#its so hard not to bother him everyday even though it's quite clear that he isn't able to or doesn't want to talk to me 😞

[trainofcommand]

- What do they fight about? What are their arguments like? How do they make up?

For Sheppard and Lorne, please :)

Interesting questions for this pairing! Thank you for asking!

I have a hard time thinking about these two arguing about a lot, because I think so much of the everyday tensions would be tied into work stuff. Like, Evan pissed that John took dumb risks, or John pissed that Evan put himself in front of John in a firefight, and that kind of thing. And they can't really fight about that, because it's the job, and also, it's who they are. So they decided pretty early on if they were going to try to hook up regularly, or try for something more, on their down time they couldn't argue about work stuff. Ever. Maybe they can argue about it during working hours, in a professional way, but it can't be when they're off-duty.

And that takes a lot of compartmentalization. But they make it work.

So their arguments are low-key things. Who would win in a knock-down, drag-out fight, Rodney or Parrish? Which time-travel movie is the best? That kind of thing. And there isn't a lot of need to make up, they mostly focus on getting their hands on each other when neither of them is injured/captured/possessed/etc/etc.

(The exception is the day that they get word that someone who might be Ford has been spotted on a sort-of friendly planet. John is gearing up, calling Teyla and Rodney before the details are even clear. But Evan gets in the way, puts his foot down, says no way can they just go off, half-cocked. He just blocks the door to the conference room where they were given the news, arms crossed, and refuses to budge when John says, low and angry, to get the fuck out of the way. And things are said - bad things, things about loyalty and friendship - and Evan doesn't flinch, but instead, as mildly as he can, points out that they need to think things through, be subtle and meticulous.

John listens, partly because Teyla is saying the same things. And it works, they bring Ford home, and he's a mess...but he wants to be there. It's a small triumph. For everyone.

There are consequences though, for Evan and John. Because this time, John wasn't quite able to disentangle his XO from his partner, and that worries him. And Evan can't quite forget those things that were said about loyalty.

They avoid each other for a while, and it's mostly OK, because John is focussed on Ford in whatever free time he has.

Someone eventually points out to John that he's not happy, and does he even realise that? Of course he does. And he knows why. He shows up at Evan's door a couple of nights later; he doesn't bother bringing anything, just stands there, hands in his pockets, and says, "Look, I'm sorry, I hope you know..."

And Evan just kind of shrugs when John trails off. But he moves aside, out of the way, and lets John come in.

Maybe it takes a while to get back to where they were, but it's worth it.)

(gosh, that kind of took on a life of its own!)

#ask meme #lorne/sheppard

[wheretwofacesmeet]

That Gleam In Your Eyes

" This is not real. "

Of course, that much was obvious.

They'd sunk into sleep , head resting on the books they'd been gifted by their beloved parents. Then, This happened again.

" You may think that," replied the other elf.

The Dream Elf; or, more accurately, The Cognitive Simulation.

" Dreams are-"

" a product of brainstem activation during rapid -eye movement sleep,and stimulation of the limbic system."

He rolled his bright gold-eyes.

He didn't have the same interest in studying as they did.

" This might be-"

" Memory reprocessing? Your subconscious exercising its imagination? "

"LET ME THINK!!"

The Dream Elf jumped, wings stirring behind him.

They breathed heavily, startled by their own outburst. This wasn't like them.

But they'd spent one night too many, stuck in the same reoccurring dream that did not come from anything they'd actually seen or experienced.

Their face lit up. " Stress! Too much stress from the everyday life of a hard-working student."

Pearlescent teeth flashed in a charming cat's-grin.

" I am as real as YOU are, Kazi."

Kazi groaned.

" No. No. No. You are an illusion."

" Doesn't this FEEL real, to you?"

He stood up, leaving them sitting down on the stone steps of the Spire.

He gestured at the pink clouds below, the dawn sky above, the Storm Spire itself.

He spread wide his thistle-purple wings.

The sun began to rise, and golden light illuminated him.

They inhaled sharply, eyes widening behind their glasses.

He was tall, exceeding six feet in height .

Thick, shoulder-length hair. They'd thought it was blue, but it was actually bluish-white.

His skin was lavender blue, not a shade real Skywing Elves possessed.

Raisin -purple horns, their shape unfamiliar.

Not Moonshadow, Sunfire, or any other that they'd seen in real life or in books.

The horns swept jaggedly backward, gold gilding each one's three points.

He was fair-faced, well-shaped ( neither too slender nor too muscular), and handsomely arrayed in evening and dawn shades of gray,purple and blue.

He was a Skywing Elf, correct?

They'd studied the six races thoroughly enough to know what one looked like. Even if their excellent memory was failing them in their unconscious state, those rare elven wings were unmistakable.

But, so much of what they saw was wrong.

The coloration of his skin, his hair, his wings.

The shades of his clothing, accurately streamlined and backless though it was.

The strange horns.

And, although he should bear Skywing markings...

Kazi stood up for the first time in these not-dreams.

They walked over to the other elf.

They barely stopped themself, from reaching out and touching his forearm.

" This is..."

His face was clear of any markings .

His body, however, was covered in many many constellations of innumerable white spots. Kazi looked closer.

His cool breath washed over their cheek.

His chest gently swelled and sank.

They leaned in as far as they could, trying to get a better look at a fascinating phenomenon.

The Skywing's spots appeared to twinkle and shine, almost imperceptibly...

" Ahem."

Not that he was really bothered by the student's too-close proximity.

They could tell, seeing the corners of his mouth twitch upwards.

The gleam in his entrancing eyes.

Kazi's cheeks, ironically, burned. They hastily stepped backwards, tripping over their own feet. Her Radiance would've laughed till she was in tears.

Was there no stone support behind them?

Was their body hanging back in empty air...?

" KAZI!!"

The air whooshed past them, and the Spire rose higher and higher into those rosy-colored fluffy clouds.

They'd had no idea, what falling to meet the ground and the afterlife would feel like.

Books could describe it, but nothing they'd read was quite like this.

Like flying, but rapidly downward.

Like the wind was vengeful, trying to rip off their hair and skin and clothes.

It snatched their glasses, and the world blurred even more than it already had.

Kazi hoped, more than ever ,that this was truly no more than a bizarre repeating dream...

They hit not the ground, but his strong arms.

They rose comfortably up and up, up until he got back to where the two of them had been.

Kazi breathed in panicked pants.

" THAT-I almost- I could have-"

" Do you believe me now?"

" NOT THE TIME!"

He had something in his hand. They grabbed it-yes, it was indeed their precious glasses.

The world came back into focus.

" Alright, I have questions."

" I have answers, Emerald Eyes."

" Give them then, uh...Dreamy? No no, that is not what I meant...I meant, um.."

Their cheeks heated up again. His rich laughter filled their ears .

" Just tell me what this is."

" I do not know exactly. I think, our bodies stay behind, but our souls travel here."

" Why?"

" I don't know. "

" Do you know why your dream-self appears this way? "

They gestured to everything .

" Your eyes are accurate. But not the horns. Not the color or length of your hair. Not your purple-feathered wings or lavender blue- skin. And not the bright freckles."

" It looks wrong? "

His wings drooped. " You think I am odd-looking? Hideous?'"

His face fell as far as Kazi just had.

" Oh no, I do not mean that! I am so sorry, I'm never this bad at language, I meant-"

" Ahahahaha! "

He laughed once more, highly amused by his act. They glared at him.

" My apologies,darling. You are very entertaining."

" I'm not staying here to be ridiculed."

He grabbed their arm ,as they turned to walk off to wherever else they could.

" No,listen. Please. Don't go away. I like you."

" What about me, do you like? We don't even know each other!"

" You live in Lux Aurea. Your birthday is today, the tenth of February.

You are studying language,translation and interpretation. You like hard work, studying, and learning new languages, and meeting new people. You dislike distractions, stress, oversleeping and war."

They smiled shyly.

" I thought you found all my talking tedious. "

" Your voice and your words, keep my attention very well. They are captivating. "

He leaned in close, grinning.

" I like your hair, too. It's beautiful."

" I was going to the say the same about your,um, twinkly freckles?"

They chuckled together.

They smiled at one another. The student's heart beat faster for some reason.

" You know all this about me...but, I do not know anything about you. Not even your name."

" Just call me Starwing..."

He took their face gently in his hands.

He hesitated.

" We should meet in the waking world, first," Kazi said to him. This was not exactly what they wanted at that moment; but it was the right way to go about this.

" I'll find you," promised the Sunfire to the Skywing.

Then they woke up.

The table and books were blurred. Kazi felt the ghosts of cool fingertips on their cheeks.

They wished they felt the ghost of a kiss.

They felt around for their glasses. These weren't on the table, but on the floor.

First, breakfast. After that, research for these out-of-body experiences.

They thought of the sun on his horns, and the gleam of his gold eyes.

...Maybe , research first.

#the dragon prince #tdp fanfic #tdp kazi #starwing #tdp elves #sunfire elf #storm spire #dreams #lux aurea #skywing elf

[bratz-kitten]

random thoughts on the moon signs

moon in pisces is literally my favorite placement ever. something about these people makes me feel safe. as a capricorn moon, i repress my emotions constantly and i’m deadly afraid of showing vulnerability, but pisces moons give off this vibe of constantly being consumed by their emotions – and it’s fascinating. you make me feel like it’s okay to express my deeply emotional side; even better, you encourage it. you’re the type of people who i love crying with while eating ice cream, even cuddling with. your empathy and passion for your interests is your biggest strength.

moon in aquarius reminds me of that shrek quote of him being an onion – you guys have layers upon layers upon layers. my brother is an aquarius moon and sometimes i feel like i’m the only person who knows how emotional he really is. you hate showing this part of yourself – it’s hidden safely from prying hands; you racionalize your emotions, repress them, attempt to conceal them; but ultimately, your deeply compassionate and intuitive nature will be shown – even if only to the very few you trust. your dreams are your biggest strength.

i have never met a cancer moon without raging mommy issues yet who was deeply attached to their mother. you always share this very close bond and she’s very present in your life – yet its so obviously this very toxic dynamic. you guys get this fame for being the only ones with ‘stable’ emotions because your moon is exalted but you’re like.. not. your emotions aren’t stable; much on the contrary, and even if you’re very emotional, you don’t particularly like showing it. most of the cancer moons i’ve known are iffy about expressing their feelings. you joke a lot about your trauma, though, and so you give people the impression of knowing you when really, they don’t know the half of it.

moon in sagittarius makes it feel like life is worth living. you dream so much and so high; you’re so open about your love for adventure and freedom, so optimistic and fun-loving – to the point where most people don’t understand how turbulent your emotions are underneath the façade. you give off the vibe of the funny friend who’s depressed and afraid to show it because you’re supposed to be the one who raises the spirits. doesn’t it hurt when you try opening up to others and they almost seem bothered by it because they prefer it when you’re just this bubble of fun? you need to learn to take that weight off your shoulders – stop trying to entertain others and realize that they’re the ones who need to entertain you. this is your show, baby. your resilience is your strength.

is it possible to be a capricorn moon without having strict parents and a terrible childhood in which you had to raise yourself? because i think it’s kind of a given. it’s so funny how literally everyone sees you as this cold, unemotional, strong person yet you probably cry everyday. a lot of problems with self-worth every time you’re in a bad place mentally, which is constantly. extremely calculating – you always do shit with a clear purpose in mind and it can come off like you’re using people for your own gains. your ability to survive even unsurmountable odds stacked up against you is your strength. i almost feel like you thrive on pain because that’s how you’ve learned to grow and adapt.

moon in aries people are so smart, and most of all, dedicated. you make me want to get my life together so bad – you’re the type of people to set a goal and go through with it no matter what. you’re always on to something, looking for opportunities and recognition. you see what you want and you go for it. you’re so easy to rile up and lose it, though, it’s so funny how you’re so bold and passionate yet so big of a crybaby (all aries placements are tbh).

moon in scorpio stop being so pessimistic pleathe i will kiss you in the lips just don’t lose your faith in humanity /yet/. trust is the most important thing in the world to you which is funny because you have raging trust issues. so sensitive but you cover that up with anger. you be looking like you wanna commit sporadic murder when on the inside you’re just so hurt. you’re so dependable, things might be in deep shit but as soon as you’re in the room i know we’ll find a way to fix it. if the l*ve of my life doesn’t end up being a scorpio moon i’ll be so pissed.

moon in leo YOU’RE SO INFURIATING PLEASE SHUT UP OR I’LL FUCK YOU??????? massive egos, you know you’re the shit and you won’t shut up about it. likes to start arguments just to rile everyone up and then laugh maniacally in the corner at the chaos they created. always have a wicked plan in mind and i’ll go along with it because you’re also stupidly endearing. the best friends, literally always there when you’re down and sosososo supportive. i’ve noticed that feeling insecure is quite possible the worst thing you can feel, it’ll start to take a toll on your physical health. your ability to be a fucking idiot but also a /pretty/ idiot is your biggest strength.

moon in virgo if you say “well actually, that’s not how that works” one more time i’ll throw hands. incredibly nit-picky and obsessive but also the types of people to have a pile of dirt on their room?? mom friend, WILL take care of her babies/friends. you always ruin the mood yet.. you’re so fun to be around? how does that even work? i could listen to you talk for hours. i don’t think you know what the concept of relaxation is. also pleathe stop with that need to fix others. the fact that you’re so focused on your goals and willing to do just about anything is your biggest strength (it’s also kinda scary).

my mom’s moon is in libra and ma’am can you please stop transferring your mommy issues onto me? i get it, you had a codependent relationship with her and she showed you she loved you while also constantly criticising you and treating you like an extension of herself. my bestie is a libra moon too and it’s also like that. just.. mommy issues and insecurities for days. a passion 4 fashion and people love to be around you. also, i can’t understand how you feel. like, you’ll cry a lot and love so hard yet when you break up with someone you’ll never spare a thought about them again? it’s almost like you can turn your feelings off. which is funny, because that’s supposed to be a capricorn moon thing but i’ve never met one who can stop caring, they just act like they’re heartless to protect themselves. either way, libra moons can switch from sweethearts to cold and aggressive in a literal second and it’s scary but also cool.

moon in gemini please don’t ever shut up you have so much to say, your interests are so fascinating and the way you talk with so much passion about literally anything makes my heart do the flippy thing. also so complicated, can you name one person in this world who fully knows and comprehends you? very secretive, people feel like they know you because you talk a lot and are very open about certain things but as soon as something actually serious happens you turn into allison dilaurentis real quick.

moon in taurus why are you so pretty? you’re so extra too, you always leave the house looking straight off the runaway. you’re literally so caring for your friends and overprotective too, possessive of even them. you prioritize comfort a lot, wether it be on your home or concerning yourself. you’re very good with people, i feel like you’re the ex that your ex-boyfriend’s mom doesn’t ever shut up about because she misses you and wants you to be The one. you need to learn that change isn’t the enemy!! change is fundamental for personal growth. hold grudges for a crazy amount of time. very weird sense of humor, in an oddly endearing way. your mentality of “if they’ve hurt you, they’ve hurt me too” is your biggest strength.

#astrology #capricorn #aries #gemini #scorpio #libra #virgo #taurus #aquarius #sagittarius #leo #cancer #pisces #moon in the signs #aries moon #leo moon #sagittarius moon #capricorn moon #scorpio moon #libra moon #virgo moon #taurus moon #gemini moon #aquarius moon #pisces moon #cancer moon

[sailorhyunjinz]

HI BESTIE IMY HEBSBRBS AHH I’ve been so busy ... also recently got super sick and I’ve not been well at all ,, it’s just the flu / a stomach bug tho ! :,) hru ???

Your latest reaction was so good ,, thoughts r being thunk ?? Thinking about skz reaction to you rubbing / jerking their dicks just whenever you’re bored .. and you don’t even really notice that they’re getting off ahah IDK IT JUST SEEMS TO HOT ??

Once they cum or wtv you’re like ;) hsshbrbs

I have a dick but honestly it’s never bothered me reading ur shit directed towards a female reader ? For some reason I really like it bye 😭🤚

-🚬

BABYBOOOY WHY HAVE YOU BEEN SICK?!?! :((( Hope you’re feeling better now, i should give u some of my healing medicin aka my kisses :(( <33 

Also that last bit AAh thank u T-T i try to be more inclusive but like AAAGH im always so scared that i’ll mess something up from my lack of ~ knowledge ~ BUT I REALLY TRY MY BEST >< so thank uuu for having patience for my dumb ass

ANYWAYS SPEED REACTION LEGO 

warnings: skz x gn!reader. handjobs, blowjobs, cum, orgasm (m), cum eating, slight overstimulation

Bangchan

“w-what the fuck” 

yeah thats his only reaction when you suddenly stick your hand down his pants, wrapping your hand around his dick and slowly stroking it while big spooning him

you werent trying to get him off... more like... you wanted something to play with while watching the movie

boy would be ~ flustered ~ 

he’d find it interesting

why would you jerk him off if you didn’t want him to cum yk?

like that type of thoughs

but of course you can’t expect him to not react LMAO

you were fully immersed in the movie because it started to get interesting now and you didn’t notice how you started jerking him off faster. 

until...

you felt something warm and wet hit your hand paired with his dick twitching

you looked at him and saw that poor boy was biting his bottom lip so hard trying to not disturb you with his moans

“did you cum?” you say, lifiting up his pants to which he yelped and put his hands over yours right at his crotch. “n-no”

Minho

be bold with this man 

pull his pants down when he’s just chilling ASHASHA oh god

he doesn’t think it fair 

eventhough he does the exact same to you

when he does it to you it more like he simply wants to feel you all over, not intending for you to get turned on

but make one moan and this mf thinks it a game

“how many times can i get y/n to moan”

NO OK BUT RETURNING TO YOU -> HIM

it would take sum time to get him to cum

he doesnt strike me as the sensitive type and so you could jerk him for quite a while which hey more fun for you

but ooone faithful day he was more turned on than usual leading to him cumming quicker than he usually does during one of those times where you played with his dick

stroking it, running your thumb across the tip, licking it .. you name it...

you smirk when he accidentally cums on your lips and you lick it off and he just starts complaining (yk when jisung bit his fingernail in that two kids room episode, yeah that tone)

“y-you can’t just do that!!” you start chuckling “what? mad that you came like a bitch?” 

nex thing you know you’re pinned against a wall OOP sorry

Changbin

he lives for this BUT only if you give him attention

which you dont because you’re simply bored and dont want to get him off, more like... liking the feeling of having him in your hand lmao

“can you at least look at me?” you shake your head, holding his semi-erect dick in your hand “shh,,, im watching something!” 

that would be the everyday conversation ahsahsha

I FEEL LIKE YOU COULD GO FOR A WHILE??!

he’d be relativly quiet as well so you wouldnt notice until he actually cums and you’re like “...wtf why is my hand sticky”

BRUH U START APOLOGIZING HASHAS HE JUST GLARES AT YOU FOR NOT GIVING YOU ANY ATTENTION

but he came anyways so..

you try to escape the situation but he’s not having it

“nah you’re not escaping now, finish what you started baby”

Hyunjin

another boy thats lives for this 

why? because a) its a handjob b) he likes the thrill of not knowing when you’re bored c) because you forget what you’re doing and he likes seeing you surprised when he cums ASHAHS god bury me 

would purposefully make you bored 

“the wifi is down y/n,, guess we having nothing to do...w-wanna give me a handjob”

you shrug, “alright” 

you’re completely lost in though, wondering when the wifi will return or what you guys should eat for dinner

suddenly he cums,,, a lot,,,

you laugh at him and he’s kind of blushing with his hair covering parts of his face. 

“i-i’m pretty sure the wifi will be down for a while” ;))

Jisung

FUCK YES LETS GO

he would already just be naked infront of you at random times

like,,, whats the point in putting on clothes after the shower if he knows that you are going to sneak up on him and jerk him off yk?

but what this boy didn’t know was how you didn’t notice most of the time

your hand just having a mind of it’s own...

but you’d notice pretty quick 

since this boy LOUD YALL 

whiny mf 

“shush!” you say, scrolling on your phone with one hand and jerking him off with the other.

you didnt intend on making him cum,,, just giving him a massage ASKKASJSKSA

he’d act all like “ppfft... you can’t make me cum from just that-”

and then shuts up because “h-hey... this feels too g-good”

not thinking he’d cum this quick you started talking to him but were quickly cut off from him letting out a long moan

“f-fuck,, y/n..h-haa,,,”

after he cums you’re like “heading to bed”

but he pulls you back, grabbing your wrist and looking at you with big doe eyes

“c-could we keep going?” 

Felix

boy would be walking around, holding his crotch because he never knows when you attack

because he belong to the more... sensitive bunch of boys... HE DOESNT LIKE IT TOO MUCH

mostly because he’d cum too fast and it would leave him embarrassed (awh poor boy:(( ) 

thats legit the only reason LMAO

noo poor boy wants to appear all tough for you even though you’ve told him over 100 times that he doesn’t have to be, you love him for who he is yk? <33

BUT NOPE stubborn baby sets bets with you

“ok this time i won’t cum that quickly... last time was a practice round”

ASHAHSH WHY IS THAT SO FUNNY JESUS

4 minutes later... YEAH YOU GUESSED IT

and you didnt even notice?!?!

you just thought that those sounds were him in like pain ASHShHAS

because you were to preoccupied thinking watching tv

needless to say,,, he was pouty,, for a while

until you attacked again LMAO

Seungmin

ok gimmie a second,,,, i need to think 

alright... he likes it BUT he’s shy

you need to give the puppy some time to warm up 

do it too fast and he gets scared AHSHASH

so ok lets say that the both of you are doing,, nothing

and you just slowly feel him up and it eventually leads to you jerking him off

you’re not even aware of how good he’s feeling with your hand around his cock

“y-y/n can you stop?” 

“stop what- oh”

looking down you notice that he already came, his cum coating the tip and your hand with white thick ropes

NOT THAT HE CAME FAST JUST THAT HE SUFFERED WITH THE SLIGHT OVERSTIMULATION ON HIS OWN

goddamn... seungmin is always so difficult to write for ONLY ME?!?!?

seungmin stans are already knocking on my door SORRY IM TRYING

Jeongin

BLUSHY BOY

I REPEAT; BLUSHY BOY

“w-what are you doing y/n~?” he says while your hand travels down the side of his body while the two of you were chilling in bed. “im bored” you huff out, looking him in those big brown eyes. “we can play videogames!” he says trying to make you get your hand out of his pants but you shake your head. “i wanna play with you instead” 

boy would melt

painfully shy (and hard)

because you it all happened so fast??

the two of you were chilling, everything quiet and peaceful and before he knows it you’re jerking him off vigorously

he covers his face with his hands, occasionally sneaking a glance of your pretty face from inbetween his fingers as you give him a handjob

you’d be too focused watching his face as almost falling asleep not noticing the boy squirming around 

until you hear

“h-hghnn...”

thats his cumming sounds btw HAHSHAH IF I WASNT CLEAR ENOUGH

jesus i cant write reactions for shit BUT THEY SEEM TO BE REALLY APPRECIATED SO YEAH!

I have 2 more of these coming up oh and also remember that this is legit word vomit SO ITS NOT PROOF READ AND UHM... i’ll try to do the two other ones this week heheh ^^

#straykids smut #stray kids smut #skz smut #skzsmut #kpopsmut #stray kids imagines #straykidssmut #straykids x reader #stray kids x you #stray kids x reader #stray kids x gender neutral reader #bangchan smut #lee know smut #changbin smut #han smut #hyunjin smut #felix smut #seungmin smut #i.n smut #🚬 anon #Cherrymail🍒

[lxstfulbeans]

JUST CURIOUS OR NOOOOT....if you’re open or not, that’s cool~....

*slides a hundred your way*

I must know, what would it be like for Levi, Erwin, and lastly HANGE *clears throat* to be with a Black S/O, but here’s the catch. They’re the only black person behind the wall..well atleast what’s his name comes around..

Also, Drink plenty of water, stay hydrated, sleep well, relax, breathe, happy Valentine’s Day ❤️

Aight I gotchu babes, lemme get that hunnid up outcha 😏. And thank you so much 🥺 same to you!!

I feel like I gave more to Erwin and Hange than Levi, but I love these three equally 😭✋🏽. But, hope you enjoy this!

Headcanons: what it’s like with the only black s/o behind the walls.

Levi Ackerman:

When he first met you, he’s like “what in the fuck-“

He never meant it in bad way, oh no ma’am. It’s just that NO ONE has ever seen anyone like you before, let alone thought there were people of a different race.

But knowing Levi, and seeing his resting bitch face.. how could you ever know 💀.

My guy literally lived in the UNDERGROUND, on some “City of Ember” type shit, and has never seen someone like you before.

When you decided to join the Survery Corps. then eventually choosing the Scouts after being top of your class. He took it as an opportunity to observe you (well, him and like twenty, thirty other people 💀), whenever y’all sat and talked about expedition plans with Hange and the Commander, he enjoyed listening to you speak your mind and blast your opinions.

And don’t get me started on how strong and open-minded you are.

Eventually, he’ll start catching feelings. He’ll talk to you more, occasionally praise you for a job well done more than he’s done ANYONE else. He’ll even fucking compliment you and pick up on little things you’ve done.

Of course, when the other brats get outta hand when it comes to awful flirting and tryna see what that thang do. He shuts that shit down before it can even start.

“Oi. Get the fuck outta here before I use you as live bait for the Titans.”

Best believe they skedaddled.

He asks if you’re okay, and to tell him that if anyone else makes you uncomfortable like that again so he could properly whoop they ass.

Y’all get to talking and.. somehow talk most of the day away.

