness?"

"yeah."

"we're so screwed."

bridget laughs a little, her eyes wild. "the snake isn't much better is she?"

"no," lené settles into bridget's lap and cuddles up. "you know, she’s so quiet cuz she's always plotting world domination or salvation. i can never figure out which one it is with them."

"i hope the latter." bridget takes a deep breath, which turn into a long sigh. "the truth is, lee, esther’s going to leave us and never look back. i can feel it in my bones."

"sometimes i think you're crazy for thinking that. but other times, it's like. she forgets a date, or she disappears for a few hours and comes back with a whole research paper written and edited. or she's sworn she's found a new method of observing Dust, for fuck's sake, on a day where she promised she'd do laundry."

"yep. i don’t— i feel like... was this happening the whole time? and we just didn't see it? or is this neglect as recent as it feels?"

"i don't know."

“what are we gonna do about that little philosopher of atomcraft, huh?”

suddenly, the door swings open and the aforementioned philosopher comes flying in. "I PASSED!" she crashes into bridget and lené and hugs both of them tight.

"you goon," bridget laughs, and she can feel her worries sliding off like the whipped topping off a pudding. "i told you it would be fine!"

"i can't believe our late night study sessions really did pay off."

"they always do! and hey, it can't be that hard to write an essay when your brain is the size of your ego," bridget smiles, kissing the top of ritsa's head and then, delicately, the inside of her girlfriend's wrist.

esther's eyes roll back in her head and bridget can't tell if she's exasperated or aroused. when esther pulls her closer by the waistband of her skirt and tells her she's being an idiot, she decides it's both.

November 26, 1950

esther can’t stop thinking— no, feeling, it’s definitely a feeling, that she should be holding galené. her arms ache in a sort of tender, sort of heavy, sort of way and she has to hold herself back from reaching out and pulling her ex’s daemon to her chest. she missed them. and, looking over at bridget, who hasn’t stopped rubbing her wrist, esther wonders if she feels this ache too.

there’s been a lull in the conversation, enough for her to say, “it’s weird.” she’s trying to laugh and nearly chokes instead, “we’re—“

“we’re sort of pretending this is okay.” bridget offers her a sad smile.

“i’m certainly not okay.”

“i’m not exactly okay either.”

esther hesitates. “i wish— i mean, i don’t think you trust me enough to— i don’t want to assume. but it’s not like we can just pick up where we left off, and the last time we saw each other…” her head still feels fuzzy, and even though she’s been mostly okay with conversations, she’s having trouble finding this one’s thread now. but what she's talking about is them holding each other’s daemons again, and she hopes bridget understands that.

“no, you’re right!” this time, it’s bridget who fails to laugh. “i don’t trust you. but i miss you, god, i miss you.” bridget studies her for a moment, and shakes her head. “i wish we could…” she lifts up her arm, grabbing tightly to the place on her wrist where ritsa used to curl, “but i think it'd be too painful.”

esther pushes herself up in the bed that looks like a hospital bed but isn’t, and holds out a hand. “probably.”

bridget lets down her arm and entwines her fingers with esther’s while lené, still buzzing, always buzzing, lands softly on the bedrail. she squeezes her hand, but just once, so esther knows she’s still upset. it’s not an ‘i love you’ but it’s half of one.

“you’re a fool,” the bee tells the snake.

ritsa, curled up on esther’s lap, flicks her tongue, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

esther, however, nods. “hubris is… a bitch.”

this earns her a genuine chuckle from bridget. “ettie, please do try not to get yourself entangled in situations like this.”

“says the girl who agreed to work at my top secret and extremely dangerous organization.”

“hey, who else is going to keep you out of trouble?”

esther swallows, trying to push down the guilt that rises painfully in her throat. she has it on good authority that bridget barely left her side when she was in the coma, and, on top of that, she's visited every day since esther woke up. “you really don’t want to do that. give up your life for me.”

“excuse you, miss hubris! i have a responsibility to the sanctity of this alliance, which is to prevent the corruption of an institution with too much power, and maybe save a few lives in the process!”

“good luck with that,” esther attempts a smile and get hit with a wave of dizziness. “whoah.”

“are you alright?” bridget’s expression changes from jovial to concerned so quickly it breaks esther’s heart. “is there anything i can do?”

“i’m okay. thank you, bridget.”

ritsa slithers down esther’s arm and curls up on her wrist. it’s as good a signal to esther as any that they’re done here.

“you sure?” bridget pulls her hand back gently and clasps it with her other in her lap, but her eyes never let go of esther’s.

“yeah. i think i need to rest, though. catch you later?” it’s a lie. she won’t be able to rest anytime soon. she’s too busy thinking about how she’ll never be capable of returning all she owes her ex-girlfriend.

“you bet.” bridget and her daemon slip out of the room, each throwing one glance back as they go.

without galené’s buzzing, it’s completely silent in the room, and esther is left staring up at the ceiling. “ritsa?”

“yeah?” the small, pink snake shifts around to look at esther.

“they love us so much.”

“they do.”

“i can't—” esther’s voice breaks and she pulls ritsa up to her face. “i can't. i can't love her,” she swallows, “like that. or maybe at all, i don't know. i'm letting her down.”

“yeah,” ritsa tells her softly, “you are.”

#ars paradoxica #his dark materials #ars hdm crossover #my writing

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