When he heard you laugh, he was struck. His heart pounding, though he couldn’t help but feel a smile tug at his lips.

Then, he asks you to be his. Which you accept with pride.

He’s always there to help you with wash days if you need it. He loves helping you, even if he doesn’t really show it.

Oh, and that discrimination shit? Y’all can cut that shit out right now cuz Levi don’t play.

Teamwork makes the dream work when it comes to cleaning. He’s impressed at how much better you are at it than he others.

Oh and your COOKING babyyy

He be stingy with it for sure. He was big mad when everybody else wanted some, at least you saved some pie for him.

And y’all are partners in fucking crime. Y’all be bodying Titans left and right bruh. Don’t nobody want the smoke.

Erwin Smith:

Oh my lawd, why is he so fine and RESPECTFUL 😔✊🏽.

Okay, okay this ain’t about me rn heheh.

Honestly, he’ll be flabbergasted to be in your presence. He’s never seen someone of a different race before, he wondered were there more of you on the outside?

When he saw you the first time on the return from another expedition outside the walls. His eyes met you and he was just.. amazed. He was sure that he wasn’t seeing things but, he had to see you again.

When he couldn’t find you, he had to come to the conclusion that you were a hallucination. I mean, he was exhausted, sleep deprived, and hungry.

But, eventually he found you by yourself at the bridge. He was amazed at how the morning sun made you glow, reflecting off of your brown skin.

When you caught him staring, he choked on his words as he rambled with apologies. This made you smile, inviting him to sit and enjoy the morning with you.

Y’all started talking and you just.. clicked. When he heard your laugh for the first time, he had it bad.

He tried visiting you as much as he could, even if it was only a simple “hello, how are you?” or the slightest of small talk.

When the Walls were invaded, you were helpless. No one bothered to help you, either saving their own asses or being eaten alive. You couldn’t count the times where you were so close to meeting death. You refused to become a victim and have fear control you.

When you joined the Scouts, he was shocked to you standing here before him. Your fist over your heart as you announce yourself. He never thought you would be here about to risk your life everyday.

But, he saw that fire in your eyes and smiled.

He couldn’t guarantee your safety but would do everything in his power to make sure nothing happens to you.

He’s a busy man. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t sit and talk with you all of the time. If you were lucky, he’d send a smile or even a wink your way.

Though, he’s often caught you by yourself again, watching the sunset or gazing into the night sky. The way you skin would glow made him look back on old times.

He sits with you, talking the night away and making you smile again.

Overtime, you eventually get closer. When you originally closed yourself of because of the events of “That Day”, but opened up more and more when you both were together.

Whenever somebody tries to snitch on you to him, you’re literally not phased by this shit.

“Tell him then, I don’t give no fuck! Matter of fact, I’ll tell him for you!”

He honestly adores how you don’t take shit from anybody, but he lets you get away with a little bit of things. He won’t reprimand you but will give you a slap on the wrist if you went too far with something.

Whenever he says something unintentionally funny, you just crack up laughing. Like, you are wheezing so silently and rolling on the floor in tears. He couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head at how silly you were.

He adored everything about you. Your laugh, how your skin glows in the light, your captivating smile, and how you weren’t playing games with nobody.

This time, he realizes his growing feelings for you.

Eventually, he confesses his feelings to you. Like this man is poetic as hell, he’s listing off everything he loves about you, even the little things made his heart soar. You were honestly shocked that your Commander felt this way about you.. but you couldn’t lie and say you didn’t feel the same.

After y’all get boo’d up, you’re basically a power couple.

Somebody got one time to talk shit about you, on god he is on them like white on rice.

“If you say one more word about them, I will personally make sure that on the next expedition, I will leave you behind...”

Ah, don’t you just love it when it he gets serious and protective?

And both y’all side-eye the fuck outta people when they don’t rub you the right way.

Wash days? He’s all for it. Once he sees your arms drooping, clearly worn out from washing your hair, he’ll happily roll up his sleeves and get up in there.

Bruh, have you seen his hands?? You KNOW his massages are bomb af, like you damn near fall asleep everytime he massages and scratches your scalp.

Don’t get him started on your cooking, he’d do anything for it. He gets so happy when you save extra plates for him to eat later.

When push comes to shove and everyone’s losing their shit, you have to be strong. Erwin’s always motivated you and inspired you, if humanity had any chance to survive, you had to show it.

“Y’all need to get yo shit together PERIODT! It’s okay to be scared, but we won’t make it out of this if you keep actin’ like this! Y’all signed up to protect humanity right?! Well, show these Titans who they fuckin’ with!”

After hearing that.. he wanted to marry you.

(bonus: let’s say that he’s alive 💀 cuz I literally cried when he got clapped like how-)

When you were finally able to go outside the walls without any fear of the Titans, you felt free.

When you came across the ocean, he couldn’t take his eye off of how amazed you looked at the clear blue waters, the sun making it shine towards its horizon.

“It’s everything Cadet Arlelt said, right? Where there’s an ocean.. there’s other lands, eventually other enemies.”

“I know. We made it this far, it’s only right that we keep goin’.”

Hange Zoë:

Hange can GET IT MM- 🤧 they are literally so fine.

oh, and it’s kinda canon that they’re non-binary so 😃.

This’ll be after you first join the Scouts and baby they was on you like white on rice INSTANTLY.

They’ve never seen anyone like you before. It was almost forbidden to learn or talk about anything beyond the walls, were there more of you?? Where did you come from?

Though, they’re outta pocket questions and lack of knowledge of something called, “personal space” kinda made you nervous so they brought down a couple notches.

When they got to know you more, they were just ecstatic to see you.

When Hange caught you alone, basking in the warm embrace of the sun, they couldn’t take the throbbing of their heart as your dark skin was shining.

When you eventually start dating, they had no problem putting folks in their place when they try you.

“Alright, I see that you have quite a lot to say about my s/o! I bet you won’t be spouting a word when you come face to face with Titan. I’ll happily let you see them up close..”

They’d absolutely kill for your cooking. Deadass. If they’re not the first and last one to get a plate, they’ll be big mad for a hot minute.

I’m sure they observe you a lot, especially when it comes to your routines and how you try your best not to smell like a hunnid cans of bounce dat ass 💀. So when wash day comes and you’re kinda tired after training, they’ll happily wash your hair for you.

They’ll praise you for all the hard work you’ve done, giving you little forehead kisses, massaging and giving light scratches to your scalp.

OOH WEE- you are in absolute heaven with them.

Both of y’all share that chaotic energy, bugging the hell outta Levi when you get the chance.

When it comes to fighting Titans, y’all don’t play! When it’s time to put the moves on ‘em you do it!

- - END SCENE - -

#poc writers #anime headcanons #black reader #attack on titan #aot x black!reader #anime x black!reader #poc reader #erwin headcanons #hange headcanons #levi headcanons #attack on titan headcanons

[visit-ba-sing-se]

hey it is me again rewriting a scene from the comics with no compliance to canon nor context just because it was on my dash and bothered me 

“You know it wasn’t, Zuzu.” The words came out before Azula had thought them through, and she directly scolded herself for that. Sure, the current situation was bad, but she liked to believe that she had been in way greater danger before. And in those moments, her brain had usually worked pretty well. Which was the reason why she was even still alive now to be stuck in this mess. Of course, she had to admit, a few times it hadn’t. Which was again the reason behind the mess. “What?”  At least she had managed to catch her brother surprise. His grip loosened a bit, and the anger in his eyes faded a little to make room for confusion, which turned into disbelief and then again quickly into scepticism. After everything, his face was still like an open book, and she could see him shifting through the different pages as he tried figure out her intentions.

“Like this. Between us.” Azula shrugged, as much as that was possible in her current position. “You know. me trying to kill you…you locking me up..me trying to kill you again…you holding me over a cliff…” 

Azula did her best to sound casual as she spoke. As if she was telling a funny remark, not recounting the shambles the relationship between her an Zuko had fallen into, each one a sharp dagger of its own. But she herself could hear how much her voice sounded like it was about to crack. And a part of her did not even mind. That part that was just so tired of keeping her act up, again and again, everyday and at all times. She had played it so well. Had done so much to keep to keep everything, but first and foremost herself in control. And where had that even gotten her? On the edge of a cliff, from which her brother would may or may not throw her to death. So, if there had ever been a moment to put her cards on the table, wasn’t it now? 

“Azula, I have no idea what you are getting at.” 

The anger had returned onto her bothers face, and Azula did not know what was worse: the fact that she actually wondered if he would have it in himself to kill her, or how little she cared about the answer.

“And to be honest am really not in the mood for one of your mind games right now.”

She could not help but laugh. It wasn’t real laughter. Too bitter and too dry.  Not like she really remembered what her real laughter even sounded like.  Of course, that was what he thought. That she was still scheming, with her feet in the air and the abyss below. And had that not been the picture she had always tried so hard to convey? Why was she mad at him for buying exactly the show she was selling? Because he does not even try to look behind the curtains, a voice in her head whispered the answer. Zuko opened his mouth to say something else, but she interrupted him before that.

“I am not playing anything. I am just answering your question. Truthfully.” She emphasised the last word. Not for him, but more for herself. It was about time she did that. “You know we were different when we were kids. How we used to play together. How we snuck in the kitchen to steal food.How you taught me the first bending moves. How we warned each other when dad was in a bad mood. That was not us against each other. That was us against the rest.” She paused, to give her words the room and weight they deserved to have. “You cannot tell me you do not remember what tricks we used to play on the staff. Or what stories you used to tell me about the dragons when I had snuck into your room at night. Or what you swore me when Lu Ten went to war.” 

Her brothers reaction reaction told Azula that he did, just as well as her. Even though that night had been so long ago, and at least to her felt like it had happened in another universe. 

The day that their older cousins, who had kind of been like a second bigger brother to her, had announced that he would leave to conquer Ba Sing Se. Of course the adults had tried to play it down, but Azula had not fallen for their tales. She knew what war was. Or least, she had thought so. At. least she had already understood that sometimes people went there and did not return. And that now one of those people would be Lu Ten. 

She had refused to join the family during meals and even missed her lessons, for the only time in her life. All she had done was sit at a turtle duck pond and stare into the water, which no amount of yelling nor nice words from either parent had been able to change. Azula did not remember what excactly she had been thinking back then, except for the she sworn herself to never talk to any of them ever again. Which had worked quite well. Until Zuko had shown up to sit next to her and put a hand around her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t be so sad, Azula,” he had said, obviously trying to sound more cheerful than her really felt. “Lu Ten surely will come back soon and well.”

Azula did not know why, but after that her tears has just started to flow.

“Zuzu, he is abandoning me. Abandoning us.” She had sniffed, hiding her face between her hands. “How can he just do that? I thought he was our friend.”

“Because he had to fight in the war. Like our uncle. It’s important for our nation. And his duty.”

“Stupid duty!” Today, her own reaction seemed hilarious to Azula. But she knew that she had meant each word she had said, the way only a child can mean them. “I think if you really care for someone, you do not just leave them behind. Not for any duty.”

“Well, I know that I would never abandon you.” Her brother had responded, he too as convinced of his words as only a child could be . “Not for anything in the world.”

“Promise?” she had asked.

“Promise” he had said, and they had shaken hands dramatically, while looking each other deep in eyes. As if they had just sealed a very important and serious deal.

Now, Azula was staring at those exact same and yet so different eyes again. Still the same shade of gold, but one of them now scared.

In them, she saw understanding. And then a very, very deep regret. A regret not limited to the events of today, but that seemed to span over all of their lost days. She recognized it not only because it was so obviously written on his face, but because she felt it too. When her brother carefully put her down on her feet again, its weight on her shoulder nearly made her legs give in. 

“How only did we end up here?” Zuko asked finally, shaking his head. There was no more accusation in his voice. Just sadness and disbelieve. Azula wanted to reach out to him. As close as they were standing, it would have been easy to put her arm on his. But at the same time, he seemed to be so far away, and the divide that had built between them over years just felt uncrossable. 

When had it started? She wondered. When had she started seeing Zuko as friend and brother and more like an opponent? Like a rival for her parents approval? Had it been when her training had gotten more serious? Or when her father mood swings had gotten worse? Azula could not remember. What she remembered was how there suddenly had been this fear. This fear to fail and disappoint, that had come and chased every other motion away. That had numbed her feelings for anyone and anything else, except for this one need. This one need to be perfect. To be the best. 

“You know”, her brother continued after a moment, while Azula was still deep in her thoughts,  “I usually tell myself that this is what we were destined for. That we just were made to stand on opposing sides and fight. But-“ his voice cracked, and took a while until he continued talking. “But that’s not true. That’s just what they taught us. What he taught us. He just was so good at it.” 

She truly wanted to believe that he was right. But she had just reached another conclusion before. One that she hated to have had, and one that she even more hated to share. But she had wanted the truth in first place. So now there was no turning back.

“No. It was me. I ruined it. I was so obsessed with making father proud and…..I”,

 Azula forced herself to continue speaking even though she felt like she was choking on her words, “I sacrificed you for that. I…I sacrificed us.” She felt hot, burning tears on her cheeks, but she did not care enough to even swipe them away. What were a few tears for so much that was lost? 

“And now it’s all ruined. I….I`m sorry.”

“Azula…no”, she saw her brother reaching our his hand. Slowly and hesitant, as if he was afraid she would back away. But she did not, and so he put it down on her shoulder. “Azula, you were child. We both were. And I am sure there were times I could have been a better brother, but I was not. Like back then. But also today. And for those I am sorry, too.” 

There were tears in his eyes as well, Azula noticed, just like the slight crack in his voice. And she knew that he meant everything he said.

“And of course I am sorry for the years we lost, and I wish we could turn back time and make things different. But-,” Zuko paused, and Azula could tell that he was carefully considering each word, “we still can have so many years ahead. Maybe we can try to make this right. Maybe we can at least take our future back from them”

He brother looked at her, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but also nervously twitching his free hand. 

Azula knew that he was excepting an answer to his proposal. She also it would be difficult, and that it might not even work. She also knew that there had been a time where her answer would have been a clear no. No risk. No trust. No dependency. That had been her default, and part of her strategy to success. And also how she had lost everyone that had ever mattered to her. But now, more than anything, she just wanted her brother back.

“You really think we could?”, she said therefore, “because I really do want these years.

“Yes I do”, Zuko smiled through his tears. “After all, I have a promise to keep.”

And then, after what had felt like an eternity, Azula hugged her bother again. (submit another scene if you enjoyed this?)

#Azula #Zuko #avatar #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #atla fanfic #my writing #I refuse to accept the comics as canon #also yeah I deserved to write this #as a treat #jk I just had to distract my mind from...stuff #maybe spare some love <3?

[heliads]

Changing Perspectives

At first, Steve Rogers thinks that the new S.H.I.E.L.D. agent darkening the hallways of Avengers Tower is nothing more than a thorn in his side. Then again, there might be more to her than what meets the eye.

masterlist

Steve hurries through the halls of Avengers Towers, ducking and dodging around startled agents if he decides they’re not moving quickly enough. Steve has a debriefing in a few minutes; he had started out with good intentions and a promise to himself to be on time for once but he got sidetracked somewhere just before leaving his front door and his head start has quickly evaporated. So much for trying to be punctual.

Steve skids around one final corner, slowing his pace to pretend he hadn’t been rushing and heads purposefully into the debriefing room. He slides into a seat in the back, next to Natasha. “You might want to be careful, Rogers,” She says, turning to face him with a grin that borders on gleeful, “I don’t think it would do good things for your All American Boy reputation if you were caught arriving less than five minutes before a debriefing.”

Steve rolls his eyes, pulling out the case file on whatever mission he’s about to hear about from where it’s been wedged underneath his arm. Truth be told, he was supposed to have read it in advance, but he didn’t bother to make the time to do so, preferring to keep it propped insistently against the corner of his desk as if its proximity to him would encourage Steve to read it in any way.

Steve has just started to flip through the case file in the hopes of finding a quick summary when the lights dim and the speakers arrive. There are two or three of them, each dressed in the familiar dark and practical clothing designating them as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, primarily researchers. 

Steve finishes his quick scan of the case file while the researchers drone on, but even after his reading is completed he can’t quite bring himself to pay attention. Maybe it’s the dark of the room, or the monotonous voices of the agents, but Steve’s focus drifts away from the debriefing on hand and out the window next to him. The view of the New York skyline is breathtaking, as always. Sometimes it’s strange to be able to see the city like this, new technology practically bursting out of every street corner. Steve may have spent a lot of time in the twenty-first century by now, but some nagging part of him still doesn’t think it’s right to see such a modern city as commonplace.

Steve is rudely awakened from his thoughts by the sound of his name coming from the lips of one of the agents. Steve jolts back to reality, turning to face the agents as if he’d been paying attention all along. “..and that’s what we had planned so far. Are we in agreement, Rogers?” Steve glances from the projected display overhead to Natasha’s position in her case file, which is conveniently flopped open to the proper section.

“Well, I don’t see any problems there. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new policies, especially, the Paper Cards Protocol, should cover the previous breaches in security. I think the question is more how quickly you’ll be able to implement them.” Steve leans back in his chair, feeling satisfied with his answer. It’s pretty easy to fake attention- just yammer on about security and throw in a couple of keywords that he had just seen in the case files. Normally, this is enough to deter any of the S.H.I.E.L.D. researchers, as they always seem too overwhelmed by the idea of contradicting a national hero to question him any further.

The agent in front of him, however, does not appear to be cut from the same cloth. She folds her arms across her chest. “Excellent answer, Rogers. Just curious- is there anything more specific you’d like to say, or are you happy to stick with the same general statement you just read out of Agent Romanoff’s booklet?”

Steve stares at her for a moment, surprised and the agent continues on without giving him a chance to speak. “See, this is exactly what I’m talking about. Not to keep bashing on Rogers, but most everyone here is content with ignoring protocols and policies brought up by lesser agents in favor of sticking to what they’ve always done. Why do we need new security, and why new protocols? It’s because no one’s actually paying attention to what we already have and it makes us have to think four steps ahead instead of the regular two.”

Steve frowns up at the agent as she continues talking, unable to feel the sting of her criticism through his confusion. Steve realizes that he actually doesn’t recognize this particular agent- never seen her before, not even in passing through the halls. Yet according to the neat rows of colored insignias designating her position in the S.H.I.E.L.D. ranks, she’s actually a pretty important agent. Maybe only a few ranks below Natasha.

The agent notices his gaze. “Yes, I’m new to this area. Just returned from an international mission. Name’s Y/N L/N, but you would have known that had you been paying more attention to the debriefing at hand instead of whatever might be going on out there.” She says, waving a hand in the general direction of the window. In front of him, Natasha smirks. “Already cutting to the bone on your first day back, L/N?” Y/N’s previously cool demeanor cracks as she flashes Natasha a grin. “Maybe so.”

The two agents (and friends, apparently) share a laugh before Y/N continues on with her debriefing. Steve is left to stew in his corner of the room, biting his cheek and wishing that of all the days to not pay attention, he hadn’t chosen this one. Steve’s usually the one to be in control of the room like this, usually the one to center the conversation and prove to everyone why he’s got the reputation everyone’s so familiar with. Y/N remains aloof and in control, completely and utterly aware of the effect she’s having on him and obviously proud of it.

Steve decides that he loathes her.

Tony’s throwing some sort of party again. Honestly, Steve cannot figure out what delights the man so with wasting large sums of his money just to impress the general public, who would have followed Tony anywhere if he so much as looked at him. Yet here Steve is, uniform disregarded for some nice clothes he had to dig out of the corner of his closet designated ‘Not bloodstained, could be worn to media events.’

As he arrives at the Avengers Tower, which has been newly redecorated to reflect the festive mood, Steve begins to remember why Tony’s having this particular gala. Some new invention launched into the public, some big deal that’ll have his face splashed across the front pages for weeks. As Steve straightens his shirt collar and heads inside, he’s enveloped by the roar of noise typical of Tony’s parties.

A few hours in, the bottles are already popped and Steve wants nothing more than to leave. If you’re like him and can’t get drunk, it gets pretty hard to pass the time. Just as he’s heading to the door, though, Nat notices his escape attempt and blocks his path. She laughs at his disappointed look as she pulls him back into the fray. 

“You can’t leave, not yet. Tony’s about to set off some fireworks, and if I have to stick through his entire thing, so do you.” Steve groans, but allows Natasha to walk with him to the doors leading outside. It’s a brisk night, with a cool wind cutting the heat of the tower. There’s the sound of a countdown rolling across the dark of the night, and then the answering boom and flash of the fireworks.

Steve has to admit that they’re impressive. If there’s one thing Tony can do well, it’s another display of opulence. Steve still isn’t used to the bright colors and shapes that are typical of modern fireworks, and he finds himself standing there in awe for longer than he expected.

Then, his attention is caught by a brief flash of movement in the middle of the cheering partygoers. Everyone here is happy, celebrating, having fun, but this one figure looks panicked, and is slipping as fast as they can towards the doors to get away. Steve blinks his eyes a few times to clear them, staring at the person rushing inside. With a slight twist to his stomach, Steve realizes it’s Y/N, and she looks more upset than he’s ever seen before. It’s strange to see her usually indifferent face twisted with something that looks almost like terror.

Steve is leaving the party before he realizes, desperate to get to her. What if something is terribly wrong? He has a feeling that it’s not HYDRA or some other enemy attack, because Natasha and Tony don’t seem worried, but Y/N, Y/N is not doing very well at all.

Steve is just rounding a corner when he sees her. She’s flung herself down on the ground in a dead end of a hallway, hands clamped down over her ears and back hunched as if to protect herself. Steve hesitates where he is, just out of her sight, when he sees the tears starting to wash down her cheeks. As Steve stands there, he realizes that she’s saying something over and over again. There’s a pang in Steve’s chest as he realizes she’s repeating the same simple sentence again and again, as if by hearing it one more time she’ll snap out of whatever haze she’s trapped in.

You’re not in Kolograd anymore. You’re not in Kolograd anymore. You’re not in Kolograd anymore.

Steve recognizes the name of that city- it’s some distant town in Russia, the place where she recently completed a mission. It was supposed to be some tiny corner of the country, but it instead housed dozens of HYDRA facilities. Steve had heard rumors that the mission hadn’t exactly gone to plan, but Y/N had seemed fine and so everyone had just forgotten it. Looking at Y/N now, though, Steve realizes none of that was true. He doesn’t know what happened in Kolograd, but it was enough to scar Y/N even now, to the point where she would have to put up a front everyday and pretend she was fine.

Steve decides that he may have misjudged her.

The night is late, the curtains drawn. Most of the Avengers have finally dragged themselves away to bed, leaving behind rumpled couch cushions where they had previously sat, where the room had filled with the last dregs of conversation finally run out. Some government official had sent over a few bottles of wine and other spirits, clearly in the hopes that a few expensive gifts would spare them from checking into his history with shady business dealings. There would be no such luck for him.

However, these now empty bottles meant that the night was not as quiet as it usually was. Steve, wanting to clear his head of the drunken haze that permeated everything in the room except for himself, slipped out of the room and opened the doors to a balcony. He steps out and leans against the railing, savoring the rush of focus that the cool air brings. He barely notices the door open again behind him, and then another figure comes to stand next to him.

Steve smiles when he realizes it’s Y/N. She, of course, is just another regular agent who lacks Steve’s cursed ability to not get drunk, and Steve notes the scent of alcohol on her tongue and the slight sway in her steps that usually isn’t found among her normal balance and care. 

Y/N breathes in the cool night air, letting her shoulders sink, then turns to face Steve. “I feel like I should be envious of you and your super-fast metabolism, but to be honest it’s kind of nice to not have any worries right now.” Steve chuckles quietly at that. “I do miss it, to be honest. Every now and then, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to be able to let go of everything.”

Y/N considers this for a while, her eyes still on Steve. In this moment, he realizes that the balcony is small, and the two of them are barely a few inches apart. She’s right there, just in reach, and he supposes he isn’t exactly surprised when she leans forward and kisses him.

Her lips are warm and soft against the biting chill of the wind, and Steve’s a little disappointed when she breaks away. Steve doesn’t say anything, and maybe that’s why Y/N gets this panicked look in her eyes like she’s terrified she’s ruined everything. She forces a light giggle. “It looks like I’ve had too much to drink. I think I’m going to head in.”

Steve realizes how this looks and wraps his arm around her waist to stop her from turning away. “It’s not a mistake, and you don’t have to pretend that you’re that drunk just to get away from it.” Y/N frowns at that, pausing where she stands. “What?” Steve glances down at her. “You’re afraid to really say how you feel, so you’re blaming it on the closest thing in sight. You don’t have to hide anymore, Y/N.”

She stares at him for a second, then her confused frown turns into a laugh. “You know, I thought I was supposed to be the deciphering agent who could see through anyone, but you’ve read me far too well.” Steve smiles back at her. “Maybe I’m making it up because I want an excuse.” Y/N cocks an eyebrow at him. “An excuse for what?” “This.” Steve leans forward and kisses her again. This time, she doesn’t lean away. This time, Steve’s fairly sure he’s found the one girl he can finally rely on, to have his back and to keep him around forever.

Steve decides that he loves her.

#steve rogers #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers imagines #steve rogers oneshot #avengers #avengers imagine #avengers x reader #avengers imagines #captain america #captain america imagine #captain america x reader #captain america imagines

[sofiaaaaaaaa03]

My Heart Is With You Two

Request: Do you think you could do one with an older reader, like 17 or 16, where they have a nightmare and Din comforts them afterwards? maybe like a hunt gone wrong? Like Din dies in the nightmare or something bad happens to him and Grogu?

Summary: Din comforts the reader after they have a nightmare about a hunt going wrong. 

Pairing: Dad! Din Djarin x teen! Gender neutral reader

Warnings: non descriptive mention of wounds and picking of skin. Nothing too descriptive, but still in there :)

Word Count: 1,692

Rating: G

A/N: I had a really fun time writing this, I wanted to try and write this in more of Din’s point of view and explore his thoughts as he navigated through parenting. I hope that was okay! And I really hope you like it!! Sorry if the dialogue is kinda meh, I don’t know how adults talk lmao. Din let alone rarely says a word unless you talk to him lmao. Hopefully I did ok. Please let me know what you guys think <3

--------

Din sat across from Y/N. The pair sat on the walking ramp of the Razor Crest, taking a brief moment to enjoy the natural habitat of the planet they were currently on. It had been a long day for Din. Bounty hunting was dangerous, sure, but as he played with the bandages wrapped around his knee Din couldn’t help but reminisce the particularly difficult parts of his day. It seemed that other bounty hunters caught of the valuable bounty he was pursuing, so while he was trying to get a hold of the Geonosian he also had to fight off more than he could chew. Y/N threw a fit when he stumbled to the ship bloodied, in need of medicinals and rest. It took him promising that he’d take a day off for them to feel better about his condition.

Din sighed and lifted his helmet a little to take another sip of broth. Hm, it was starting to get cold. 

“Suns are going down.” 

Din hummed. “Seems like it. We’ll need to head inside in a moment.”

Y/N nodded, standing up and dusting their pants. They let her hand out toward Din and collected the bowl from his hand before heading inside. 

Din watched them leave before turning back to take one last look of the view. The forest was a plethora of greens and little critters running about. On his way into the nearest town Din considered taking the next day off so that his foundlings could go out to enjoy the scenery, maybe even swim in a lake he’d passed not too far away. Grogu would have had a field day, terrorizing small critters by chasing them around the grass.

The Mandalorian frowned at the involuntary wince his body experienced. He placed a hand on his knee and tenderly touched the muscle that ached. This was why he knew the kids can’t have a day off tomorrow. Not on this planet, at least. It was too risky. If Din learned anything today it was that the planet was crawling with dangerous beings. Some who may want to seek revenge for the people he’d killed today while on the job. 

He was too deep in thought to realize that Y/N had been watching him. They stood silently against the wall, focusing on the way he held himself. Injured leg raised a little, hands gentle to the touch, rigid movements. He was in pain and didn’t want to show it. But this was all a part of the job. They shuffled in their spot, floorboard creaking underneath them. 

“Y/N, you should go to bed.” 

They shifted their weight, “Are you not coming in?”

“In a moment... I’d like to enjoy the view a little more.”

A lie. He needed another moment to rest, to avoid putting any strain on his leg. One could argue that this behavior of defiance toward his injury was out of pride, but in reality Din didn’t want to worry Y/N. They were 17, sure, they could handle seeing their guardian like this. But he’d rather not let them know about the reality of his state. Besides, another’s day’s rest and he’ll be fine. 

He waited, and didn’t hear Y/N move.

“You should go to bed.” His voice made this sound more like an order rather than a statement. 

Y/N said a quite goodnight and left. Din turned back to the view. He waited until the sky began to turn purple to stand up and launch the ship. The Crest was set to autopilot after reaching a suitable cruising altitude. The clan should be at their destination by the time they wake up. Din stumbled out of the cockpit and made his way to the hull, wordlessly removing the heavy beskar and grabbing new bandages. Replacing bandages were harder to do when the wound is still relatively fresh. Hopefully the next time they’ll need changing the task will be easier. Finished, Din stood up from the box he was perched on and made his way to the cot he and Grogu shared.

 Something soft squished underneath his foot. What was that? Din lifted his foot and chuckled softly. He leaned over to pick up a little frog plush. A smile spread across his lips. The plush was a favorite of Grogu’s, as his sibling made it special after their meeting with the frog lady. Now he carries it around everywhere he can. It even went to the school with the children when they were left there during their time in Nevarro. 

Din walked over to where his son was snoring in his hammock. Maybe he was dreaming of frogs. Din liked to think so, smiling and perched the plush next to Grogu for him to find in the morning. 

A small sniffle made its way to the hull of the ship. 

The Mandalorian turned to the closed cot that sat parallel to theirs, tilting his head curiously. He took a step forward and knocked on the metal surface. 

“Y/N? I thought you’d gone to bed.”

“I uh... got woken up when we took off.” Din didn’t miss the way their voice hitched. He waited a couple seconds.

 “Would you open the door please?”

A pause. Then a beep before the cot’s door opened up and Din came to be face to face with a teary-faced foundling. He froze, taken aback by the sight of the tears that raised questions. Are you hurt? What’s bothering you? You’re not alone, I’m here. But he didn’t say any of that. For once he found himself without words as he took in Y/N’s expression. Their skin was paler than normal. Eyes that were swollen and stained red avoided his gaze, downcast as they picked at the skin on their knee. 

Din tilted his head ever so slightly. Were they… anxious? 

“Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

The teenager in front of him didn’t make a move, beginning to shut down.

“Y/N.” He said once more, catching their attention. 

Din slowly knelt down in front of them and placed a hand on their knee 

“You’re going to have to communicate with me, Y/N. I can’t read minds.” He patted their knee reassuringly. “But...take your time. There’s no rush.”

Y/N blinked several times, rubbing their eyes and making Din realize that they were still crying. The sleeping quarters were slowly filling with quiet, ragged breaths of a foundling trying to control their breathing before it got worse. A hand rubbed slowly against their back, belonging to a patient Mandalorian who’d sat next to them and pulled them close, quietly reassuring them that they were in the ship with their clan and that they were safe, that everything was okay. Din found himself mimicking the way that his guardians had comforted him during his childhood. They were the ones who’d watched over him when his parents were no longer able to. Now, he was relying on their hospitality to care for his own foundling. He’d hoped he was doing it right. Y/N deserved a guardian that would provide for them in all aspects. 

When the hull was quiet again Din dared to speak once more, softly so as to not startle the teen in his arms. “Are you ready to talk now?”

“...yeah.” Y/N sighed, pulling their blanket further around them. 

“I had this… dream. It didn’t feel like a dream. It just, you- something happened when you left for a hunt. Something terrible.” Their breath hitched slightly, making Din frown as they continued. “Grogu and I were at the Crest like we always are when you leave when someone comes to the ship… with you.”

Y/N quickly looked at Din through their peripheral vision, averting their eyes when the two’s gaze locked. 

“Did something happen to me?” Y/N nodded, gulping. They sniffed as they quickly rubbed at their eyes again. Din gently pulled their hand away. “Don’t do that. It’s not good for your eyes.”

“S-sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you with this.”  

Din took a moment to think of his next words and placed a gentle hand on their chin, making them look at him. “You’re not bothering me, Y/N. I don’t want you to have to feel like you need to bottle this up. It’s my job as your guardian to be there for you-- you can come to me for anything. Do you understand?” 

“Mhm,” They sniffed. 

The Mandalorian took a moment to think once more. It became clear to him that Y/N was more than just worried when he returned home bloodied and worn from battle. They were scared. Scared that one day he would never return. It was hard for him to remember that Y/N knew underneath all of that beskar, he wasn’t invincible. 

“Ever since I’ve come of age I’ve never had anyone worry for my death,” he started, catching their attention. “It’s comforting to know that I have two very important people who do, and they wait for me everyday. Right here.” 

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Y/N chuckled sarcastically. “What if-”

“Let me finish,” Din ruffled their hair, “What I’m saying is that I’ll do everything to go back home to the two of you, my little womp rats. You two motivate me in more ways than you think, little one.”

“Really?” 

“Really. Though I’m not as strong as my beskar, I would fight my way through Chaos if it means coming back to the two of you. Okay?”

“Okay Din. Man, I didn’t know you had such a heart under that armor.” Y/N shoved Din’s shoulder playfully, earning a hearty laugh from the Mandalorian. 

“No, no I don’t.” He shook his head and patted Y/N’s shoulder, beaming proudly at his foundling before averting his eyes to where Grogu was sleeping. Y/N followed his gaze. “It’s out here, with you two.”

#din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin x y/n #dad!din #dad!mando #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian fanfiction #the mandalorian #star wars x reader #star wars #star wars x you #the mandalorian x you #Pedro Pascal #grogu #star wars reader insert #the mandalorian reader insert #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal fanfiction #din djarin imagine #din djarin is a dad #gender neutral reader

[liddolwhynot2000]

Chains: Part 3

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Summary:

Levi didn't need to tell to him how much of a fool he was. Because Erwin already knew it.

Only a fool would let go of a chance with a woman like you.

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Pairings: Erwin/Reader, Levi/Reader

Genre: Angst, one sided love, regrets

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ChainsPt1. ChainsPt2. ChainsPt4

Drabble#1

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'You're pretty shitty at noticing what's right infront of you.'

Erwin wanted to scoff at that statement. One of the reasons he made such a good commander was because he had a very keen eye for details. He could take one look at a document and pin point all the errors in it within a moments notice. His sharp observation skills had been what had significantly reduced the Survey Corps death rate.

He prided himself on his ability to notice things--alas none of that extended to his personal life.

And Levi was the one to point it out to him.

Not to say that he didn't know it already, it was just that he often prefered to pretend he didn't. The rational part of him often insisted how dwelling on his own shortcomings was pointless. After all, he was doing just fine as the commander wasn't he?

Reminding himself of that, he turned his attention back to Levi. His response was cool and crisp, not giving away his internal struggle.

'Is there a problem with the mission plan?'

'Tch- don't beat around the bush commander. We both know what I'm talking about.'

Ah typical, straightforward Levi. Even though he was mostly used to it, even he got thrown off at times by how the man refused to sneak around a topic.

'Apologies-but I really don't know--'

Erwin turned back to the map on his desk, dismissing Levi

'-And frankly, I don't have the time for this. If its not related to the mission, please leave.'

There was moment of silence, before Levi turned to leave. Just as he was about to shut the door, he spoke up again.

'You're a fool Erwin. And I have no intention of following in your footsteps.'

With that, he shut the door.

Erwin let out a dry, humourless chuckle

Levi didn't need to tell to him how much of a fool he was. Because Erwin already knew it.

Only a fool would let go of a chance with a woman like you.

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When Erwin had been young, back in his cadet days, he and his friends had often frequented a bar nearby. It was a good time for them, drinking, laughing, talking about girls. They enjoyed a nice, hot meal, with no sergeant screaming at them. It was one of the few times they could relax.

It was also when he had met Marie.

Beautiful, sassy Marie, who had captivated him at first sight. Her pretty smile and snark had easily wormed their way into his heart--and like any other hot blooded man, he had immediately tried to court her.

He had been very well aware of his own charms back then, knowing most women considered him attractive. He could be smooth when needed and for Marie, he had gone out of his way to win her over with everything he had.

Even going as far to chat up the other barmaids, so that they would harbour good opinions of him. You, in specific, had been a target. He had been able to tell that you and Marie were good enough friends that your word would matter.

Erwin doubted you had realized it at the time, that he had been playing you. He hadn't been blind to your feelings for him, he recalled your slight blush and the way you wouldn't fully make eye contact with him. He had even thought of you as attractive--but that was just about it.

You were attractive, sure, but to him, especially back then, Marie had been absolutely breathtaking. So he had strung you along a little, knowing that the higher opinion you had of him, the more you would tell Marie positive things about him. His courting efforts had paid off and before long, he was finally turning his entire attention to a very receptive Marie. You clearly hadn't noticed how he had used you, but you had kept your head down and taken the hint.

To this day, he was still ashamed of himself for that.

Even back then, he had felt a little awful about his behaviour. But that feeling had been easily overwhelmed by the blossoming of his new relationship-- first kisses, first dates. All his time outside of the training corps had been devoted to Marie. He had fallen hard for her, and had envisioned their future together.

He would meet her parents after he graduated and get her father's blessing. The two of them would get married in a modest ceremony, and move into a decent house. He would climb the ranks and the two of you would start a family soon enough. He would be welcomed home by her, and their children causing a ruckus and running around. It was the picture perfect family.

Until it wasn't.

In his vision of a life with Marie, Erwin had lost himself. Those soft, fleeting touches left him intoxicated, dreaming of a life that he wasn't sure he could ever want. And as graduation loomed closer, he had begun to sober up.

He had convinced himself that Marie's dreams for life were his own, but had forgotten about his own dreams.

The reason he had joined the Cadet Corps was so he could join the Survey Corps and explore the outside world. He wanted to figure out the titans, their history and most importantly, prove his father's theory.

It wasn't about sating his own curiosity-- no, it was about proving his father had been right. That his idiotic son hadn't gotten him killed over nothing.

Once he had snapped out of the honeymoon phase of their relationship, he had begun to recall his priorities. As much as he had loved Marie back then, he knew he wouldn't have been able to turn his back on his father. Otherwise, he would have spent the rest of his life drowning in unresolved guilt.

Erwin's choice had been clear, but by then he and Marie had been so deep into their relationship, that he had to contemplate what to do. He wasn't dumb- he knew it would be a choice. There was no way he could join the Survey Corps and still be with Marie. She had always made it clear that she wanted a husband who she could see everyday. Who would be safe in the walls with her, and could give her a comfortable life.

It had been a choice. And as much as it had pained him to do so, he had let Marie go.

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Erwin sat at the bar later that night, downing his second beer bottle. He had ordered another one to the go, with the bartender eyeing him with something akin to pity.

'Ya got your heart broken or something?'

Erwin chuckled bitterly

'No. I was just a little blind.'

The bartender nodded in understanding, giving him his beer and a sympathetic smile.

Erwin paid his dues, took his drink, and left the bar. He lazily walked along the side walk, heading back the barracks. The air was chilly, but he was too lost in thought to care.

____________________________________

Meeting you again had been weird to say the least. For one, it brought back a ton of shame he had been holding back all these years.

He remembered how insensitive he had been, using you and your feelings to get the girl he had wanted. Fate had dealt him quite the hand, probably as punishment for treating you like that, and had made sure hadn't ended up with Marie.

You had gotten significantly more attractive, Erwin had admitted to himself. You had certainly blossomed into a much more sure version of yourself, holding your head high, evenly making eye contact with everyone. You still retained some quietness, which he had to admit wasn't off putting at all.

He found himself approaching you, at first wanting to make up for how he had behaved. He had planned to tell you the truth, and get the slap he deserved. But somehow, one enjoyable conversation had turned into two, two into six and before he had been able to stop it, he had become good friends with you.

The two of you would meet up and chat about books, or sometimes share a meal together. It had become a routine of some sort--a safe haven from all his troubles.

A moral man would tell you the truth, and take his punishment. But he had grown too fond of you. Your laughter, and soothing presence had grown on him. He couldn't let go. So he hid his misdeeds and shoved it into the back of his mind, selfishly wanting to keep being with you.

Erwin wasn't dumb, he knew himself better then anyone. It hadn't taken him long to understand his reasons being around you went beyond friendship.

It wasn't friendship that had him imagining what it would be like to slip his hands around your waist and rest his head on your shoulder as you cooked.

It wasn't friendship that made him sorely miss you at military balls--made him wish it was you he was slow dancing with.

It wasn't friendship that made him look at the empty side of his bed and long for another person to be there. For you to be there.

He wasn't hopelessly in love with you- or at least he didn't think so. But he had certainly felt strongly about you. Looking back on it, if he had played his cards right, he would have gotten you.

He had thought that he would confess to you, and be met with a positive response. He would throw the secret he was keeping from you to the darkest pits of his mind, and embrace a new life with you, even with his suicidal profession.

It hadn't worked out that way.

Just a day before the expedition, Erwin had suffered through a bad day. He had recieved news of Marie and her husband Nile welcoming their first child. And it had hurt.

As much as he had fallen for you, Marie had held a significant part of his heart. Letting her go had been extremely difficult for him, but he had thought that he would have made peace with it by now. While he wouldn't say he was heart broken, he certainly hadn't been able to stop himself from feeling bitter.

His first love had moved on from him so easily.

His mood had only gotten worse after the expedition, another senseless loss of life had been incurred--and it could have been prevented if the Commander had bothered hearing out Erwin's plan.

He had been so frustrated, so done with it all. His only outlet had been drinking, and he had ended up going to you.

In hindsight, it had been a bad decision from the start. Going to the woman he hoped to make his one day, while feeling bitter over the woman he had loved in the past and being drunk at the same time was a bad combination.

And it had ended up becoming a night he would regret.

'M.. Marie?'

____________________________________

Erwin let himself into his room, glad that captain's got their own room. It had taken him some effort to open the door, feeling a little hazy from his drinking.

Kicking off his shoes, he sunk into his chair, head pounding from the alcohol he had consumed and heart hurting from his own failures.

It had been so stupid of him, going to you at that time. It had messed up any chance he had with you.

You're demeanour towards him had changed after that, no longer giving flashes of anything beyond friendship. You had built up a wall against him, unwilling to let him in like before. It had left him feeling unsure of what to do, of how to talk to you.

You never once brought up that night, or Marie, simply carrying on as though nothing had happened. A part of him had wanted to talk to you immediately, to tell you it wasn't what you thought it was, but he had held himself back.

He figured if he gave you some time, you would be more receptive to hearing him out. At that point, you might not have taken his confession well. So he allowed the distance you were putting between them to grow, convincing himself that when the time was right, he would confess to you.

Too bad he had made the mistake of introducing you to Levi.

____________________________________

Erwin clearly recalled the first time you had met Levi, for he had been the one who had brought him to the resteraunt you worked at.

He had noticed the short man's attraction to you immediately, watching from the corner of his eye as the man eyed you with interest. His expert self-control had been the only thing keeping the ugly, seething jealousy he had felt at that moment from showing on his face.

It had taken everything in him to leave at that moment.

And there wasn't a moment after that he stopped regretting leaving.

Before, he had been watching you pull away from him. And now? He was watching you go into someone else's arms.

It had started out small, accidentally overhearing Levi's friends teasing him about you. Telling him to ask you out. He had ignored it back then.

After his friends had died, Levi had begun to dissappear in his his free time. Erwin had been suspicious about it, and had tracked him down one day, only to find the man sharing tea with you. The sight of you giggling as Levi looked at you so softly had made him want to throw up.

He hadn't confronted the two of you and just walked away, each step away from you feeling heavier then the last.

The two of you begun to talk less and less, and Erwin could tell it wasn't affecting you as much as it was affecting him. His one fuck up had made you give up on him and move on-for good.

Now, he was forced to watch you and Levi go in circles around each other. You would bring him meals to headquarters, he would buy you little trinkets from the village. Erwin would see it all unfold- Levi eating his own home cooked meals that smelled so familiar. You wearing jewellery he had seen Levi looking at.

It was the start of a picture perfect romance. Any other person would be ignored by humanity's strongest solider if they tripped to the ground, but Levi would always firmly grab you before you even fell halfway.

Levi smiled at you when he thought no one was looking, he looked at you as though you were the single most important person in his life--and honestly? Erwin couldn't blame him.

You were perfect really. Especially for someone who was in the Survey Corps. So understanding, always near by becuase of your job, a great listener, funny, smart.. And not meant to be his.

Had he not been blind to you all those years ago, had seen the traits you had, the ones that Marie didn't, he could have been happy right now. Without a doubt, he could tell, you would have supported his dreams to join the Survey Corps. Had he not been so star struck by Marie back then, he wouldn't have spent the past years stowing in heartbreak. Now, he had lost you, and the only way to get you back would never let him sleep at night again.

He had, yet again, made a choice. If he wanted to, with little effort, he could send Levi back to the underground and away from you. In his lowest moments, he envisioned being petty enough to actually go through with it. You would get over it, and he could comfort you in that time of heartbreak. But he couldn't. Because he needed Levi's strength.

Levi had begun to carry expeditions on his back, to the point that he had single handedly lowered their death rate by 8%. Without him, the corps would be doomed and disbanded.

And Erwin had already sent too many soldiers to their death for that to happen.

So, with a heavy heart, he chose the military over the person he wanted to be with. Again. He resolved himself to watching you and Levi get together. To have the relationship his heart screamed at him to have with you.

What he hadn't expected was that he would walk in on the moment the two of you would be confessing to each other.

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Erwin sat in his office, working on filling his tax forms. He had woken up hungover, and forced himself to freshen up so that he could work with a clear mind.

His hand worked on auto pilot, with his mind distracted. A part of him, a bitter, cruel part of him, wanted it to not work out for you and Levi. But his head was much more sensible.

He had seen the way the two of you looked at each other--people who looked so lovingly at each other could only be seperated by the tragedy of death. And considering Levi's inhumane strength and battle expertise, he doubted it would happen anytime soon.

Frustrated, he shook his head and counselled himself. He had mourned losing you last night-but no more. He would focus on his work and self assigned mission. That's all. Like everything else in his life, he would make peace with this situation.

With that thought, he shifted his entire attention to his work.

Maybe Erwin would have mourned a little more back then, had he known that, a year from now, he would have to watch you and Levi makes vows to each other.

Till Death do us apart~

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A/N: Heyooo. So this was highly requested and I hope it served y'all well! Do tell if you enjoyed it. My asks are open, so ask away people. I feel tempted to branch out and write about the Levi and Reader in this fic some more. I already wrote about how they met and fell for each other in Chains Part 2. But maybe I could write of their life together? I dunno if y'all would even want that.

I have a big exam result in 15 hours and I'm honestly terrified. I wrote this completely hyper and ready to be distracted.

Also we're about to hit 100 followers omg fhfjfjf y'all make me smile in times of stress.

#AOT #Snk #aot #levi ackerman #attack on titan #levi attack on titan #Levi x reader #Erwin X reader #Angst

[misscorn]

Day 5: Roleswap/Formal

This @takaritsuweek prompt inspired me to do something I've been putting off for years: a rewrite of my fic Stalker-Senpai. So, please enjoy the first chapter :D its pretty much the same except third person now lol, we'll see how much I change in the future!

***

It was such a stupid reason to fall in love with someone. 

Onodera Ritsu had been struggling to reach a high up book on a shelf, wobbling slightly on his tiptoes for a few brief moments before Saga Masamune decided to intervene, mostly just because something about watching the underclassman struggle was both sad and annoying. The older teen grabbed the book for Ritsu, handing it over with a blank expression.

Ritsu returned the simple, polite gesture with such a wide and sincere smile that Masamune's heart reached incredible speeds that he didn't know were possible. Why is he looking at me like that? Masamune wondered, shifting from one foot to the other, feeling warm from Ritsu's gaze.

Masamune swallowed hard as Ritsu took the book out of his hands and said an enthusiastic thank you, one that was way too cheerful considering all Masamune had done was reach up and grab something. The older boy couldn't help but to notice Ritsu's cheeks were a little red from what he assumed was embarrassment and Masamune suddenly wished to see that adorable expression every day. 

God, what am I thinking? Adorable? He's a guy, Masamune hoped none of his thoughts were showing on his face. Apparently they weren't since Ritsu gave a quick and polite nod before scampering off. Masamune found his eyes following the underclassman and his feet almost followed as well. Almost. But Masamune somehow managed to hold on to a string of self control. 

All he did was smile and say thank you, why am I acting like such an idiot? I don't even know his name, Masamune silently scolded himself. It was too late, though. Masamune was already on his way to become a hopeless, lovelorn fool.

It didn't take long for Masamune to notice that Ritsu was in the library as often as he was after their minuscule interaction. It was like Ritsu had suddenly appeared and was now here everyday. Not that Masamune was complaining; he found the underclassman's constant presence very comforting. 

He reads a new book almost every day. Either he has a short attention span or a lot of time on his hands, Masamune noted. It was quite difficult to keep up with Ritsu's appetite for literature, though Masamune did his best. I want to read all the books that he reads, Masamune thought as he grabbed a novel Ritsu had recently finished. The older teen was hoping that he could use this as a way to get to know Ritsu better. Masamune was particularly ecstatic to learn from his book-stalking that his Kouhai's name was Onodera Ritsu. 

The two of them always sat at different tables, but Masamune made sure to keep Ritsu in his sights. Masamune loved seeing the brunette's reactions to what he was reading. At times Masamune would hear a small chuckle leave Ritsu or see Ritsu purse his lips in thought or even see Ritsu rub at his eyes insistently to hide the fact that he was tearing up. I want to know what he's reading, Masamune would think desperately before he was able to get his hands on the book, I want to know what makes him smile and laugh, I want to be the one who makes him smile and laugh. Masamune felt positively pathetic with this train of thought, but he couldn't help himself. 

Yes, it was official: Saga Masamune was in love at fifteen years old. He didn't understand how it happened so fast nor did he fully understand why, but he had enough self awareness to realize he was totally whipped for an underclassman who he hadn't even said a single word to. 

That was precisely Masamune's problem; talking with people wasn't exactly his forte and he feared that he would somehow scare Ritsu off if he approached him. Not to mention, this feeling of want, this inexplicable desire to hold someone through the night and into the day, this need of seeing someone's face just to feel at ease, all of it was new to Masamune. It was scary to be so enraptured in someone. It was terrifying to know that someone else had so much power over him, power that Ritsu didn't even know he had. If Masamune confessed his feelings, he'd be freely handing that power over and Masamune didn't know if he was even capable of being vulnerable and trusting like that. 

It didn't help that watching Ritsu from afar suddenly wasn't entertaining enough for the cruel deity laughing at Masamune's hopelessness. What other possible explanation was there for their paths crossing once again? He had peacefully watched Ritsu and stalked his library cards for three years, but now those days were seemingly over.

Masamune was reaching toward a book when a smaller, more delicate hand came into contact with his. Masamune looked over, his breath catching in his throat at the sight of Ritsu. Ritsu was quick to rip his hand away and met Masamune's eyes with an anxious gaze. Ritsu opened his mouth, looking like he was about to apologize for nothing.

"You can take the book, Onodera." Masamune said quickly before he could speak, not enjoying the sight of Ritsu appearing so guilty and worried. He wanted to alleviate the anxieties clear on Ritsu's face, but he seemed to only make it worse.

"How do you know my name?" Came the quiet, nervous response. The book was quickly forgotten by them both. Masamune felt like he was short-circuiting as he wracked his brain for any possible excuse or lie, but his mouth started moving without his permission.

"I love you."

What?

What?

What the hell did I just say?!

There was a pause between the two of them, the air around Masamune feeling as if it were crushing his bones.

"...eh? Eh?!" Ritsu's face flushed a beautiful shade of red, but Masamune didn't have the time to admire it because he was desperately trying to think of a way to prevent Ritsu from sprinting away.

"What I meant to say was-well-would you want to go out with me sometime?" Masamune asked, watching Ritsu's surprised, flustered expression closely. The brunette shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, as he opened and closed his mouth, grasping at straws for a response.

"Y-Y-You know I-I'm a guy r-right?" Ritsu finally settled on after a few seconds of awkward silence.

Masamune almost wanted to laugh. Out of all the things Ritsu could've said, that was what he decided on? Masamune's lips quirked up ever so slightly in amusement as he started to find it a little easier to breathe.

"Yeah, I'm aware." Masamune replied dryly. "Does it bother you that I'm a guy?" That had been one of the reasons Masamune had been so hesitant to approach. It was possible that Ritsu wasn't even into guys and now maybe the two of them didn't even have a chance of being friends.

"I-no! Not really? I don't-" Ritsu inched closer and closer to retreating, which simply wouldn't do.

"It's alright, Just take a breath, okay? You don't have to say yes." Masamune quickly assured him, though I really, really want him to say yes, Masamune hoped it didn't show. 

"I-I don't even k-know your name..." Ritsu started, seeming to try to find some sort of excuse, perhaps wanting to spare Masamune's feelings instead of outright rejecting him. However, Masamune's heart was stubborn and dead set on Ritsu. He wouldn't be dissuaded easily and not knowing his name was an easy fix. 

"It's Saga. Saga Masamune."

Ritsu nodded slowly, visibly swallowing as he wrung his hands, seeming to be carefully considering his next few words.

"O-O-Okay...I-I'll go out with you...Saga Senpai..."

-

When an upperclassman grabbed a book for Ritsu and handed it over he was grateful for a few seconds, but forgot about the interaction quickly. It had been nothing particularly special after all. If there was anything he did remember from the brief conversation-if one could even call it that-it was that he felt terribly embarrassed for being too short to reach a book. And then a certain name started to pop up everywhere...

Ritsu scanned the shelves for a new read, not looking for anything in particular, just something unfamiliar and fresh. He started to reach for one when a larger hand met his and he instinctively recoiled away from the touch as if it had burned him. He looked over to see an older student that was often slinking around the library, somehow always seeming to have a certain aura of sadness around him.

"You can take the book, Onodera." He told Ritsu quickly, his expression blank and unreadable.

"How do you know my name?" Ritsu asked hesitantly, though he already knew the answer. This is my stalker. Saga Masamune, Ritsu felt nervous now that he was face to face with him. Ritsu had been ignoring the behavior for the longest time, three years in fact, but now his stalker was right in front of him.

Ritsu often liked to reread books that he particularly connected with and it didn't take long for him to realize a certain name kept appearing and reappearing underneath his own.

Saga Masamune.

Ritsu didn't know anything about this 'Saga' person. He was far too shy to ever venture out to try to talk to many people, especially an upperclassman. He was still young and fresh enough to high school to think that upperclassmen were untouchable Gods. Though, after noticing the name he also noticed that a certain upperclassman was constantly in the library: the one that had helped Ritsu grab a book. Ritsu decided he was as good as a suspect as anyone to be his stalker. It wasn't like many other students spent hours upon hours in the school's library. To confirm his suspicion, Ritsu once quietly walked up to his table when he had fallen asleep sitting up and took the opportunity to look in the back of his book. There was his name: Saga Masamune. The upperclassman shifted and Ritsu took that as his que to quickly put the book back down and retreat.

Ritsu tried to ignore it, not understanding Masamune's motives or actions and wondering if perhaps he was looking a little too much into it. That was, until the two had bumped into each other again. 

"I love you." Masamune said.

Ritsu's heart punched the inside of his rib cage before beating erratically in all directions. A confession had been about the last thing he was expecting. 

"...eh? Eh?!" Is all Ritsu could choke out in response with his legs feeling weak yet also prepared to sprint a mile if necessary.

"What I meant to say was-well-would you want to go out with me sometime?" Masamune asked, but Ritsu's confusion didn't cease. 

"Y-Y-You know I-I'm a guy r-right?" That question sounded much dumber out loud than it did in my head, Ritsu thought as he refrained from facepalming. Masamune smirked a bit at his question and Ritsu tried not to frown, feeling like he was being made fun of and this confession had perhaps been a joke of some sort to mess with him.

"Yeah, I'm aware. Does it bother you that I'm a guy?"

Ritsu struggled to swallow as he started to shake his head. "I-no! Not really? I don't-" He wanted to hide behind the bookshelves at this point and forget this entire conversation.

"It's alright, Just take a breath, okay? You don't have to say yes."

"I-I don't even k-know your name..." Ritsu lied, wanting to somehow escape this situation.

"It's Saga. Saga Masamune." He replied smoothly. The upperclassman obviously didn't see their lack of knowledge of one another as an issue and suddenly Ritsu was out of excuses. 

I should say I don't like guys, or that not interested, or that I have a girlfriend, Ritsu thought, but instead he just gulped nervously and nodded slowly.

"O-O-Okay...I-I'll go out with you...Saga Senpai..."

Why did I say that, why did I agree to this, what am I going to do now, oh God, I bet this really is just a joke and he's going to start laughing at me now, if my parents find out about this I'm completely done for-, Ritsu's panicked thoughts continued to race, but stopped once a gentle hand reached up to ruffle his hair. 

And that was how the wonderful, complicated mess of their relationship started. 

#onodera ritsu #saga masamune #sekaiichi hatsukoi #takaritsuweek #fanfiction

[hyuneytoast]

The Stranger’s Meadow || H.HJ

Pairing || Hwang Hyunjin x Reader

Word Count || 10k

Genre || Modern-ish(?) Magic AU, Angst, Fluff, Strangers to Lovers

Warnings || Suicide attempt, mentions of death, depression, and anxiety, explicit language

Description || You live in a world of magic, the Northern District. Despite it being a place where people are everywhere, meeting people was like a blue moon for you. It just so happens, during the most unlikely situation, you meet someone who offers to take you somewhere for comfort. To a flower cafe outside of the city, in the middle of a meadow. Mind you, the Northern District is one of magic, including a flower cafe that offers feelings. 

Listen to ---> 7UP by Boy In Space & Closer to You by Rasmus Hagen

Note || This is my first fanfic and I will be honest... I’m very nervous about posting this! I apologize if the end seems rushed. Anyways, please be free to tell me your thoughts about it or if I missed a warning! Without further ado, please enjoy reading <3

11:09 pm

There's no feeling like the one right now. Being in the sky, above the city, wistfully watching it hold the society of nothing but magic. Lying in the Northern District is everything and anything. The things that can fill up a person of endless inspiration, endless purpose.

The remaining bits of the winter wind howls through the night, biting people. Nature coming back to life through the cold layer as days pass. Flowers and shrubs sprouting and budding. Spring embracing the life around. The moon hangs above, casting as much light as it could pass the blanket of thin, wispy clouds. The stars were barely visible due to the city’s lights polluting the air. Oh, how you missed the stars.

You’re on your apartment's rooftop looking down upon the sleeping, yet glowing city. Structures built and compacted everywhere with rivers running between. God, how much you love it all. From the big things, like the mystic city below and the cozy night sky, to the little things of lattes and flowers that grow between the pavement. Not to mention, the feeling of time coming to a stop for once.

Like every story, everything comes to an end. You'd miss it all, but it couldn't compare to the feeling of freedom close in your grasps. Your hands tightly grip the railing right in front of you, knuckles turning white.

You knew the consequences that awaited if you were to step forward.

If you were to climb over.

If you were to jump.

That’s why you’re here, after all.

Hot tears brim at the edge of your eyes, your vision blurring. All these years of bottling up emotions, you’re, at last, done. Empty. Too exhausted to even freely cry and too restless to properly sleep. In your everyday, you could worry about your job, your shitty boss, your financial struggles, or your unstable relationship with your parents. Or even college, where you're falling behind in alchemy. In fact, it's what you should be worrying about. But no. Instead, you're too absorbed in an abyss of loneliness and self doubt.

You have your co-workers, but they were no more than acquaintances. No friends. No one to express your emotions towards. In any relationship, you felt like the only one trying. Perhaps there is something wrong with you? It's exhausting to solve this problem without even knowing what is wrong with you. Even more so, you feel weak not being able to handle even the simplest struggles in life. Why are you like this? You felt like you had no good reason to feel the way you do. Everyone deals with loneliness. So why couldn't you? Invalid feelings. That's what you believe you're full of.

The moon watches you from afar, wishing it could speak. Wishing it could tell you how you're all wrong; what you're about to do is wrong. But it does what all it can do; illuminate the darkness that coats the sky.

It all continues. The world continues no matter what. The world continues no matter who decides to continue along with it. Day by day, month by month. What difference would it make if you were here? Or if you weren't? What’s the point in continuing?

The frigid wind welcoming you at the edge to jump. The moon silently begging for you to not. You shudder from the cold as you take a deep, shaky breath; your hands trembling around the rail. Apple-frosted fingertips and cheeks. Nose bitten by the bitter wind. You wipe the tears spilling from your eyes in a harsh manner. Adrenaline rushing through you. Was this really happening? You aren’t going to lie, you're terrified. Why is it so hard? It’s just one jump.

Right?

“Excuse me,” a gentle voice interrupts the dreadful silence.

You were rather more disappointed than startled by the sudden voice. You didn’t want anyone stumbling upon you in this situation. Nor, making you live longer and suffer more unneeded hours. You turn your head and upper body with eyes trailing to see the voice's owner. Your hands remain around the only thing dividing you and death. The draping patio lights above lit the area just enough to make out the stranger’s appearance.

There stood a tall, slender frame of an unfamiliar male a few feet afar. He looks like your age, if not, a couple years older. The breeze softly blew through his long blond hair, reaching no longer than his chin. He’s wearing black snug pants, a black turtle-neck, and a brown cardigan that was a bit loose on his shoulders. His hands were fumbling around with each other as he shuffles a bit closer. Like yours, his breath was visible, making tiny clouds of fog in the night’s air. His eyes wander around, taking in the night view before meeting your eyes. You could tell he was feeling nervous, but surely not as much as you.

You were literally taking in the last moments of your life. It was what you wanted, though, despite the fear that keeps trying to hold you back. This stranger, on the other hand, seems to have other plans.

The male clears his throat, breaking the awkward silence between you two.

“A-are you busy at the moment?” The stranger stutters causing him to curse at himself. He didn’t know if he's nervous, cold, or both. It didn’t help he was in panic mode, internally screaming for you not to jump.

“Why?” You bluntly reply, your tone revealing an emotionless demeanor.

“Could you at least step a little back from the rail? Please?”

You remain motionless which only makes the stranger's panic grow.

“Okay then…” His voice drifts off as he brings his hand to scratch the back of his neck. His eyes glance at the city before landing back at yours. He bit the bottom of his lip before continuing to speak. “Do you want to maybe… Maybe talk about it? What's bothering you, I mean. You're clearly distressed,” His voice becoming more pleading.

You remain standing in silence, like a fool. Why on earth would a stranger listen to you rant about your stupid problems? Why would he even think you would just open up to him like that?

“Well, do you like flowers?”

What the hell.

“Flowers…?” Taken aback from the random question, you raise one eyebrow.

"Yeah, flowers. Do you like them?”

It took you several seconds to process everything before nodding. The male, satisfied with your response, intertwines his fingers together.

“There’s a flower cafe I think you would like to visit. They have good coffee too. I bought Doorway tickets there for a friend and I, but my friend ended up ditching me. So… maybe if you would take the extra ticket? I’d be happy with that. We can accompany each other since we both seem, you know... lonely.”

Your eyes widen a bit. Was this guy interrupting your suicide attempt for a cafe and some flowers? You weren’t going to lie, it sounded like he was asking you out on a date. At the absolute wrong time. Out of all the dramas you spent hours watching, never have you seen a scenario like this. You’d think he’d at least ask a cute girl in the city somewhere. Or, even in a less awkward situation where one's not trying to die! You lowly chuckle in disbelief. For some reason, though, your mind kept drifting from your original plan and more towards the stranger’s offer.

“A cafe? At this hour?” Your tone was softer this time while your hands loosen a bit from the railing. You didn’t know what time it was, but you were aware that it was late. You remember leaving the inside of your apartment around 10:30 pm. Not to mention, you were standing on the rooftop for quite some time.

“Mhm,” He nods. “Please? Just trust me on this. I promise you’ll like it there. No regrets!”

You turn your head back and forth a few times, from the sleeping city and back to the friendly stranger. What could go wrong? Worst case scenario, he could be a necromancer or a grim reaper. He could be an Average planning to kill you, (which, from his sweet and polite impression, doesn’t seem to be the case) or you could jump like planned. Either way, neither choices and endings seem to disappoint you. Despite your doubt, you made a decision to agree and tag along.

“Okay, I-I’ll come with you,” your voice was on the quiet and uncertain side, but it was enough for the male to hear. You release your hands from the rail and turn around completely towards the stranger. With small steps, he approaches you closer leaving no more than two feet between. You could now examine the towering face before you better. His mono lids filled with dark orbs, representing the sentimental night above. Along was a mole placed right under his left eye. He has sharp nose and plump pink lips that curl into a small, consoling smile. Everything about his face seems to be so proportional, so perfect. Goddamn, why is he so pretty?

You took notice of his right-hand coming between and waiting for yours.

“I promise you to make this night worth it.”

You hesitate but end up lending him your hand. With his long fingers lacing between your small ones, he tugs you towards the stairs.

11:58 pm

You never liked strolling through the city, but it turned out to be more of a good time than expected. You passed through the city in its sleeping state while still hand in hand with the male. He would throw you reassuring smiles once in a while, making you a bit flustered. The evening was chilly, but not as much as it was on the rooftop; It was a bearable temperature. You didn’t feel pressure either since the streets weren’t overcrowded. To your surprise, you would enjoy wandering around just like this all night if you could. Now here you were at the location of instant transportation, Northern District Doorways.

There aren't trains, monorails, cars, or carriages. None of the such. Instead are doors that take you anywhere, basically having the purpose of a portal. Hallways and rooms of different colored doors that are numbered. Behind the doors lie major areas found in the Norther District. Enter the door and watch your surroundings melt into another.Arriving at the ticket booth, you feel warmth leave your hands, signaling you that the stranger let go.

“I have a key to enter door 325.”

You watch him hand over his ID. You were too focused on the male’s side-profile to look at the person working behind the booth. There was something about the stranger that seems comforting. Perhaps it was the gentle way he spoke, or the angelic features portrayed on his face. Or, how he is trying to save you because he cares. At least, you think he does. What ever it was, it made you put a great deal of trust in him. Maybe more than you were supposed to. That didn't prevent you from wondering where the stranger was taking you to, though.

You notice the male receive a silver key from the booth

“Thank you, have a good night. Come on!” You felt a tug on your hoodie’s sleeve, leading you pass the ticket booth. "The door isn't too far down the hallway."

You both walk pass doors aligned side by side, reflecting different colors and hues. Each number label increasing. Door 317, 319, 321, 323...

Door 325.

"Wait... I thought you had an extra ticket?" You question.

"Well... No, sorry. I own the door and property behind it. Because I own it, I don't need tickets. Just a key and the station's permission!" He says while waving the key in the air cheerfully.

Right when his hand lands on the handle of the dark green door, he turns to look at you with endearing eyes.

“Can you do something for me?"

"Sure," you reply with a small voice.

"I promised you that I'll make this a memorable night for you, right?"

You nod.

"That's only possible under one condition."

"Okay," You nervously reply. What would be the condition? Was this a bad idea? He's going to ask for all your silver and just scam you, isn't he?

"Before we enter the door... Just leave it all. Leave as much worries as you can right here, okay?"

12:10 am 

The door opens with the view of an entire meadow. As you enter, the male lets go of your hand and closes the door behind. The airport? Gone. Any view of the city? Gone. Your shoes land on the pathway made of smooth stone pieces. The cold air nipped at both of your faces, welcoming your arrival. The edge of the pathway met with grass that extended further than your eyes could see. You could see faint specks of color from flowers all around, not yet bloomed. It's still hard to see as the night only grows. It smells like nature; The smell of fresh grass and refreshing, sweet scents the blossoms gave off. A smell rich of pollen. It's a new delightful smell, not one found in the city where you live. You could hear the plants dancing against each other as the wind blows through. The light chirping of crickets bounces in the night along. The whole atmosphere was serene.

“You like it?” Hyunjin’s soft-spoken voice rings through your ears, breaking you out of your trance.

“It’s beautiful,” You utter in awe.

“Well, that’s not all. We didn’t even arrive at the actual place yet. Come on.”

Light footsteps hit the stone, leaving the door behind. The yellow light from the street lamps illuminate the way while casting shadows.

“Are you cold?”

“No, I’m fine,” You reply, not removing your gaze from the lush terrain beside you.

“Okay. Let me know if you are, I can lend you my cardigan.”

“Got it, thank you.”

This surely wasn’t what you expected Hyunjin to take you to. You thought of those shops or cafes you walk pass in the city. The ones that are owned by enchantresses or fortune tellers. Or, the flower shops grim reapers own for funerals.

The walk is silent between you and the boy. There's no other person in view. Feeling your social anxiety kick in, you start fumbling with your hands. Realization completely dawns on you. You ditched your suicide attempt for an attractive guy and some flowers. Now, you were alone with him in the middle of god knows where. The lingering quietness didn’t help either. Should you say something? Hell, you didn’t even get his name. The male somehow notices your uneasiness, so he decides to break the silence.

“Do you have a favorite flower?”

“Umm…” You look up to meet the soft gaze beside you. “Maybe gardenias?”

“You sound a bit unsure there,” He chuckled. “Do you know what they mean?”

You tear your gaze from him and shake your head.

“Gardenias mean gentleness, joy, and secret love. They have a pleasant smell too!”

You let out a small smile, only to leave silence filling the air once again.

“I’m Hyunjin by the way. Hwang Hyunjin.”

“Y/N Y/L/N.”

"Very pretty name, Y/N," He grins.

You look at him, staring at his eyes crescent-like eyes as he smiles. You couldn’t help but think that despite not knowing what you were getting yourself into, he sure did. And it sent a bit of hope for happiness in your mind.

The remaining walk wasn't too long. In fact, it was a quite comforting one. Once in a while would you both ask random questions to get to know each other better. Well, mainly Hyunjin did the asking.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Y/F/C."

"Mine is black and red."

Hyunjin seemed to enjoy telling you stories of his friends too.

"We should try to make pancakes one day. I have a friend who once tried to make some. It was an absolute mess though! One time he put too much butter in the pan that it took up half the batter. The second batch, he didn’t put any butter and then burned his pancakes. We also found out that he was supposed to put vanilla in the batter, but he mixed it up with a sleeping potion. He passed out so fast after one bite! It was pretty funny,” He laughed while clapping his hands.

It reminded how you longed for friends or just company from someone, anyone. And now here you were. The experiences Hyunjin reminisced were enough to brighten your mood. You admired that; the effort he made in befriending you. You almost felt bad though, how you didn’t have stories to make him to make him laugh. Starting fun conversations weren’t your strength. Still, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy your time. You can’t remember the last time you felt like this; Not stressed out, not anxious, not empty of emotions, not fearful. All just seemed to dissipate into nonexistence.

The two of you continue on the pathway; soon taking a left turn and up a short staircase where the meadow elevates. Straight ahead you see a compact building, which you assume to be the flower cafe. The sight of it is charming and comforting, especially with the moonlight cascading from above. It’s a small, white shop with a dark shed roof, slanting down to the right. A giant window lies on the right front of the cafe. Flowers of many displayed behind the window and in front on wooden shelves. The door on the right is a lavender color with an "open" wooden sign hanging. The walls partially hidden under the lively draping vines and blossoms. It’s a kind of architecture and vibe you wouldn’t catch in the city. It’s like a page from a fairy tale book, ripped out and perfectly placed in front of you.

Hyunjin softly grips your hand and pulls you out towards the cafe's entrance.

“Y/N, welcome to Haven Cafe!”

12:52 am 

The shop’s interior is just as cozy yet beautiful like the outside. It is on the smaller side, but it seems perfect for the environment, like a dark cottagecore. An aroma of fresh brewed coffee mixed with a bit of floral floated around. When you walk through the door, you are greeted by the wooden counter with a white marble top ahead. On top was a cashier register and a dark rotary dial phone. There is a thin glass on the counter, like a pastry case. There weren’t any pastries though. Instead, there are small glass bottles, some full of colorful flower petals and others of different magical dust blends. Pass the counter, you could see more counters, cabinets, and shelving of dark wood. On the shelves, that had vines growing alongside, lied dishes including saucers, teapots, and a couple of vintage manual coffee grinders. On the right besides the counter was a tall wooden figure with dozens of drawers. Each drawer has a label of different flower breeds. Placed hanging on the front of the counter below the glass is a menu listing several beverages.

Latte.

Tea.

Cappuccino.

Smoothie.

Milk tea.

Espresso.

Americano.

Below the list is a sign.

Prices depend on the effects you desire and flowers needed. Prices start at 2.5 pounds of silver.

On the left of the kitchen and overall area where you order is a small loft. There is the front window which extends to the side of the shop. There is a small evergreen-colored, square rug with a low dark-wood coffee table. There is a brown leather couch pushed against the cafe’s side window, which is where you are sitting. On your left, the couch meets a mini square table that resembles the counters. On it was a decent black lamp and a stack of marble coasters for your drinks. Above is a plant hanging in a macrame holder, like others throughout the shop. Around the top edge, where the walls meet the ceiling, are dainty fairy lights.

“Do you like it? The shop, I mean,” Hyunjin asks as he’s behind the counter organizing some bottles of flowers in a cabinet.

“Yes, it’s very charming. So you own this?”

“Thank you very much! Glad to hear that from you. And yeah, I own it along with 38 acres of the meadow. It’s kind of my home too. My bedroom is behind the back door. Anyways… Would you like me to explain the concept of this place?”

“Go ahead.”

Hyunjin walks to the front of the counter, leaning is body with arms supporting his weight behind.

“Hopefully it's not too complicated to understand. So, you know how each flower has their own meaning, right? Like what I told you earlier about gardenias. Basically, you need or want a certain feeling? Tell it to me, I make you a drink with the flowers that give you the desired feelings, and there you go! If you’re feeling regretful, and want to forget a specific memory, I suggest you order a tea with yellow carnations and rosemary. You want to befriend someone? You can offer them tea discretely full of yellow roses. And so on. All of them are made from the flowers I grow in my meadow!”

“So you sell potions for emotions? And how does that work from flowers?”

“I guess you can put it that way. And like I said, flowers have their own meanings and symbolisms. Specific flowers are assigned to a certain drink that will give you what you wish for. I blend the petals with a drink you want on the menu and your wish is granted!”

"So, if someone wants to forget a memory, you would give them what?"

"I suggest you order a drink with yellow carnations and rosemary."

“If... I want someone to die, you would give me what?”

You watch Hyunjin’s eyes soften as he feels his heart slightly break from your question. He couldn’t help but acknowledge the certain meaning behind your words; the words directed towards yourself.

“That… that I don’t make. I don’t even grow those flowers. The goal of this shop is more for one's benefit. That excludes death or any inflicted harm on one's self.”

You simply nod in response before tearing your gaze from his. Your eyes observe the shop once again, taking in the pleasant atmosphere. You start to wonder what you just got yourself into. Sure you’ve had the traditional beneficial ones, like chamomile tea. But you've never had what Hyunjin had to offer. You've seen very few similar shop concepts, but you discovered that later they were just shitty scams. Was Hyunjin scamming you? Part of you didn't want to believe he was. It all seems legit anyways. Unbelievably legit.

“But, I can make you something else if you’d like.”

“Okay,” accepting his offer.

He smiles with satisfactory. “You like coffee, right?”

“Mhm.”

“Perfect then!” He claps his hands together and makes his way behind the counter.

You remain sitting on the couch examining what Hyunjin does. He opens a drawer from the cabinet and pulls out a few bristly leaves. Retrieving a coffee grinder from a shelf, he pours in the leaves and coffee beans.

After several minutes, he approaches you with a short, but wide black cup. He places it on the coffee table in front of you as you lean forward to pick it up. You could see it steaming as your hands hug the cup, absorbing the warmth.

“What flower is this made of?”

“Purple hyacinth. It will help you let go of the time on the roof or some events before that. It's also made of alstroemeria petals and may... help us become better friends..." Hyunjin's voice drifts off as his face starts reddening with embarrassment. "Also!! Don’t worry about paying, it’s on me!”

You lightly chuckle at the boy's flustered state beside you.

After a minute of blowing on the drink, you take a sip. The warmth dances around in your mouth and tingles on your tongue. It tastes like an average latte, not too bitter nor too sweet. The coffee was rich in cream and tasty. You didn’t feel different, but continue drinking it.

"So, you majored in... healing or something?" You ask, taking another sip of the hot beverage.

"Something like that. I majored in medical and alchemy," he smiles. "What about you?"

"I'm currently majoring in alchemy too! I'm kind of falling behind on my studies though, ha."

"Majoring? So how old are you?"

"Nineteen. You?"

"Twenty."

"So you graduated early, then."

"Yup!" He grins.

"Good for you," You lightly laugh.

"Thanks! And hey, maybe I can help you with your class."

"I'd like that."

The night grew heavier and the moon continued to make its way across the sky. What else grew was your trust and hope, especially in the new acquaintance. I mean, he could have poisoned you already. Here you are though; uncertain, but well alive.

You felt a growing desire to see what else wonders he had to show you.

Oh god- Was this what he meant with the alstroemeria petals?

2:21 am

Maybe not in your eyes, but in his, you were lovely. And of course, you still are. Hyunjin could not deny that. You were crying on the roof in pure devastation. He still thought of you as one of the loveliest persons he's seen and met. He has noticed you a few times at the book store you work at, but that was some time ago.

That is until he saw you on the rooftop of an apartment. Hyunjin was initially visiting the apartment next to you, which was his best friend’s. Working at Haven Shop for problematic people made him grow to be very observant. Not much observation was necessary for your state, though. You were so close to the rail. So close to climbing over, sleeves wiping your teary face. It was an obvious, painful scene. It was his job to try help people out and you were no different. He can’t remember the last time he ran as fast as he did that night to get to you.

Now here you were. Safe under the same roof as him. Hyunjin sat on the dark wooded flooring of his bedroom, behind the back door of the shop. His bedroom is simple, but pleasantly aesthetic. There’s a window with a seating ledge in the middle, across the door. In the right corner is a bed with nothing but white sheets and pillows. It stretches across to the window. Above is a shelf with a plant, whose leaves were like a curtain, and a framed photo of his dog, Kkami. On the right corner of the room is a tall, oak wood bookcase. The books held information of nature and poetry. A few even included fantasy novels and dog facts. In the center on the ceiling hung a few light pendants, varying in different lengths. The room was dark yet cozy.

You were on the bed, snuggled between the blankets. Last night, you two had a few chats of pointless, but fun topics. The night grew deeper and you two grew sleepy. After several yawns, Hyunjin was able to convince you to sleep on his bed while he slept on the floor. You refused saying he was already offering too much. But he said your comfort is his top priority.

Most of the night, he was awake with endless thoughts. It was going to be hard to make you appreciate your life on this world. His sense of protection over you was great enough for him to at least try, though.

Sure, Hyunjin has dealt with people full of different emotions in his shop. They weren’t so severe though. People came in knowing what they wanted and left. Nothing else. Not to mention, there were many customers who’d take his work for granted.

You aren’t like that though. There were times when Hyunjin had to reassure you that you weren’t being a burden. You were selfless. Perhaps a little too selfless, but it’s an admirable trait to him. In fact, there is something else about you. Something that intrigues him. Sure, you have a pretty face, but there’s something more. It makes him want to protect you; give you the happy world he believes you deserve.

That is his job after all...

Right?

9:37 am

The glowing rays of the sun hits your face, alerting you to wake up. The melodic chirps of birds bounce in the distance. Shifting away from the blinding light, your eyes flutter to the room.

This wasn’t your apartment. Definitely not.

It took you a minute before remembering how you got here. That’s right. You with Hyunjin in his shop. You sit up, groaning and rubbing your eyes from your surprisingly good rest. The room wasn’t too cold nor hot. The bustling city noises weren’t echoing outside. It was comfortable, a soothing atmosphere. You stand up and take a deep breathe, inhaling the gentle lavender fragrance.

Making your way, you twist the silver door knob. You're revealed the shop’s “kitchen” along with Hyunjin. He is gathering empty glass bottles from a drawer at the bottom of the main counter. He turns around upon hearing his bedroom door creak. Looking at you, he makes a bright, welcoming smile.

“Good morning, Y/N! Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Have a seat on the couch. I’ll make you something and after, I’ll take you around the meadow. Is that okay?”

“Of course! Take your time too,” You say, making you way to the couch in the loft area.

Now that the sun is awake, everything seems to be more clear. The sun rays peeking straight into the front window and the plants seem more lively. The view outside was beautiful, too. The meadow is brighter, more green and lush. Flower buds filling up half of the field, only few that have started to open it petals. The sky seems just as happy. Not gloomy from the pollution cars spat out in the city. The blue is full of thin, wispy white clouds. Small groups of birds flew by every here and there. The scenery made you more eager to explore the unfamiliar wonders.

You look at Hyunjin whose occupied making drinks for himself and you. He is wearing black cargo pants and a loose, white v-neck shirt tucked in. The peeking sunlight hides in his hair. He is lowly humming a random tune with a content look. You want to ask a few questions, but decided later; not wanting to interrupt his work.

He walks towards you and serves your drink in your hands before sitting next to you. You look at the tall, glass cup in your grasps. It’s full of a green drink and strawberry puree, flowing down from the side of the cup.

“It’s a strawberry matcha latte with pink hyacinth. In a way, it will help wake you up and boost your happiness for the day!”

“What about your drink?”

“Oh, this? It’s just a regular iced americano. There’s a short list of rules I have to follow in order to own this business. One of them is that I can’t drink any of the magical products here.”

“Why?”

“Not too sure. Maybe it's so I don't take advantage of the magic I'm capable of,” He turns to you and softly smiles.

You nod, returning the smile before taking a sip of your strawberry latte. Your eyes widen, its taste definitely coming to your liking. It was creamy and refreshing. The bitterness from the matcha and sweetness from the strawberries blended well.

“Wow, this is really good!” You exclaim, making the boy make grin yet, flustered.

“Thank you! Its one of my favorite drinks too, without the flowers of course.”

“Are the flowers suppose to make the drink taste different?”

“Nope. The flower petals don’t effect the taste, just the conditions of your wish.”

11:32 am

The mood of spring is definitely present. The sunlight dances through the meadow and plants gently sway along in the breeze. The feathery clouds move across the fairy blue sky at a steady pace. The blossoms paint vibrant colors against the lush field, stretching far over the horizon. Like fiery stars dotting the night sky. From deep reds and bold oranges to soft pinks, purples, and beaming yellows. Mini white butterflies flutter around, bees prancing from one flower to another. Every part of nature seems so carefree, yet thriving in complete beauty.

You let the pleasing warmth from the sun soak into you while walking besides Hyunjin. He hums a soft joyous tune, eyes wandering at the scene in front of him. You let your left hand drift across the tall greenery that surrounds you. There’s no pathway or any structure for guidance. You just walked pass Haven Shop and Hyunjin told you to just let your mind wander with your feet.

“Do you ever get tired of the view?” You question and look up at the boy’s side profile.

One thing for sure is that you’ll never get tired of looking at Hyunjin. It’s already so damn hard to not stare at the pretty boy who you just met. His lips appear so soft with eyes of stars. His hair perfectly framing the structure of his face-

“Of course not. It never fails to amaze me! Especially around this month, when spring begins. I miss it through out the winter.”

“I bet. I get tired of the city view every now and then. I don’t think I’d ever get tired of this though.” Your lips curl into a small smile as you let your eyes focus ahead.

Up ahead offers even more for your fascination. In the near distance is a river. The water so clear, the pebbles at the bottom are very much visible. It glistens with reflection of the sunlight. The calming trickle of water becoming more audible as you both approach closer. On the other side of the river, the field of flowers elevate, holding up a willow tree. A tall tree with feathery vines that drape down, coming in near contact with the water. You stare in awe at the idealistic scene before you.

Hyunjin turns his head to get a good look at your face. Your eyes lit up with anticipation and lips slightly apart. It pains him knowing the emotions you feel deep down. That didn't affect how he truly viewed you, though. The sunlight didn’t help either, highlighting every feature on your face. The light was just singing, “You! You!” How lovely you are.

“No,” Hyunjin thought, shaking his head and averting his attention back to the willow tree. He has a job to do. Make you happy, brighten up your days with wonders up his sleeve. That's all. How could he possibly feel anything more towards you? He barely knew you. He just met you less than a day ago! He clears his throat before speaking, wanting to distract himself from the sweet thoughts of you.

“Have you ever been outside of the city? Like to the Northern Country, of course.”

“No, I’ve always stayed in the city. Never had a good reason to leave. Until now that is.”

“I see. Nice to know I’m the one to first take you to a place like this then!” He giggles.

There it is again. His contagious, yet melodic laugh. One that makes your heart flutter and adore, leaving your ears craving more. You let out a breathy laugh, joining Hyunjin on the joyous feelings.

“How did you start?,” You say with a light voice. Relaxed footsteps approaching the creek more.

“My mom and dad are pretty strict. They always encouraged me to open up a business of my own, too. I found myself very interested in alchemy and just helping people in general. So, I studied hard and here I am!"

"Good for you, Hyunjin!" You compliment.

"Thank you!" He puts his hands over his chest and lets out huge sigh of happiness.

You giggle at his dramatic behavior.

1:02 pm

Hyunjin and you sat on the grass, leaning back against the willow tree. The vines dangling from the branches that stretched out above made it a perfect canopy-like shelter. You sway your feet left to right in front of the river ahead; shoes abandoned to the right side of you. It's a perfect spot to seek for solace, especially with Hyunjin's company. It's like a hidden paradise. You didn't care if you didn't show up for work today. You didn't care if you were in an unfamiliar place. You didn't care if you just met Hyunjin less than twenty-four hours ago. All you want now is to just enjoy the present time of the happiness you thought was long lost.

It's like nature playing a part of sympathy for you. The sweet scent of blossoms and pines fill up your nose. The mellow breeze freely caressing your faces. On the outstretched branches above are the winged symphonies played by sparrows. The swaying blades of grass tenderly stroking both of your bare feet. Sunlight beaming down, reflected off the water and strained through the tree's leaves. The tree also providing shade like a tattered umbrella.

It is known that trees behold stories of many. It this tree could speak, it happily tell you how the meadow slowly grew and came to be. How Hyunjin would walk through the meadow day by day, tendering to the flowers until they began growing wildly on their own will. How every star fragment in the sky is visible to the naked eye, only if you decide to stay out at night. How the tree itself got to hear the magnificent stories each traveller told when they came by to rest. How it will patiently wait for you to tell any of your stories.

Every once in a while would Hyunjin's hand brush against yours. It somehow managed to make your heart dance every time. Little do you know, he was doing it on purpose. Little do you know, he wishes for your simple touch, your hand to hold. How he's too timid to do so, though. Instead, he silently remains cherishing every moment with you.

"Why aren't there customers at Haven Shop?"

"My shop isn't open yet. In fact, it opens back up tomorrow so that's when people should arrive," He states. "It's because of winter. Flowers and their magic effects, especially here, obviously die off in the winter. So, that's when I have to close my shop. And god it's hard going through a meadow with barely any life. I miss it. But that's when spring comes by and never fails to amaze me."

"Ah, I see."

"Can I ask you something?" Hyunjin turns his head to lock eyes with you.

"Of course."

"How are you really feeling? Like from last night."

You look at your fumbling hands on your lap, causing moment of silence before speaking. "Better than the time on the roof, that's for sure. In fact, I almost forgot that happened. I guess I'm enjoying my time here." You turn to gaze at him with a small, appreciative smile.

"Good to hear. And we're friends, right?"

"You mean you want to be friends with me?" Your eyes widen in disbelief.

"Of course!" He smiles and scrunches his nose, something that made your heart go crazy.

"Then, friends we are I guess."

"I think it worked."

"What worked?"

"The drink I gave you last night! I didn't put too much flowers so the effect wouldn't be so strong, but it's working," He remarks with satisfaction.

"Good to know," You giggle. Do you believe him? You aren't completely certain. You don't care about it though.

The comforting atmosphere and warm sunlight eventually made you yawn with drowsy eyes.

"Tired?"

"Just a bit. It's hard not to be when in peaceful place like this," You let out a breathy laugh.

"Here, relax." Hyunjin's hand comes to the side of your head and gently pushes it to his shoulder.

After a few minutes, your eyes drift off into darkness as you lay on him. Hyunjin smiles with adoration before resting his head on yours, entering dreamland with you.

Both of you pleading the world to not let this day end.

5:48 pm

You spent the day attending your university in the morning and completing your afternoon shift at the book store. Being placed back in society just reminded you how much of an ass everyone is. A crazy witch came in demanding for spell books for immortality. Who the hell did she think she was? A god? You told her there are no books of such kind. The next thing you know, she's complaining to your boss about how "lazy and stubborn" you are. And now? Your boss cut back your paycheck for "not doing your job properly." For a the whole damn month. You would tell him about the actual situation of why the witch was mad, but like again, your boss is an ass and won't listen. This sure wasn't the first time too.

It's been two days since Hyunjin dropped you off home. You told him you needed to prepare for school and work the next day and so should he. To be honest, you would continue staying at the meadow if it weren't for your life tasks. You already skipped a few days though. When he dropped you off home, he engulfed you in a big hug and told you to not leave the world, but come back to him.

What were you going to say? No?

Now, you are walking down the city streets on your way to the Northern District Doorways. Whenever there were crowds headed your way, you'd move to the sidewalk across to avoid them. Crowds mixed of Averages and the magical class. Despite the power difference, everyone ran on the same mindset of equality.

And here you are, slowly becoming apart of the magical class. Well, that is if you pass your alchemy class. From taking notice of the spell books in the bookstore, even that made your brain undergo an entire maze.

Schools for young ones who are Averages placed throughout the city. Then, further in the center are universities where people begin to develop their potential for magic. They have choices of what they want to major in. Medical, where you learn to heal wounds with magic. This could be sealing cuts or making potions with medical purposes. English classes where you memorize every magic spell term, mainly for those who desire to be witches and wizards. And then alchemy... Learning about chemistry of magic components. Yup, you know lots about that class. Well, in a way, you do.

You continue to stroll in the busy midday city. Buildings of many tightly packed together, resembling an overcrowded village. Buildings constructed of stone, cement, or wood that is either petrified or damp of weariness. The buildings roofed with dark asphalt shingles and displaying arched windows.

The paved stone roads that connected through and around structures. Small weeds growing between the stone cracks. The police stations constantly crowded with necromancers. Banks for your silver. Shops that make wands for witches and wizards. Clothing stores. Convenient shops that carry the basic magic necessities many need. Mossy stone statues of the greatly respected elders capable of magic. Planters nicely placed in the center, between the shops. Wooden crates outside shops that hold fresh fruit and bread. The roads that formed into bridges over rivers. The rivers for the canoes that rely on magic to continuously float. Post offices are very common throughout the city, too.

Post offices... It reminds you that you and Hyunjin should exchange addresses to contact each other. In the Northern District, phones simply did not exist. Instead, writing instant letters is the way for communication. You'd write a letter, put someone's address, and it will disappear to that person once you'd stamp it.

And then, there were the dark alleyways. Alleyways where mice and stray cats roams. Where the roads are cracked and uneven, homing the drunken powerless citizens. The smell of alcohol and smoke was faint but still unpleasantly present.

Continuing on are prostitutes offering services in front of their stores. Children running and laughing on the streets, playing games of tag and hide and seek. People gracefully singing on the boats below.

Oh how they are all only half of the structures the Northern District offers.

Your feet start to slowly ache. Not only was the transportation center distant, but you're walking at a faster pace to avoid the crowds. And perhaps, you may be eager to visit the boy in the meadow.

Stomps and chattering. Cheering and complaints. Bells ringing with doors constantly opening and closing. Your nostrils burn with the variety of smells. Scents of flowers and bread to smoke, oil, and alcohol. Children's joyous voices. The still air allowing the sun’s rays gently beam. It's all the Northern District just simply existing.

Entering the station, you approach the ticket booth. Good thing you remember the door number.

"Good afternoon!" A young guy greets from inside the booth. He has permed silver hair, small eyes and a bright smile with braces. A small name tag pinned on his suit, displaying "Jeongin."

"Hello, a ticket for Door 325, please."

"Of course."

He's quite cute looking, but that didn't lessen your social anxiety. You could scream and let out a dramatic exhale. You could run away and tuck yourself cozily in a corner. But of course, you couldn't just do that.

"Here is your ticket. Have a good day and safe travels!" He waves with twinkling eyes.

"Thank you! You too." You eagerly grab the ticket out of Jeongin's hand and scurry past the booth.

After looking at a directory, you walk down the hallway containing doors of 300 to 350.

You casually walk down with eyes swiftly scanning each door.

A deep red door of 313.

A mustard yellow door of 315.

And at last, the dark green door numbered 325!

A small smile of anticipation appears on your face.

When was the last time you were this excited? You could not remember. You simply didn’t care though.

6:27 pm

"Thank you very much! Have a good day!" Hyunjin smiles, courteously waving off the one of many customers.

He turns behind, restocking a glass bottle with pink camellia petals from the drawer. His mind seems to hold onto one thought ever since yesterday. You. He couldn't deny it any longer. The boy, once a stranger, loves you. God damn, he misses you, too. Feelings only growing from you absence. At the same time, though, the feeling of fret also fills him. Fearing that perhaps you may turn away from him and jump like you wanted to that night. Worrying that you simply had no interest in him, even as just a friend. He gave you a drink with alstroemeria petals, though. So that couldn't happen. But the doubt seems to never leave him.

Hyunjin's ears fill with a familiar bell ringing above the door.

"Be right there!" He politely informs. Closing a few drawers and placing the bottle aside, he turns around; eyes focused on a small insect crawling on the register.

"Good afternoon, welcome to Ha-" Hyunjin abruptly stops in mid-sentence as he looks up from the now dead bug. His eyes widen and a faint pink spreads across his cheeks.

"Hi, Hyunjin," You greet and wave your hand in a rather timid manner.

He suddenly gasps aloud and runs around the counter. Wrapping his arms, he forces you into a tight hug.

"You came back," He coos, head resting on top of yours. All of his doubts and worries about you instantly fade away.

Though your head is buried in Hyunjin's chest, you could practically hear the huge smile resting upon his face. Eventually breaking the hug, you both step back taking a good look at each other. He's wearing a white collared button-up. On top layers a thin denim jacket tucked in black pants and a long beige coat, stopping at his knees. His blond hair neatly tucked behind his ears, only a few front strands framing his face. It so desperately made you want to push it back, but how you had to resist.

"How-" Hyunjin gets interrupted by the bell, notifying a customer just entered.

"We'll talk later," He winks at you before going back behind the register. 

 7:13

Several customer came lining up in the store. After they received their drinks, they were out the door. You sat on the couch peacefully watching each pass. Barely two minutes ago, a customer came in stating he has a soccer game and in need of motivation and ambition.

"One americano of hollyhock for Chris!"

"Yes, thank you!"

"It has hollyhock and hyacinth in it. Enjoy the rest of your day and I wish you good luck on your soccer game!"

"Thanks, mate!" The customer shouts as he exits the shop.

After the place is once again empty aside from Hyunjin and you, Hyunjin runs out through the entrance before coming right back in.

"What was that about?" You ask while still seated on the couch, legs crossed and arms hugging a small white pillow to your chest.

"Oh, I just had to change sign to 'closed'. Do you want a drink?"

"Sure. How about... one not for me but my boss whose a complete asshole? Can I do that?"

"Don't tell me you want me to conjure up a death drink for him."

"I thought you couldn't do that?" 

 "I can't, I'm just messing with you! But sure. I'll give you a small bottle of the flower powders and you can put it in his water or coffee at work. What about you, though?"

"Surprise me a drink for success and remembrance." 

"Sure thing, Y/N. What is it for? Only if you don't mind me asking." Hyunjin makes his way behind the counter, opening drawers, collecting flowers, and putting them in the manual coffee grinders.

"I have a huge test next Friday for fucking alchemy. I need to pass and remember as much information as I can."

"I see. So in other words, you're seeking my work for cheating on a test?" He turns his head to look at you, playfully wriggling an eyebrow.

"You really had to go word it like that?" You playfully ask with a small smile.

Hyunjin turns his head back to his work, carefully spooning flower essence into a glass bottle. "I mean, it's true. Note this though. In order for this drink to take full affect, I suggest you drink it the night before the test. So I'll give the flowers in a bottle for you. And! Make sure you study every single note you've taken right after drinking it. Then, you should be good to go!"

Several minutes later, the boy returns to you, lending you a mini white pouch.

"The bottles are in here, so careful. I labeled them too, so you won't get anything mixed up."

"Thanks, Hyunjin. What did you put?"

"No problem. I put statice and goldenrod for yours. For your boss, he has gladiolus with a smidge of coreopsis."

"Thank you again."

"Shut up, no need to thank me. I'll gladly make hundreds of drinks just so I know I'm helping you." Hyunjin's ear redden a bit after saying that.  "U-umm... I-"

You chuckle aloud at his nervous state. "It's alright! I'm flattered." Deep down though, you're just as nervous. Why? You aren't one-hundred percent certain, but you think you may be falling even more for the lovely boy whose in front of you. It be more of a surprise, though, if you were to not fall for him.

 6:41 pm

It's something said before; The world continues no matter who decides to continue with it. Time lives on without warning anybody. Slowly, it sure didn't feel like that was the case though. The day turns into the next day, then a week, then a month, and soon enough, many more. And as much possible free time you had, you spent it on Hyunjin. You'd visit him so often, he decided to give you a his shop's spare key to use during closing hours. You never used it yet, though, because he always had his doors unlocked for an hour more, knowing and waiting for you to come by. Occasionally, he'd invite himself over at your apartment, surprising you when you open the door. And then, no matter where you both were, you'd do whatever fun activities friends do.

Helping you study (and you certainly passed on your alchemy test thanks to him), going to book stores, riding the boats in the rivers below. He'd visit you at work too sometimes. And surprisingly, the mixture he gave you worked on your boss. Your boss became more sincere not only towards you, but to your co-workers. Then movie nights, picnics under the willow tree and cuddling. To your surprise, Hyunjin was more clingy than you'd ever though he'd be. On days where you were unable to hangout, you'd both write letters. Soon after you stamped the letter and it disappeared, you'd receive one in return. Usually, no more than 10 minutes later. You recall receiving a letter that was half soaked. He wrote how he spilled his americano and didn't want to waste everything he wrote before. He stated how he spilt it on his favorite sweater too.

There was a time where he introduced you to a friend of his, too.

"Felix, this is Y/N! Y/N, this if Felix! You know the guy who made a mess when making pancakes?"

Later on, you three decided to bake brownies at Felix's apartment which was just down the block. Oh how poor Felix's kitchen ended up looking like hell.

Then, when it was just Hyunjin and you once again, you continued making happy memories. You barely remember the night you wanted to jump, or the feelings you did feel. Hyunjin helped replace them all. 

"You're feeling alright, right? Happy?" Hyunjin's asks lowly with a sleepy voice.

Both of you were on the roof of your apartment. Sitting on a bench, admiring the view the Northern District offered.

"I'm alright. Especially with you." You chin rested on his shoulder, looking up at his eyes. His eyes are one of the many things you absolutely adored about Hyunjin. They held fragments of the starry sky and displayed many endearing emotions. Eyes that you enjoy getting lost in. Oh and how they'd turn into the crescents themselves when he'd smile bliss.

"Tell me when you feel down. It doesn't matter if it's three in the morning or if my shop is crowded. I like it when you open up your feeling to me. I like knowing you trust me. M'kay?"

"Thanks, Jinnie."

If the moon could sing, it would. It sing about how cheery it is knowing your existence. It sing knowing the feelings you and your friend has. It sing out of contentment while the stars would dance. It sing knowing you've recovered from each night of crying.

The nights you've cried, Hyunjin was there right by your side. Pulling you close to him, sweet nothings would pour out of his lips. Sometime you'd talk about the mess in your mind, sometimes you didn't; just wanting his comforting presence to keep you. His presence to remind you that all is not lost. Then after, if you were up for it, he'd take you for a long stroll in the city.

 8:01 pm

You both are on Hyunjin's bed cuddling. Nothing but the moonlight shining through the window, landing upon your bodies. Your head laying on top of Hyunjin's chest and his hands playing with your hair. You can hear his mellow heartbeats and feel his chest calmingly rise and fall.

"It's a perfect time to hangout by the willow tree. You want to go?" His voice ever so gentle, drowning your ears.

"Why now?"

"Pleeeaasse!" The boy pleadingly whines, making you giggle.

"Let's go then." You sit up on the bed.

"Yay!" Hyunjin immediately hops off the bed. Swiftly grabbing your hand, he pulls you to get up towards the back exit.

"Woah, Hyunjin!" You laugh at his excited behavior, like a child told he could get any candy in an entire candy store.

The door closes behind with a small creek and thud. The cool relaxing air hitting your faces. Summer is nearing, so the air is no colder than the nights before, but instead, warmer.

"Race you!" He shouts, before dashing off into the tall growing meadow.

And of course, you run. Running in the color-dotted field as it if were the stars in the sky above. Both of your laughters mix into the night air with the solemn singing of the insects. Hastened footsteps making crunching noises with the grass beneath.

The next scene is what makes you break out into a big fit of laughing. You weren't too far behind Hyunjin. He though, before reaching the tree, ended up tripping and falling into the river. The river whose currents flowed peacefully  now being disturbed.

"NOooOOooOOoo!~" Hyunjin shrieks, now sitting in the middle of the river.

You catch up, standing on the edge before the river without breaking your fit of laughter. Hyunjin would kill to hear you laugh every hour, to see a smile painted on your face. Despite his love for you and your current laughter, he extends his arm only to pull you down with him.

"HYUNJIN!" Your legs and half of your arms now immersed underwater. Now it's his turn to laugh.

It was good that the night air was warm enough to not leave you both freezing. To your surprise, you both didn't reach the tree. Instead, you both remained sitting in the river; Bodies leaning on each other for support and comfort. Another thing to your surprise, you felt more excited. Stuck in a manner more playful than usual, like a child who stole his mom's coffee.

The field ahead decorated with more colorful flowers than ever. The black sky above wearing millions of jewels. The river currents playing its own song. Both of you aware of your hearts thumping like crazy.

"You know that drink I gave you an hour ago?"

"Yeah," You reply in a hushed tone.

"It's mad of pink alstroemeria flowers." 

You remove your head from his shoulder to make eye contact with him; his eyes of tenderness. "And what does that mean?"

"Love and playfulness. It best represents friendship that turns to love." Hyunjin says in a barely audible whisper, but it's more than enough for you to hear. At a time like this, he greatly thanks the sky for hiding his deeply-reddened face. "C-can I show you something?"

"Hm?"

Hyunjin's lips crash onto yours not a second later. The gap between you both who desired to be filled had it wish granted. His plump lips were soft on yours, both passionately moving in sync. His lips gave off a taste of sweetness; lips completely sugarcoated. And he could say the same for yours. He eventually pulls away, only to rest his forehead against yours. Eyes lovingly gazing into one another’s. You both sweetly smile, not daring to break eye contact. It feels like the world came to a stop for the two of you.

"You know, you have to pay me back for all those drinks I made for you. How about you do that by coming on a date with me?"

"I'll have to think about that," You say mischievously.

Hyunjin leans in to give you another kiss, one quick but still sweet.

"How about now?"

And that night, the willow tree had another story to keep.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: SKZ Materialist*.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

#hwang hyunjin #hyunjin x reader #stray kids #skz #stray kids x reader #stray kids imagines #hyunjin imagines #stray kids scenarios #fanfic #kpop scenarios #stray kids oneshot #hyunjin oneshot #hyunjin #stayhavennet #skz x you #skz x y/n #hyunjin x y/n #skz scenarios #hyunjin scenarios #lee felix #lee yongbok #stray kids fanfic #skz fluff #hyunjin fluff #stray kids fluff

[patchofsunlight]

Stand You | Bakugou Katsuki x Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Bakugou insists he can’t stand stupid Y/N, even while he changes his entire routine to fit her in it.

WORD COUNT: 5.1k

WARNINGS: if this doesn’t show up on tags for the fifth time i will simply give up on it, cursing, bakugou is a lil bitch but he’s also a softie, there’s a nosebleed at one point but nothing concerning tbh, aizawa and recovery girl find young love amusing, shouto is baby

Y/N wasn’t sure of exactly when she started thinking of Bakugou Katsuki as a friend. Maybe it had been during their first year, after the first time he allowed her to join his study group alongside Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and Mina; or maybe it had been a bit later, when she hugged him tight in the middle of a crowd, almost as if she could squeeze the pain being kidnapped by the League of Villains had brought him, and he let her — while All Might fought his last battle and all of Japan feared for its future, Bakugou let her hold him.

She was deeply aware of the fact he tolerated her at best, as he made that abundantly clear every chance he got. He didn’t exactly hate her presence, but she was on thin fucking ice, and, even though Y/N knew this, she still managed to somehow develop a crush on the angry ash blond, like the stupid idiot she was.

It was ridiculous, to be honest, especially considering how there was no way he would ever feel the same. She would go as far as saying he didn’t even know her name — “Stupid,” he called her (how enchanting!) —, so, yeah, there was absolutely no possibility of her feelings being reciprocated in any way, and the dumb hug they shared was nothing but a coincidence. He was a bit shaken, a bit shocked, and those few warm minutes didn’t really mean anything.

Y/N didn’t mind. She was okay being Bakugou’s friend, satisfied with study group meetings and the occasional sparring. That way, at least, she could be sort of close to him, and that was pretty much enough.

Katsuki wasn’t sure of exactly when he had stopped thinking of Y/N L/N as another stupid extra. Maybe it had been when he found himself walking a little slower while she accompanied him towards class, or maybe it had been a bit earlier, when she hugged him tight in the middle of a crowd, almost as if she could squeeze the pain being kidnapped by the League of Villains had brought him, and he let her — while All Might fought his last battle and all of Japan feared for its future, Bakugou let her hold him.

He didn’t particularly like her. She talked too much, too fast, too loud; she insisted on walking him to and from the dorms everyday; and she was weak, stupid, useless. To be completely fair, Bakugou would say he despised her.

And yet, he found himself around her way more often than necessary.

“Hey, Bakugou, wait up! Let’s walk together!”

He groaned loudly at the sound of her voice, having been hopelessly hoping she wouldn’t be able to catch up. 

“Fuck, no. Get out of my way, Stupid!”

He slowed down nonetheless, soon walking by her side. Her smile was bright and excited as she kept on blabbering about something Kirishima had done when they were paired up on training that day.

He couldn’t fucking stand her.

“— and then he threw me off the training mat so easily! Who taught him how to do that? I wanna do that!”

“I don’t give a fuck, Stupid.”

“— but I won the second time we sparred, so I guess we’re even. It was fun.”

Y/N never seemed bothered by his harsh words. In fact, she usually either ignored them altogether, unfaltering and patient, or laughed and added some opinion of her own to his rage. It was maddening — she couldn’t take a hint.

Moments like this were common, almost routine. If Bakugou didn’t know better, he would’ve thought the girl had taken quite a liking to him. It was an obvious conclusion, considering she was always around him in some way or another, trying to spark up friendly conversation and letting him know how her day went.

(It was so, so calming to have her here like this. He would never admit it, but hearing Y/N’s endless rants brought him a sense of security he had never really felt before. She talked too much, that was for sure, yet he didn’t really care. It was okay if it was her.)

He couldn’t fucking stand her.

“Come on, try again. We’ve gone through this already.”

“I can’t, Bakugou. I—I’m sorry.”

The ash blond sighed, running a hand through his hair. The bite to his tone had disappeared after a couple of hours, red gaze intensely attentive to the frustrated tears gathering in the girl’s eyes. Every other student had gone back to their dorms, and the librarian seemed very intent on shooting the duo angry looks as if to tell them to hurry up and leave already, finally allowing their long afternoon shift to end.

“Yes, you can. I know you can. Try again, you’re almost fucking there.”

Katsuki had never been good at positive reinforcement. He was better at screaming and cursing and insulting, and, yes, he had tried that with Y/N a thousand times before, but he could see how hard she was trying. He noticed how disappointed and tired she was, and he couldn’t find it in himself to be anything less than what he recognized as incredibly soft. He was glad they were the only ones in the library — he wouldn’t know how to explain himself if anyone saw him like this, watching this random girl who he refused to call a friend mess up her homework in various different ways, talking quietly to stop her from crying.

“We don’t have all fucking day, Stupid. You can do this, go on.”

Yeah, definitely not good at positive reinforcement.

“Okay,” she inhaled deeply, pencil moving slowly through the paper, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. 

There was a slight crease between her brows as she worked, and Bakugou felt the sudden urge to rub it away, which he rejected immediately. That was ridiculous! There was no reason for things like this to plague his mind — L/N Y/N was an idiot, and he didn’t deliberately think about her in any way, form, or universe. She wasn’t worthy of his thoughts.

“Is this it?”

His attention immediately returned to the equations and messy notes on her notebook while he looked it over, a surprised glint taking his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s basically it. It could be better, but you got it right.”

“I did?”

“You did. I told you you could do it, Stupid.”

Katsuki choked on his own air when the girl jumped towards his place on the table, hugging him tightly by the neck while spouting a great variety of thank you’s and praise, disrupting the angry librarian. Bakugou could feel his cheeks heat up under the worker’s glare, both with irritation born from their silent attitude and from the weird warmth growing in his chest at Y/N’s attention. 

It was the first time she hugged him since the kidnapping accident, and it felt different. It wasn’t a comfort hug like last time, no — it was almost like she had been so happy she couldn’t stop herself from touching him, and that thought alone was enough to send sirens flaring inside his head. Every single inch where her skin touched his seemed to tingle, a calming sensation flowing through his body.

He instantly decided he hated the feeling, pushing her off harshly but still a tad more carefully than he would’ve if it was anyone else.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, no need to freak out. Let’s just get done with this already and go back to the dorms.”

She smiled widely as she picked her things up, shoving them inside her backpack and patiently waiting for him to do the same. Strangely, the explosion boy couldn’t find it in himself to meet her eyes, avoiding the light blush he feared would coat his features when he saw her staring at him like that, with that pretty — no, not pretty, no, he didn’t think she was pretty in anyway — with that stupid smile on her face.

“I’m glad we can walk back together,” the girl declared cheerfully the moment they left the big and lonely library, strolling through the empty path side by side, the sun nowhere to be seen. “It’s late already.”

“Whatever,” he groaned back, refusing to look at her yet still maintaining a pace he was sure she could keep up with.

He couldn’t fucking stand her.

Bakugou felt hyper-aware of every movement beside him. For a few days now, his heart would pump a bit faster whenever she smiled, and his skin would crawl with what he could only describe as the craving to have her hold him again.

It made him weak, and he wouldn’t have it. Bakugou Katsuki was a lot of things, but he refused to be weak.

Specially because of someone like Stupid.

“What grade did you guys get on last week’s math test?”

They always sat next to each other during lunch. It wouldn’t be that bad if it wasn’t for how her knee touched his ever so softly, her body too close for comfort because of Kaminari’s presence on her other side, pressing onto her enthusiastically each time he spoke. Kirishima had asked her once if she wanted him to exchange places with the electric boy, but she simply laughed it off — Kaminari’s manners were endearing, in a way. For some reason, those words gave Katsuki the urge to break Kaminari’s nose.

“I got an 87,” Y/N declared, delight dripping from her words while she played with the food on her plate.

“Y/N!” Mina’s smile was so big it almost didn’t fit on her face. “That’s almost 30 marks higher than you got on our last test!”

“I know!” Bakugou scowled at her excitement before she turned her head to look at him, a sunny grin directed entirely to him, stealing all the air from his lungs. “Bakugou is an amazing tutor!”

“Damn right I am,” he managed to rasp out, clearing his throat loudly before shoving a bunch of spicy noodles in his mouth. Kirishima and Sero exchanged a look.

He would never admit it, the raw pride that consumed his chest at her happiness. He knew how hard she had worked for that test, and was glad to see it went even better than she expected. 

“Maybe now you could tutor me, Y/N,” Kaminari wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing a laugh to escape the girl’s lips while she turned away from Katsuki to stare at him.

“I would love to, but I’m pretty sure I would make your grades even worse.”

“Hey,” Bakugou barked angrily, fighting off the blush creeping up his ears, “don’t sell yourself short, Stupid. You’re not that much of a dumbass.”

A heavy silence fell down on the group, surprised stares pointed to the ash blond. He could feel his stomach twist in anger at the unwanted attention, yet something about the way her smile widened at his words caused his irritation to decrease exponentially.

“What are you idiots staring at?” he lashed out despite the calm settling inside his heart at the sight of her, rolling his eyes at the bunch of morons he called his friends.

“No, nothing,” Kaminari’s voice was high-pitched in obvious lying that brought out snickers from everyone else on the table but Bakugou himself. “Nothing.”

“It better be nothing, Dunce Face, or I’ll kill you.”

“Of course,” Kirishima bit down on his lip to contain his laughter, “don’t worry about it, Bakubro.”

The day went by slowly and way more often than not Bakugou found himself stealing glances towards where he knew Y/N’s seat was. There was a weird whispering in the back of his head, reminding him of how her arms felt around him when they hugged in the library the week before, reminding him of the warmth that invaded his skin and implanted itself in his brain, reminding him of how bright her smiles were and how nice her laughter sounded.

Oh, there was something wrong. Did she have some sort of secondary quirk guilty of making him feel like this? Never before had he ever given her much thought, even though he had to admit his mind wandered to her sometimes and he did try to somehow be nicer to her, but it wasn’t because he cared for her or anything, right? Of course not! He just thought she wouldn’t be able to take his usual self and he didn’t want to deal with her crying or whatever. It wasn’t because he cared about what she thought of him, hell no! Bakugou didn’t waste his time worrying about others, that wasn’t like him at all.

Bakugou Katsuki didn’t think about L/N Y/N, he didn’t, he wouldn’t.

The ash blond forced his gaze away from her once more, trying to make sense of what should’ve been neat notes instead of the mess of scribbles staring right back at him. He snarled to himself, immediately considering his disorganization as entirely her fault. How dare she play with him like this? How dare she think herself worthy of his time like this?

He couldn’t stand her.

And yet, less than two hours later, there he was, listening to her rant about this one movie she desperately wanted to watch while they walked beside each other after class. It would be so easy for Bakugou to pick up his pace and leave her alone, but his body refused to obey his mind’s wishes, and so he kept himself slow enough for her to stay with him.

He couldn’t fucking stand her.

His whole body was sore, barely able to move his arms after overusing his quirk all evening. Bakugou knew he shouldn’t push himself this hard, but he refused to falter, refused to stay behind and risk being weak again. He needed to get stronger, smarter, and, for better or for worse, that involved long training hours. 

The path back to the dorms was strangely lonely without a certain girl keeping him company — not that Katsuki minded, he obviously didn’t. Some loneliness was very much appreciated after the last couple of weeks, which were filled with study group sessions and stupid walks. 

He sighed heavily when the 2-A dorm finally came into his range of vision, causing his tired figure to relax. He was almost there — he would soon be able to eat something, take a nice shower, and then fall straight into bed. He would soon be able to rest, and that was the only thing in his mind.

The ash blond kicked his shoes away the moment he reached the door, tossing them aside without a second thought. 

He would’ve liked to say he bee-lined to the kitchen.

He didn’t.

“Stupid, what the fuck are you doing?”

Y/N looked up from the common room coffee table, startled by the sudden interruption. She studied him for a second before answering, “I’m just looking over some homework. Why? Did something happen?”

He grunted in distaste, unable to stop himself from sitting down next to her on the couch. Every single one of his muscles felt like it was on fire from overexertion.

“It’s fucking late. Didn’t we study yesterday? Did you even have dinner yet?”

She tensed slightly at his angry questions, returning her stare towards the papers in front of them. “Yeah, but I just thought it’d be good to go over everything once more. I’ll just eat some crackers for dinner, it’s fine,” she shrugged nonchalantly, missing the way his eyebrows furrowed at her words, “where were you anyway?”

Katsuki simply rolled his eyes, arms crossed. “It’s none of your fucking business, Stupid. And you can’t have crackers for dinner, that’s not a proper meal.”

“What are you gonna do about it, Bakugou? Will you cook me dinner?” Her tone was teasing, joking, but he stood up immediately, snatching all the papers and notes from her and walking to the kitchen without a second of hesitation. “Hey, what the fuck!”

“Come with me already, you dumbass,” he snarled angrily, a tint of red covering his cheeks, “what do you want to eat?”

Her voice suddenly went soft, “Bakugou, I was kidding. You don’t need to get me dinner, I can just heat up some ramen or—”

“Shut the fuck up, Stupid. I was already going to cook dinner for myself anyway.”

He wasn’t, actually. He planned on eating leftovers from lunch, but he knew there wouldn’t be enough leftovers for both of them, and it was good to prepare some lunch for the next day, anyway. It wasn’t like he was doing it for her, of course not! It was just… Mutually beneficial. Yeah, it was mutually beneficial, not—not special treatment. He didn’t care about Stupid, he didn’t.

“Can I help with anything?” she asked nervously, face flushed from bashfulness and hands fidgety. Katsuki shook his head, ignoring the twitching pain on his forearms as he stirred the pot.

“Just sit down and wait.”

“Are you sure?” Y/N bit her lower lip with furrowed brows. “You seem tired, I don’t want you to do everything by yourself.”

An angry remark sat on the top of his tongue, but the ash blond hesitated. Well, if she helped with the simpler things this would be done faster, and he could go back to his room and rest earlier. Besides, the idea of cooking and spending time with Y/N in the kitchen caused some type of warmth to take over his chest — a warmth that wasn’t exactly insufferable.

It felt strangely soothing, hearing her hum while slicing vegetables and waiting for the noodles to cook through. It felt even more strangely soothing to sit before her on the kitchen table, staring anxiously while she took the first bite of his food. The worst, however, was the way her smile brightened up the room when she started rambling about how good it tasted and how much of a good cook he was and how he now had to cook for her more often. He disagreed loudly, the tip of his ears burning with embarrassment, saying he didn’t cook for her — he cooked for him, and she just happened to be there too. She cackled, and his heart seemed to burn.

He couldn’t fucking stand her.

Seventeen minutes. Y/N was seventeen minutes late.

Had she forgotten about it? God, she was the one who brought it up in the first place, and now she was the one making him wait. Katsuki felt incredibly stupid sitting in his dorm floor, a bunch of her favorite snacks neatly organized next to the nightstand and pillows on the ground for them to sit on. It was supposed to be a study date or whatever, even though he repeatedly refused to call it that (“it’s not a date, Stupid, it’s just one of our homework sessions like always!”). 

They had been spending a lot of time together between studying at the library, walking to the dorms, and cooking and eating dinner, and Bakugou had to admit he didn’t absolutely hate it. Don’t get him wrong, Y/N was still annoying and stupid and insufferable but—but something about her made him come back every single time, ignoring the knowing looks from his friends and the snickers from his classmates.

Despite his anger, a bit of worry started to blossom inside the boy’s chest. Stupid Y/N (and he hated how affectionate the mean nickname sounded to himself at this point) was rarely late — he had been seeing her after school hours enough to know. The girl was always on time and, when she wasn’t, she made sure to let others know why.

There was no text from her, though, and it made his fingers twitch uncomfortably with the urge to make a phone call and check if everything was alright.

Not that he cared if she was alright or not, because he didn’t. She was just—just some girl who decided to invade his life with no permission whatsoever and then stayed. He didn’t care about her.

And yet— 

“Hello?”

“IcyHot? What are you doing with Y/N’s phone? Where the fuck is she?”

Bakugou couldn’t muster any reason for why Todoroki would’ve been the one to pick up the call instead of her. They weren’t even friends! Yes, they knew each other and he was vaguely aware of the fact the two had sparring sessions every once in a while, but not enough so for Todoroki to feel comfortable using her phone or for Y/N to bail on their study date.

“Oh, Bakugou,” Shouto’s tone was as casual as always, almost as if this was a common occurrence (which it wasn’t), “hey. Y/N is with Recovery Girl right now. She got into a fight, but she is okay, just a few cuts and bruises. I was the one to stop the fight, so Aizawa asked me to wait around while she gets checked up on. Do you want me to tell her anything?”

Bakugou had been out the door when he heard the words “Recovery Girl”, speed walking to the nurse’s office while Todoroki rambled. He could feel his heart picking up its pace. Why would Y/N get into a fight? God, this wasn’t like her, and the prospect of someone purposely picking a fight with her filled him with the most raw type of anger possible.

“What the fuck did she get into a fight for?” he voiced his concerns, and he was pretty sure Todoroki just shrugged.

“These two boys were saying things about—”

“Todoroki? Who are you talking to?”

“Miss L/N, I’m still not done with you—”

Katsuki furrowed his brows at the commotion heard from the other end. He could easily recognize her voice, even though it sounded raspy and tired, but the next bit of conversation was too muffled for him to understand. The future hero could already see Recovery Girl’s office a few meters away, and it made him walk a bit faster.

“Give me the phone, Todoroki.”

“Miss L/N, you are still bleeding—”

The door opened violently. Y/N met Bakugou’s glare and felt a bad shiver go down her spine.

Shit, they were supposed to have that study date today. God, did he come all the way over there just to scold her? 

Heavy silence fell over the small group of people. Aizawa and Recovery Girl exchanged a quick look, the small lady’s arm still extended towards the girl in a failed attempt to grab her and drag her back to the hospital bed, even though she was definitely not as hurt as they made her out to be. Yes, she had a bunch of nasty bruises after throwing hands with two random guys from the year above her, and, yes, her nose hadn’t stopped bleeding yet, but she was mainly okay. Todoroki had gotten there pretty quickly and stopped her from making things worse, so she was fine.

“What the fuck did you do, Stupid?”

Yeah, he definitely went all the way there to scold her.

“Uh. Now, that’s a good question!” She consciously chose to ignore the smirk on Aizawa’s face, pulling her phone from Todoroki’s grip a bit more violently than necessary. “You see, I’m sorry for my tardiness, I know we had plans, we still can—”

“I asked you what the fuck you did, Stupid. I’m waiting for my answer.”

“Miss L/N picked a fight with two third years after hearing them talk about one of her colleagues in public. Thankfully, Mr. Todoroki intervened,” their teacher cut in, crossing his arms and staring as the girl cleaned up a stray drop of blood on her lips with the back of her hand. “She’ll be getting a written warning and will hopefully stay out of trouble.”

“Yes, sir,” she muttered, frowning when Recovery Girl started fussing over her again, sticking band-aids all over the small cuts on her face. Y/N had refused to accept Recovery Girl’s quirk treatment, aware that she was very busy and that it wasn’t necessary for the school nurse to tire herself out for just a few bruises. She was so intent on glaring at her elders that she didn’t notice the worry swimming in Bakugou’s red gaze.

“Good. Can you two get her back to the dorms?”

“Yes, I—”

“Fuck off, IcyHot, I’m taking her back by myself. Find something to freeze or whatever.”

Katsuki grabbed her by the arm, dragging her out of Recovery Girl’s office without a second’s worth of hesitation. He wouldn’t even look at her, fuming the whole way to the dorms. Still, he walked slow enough for her to not struggle to keep up.

“Are you mad?”

He snickered humorlessly, “of course I am, Stupid. How the fuck did you get yourself into this? And you fucking left me waiting, too, you idiot.”

Usually, Y/N didn’t care about his harsh words. Y/N didn’t mind his angry remarks. This time, however, she felt tired, and she had just gotten into a fight because of him, so she refused to take it. She had tried so hard to get close to him, to make him like her. The girl could feel tears gathering in her eyes from fury and sadness — how stupid was she to actually believe he would ever like her, be it as a friend or more? She should’ve known better. Dinner and studying and walking together meant nothing to him. She was just a bother, and she should’ve noticed earlier.

Y/N halted, pulling her arm away from his hand with rage and deception coating her every feature, “shut the fuck up, Bakugou. I don’t have to give you any explanations, you piece of shit. If you’re so pissed about it, why don’t you just leave me alone, huh? I’m done keeping up with your bullshit. I always try to be a good friend to you and you just keep doing this! You keep pushing me away and treating me like an idiot, and I deserve more than that!”

The explosion boy had a crease on his forehead, a cold feeling going through his body. The angry look in her eyes was something he didn’t recognize, and suddenly she felt so unreachable, so far away. He quickly decided he hated it.

Why did he hate it, though? They had nothing to do with each other. They were barely friends. Wasn’t this what he wanted? He couldn’t fucking stand her, he didn’t care about her. This was what he had wanted for months now — for her to tell him to leave, for her to not stand him too. Why did it feel so wrong, then? Why did he feel the urge to collect her in his arms like she loved to do with him? Why did he just want to hold her and tell her he was worried and that he couldn’t wait to spend more time with her, that he couldn’t wait for their stupid study date? And, yeah, it could be a date if she wanted it to. God, he’d accept any name or title she gave their meetings if only they could go on forever.

How long had this been going on? When did she make him so attached to her? Why hadn’t he noticed it before?

“Fuck you, Bakugou,” she muttered, slightly out of breath after her short outburst, face dark with frustration, “those idiots were talking about you and about how you should be a villain or whatever, and I got mad. That’s how I fucking got myself into this, because I care about you. Thanks for caring, asshole.”

The girl turned to walk away, and panic bloomed in the boy’s chest. He didn’t know why exactly, but he knew he couldn’t let her leave. He couldn’t let her leave him, couldn’t let her think he didn’t care, because he was just now seeing he did — so, so much. Of course he cared about her and all her silly manners that made their way into his heart and stayed there, on the edge of conditioning him to feel better whenever she was around. Of course he cared about her and the study dates and the sparring sessions and all the stories she loved to tell, of course he fucking did. Of course.

Katsuki was quick to grab her arm again, pulling her so close to him their chests bumped. Y/N furrowed her brows in confusion.

“Bakugou, what the fuck are you—”

“I like you. I really—I really do,” he shook his head, trying to gather his own feelings. “A lot. I was worried. I’m sorry.”

Y/N blinked.

“You were worried? About me?”

“Yes,” he scratched the back of his neck, looking away to hide his blushed cheeks, which didn’t go unnoticed by her attentive eyes. A smile played on the corners of her mouth, and Y/N let herself enjoy the rapid bumping of her heart, the flustered sight of the one boy she had fallen for. Flustered because of her. She could feel a rush of confidence building inside her chest. “I guess… I guess I care about you, too. Even if you’re absolutely insufferable,” he added clumsily, causing her smile to widen considerably, “I can’t fucking stand you, to be honest. You annoy me to no end.”

“Now do I?” she took a step closer, so close that he could feel her breath on his face and it made his head spin. “You don’t seem very annoyed to me, Bakugou.”

“Katsuki,” he corrected thoughtlessly, feeling his face warm up even more when he took notice of his own words.

“Right,” Y/N nodded, smirk on her face, “Katsuki, then.”

He opened his mouth to make a mean remark that would push her away enough to give him space to breathe, but he was suddenly interrupted by her lips on his. Before he could register it, she was gone, speed walking back to the dorms. After a few shocked seconds, he started running after her, calling her name angrily and trying to conceal the dark red on his face, neck, and ears.

“Hey, come back here, Stupid! What the fuck was that?”

Bakugou couldn’t have ignored the way his heart fluttered at the sound of her laugh even if he tried, a lazy smile taking over his lips immediately.

“I can’t stand you either, Katsuki.”

“Oh, shut up.”

#bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou #bakugou x reader #bnha x reader #bnha #bakugou katsuki #mha x reader #mha

[seokjinsdisciple]

It’s a Deal - six

supernatural! johnny x reader x jaehyun,  mate!au

Word Count: 1.9k

sorry its been forever oops

tags: @thatonekpopsweater, @queen-of-himbos , @yourchasingsunsetslove, @a-brooding-bird

send me a dm or an ask to be on the taglist

warnings: language, supernatural stuff

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The next two weeks passed quickly and with relatively few problems. Well as little problems as you can have when two fae men move into your one bedroom apartment. You had started sleeping on the couch, due to the fact that both Johnny and JAehyun refused to sleep anywhere but the bed (you thought it was for comfort but you were beginning to think it was because they wanted to sleep with you), but every morning you found yourself wrapped in one of their arms, the others legs draped over your own. 

Jaehyun had signed up for classes, meaning that you saw the both of them pretty much everyday all day long. You had expected to be completely and utterly annoyed by the both of them, but you were actually starting to enjoy their presence. You were loving the fact that Jaehyun could get on Johnny’s nerves, the two of you often teaming up to annoy him. And Johnny had become much more relaxed than you had ever known him to be. 

Today was different, though. Jaehyun and Johnny were talking in hushed whispers from the kitchen when you woke up. Their voices weren’t quite loud enough to hear, but enough to make your heart beat faster. The idea of them having a conversation that you couldn’t be apart of twisting your stomach into knots. 

You were forced to remember the fact that they were faeries, and they had both tricked you in one way or the other. The past two weeks had helped you forget what you needed to remember. They couldn’t be trusted. 

With quiet footsteps and open ears you got as close to your bedroom door as you could. 

“I just don’t think it's a good time for her to go back there,” Johnny’s voice whispered harshly.

“I don’t think so either, but father is insisting, and I can’t say no.”

“This is all because you had to go and make her your betrothed. Which I’m still pissed about by the way.”

“Oh please brother, we can share,” Jaehyun’s whisper teased, “Such a pretty little plaything like her is too hard to resist.”

Johnny let out a loud grumble at that, his anger clearly causing him to forget that you were asleep. You decided to step into the room when a loud thump sounded against the wall. 

“What the hell is going on?” You asked, eyes widening at the sight of Jaehyun’s body being pressed against the wall and Johnny’s hand around his throat. At the sound of your voice Johnny dropped his hand, stepping away from his brother. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he spoke hastily.

“I’m all right, doll,” Jaehyun smiled at you, “Nothing but a little brotherly spat.”

“Well next time argue in the afternoon,” you sighed, “I’m tired.”

Jaehyun just let out a giggle at that, the heavenly noise something you hadn’t gotten used to in the past two weeks. It was a really beautiful sound, like a hundred little bells ringing softly. It was hard to describe really, and you had decided to attribute it to the fact that he was fae royalty. 

The rest of the morning was spent slowly getting ready, you wanting to go to the cafe to study, and Johnny and Jaehyun refusing to let you go alone. So you let them come, thanking every higher being out there that they actually stayed relatively quiet while you were doing your work. You had fully expected them to be bothering you and talking about useless things, but they were actually quite helpful. 

You had forgotten about their conversation earlier, so when they asked you to come with them back to the palace realized exactly why they had been so helpful. They knew you would never agree if you had work left to do, and if they had been annoying you all day long. 

“So that’s why you were being nice to me,” you laughed (mostly at yourself).

“Hey! We are always nice!” Jaehyun had protested, following quickly behind you and Johnny, who was currently dragging you towards the portal. 

“You both tricked me into deals and debts or whatever,” you glanced back at him, “You got me involved in confusing fae magic and also have been living in my tiny ass apartment without my permission.”

“Well if you moved into the palace that wouldn’t be a problem!” Jaehyun exclaimed, quickly pouting when Johnny shot him a look and you slapped him in the arm. 

“Before we go through, there’s one thing you have to know,” Johnny started, “You are being presented as a prince’s betrothed at a ball attended by lords and ladies from all of my father’s lands. There is considerable danger to you attending tonight, and I don’t want you to wander around without me or Jaehyun being with you.”

“Trust me,” you sighed, “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere by myself.”

Satisfied with your answer, Johnny motioned to both you and Jaehyun, the three of you stepped through the portal and into the faerie world. 

The palace was just how you remembered it, beautiful and so otherworldly that you were left breathless. Once again taking in the appearance of the fae around you and comparing it to your own appearance. You were worried about taking clothes for this party, you didn’t want to become indebted once again. 

“Don’t worry about that,” Johnny whispered, “I’ve taken care of your gowns, and I promise you I expect nothing in return.”

You couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief, not completely trusting Johnny's words, but still grateful he recognized your worries. 

“Stop reading my mind,” You added, a small grin forming on your face as Johnny sent a playful glare your way. 

You found yourself back in the room you had been in before, both boys leaving you with the same smiling fae to get ready. You carded through the dresses in your closet, swearing that there was at least two dresses for every color that had ever existed. You picked out a pretty emerald green dress, recalling just how good Jaehyun had looked in the color. The fae who were helping you quickly swarming you with jewelry and hair products and makeup. Fussing over every detail of your appearance. 

You smiled at yourself when they were done, you looked good. The dress hugging your curves, the jewelry they had picked out to match your dress shining brightly. You looked royal, and it was weird. But it felt good. 

You saw Johnny in the mirror, blush rising to your cheeks as his eyes raked over your body. He pressed his body close to yours, smiling at you in the mirror. 

“This isn’t fair,” he pouted, pressing a kiss behind your ear, “I’m taking you on a date after this.”

Goosebumps rose on your skin as his breath fanned close you the sensitive parts of your neck, his lips kissing down your neck until they reached your bare shoulder. 

“And what if I say no?” you barely choked out, trying your hardest to hide just how much this was affecting you. 

“You won’t,” he smiled, biting your shoulder so lightly that you could barely feel it, “You’re mine, not his.”

“I’m not yours,” you whispered, grinning as a noncommittal noise left his mouth, shrugging his arms  around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder, “Stop being so horny and take me to this stupid party. I wanna get it over with.”

Johnny just laughed at that, pressing one last kiss on your shoulder as you swatted him away. 

“Hopefully this party goes better than the last,” he smiled at you, “I think I’ll lose my mind if another fae tricks you.”

“Shut up,” you groaned, “It was twice!”

“Once too many, now c’mon. Jaehyun’s gonna lose his shit if we don’t get into the ballroom soon.”

--

You were the center of attention all night. Dancing, twirling, getting drunk and eating all while talking to hundreds of fae. All of them wanted to meet the pretty human girl who had captured Jaehyun’s heart. You tried not to be offended when they asked you directly. 

You kept your promise of staying near the boys for the whole night, the thought of another fae tricking you enough to listen to them. They pulled you out of the dances when it seemed like you couldn’t stop. Telling you what to eat and drink and even giving you your own special bottle of liquor. Johnny explaining to you that fae alcohol would make you extremely happy and unbearably out of control. 

But now here you were, drunk, tired and needing to pee. You excused yourself from the boring fae you had been sitting with, stumbling out of the ballroom in order to find the bathroom. 

You bumped into a rather lanky man, attractive (as most faes were), but lanky nonetheless. He caught you as you stumbled, shooting you a dazzling smile as you stared at his face. 

You must be YN,” he let out a light laugh, “It’s so good to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“You have?” you asked, your mind completely fuzzy as you smiled dumbly up at him. 

“Of course,” he grinned, “Now that I’m seeing you I understand why you are so hard for all these boys to resist. I’d quite like to take a bite out of you myself.”

His grin had turned almost wolfish, his grip tightening on your shoulders. You had started to panic, his earlier friendliness disappearing as he pulled you tight against him. 

“Taeyong,” Johnny’s voice rang out behind the man’s form, “I thought I made it clear to Doyoung that no one from his territory was allowed to be in attendance.”

“Oh don’t be such a bore,” Taeyong snapped, releasing you from his grip and spinning to look at Johnny, “We were just talking.”

“I’m sure you were,” Johnny spoke, his words sharp as he tried to keep his cool, “Get out of the palace Taeyong. And tell Doyoung that the next time he sends a puppet to do his bidding, their heads will be sent in a box to his estate.”

Taeyong was grinning now, bowing lowly before turning back to you, “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again, Yn. Can’t wait,” he shot you a wink before walking towards the entrance of the palace. 

“Are you okay?” Johnny asked, rushing over to you and pulling you into his arms.

“I’m fine,” you whispered, wrapping your arms around Johnny’s body. 

“I told you to stay with us,” Johnny lightly scolded, pulling you away so that he could take in your appearance. 

“I know,” you whispered, tears burning at your eyes, “Would he have hurt me?”

Johnny didn’t answer you, he just pulled you close and held you tight. His calming scent filling your nose and slowing the pounding of your heart.

#johnny smut #johnny scenarios #johnny x reader #supernatural!johnny #johnny angst #johnny fluff #johnny fanfic #johnny au #johnny #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun angst #jaehyun smut #supernatural!jaehyun #jaehyun #nct scenarios #supernatural!nct #nct supernatural au #nct fluff #nct angst #nct smut #nct #nct fic

[ethanharli]

Requested: Nah.

Pairing(s): Asra x Top Male Reader

Warning(s): Some Angst, Flashbacks, Mentions of heartbreak, Sudden confession, Cliffhanger, Long, Sister Nadia.

A/n- I brought this over from my Wattpad, and I edited it a bit but this is the longest One-Shot I've ever made, just fifty words away from three thousand :")).

_______________

A frustrated groan slipped past my lips as I fumbled with the sleeves of my costume, it may sound silly but its true. I refuse to wear anything that could reveal my torso, besides my face of course but that's only because its not covered in ink. Now don't get me wrong, the art adoring my body is nothing but beautiful, yet some of its a bit much for the public eye, and I hate attention. Guess Muriel and I are the same in that regard. After adjusting the sleeves I slipped on my rings and emerald necklace that clung tightly around my throat, which didn't bother me in the slightest bit as I drag my pierced tongue over my bottom lip. Finishing up with a few things I quickly locked up my house and headed on my way to the palace, Nadia had invited me over for the Masquerade this year since the last one ended with Lucio and the Devil trying to take over.

I really have to admire that apprentice, their magic is quiet fascinating. With a small smirk I slipped on my wolfs mask, nothing original but the black and vibrant neon of purple and green helping it stand out, even if only by the slightest. The journey to the palace was quite fun, watching people light up fireworks and drink to their hearts content without a worry in the world. Yet it was a whole new world once I entered the palace gates, making my way towards the ball room in hopes to run into my sister, but Nadia is nowhere to be found. "Should've expected as much, she is the Countess after all" I muttered with a proud smile, if only my familiar where here to keep me company but sadly having a grey wolf in this crowd isn't such a good idea, poor thing would be trampled despite her large size.

Taking a glass of wine I sipped it slowly, enjoying the bubbly feeling of it going down my throat. Yet a slither around my ankle caught my attention, and I froze at the sight of a familiar snake, looking up at me with their cute tilted head. "Friend!" Faust cheered, happily slithering up my body to rest on my shoulders, "Yes Faust, it's good to see you again" A pained smile forced at my lips, scratching softly under Faust's chin. If Faust's here then Asra and his apprentice must be close by, I should've expected as much. "Miss you" My heart tightened at the words, forcing the breath out my lungs painfully, and here I thought I could enjoy the Masquerade without running into anyone else, but I guess even an over packed Masquerade can't hide me from them. "I missed you too Faust-" My words were cut off by a familiar voice, merely a couple feet behind me, yelling for the beautiful creature wrapped around my shoulders.

"Im sorry Faust but I really should be leaving, please don't tell Asra I was here alright?" I asked as worry started to pool in the pit of my stomach, however Faust simply tilted her head, watching me curiously. Nevertheless I made a slow pace to the exit, not wanting to rise any sort of suspicion as Asra yells a bit louder. And there he is, my savior. Putting on a small smile I took a drink from a waiters tray, walking up to Julian without seeming any bit out of place, then once the right moment hit I brushed my shoulder against his and shrugged Faust onto him, not once turning back to look at them. However I knew I wasn't out in the clear just yet since a pair of eyes followed me as I left the room.

Being out in the hall felt a lot better then being so close to him. Especially when I'm not ready to face him just yet, hell I don't even think I have the power to look at him without freezing up, how stupid of me to think I could come back here. "[Y/n]?" The sound of Nadia's voice finally got me to relax a bit, letting the tension in my shoulders drop, "Hey Sis, it's been a while" I smiled down at her, watching as her eyes soften before pulling me into a tight embrace that I gladly returned. "Where'd you go? You told me that you were going to talk to Asra after what happened with Lucio and the Devil but it was only him that came back, he said he didn't know where you ran off to and when I tried to ask what happened he'd never answer!" Her crimson eyes glare up at me as they slowly fill with tears that I quickly brushed away.

"Its okay Nadi, Im back now and I plan to stay, I missed my little sister way to much to be gone for so long" I chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood even only for a second, before she looks at my costume with not very well hidden disgust. "You've really never had an eye for fashion have you?" She sighs, taking my hand and dragging me down the hall where Portia was standing. Once her eyes met mine her face lit up in realization, "[Y/n]! You're back!" She jumped up to hug me, which I returned with a ruffle of her long hair.

"Portia could you please get my dear brother to one of the guest rooms so he can change?" Nadi smiled and Portia couldn't have answered any happier, "Yes milady! Now c'mon [Y/n] lets get you a new costume!" She cheered, dragging me away by the sleeve of my shirt. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew this wasn't going to end well, and by the time I was pushed in the room with a new set of clothing I knew I was right. The clothing was way to revealing for my liking, even though the color and fabric made me look elegant and right at home. The top exposed my arms and most of my chest, the 'V' stopping right above my waist which the pants hugged tightly, yet the rest of it was baggy except the bottom of it, which also hugged my ankles nicely.

But my tattoos and scars were out in the open. The skulls, flowers, and chains that decorate my body glowed a faint blue color, as if cheering that they were finally free from my always concealed clothing.

I didn't want to wear it, every part of my mind was screaming to tear it off but I couldn't. My sister picked this out for me and this is her party, I'll do it for her if not for myself. Sliding my mask back on I headed out the room, looking down at Portia with a nervous smile as she stared at the art in wonder, "I never knew you had these!" She pouted, looking as If I had betrayed her somehow. I could only reached out and pat her head, trying to ignore the eyes that locked onto me, "Im not very fond of them, so I always hid them, Im sorry for not telling you sooner." She merely rolled her eyes and smiled at me before realization yet again broke on her face, "I need to go tell the rest you're here! Stay put!" My eyes widened as I tried to stop her, but she was already out of reach before I could, and the slithery presence was back at my feet.

"Friend!"

Fucking hell.

At that moment I felt the fight to run away slowly drain from me, I knew I couldn't avoid him forever, no matter how hard I tried. Even so, with what resistance was left in me I headed towards the garden with Faust resting peacefully on my shoulders, and stayed put by the fountain, letting my eyes flutter shut for a mere moment.

_____

My palms started to sweat as I looked down into those mesmerizing lavender eyes that watched me with an amused glint, "Asra I-" The words got caught in my throat for the millionth time now, and even I was getting impatient with myself. But can you blame me? Asra looked so majestic under the moonlight, with the stars that practically glowed in his eye's, I don't think I've ever thought it was possible to feel so relaxed and intimidated at the same time.

"[Y/n], are you okay?" He asked, his voice barley above a whisper as he slowly reached up, softly brushing his fingers against my cheek. A flutter in my chest caused the chains on my body to recoil slightly, and thankfully he didn't notice the change, "No, I just can't hold it in anymore Asra" My hand clenched tightly on my sleeves, nearly causing them to rip while Asra brushed a lock of hair of of my face. "Hold in what?" He smiled, but my eyes drifted to his chest, looking where the mark on his heart is hiding, causing me to reluctantly pull away from his touch.

It was a simple friendly gesture he's always done to calm me down, to bring me back from whatever clouded my thoughts. So when I pulled away he reached out again, slower this time, as if any rushed movement would send me away. "Asra stop" He looked a bit shocked when I grabbed his wrist, but my grip was gentle, cause I'm more afraid of hurting him than anyone else. However the negative thoughts practically swallowed my mind whole as I rejected his magic from flowing into me. The mark on his chest was the only thing I could look at, cause it reminds me everyday that he gave up some of his heart for his apprentice, to bring them back. Jealousy truly is a cruel thing.

"Nevermind, it was foolish of me to think I even had a chance" I whispered with a bitter chuckle, taking a step back I crossed my arms, turning my broken gaze towards the sky. "Forget it, just go back to your apprentice, they need you more than I do" I don't know why my words came out laced in such malice and sorrow, but they did, and that seemed to earn a glare back from him. "What's wrong with you? Ever since you found out about my deal its like all you want to do is run away from me and push me away, if you have something to say to me then go ahead and say it, but do not drag them into this."

The chain around my neck tightened, slowly crushing at my windpipe as I clenched my fists and smiled softly to myself. I knew I'd regret what I did next, I knew it would weigh on me forever, I knew it would cause me much more pain then it did right then, but I did it anyway. Ill have to thank Ilya if this works, putting on my best face I turned towards Asra and scoffed, tilting my head a bit, like I usually do when pissed off, even though this is just a lovely facade. "Don't even bother, its not like you'd care anyways, would you? All you care about is that apprentice of yours, you even gave up part of your heart for them" I let the words flow, nearly letting the tears pool in my eyes when I spat them out.

"Is that really what you think?" He hissed, knuckles turning white from how tightly he was grasping his sleeves, but I didn't let myself falter under his gaze. "Asra I don't have to think it when I know its true, we've known each other since we were kids, you can't fool me" I scoffed, glaring back into his lavender eyes, keeping that gaze was a lot harder then I thought it would be. Before he could speak up I made sure to cut him off, "You love 'em, that's the only reason you'd do it right? Because you love them? Let me guess, you couldn't live without them could you?" I rolled my eyes, looking off to my left, practically feeling his breath hitch for a moment, confirming what I needed to know.

Im sorry Asra.

You don't have to forgive me.

Because I highly doubt these chains will go anywhere, I can never be free. Even with you by my side, the one person that keeps me together, the one person that I'd risk everything for.

Im so sorry.

"Just leave already, its not like you want to be here anyways right? So just leave me alone, I don't want you here."

_____

I don't remember much after that, but I do know he left, and I was left alone to wallow in my own despair. The chains got tighter over the year, so tight that the only thing keeping me breathing is all the techniques I've learned, and the fact I learned how to hold my breath for a long while. A few tears slip past my [E/c] eyes, that Faust happily wipes away with her tail, rubbing her face against my cheek, "Friend!" She smiles, curling against me, it felt so good to have her around again. Even if this'll be the last time.

The chains tighten a slight fraction, forcing me to hold my breath. "[Y/n]?" My body tensed at how my name rolled off his lips, it felt like a distant dream, like this isn't actually happening, but one look at him and I know its real. My god has he always looked so gorgeous? Or am I going crazy? Probably both. Once [E/c] met Lavender I knew I was done, his hairs pushed back like last year though the mask kinda looks the same, with only a few added touches, and his costume definitely gets him to stand out above the rest, just a beautiful array of bright colors clashing against his mixed skin, it hugs his figure perfectly. He looks like a god amongst the light of the fountain.

"Its me" I sighed out, reluctantly turning my gaze back to my feet. I couldn't help the surprise when he moved in front of me, placing both hands on my cheeks, looking into my eyes with such relief that I could hardly believe it. His touch sent shivers down my spine, slowly I started to breathe again as the chains retract a bit, I had clearly forgotten how revealing my clothes are, cause once the chains pulled back Asra's eyes shifted to them.  "How long have you had these?" He asked, trailing his hands down to trace the marking with a soft touch, "Asra wait-" Yet the mark appears, the same one he has, just mine glowed a faint blue in the center of my chest.

His eyes widened seeing the mark, keeping his eyes on it as if it were to attack at any moment, "You've never had chains, its always been your skulls and flowers, is it because of this? Why didn't you tell me about this?" He looked hurt, the same hurt in his eyes that he had a year ago when we last talked.

"What was your deal?"

Oh how I wanted to tell him, but the chains tightened at the thought, yet I pushed through it, Im tired of lying, I'm tired of keeping everything in, Im tired of it all, "That I couldn't be open anymore, that I wouldn't be able to speak my mind freely like I once did." A small cough ripped out my throat as a blue glow tried to burn past the chains, failing miserably. "What? Why?" He looked stunned, I don't blame him, I've always been one to speak my mind and tell everyone how I'm feeling, to be honest to myself and them without a care about what others thought.

But..

"I was scared, there's something I've always wanted to say, but I never could because I've always been so afraid about what would happen after, what if it went wrong? What if I messed up? What if I said something wrong? What if you-" My mouth snapped shut as quickly as it could, now I certainly can't avoid this, cause those lavender eyes stare at me with such intensity I might just burn away. His hands slowly moved up to my neck, letting his magic aid in pulling the chain away from my neck, allowing me to breath freely. "What about me?" He asked softly, keeping his gaze fixed on mine as my hands unconsciously travel to his hips.

I guess it's now or never..

Building what up whatever courage I had left, I pulled Asra against my chest, using one hand to push his mask out the way, before claiming his lips with mine.

#asra x reader #asra x male reader #asra the magician #asra the arcana #x male reader #x seme male reader #nadia the arcana #julian the arcana #portia the arcana #x dom male reader #x top male reader #asra x top male reader #asra x you #asra x dom male reader

[mustyrosewater]

𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒔

𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔 : 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆.

𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 : 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒕, 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈.

𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 : 𝑹 18+

𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 : 6,159

if somebody were to say that a brothel was only a place for people to submit to their desires and fuck pretty girls, they would only be half right. in westeros, brothels were so much more than that. if the walls could talk, they would be spinning tales for all to hear, whispering secrets that not even kings could tell with confidence, secrets that some would rather keep secret than out in the open for all to see. secrets that people would be willing to hand over countless riches in order to be kept within the walls. brothels held the darkest truths, truths that could bring a man to his knee’s if one would so desire. dorne was arguably the most perfect place that one could own such an establishment, a popular trading hub among westeros, men traveled in and out of its waters everyday, men who had been all across westeros, who met with many notable figures, and thus, also carried many secrets. in the comfort of a woman’s arms, a man could let anything slip out, in the comfort of a woman’s arms they felt safe. little did they know that the presence of a whore was just as dangerous as having a sword held to their throats, perhaps even more so. when drunk on dornish wine, they were even more likely to allow their secrets to be spilled and let their hidden truths unfold, all into the ears of the woman who held them. you had learnt from a very young age, that to traverse anywhere in this world, secrets were more precious than gold, more powerful than the tallest castles walls, and more dangerous than a dragon. by the time of your thirteenth name day, you had already stacked up a deadly armada of secrets, through listening to men talk or forgotten letters making their way into your possession. by the age of seventeen, you’d brought men to their knees with these secrets. making friends with the whores that they would forget about within minutes, doing them favors in exchange for the secrets they held. it was not surprising how many men were willing to pay a hefty price to keep their hidden ‘habits’ from making their way into the light. saving the riches that they would give you, you soon had lords and ladies from all over westeros sending you shares of their wealth in exchange for keeping their secrets. all under a carefully disguised alias, they had never discovered who you truly were, and they never would so long as you wanted to. it had taken several years of your life, but eventually, you had come into possession of your own brothel. you had not an exact memory as you how it ended up in your care, perhaps a particularly friendly lord’s version of payment or left to you by a previous owner. how it came into your possession was a memory you held little care for. the girls, your girls, your little doves, they were the only thing in this cruel world you held any true care towards. your little doves were the ones who collected your secrets now, in exchange for the secrets they would give you, you gave them protection, a home, warm meals and anything else they may want to ask for. though that was not usually a large tax for you, most you had recruited from the street, others would hear of you themselves and come to you from broken homes. they were never forced into their profession, never deceived; so many men had attempted to deceive you so many times throughout your life, you would be a fool to repeat their behavior yourself. their duties were made clear to them, you explained the things that they may have to do, but always reassured them that if this was not what they wanted, they would be free to leave, but would not receive anything from you. nobody had ever been successful in this world by giving away their services for free, thus you would not give your charity to those who did not work for it. that was what you taught your girls, their hard work was the reason they had a place to sleep and a belly full of food. you had not had the luxury of being born into nobility, made obvious by the word sand at the end of your name rather than that of any noble house throughout westeros, you were a bastard, you gained nothing in pretending that you weren’t. the knowledge of your parents was virtually unknown to you, you knew nothing of your father and very little of your mother. all you knew was that she was the source of your dornish heritage and a prostitute. you were born in a brothel, it was where you grew up and where you learnt your first ever secret, one you held closely to this day, one that you would never tell, after all, it would no longer be a secret then. knowledge of your establishment and its reputation grew quickly, receiving high praise from your several donors being an added benfit, and thus you quickly gained more high profile clients, even lords from the south began to make their way through your doors, eager to experience a night with one of your girls. one of those clients was one of dornish royalty, your own homeland. prince oberyn was no stranger to your establishment, in fact, he had been on your very first nobleman. you could remember him saying that there was not a brothel in dorne that he was unaware of. as far as you knew he seemed to be impressed, as he quickly became a regular, often bringing visiting lords with him to experience one of his favorite establishments in his homeland, often telling them that a dornish brothel was unlike anything they had experienced. you were unsure if he was aware of the source of your wealth, he never asked. of course, you never expected him to. there were several different stories that strangers had strung together over the years, some claimed that you were descended from a lost line of kings that had left you their riches, others claimed that you were a witch who used blood magic in order to stay young and seduce men into handing over their coin. you always found particular amusement in that one. these rumors and stories did nothing to deter your customers. if anything, it only brought more in. men would come all the way from the north to experience your girls, some even hoped to have you for themselves. they would be sorely disappointed every single time however. today has begun like any other, you had awoken to the sound of birdsong, along with the hustle and bustle of the markets outside, the same as every morning. you’d quickly gotten out of your large bed, not before untangling yourself from the mix of golden and maroon bedding that you woke up eveloped in. the silks were soft against your skin and always left your hair in a pleasant mop of messy curls that you never bothered to untangle. placing a fresh layer of kohl around your eyes, you smudged with your fingers before leaving your room and knocking on all of the girls rooms, waking them up at the same time as always, a routine that they were all used to by now. unlike other brothels around dorne, you did not open at any particular time, the brothel opened when you wanted it to, or more accurately, when you finally awoke after a night of indulging in exotic fruits and wine, often with all your girls enjoying it with you after long day of work. your dark maroon dress held itself loosely over your body and flowed as you walked through the halls and towards the entrance, your golden earrings dangled playfully with every step you took, and your golden bangles clinked together softly as your arms swayed back and fourth. your steps made little noise, mainly due to the fact that you had an absence of shoes. wearing shoes inside was something that you considered distasteful and thus, your customers would discard their shoes at the entrance, a golden rule that they always followed. what you hadn’t counted on happening on this morning, was you walked to the entrance and unlocking the doors, only to hear a swift knocking ring out just as you had began to walk away. this was somewhat normal, you were popular, people had been known to wait at the entrance. what had left you ever so slightly surprised was opening the door and seeing oberyn standing there. you knew the prince to enjoy his mornings and it was almost unheard for him to be out and about this early, especially at a brothel, that did not normally happen until later in the day and even then, he would have a posse of other men with him, eager to show your girls off. there was only two other men with him this time, men you didn’t recognize. judging by their finely stitched robes of emerald green and brown, they were almost certainly highborn, tyrells if the roses stitched into their sleeves was anything to go by. “prince oberyn, this is a pleasant surprise.” you drawled, not caring to hide the still slightly tired tone in your voice, if they couldn’t already tell you had just awoken judging by the fact that you were squinting slightly from the bright sunlight suddenly flooding onto your face. “i see you have brought some friends.” you continued, letting your eyes travel up and down the two men who, quite frankly, looked terrified. whether it was of your or their surroundings you didn’t know and you didn’t care to ask. “i just thought i could show off my favorite establishment to my visitors from highgarden.” you were right, definitely tyrells. leaning against the door frame and gesturing to the two men, you ignored the princes blatant flattery and only let a sly smile cross your features. you tilted your head, pretending to deliberate whether or not to let them in as your eyes traveled back over to the two men. you made eye contact with one of them, a face full of freckles and strawberry blond hair, paired with brown eyes, a rather striking combination, especially seeing as the tyrells were known for their fiery red heads. “my girls do love their redheads.” she smirked as you spoke, practically leering at the man who could have been any older than twenty five, he quickly blushed and broke eye contact with you, suddenly deciding that the ground was very, very interesting. how adorable. “i suppose i can make an exception for my prince.” you bowed dramatically, making a show of letting the three men inside. “i’ll just go an get my little doves, they do enjoy their beauty sleep.” you smiled and quickly turned your back, leaving the three men in the entrance as you walked up the small set of stairs quickly.   rousing your girls from their rest was easier than one may think, you had already awoken them earlier, it was only a matter of telling them to come downstairs and to bring food and drink for the lords that had come to visit. before long, you returned with your girls in tow, three of which were now carrying trays of exotic fruits followed by wine made from grapes grown right here in dorne. guiding the three lords to an area with several couches, you gestured to the girls to put the food down in front of them. within seconds the girls were already all over the two tyrells, who seemed to be soaking up the attention like spounges, stupid grins befalling their faces as your girls sat on their laps and played with their hair. “should my lords need anything else, you need only ask.” you bowed, the smile never leaving your face the entire time. something that you’d noticed right away, was oberyn’s outright rejection of your girls attention. did he not feel like it today? had something changed? maybe he preffered the company of a male today? you were unsure. “actually, there are a few things i wish to discuss with you.” he spoke up, standing from his spot on the couch “with your permission of course.” this was odd. you’d had pleasant small talk with oberyn in the past, but the way he’d worded this made it sound as if there was a problem, you didn’t like problems, problems were bad for business. nodding slowly, you turned your head back to your girls and smiled once more. “look after them while i’m away little doves.” they all smiled and waved goodbye as you walked up the stairs, oberyn following closely behind you. even as you walked in front of him, you could feel his eyes drilling into the back of your head, the intense stare of the red viper was one that could be felt across rooms, much less when he was meters behind you. that paired with the anticipation of what he wanted to discuss with you was causing your heart rate to speed up ever so slightly, enough that it was noticeable. as soon as you reached the door to your chambers, you swung it open with little hesitation and stepped inside, walking straight towards a small table that had been set up with fruit and wine, no doubt by one of your girls. while pouring two goblets for yourself and oberyn, you hear the door shut behind you and take an intake of breath you didn’t even realize you were holding. being alone in a room with oberyn suddenly feels so much more intense when you know there are things he wants to discuss. you turn with the two goblets in your hands and offer him one, which he takes with a kind smile. you knew better than to take a smile as a sign to let your guard down, there had been several men who came and went, men who hid behind a smile, you knew better. you return his smile with little apprehension on your face and sit down, gesturing for him to sit across to you. taking a sip of your wine, you silently hope that it may help to strengthen your nerves. you weren’t one that was known to cower in the presence of many men, you had even kicked a fair few onto the street for hurting your girls. oberyn was not many men, he was not a man, he was the red viper, if he so wanted to, he could kill you right here and now and nobody would even hear you scream. out of pure habit, you let your hand briefly glide over the dagger strapped to your side, a gift from one of your past donors that never left your side. you watched with narrowed eyes and oberyn sat across from you, taking a few drinks from his goblet before placing it back on the table. “what did you wish to discuss? i do hope you haven’t grown bored of us my prince.” you had to play coy, whatever reason he’d called you up to the privacy of your own chambers, you intended to stay one step ahead of him the entire time, that was the way you’d survived in this life and that was the way you were going to keep surviving. “i would not dream of it.” he began, his eye’s never breaking contact with yours as he spoke “i am simply curious as to what you plan to present to me next, i have been a loyal customer for years have i not?” you forced yourself not to furrow your brows in confusion, instead nodding in agreement. “of course.” you paused, only for a moment. the air was tense, but not in a threatening way, it felt tense for an entirely different reason that you couldn’t put your finger on. “i’m not sure what else i could offer you that i haven’t already, you know my little doves are always willing to serve.” you stood when you finished, taking your goblet with you and walking to your large window, looking out onto the view you had of dorne. from where you stood, you could see the docks and wooden boats travelling in and out of port, no doubt carrying goods to be sailed off to kings landing. the sun shone down brightly onto the crystal blue waters and beaches of dorne. your home. you had hardly known anywhere else your entire life and you wouldn’t have it any other way, the people you’d met, the things you’d done, all in your home. the shit infested streets of kings landing held little interest to you, the freezing winds of the north were undesireable in your eyes, here, in dorne, lied the true beauty that westeros had to offer. beyond the sea lay a child on the iron throne, a targaryen girl in the east with three dragons and winterfell in ruins. something big was coming to the seven kingdoms, you could feel it in your bones, something cold, something unfeeling, more bloodthirsty than any king that had come before as dangerous as thousands of armies. the seven kingdoms were going to be shaken. it didn’t take very long before you felt oberyns presence behind you. he was so close that you could practically feel his breath on the back of your neck, you were able to smell his scent, sandalwood and musk, it was practically an aphrodisiac to some. before long, his breath had traveled from your neck to the back of your ear, resulting in a sharp intake of breath from you as you quickly realized he had you trapped in your window sill, breathing on your ear and practically pressed up against you, he had you exactly where you imagined he wanted you. “none of your little doves are appealing to me anymore.” he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper, only loud enough so that the two of you could hear. his whispers sent a shiver running down your spine, resulting in your eyes fluttering closed. you could physically feel your heart rate transitioning into a faster speed, his presence behind you was having an affect it had never had you before, an effect that neither man nor woman had given you for a long while. you could practically feel the lust radiating off of him. “and what is it that appeals to you now my prince?” you asked, your head turning to the side slightly so that the breath that was once on your ear is now against your cheek, his lips are ghosting over your cheekbone, though your eyes are still shut. you’d be lying to yourself if you said you weren’t physically showing the effect he was having on you. your breathing had grown ragged already, your cheeks were turning a soft pink and you were shivering, it was obvious. the prince chose not to answer you, instead, he gripped your hips tightly and brought your bodies together, pressing his face against your cheek, breathing in deep breathes of your scent. you gasped softly, fighting back the small sound of surprise the threatened to leave you. his chest pressed tightly against your back, his hardness grinding against the back of your thigh. “oberyn…” you breathed out, only now opening your eyes which immediately landed on his own, a deep dark brown filled with lust. and secrets. before you could say anything else he leaned down, planning to capture your lips in his own, his eyes beginning to shut as he leaned his head further down. your hand shot up form your side, gripping his chin tightly just as his lips barely ghosted over your own, so close that you were able to feel the soft breaths coming from his mouth on your lips. you stared at each other in silence, your tight chin on his chin never once leaving, so much so that you were fairly certain you were going to leave marks. pushing his face away from your own, you let go harshly and turned suddenly, gripping the golden collar of his tunic roughly and shoving him backwards. the prince did not seem to mind your roughness in the slightest, in fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. shoving him down on one of the chairs, you placed your hand flat on his chest. it wasn’t placed there to keep him sitting, you knew that if he wanted to take back control, he could in seconds, the only reason you were given control was because he allowed it, he could easily overpower you if he chose to. your fingers curled against his chest, digging into the golden fabric as you bit your bottom lip, staring down into his eyes intensely. this was all about power, whoever had the most power was the one who was going to lead, and that person would you, you were going to be sure of that. “you are in control to often for my tastes.” you finally spoke, your voice low as you moved forward, eventually gripping onto his shoulders and gripping his shoulders, straddling his lap, all while making sure to make every single one of your movements painfully slow, only letting yourself graze over his crotch where you could now see a notable tent in his dark orange pants. part of you swelled with pride at the thought that this was the effect you’d had on the prince, the other part of you was still on high alert, you were still unsure why he’d taken such a sudden interest in you, it could have been for any reason. “by all means my dove, take the lead.” the nickname for you that he’d settled on only filled you with more stubbornness to stay in control, the way he lightly patronized you made you want him to submit to you, mind, body and soul. showing little hesitation, you reached up with one hand and placed it on his cheek, letting your fingers scratch through his facial hair softly. you felt his hands run over your hands and quickly gripped his wrists tightly, placing them back on the arms of the chair, with a soft thud. “patience my prince.” you practically purred, tilting your head and smirking softly. the idea of not touching did not seem to bother oberyn, if anything, he seemed eager to see how long he could last. returning you hand to his cheek, you continued to stroke his beard, eventually sliding your hand down to meet his throat, using your index finger to trace around the ball of his throat before travelling further down to where his tunic had been left open, exposing the tan skin of his chest. you slid your fingers across his soft skin and let your eyes travel back up to his face once more, checking to see how he was faring against your light touches. his face remained stoic, barely showing any sign of being bothered by what you were doing. though you supposed it was silly to think he was not inept as showing as little emotion as possible, he had after all, met several lords and ladies over the years, he was obviously very skilled at the game of thrones. you continued to let your hands travel as if they had a mind of their own, gliding over the silk fabrics of his tunic until you reached the lather belt snugly fit around his hips. curling your fingers around the material, you unbuckled it slowly, slow enough so that he could hear every little sound it made, feel every movement. you wanted it to be pure torture for him and pure bliss for you. the prince continued to stare at you as you began to undo the strings of his pants. you could have sworn he was even smirking. he wasn’t taking you seriously in the slightest. this filled you with determination, determination to catch him off guard, even if it were the smallest little bit. you wanted to stay one step ahead at all times, and that the moment, prince oberyn martell was in the lead. deciding to opt for a change of pace, you quickly let your hands slip into his pants, wrapping your hand around his half hard member and squeezing lightly. while doing so, you leaned forward and let his lips grow closer to yours, but you did not kiss him, you refused to give him that satisfaction. his sharp intake of breath told you all that you needed to know, this was how you had managed to catch him off guard, now, you were back in the race. beginning to pump him slowly, you breathed onto his lips, making sure that he could feel how close you were to him. you could see his lips beginning to form into a thin line, it was getting easier and easier to tell that he was having difficulty holding back, the more and more you pumped his cock, the harder it was getting for him to remain as stoic as he was mere minutes ago. continuing to rub him, you let your lips meet his jaw, still not touching his lips, and began to kiss along his jawline until you reached his neck. you latched onto the skin of his neck, sucking and biting every where you could. before long, you’d left behind a plethora of small bruises along his neck and chest. it was then that he finally, finally let out a noise. it was quiet as a mouse, but you heard it, a small grunt, the one sign you needed to tell you all you needed to know. a smile crept along your lips as you lifted your head back up to face him once more. “not so stoic now are we my prince?” you tilted your head, smirking at him. it was then in that moment that the prince let out a sound you were not prepared to hear, it wasn’t a grunt, it wasn’t a groan. the sound that the prince let out came from deep in his throat, it was a low growl, resembling that of a wild animal. as he growled, the prince leaned forward quickly, intending to capture your lips in his own. unluckily for him, you quickly turned your head to the side and leaned back, still unwilling to let him kiss you. quickly withdrawing your hand from his now fully erect cock, you stood and walked back to the table where your wine sat and picked it up, taking a rather long sip from your own golden goblet. your back was now facing where the prince was still sitting, a dangerous move you could admit, but you honestly didn’t care. you were finished with your session of teasing the prince, you were going to let him take you. or at least that was what you wanted him to think. it didn’t take long for the prince to be behind you again, practically grinding his crotch into your backside as his hands came around you, one curling around your waist in order to pull you further against him, the other wrapped gingerly around your throat, causing you to tilt your head back and allow him access to latch his lips to your neck, where he wasted no time in leaving marks of his own. you continued to sip your wine as he left love bites along your skin. the hand that was around your waist glided up to your chest where he groped at your breasts hungrily, his other hand that had been previously around your neck flowing down to do the same, resulting in him with both of his hands on your breasts, palming them aggressively and growling obscene things in your ear. “i need to be inside you.” he grunted, taking extra care to grind against you when those words left his mouth, resulting in a pleasant hum on your part. finally finishing the wine in your goblet, you slowly put it back down on the wooden table. the moment it hit the wood, oberyn wasted little time in letting one of his hands travel to your back, quickly reaching in between your shoulder blades only to push you down harshly, resulting in your chest being pressed into the table and your thighs digging into its edge. you smirked as you laid your head down on the table, bracing yourself with your hands as he kicked your legs apart hastily, obviously having no patience at for you or your teasing. he showed little hesitation in hiking up your maroon dress, letting on ring covered hand glide up the supple skin of your thigh, before finally reaching your soaked folds, which he quickly ran his hand across gathering your wetness along his fingers, letting out a satisfied hum as he did. he leaned forward so that his chest was pressed against your back and his mouth was against your ear, breathing heavily against it. “i certainly hope your wet enough to take my cock little dove.” his words were obscene, though you expected nothing less from the prince, only letting your smile grow in response, a response which he took as his confirmation to continue. as he began to pull down his own pants, your mind wandered for the briefest of moments. you never saw yourself as the type to sleep with nobility; you’d had your fair share of both men and women, several experiences that would make a sept crumble to its bare foundations. and yet, this was never something you pictured to be in the cards for you, preparing yourself to be taken by the red viper, the prince of dorne, who desired you just as much as you desired him in that moment. being distracted by your own thoughts, you were only brought back into reality when you felt his sinking his cock inside you with little to no remorse, not even waiting before setting a pace that was absolutely brutal. you let out a loud cry and let your mouth hang open as you shut your eyes, letting out sounds that you were fairly certain could be heard in every room of the brothel, though you knew nobody would interrupt you, they knew better than you risk getting either you or the prince upset. his hips rolled against yours, emitting sounds of flesh slapping against flesh as he fucked you harder than any man had before. it didn’t take long for the two of you to establish a rhythm, though you were having trouble keeping up due to the sheer force in his thrusts. unexpectedly, you felt one of his hands reach the back of your head, where he quickly wrapped his fingers around a bunch of your thick curly hair, wrapping it around his knuckles and tugging harshly, causing you to arch your back and grip the wooden table, which was now creaking and shuffling along the stone floor, causing even more sounds to emit which would alert anybody in range as to what the two of you were doing up in your chambers, not that anybody would need to wonder in the first place. his chest was once again pressed against your back, though this time, he buried his head into the crook of your neck, grunting and growling against your skin, some poor attempts to silence the sounds coming out of him as he fucked you like tomorrow was not going arrive, like the sun was not going to rise the next day. your arm reached behind you to run your fingers through his back hair as you let out your own set of whimpers and cries. “oberyn…please don’t stop..” you were able to cry about between your moans and whimpers, your words only seeming to egg the prince on as he began to go harder and faster if that were even possible. “my little dove, your pussy takes my cock so well..” he rasped into your ear, his words getting more and more muddled towards the end of his sentence. you practically mewled as you felt your walls beginning to tighten around the princes cock, he filled you so much, you were hardly even sure if you were actually managing to take all of him at once. the hand that wasn’t still currently wrapped in your hair and pulling it harshly reached down to your clit, beginning to rub it in fast pace circles that only made the coil that was slowly winding in your stomach begin to tighten, threatening to release at any moment. “my p-prince, i’m going to-” you began, only to be cut off by another growl in your ear. “yes my little dove, come around your prince’s cock.” that was all the insentive that was required for you to feel your walls tighten around his hard cock and begin to convulse as the slapping sounds of him fucking you quickly became wetter with the moisture of your release flooding around his still hard cock. it was another few moments of thrusting before oberyn suddenly pulled out of your warmth and began pumping himself with his hands, letting out several grunts and groans until finally, with a rather loud groan and hushed whispers of your name leaving his lips did you feel him releasing onto your backside and thighs. those next few moments were spent in almost silence, the only sound that filled the room was the sound of the two of you panting heavily as you simultaneously came down from the pure euphoria was was the mind shatterign orgasms that you’d shared with one another. with little to no care for his own garments, oberyn quickly reached for the discarded top half of his tunic which he’d stripped himself from at some point and used it to wipe up the remnants of his release from your skin. he didn’t seem to care for getting his own clothes dirty, no doubt he sent them somewhere to be washed each day or otherwise had new ones made, he was a prince after all. slowly standing up straight, you felt your joints cracking softly as you stretched, raising your arms above your head with a loud sigh. it wasn’t long before you felt oberyns presence behind you once more, his hands stroked your upper arms slowly as he leaned down to kiss your shoulders, moving your messed up hair out of the way to gain access to and kiss your neck softly. letting out a happy hum, you turned slowly until your were facing him, leaning back against the wooden table and looking up at him. he placed either hands at your sides against the tables and leaned his head down, tilting his head slightly, his lips getting closer and closer to yours until they stopped just as they grazed together. this time, you didn’t stop him, in fact, you leaned your head up and captured his lips in your own softly, slowly enjoying your first time kissing prince oberyn, relishing in the feel of his lips on your own. finally pulling away purely for the purpose of air, you couldn’t hide the smile as you stared at one another. there were no words exchanged but you didn’t have to, words were not necessary when you could communicate through expressions and movements. reaching to your side, you picked a grape from the golden plate and held it up to his face, tilting your head in question. the prince replied by leaning forward and opening his mouth, letting you place it between his lips and use your index finger to push it inside his mouth. he happily accepted and chewed on the fruit, humming happily as he tasted its juices. without saying anything else, oberyn rested his hands at your hips and guided you away from the table, moving towards your large bed and placing you down on the golden sheets, hastily climbing on top of you. “are you not finished with me yet my prince?” you asked, feigning ignorance as you looked up at him. “there are still several other things i would like to do to you my little dove.” he whispered, letting his hand reach down until it once again found itself inbetween your legs and caressing your now drenched folds, sliding his fingers around. he pulled his fingers from your core and brought them to his own mouth, never breaking eye contact with you nor blinking once as he sucked your own wetness off of his fingers, humming in a mix of delight and satisfaction. releasing his fingers from his mouth with a satisfying 'pop’ sound, he smirked down at you and leaned in closer, whispering softly in your ear. “better than the sweetest of fruits my little dove.”

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[css1992]

Such a softer sin

Summary: Tony is a self-made man. Peter is a sugar baby – someone else’s sugar baby.

When he turned to pull his chair out, the older man subtly checked out his ass and – of course, it was delicious, round and perky, two perfect handfuls. He rolled his eyes and tried to focus on the fact that he had a huge character flaw, a hamartia – he fucked people for money. He was basically a glorified whore, and if there was one thing Tony never had to do in his life was pay for sex, one way or another. So, really, he wouldn't start with – what was his name again?

Warnings: Explicit, 18+, mentions of non-con (not between main pairing, not explicit), age gap, power imbalance, employer/employee relationship, underage drinking. If you find anything triggering, please let me know!

Word count:18.4k

-x-

He was admittedly gorgeous, Tony could give him that. The honey brown eyes, the bouncy, fluffy curls and the clear, pale skin worked perfectly in his favor – he looked the part of the innocent, wholesome, young man ready to be swept off his feet and taken care of. Powerful men often liked that act, liked believing that they were deflowering innocence for the first time, liked believing they were wanted, needed. Tony knew better, though, he knew the type, he came across people like him all through his life.

When he was a broke, orphaned, half-starved college student, they wouldn’t give him the time of  day. Snobby, pretty, little things like him only had eyes and time for those who had money, or something to offer – fame, influence, status. At the time, Tony had nothing, he could barely afford to eat everyday. After he graduated from MIT, he started working for Hammer Industries and as he started making more money, slowly, these people started taking notice of him, and he, too, started paying closer attention to them.

They weren’t difficult to spot either, they were usually young, attractive, with beautiful, fake smiles, weak personalities and a penchant for expensive gifts. It was easy to recognize them hanging off powerful men’s arms at functions, and dinners, and galas; bespoke suits or designer dresses covering their bodies, not a lot to add to the conversation. They were accessories, trophies. Pets.

Tony hated them. People who wanted to be at the very top, but couldn’t be bothered to take the stairs. They would use their pretty faces, feigned innocence, beautiful bodies and cute, fake laughs, to get farther faster. Not Tony. He did it the right way – the hard way –, worked day and night to get to his goal, got beat down so many times there were days he thought he wouldn’t be able to stand back up, but he did, every single time.

And time and experience made him wiser, smarter and bitter. At 40, he was finally able to start his own company, Stark Industries, it started small, but his genius inventions put his name on the map fairly quickly. That was how, five years later, he found himself having dinner with Norman Osborn, the most powerful man in New York, and his – boy toy? Sugar baby? Escort? Or something – discussing the possibility of a deal so big it could finally make Stark Industries live up to its full potential.

“So what I’m saying is that we can offer you the best and most advanced technology out there: my nanobots. I guarantee you it will make your job easier, faster and cheaper in the long run. I assure you, this a great deal and you should take it.” Tony was absolutely sure of what he was saying, he knew his product was good, his tech was flawless, he just needed to get it out there. He just needed a company like Oscorps to believe in him, then his work would speak for itself.

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Stark, I think this whole nanotech thing is way too expensive and unnecessary, specially considering that I’m pretty sure Baintronics could do the same work for half the price, the old-fashioned way, which has been working just fine for the past decade.” Fuck, no, that old bat wasn’t looking at the big picture, he wasn’t thinking about the long run. Of course old tech would still get the job done, but Tony’s tech could do such a better job and so much more efficiently.

“No, but you see, that’s–”

“But –“ Norman raised a hand, successfully shutting Tony up and annoying the living hell out of him in the process. One day, he thought to himself, one day I’ll be able to say ‘fuck you’ to men like Norman Osborn. One day. “I’m willing to give it a try. Peter here says you’re the best at what you do, he’s the one who recommended that I agreed to meet with you, actually, when your PA called.”

Tony was taken aback by that information and eyed the young man carefully, causing him to blush a deep red and lower his gaze with a small, timid smile. Tony thought he was faking the whole thing, trying to be cute and sweet, but fuck – it worked for him. He seemed really young, maybe in his early twenties, and Tony had no idea how he could have heard of him, he wasn’t exactly famous, nor was S.I. His breakthroughs were only ever published in very specific scientific journals.

“I’m a huge fan of your work, Mr. Stark, I’ve always told Norman you two should work together, you’re both men ahead of your time.” He said quietly. He had a high-pitched, slightly feminine voice, which probably also worked in his favor with men like Osborn. It made him sound younger than he probably was, easier to manipulate and dominate.

Reluctantly, Tony accepted the compliment with a tight smile. He really needed that deal, he really needed for that to work, it would be the break SI needed, he could feel it, he could already taste the success.

“Very well, so here’s my offer. You will supply Oscorps with your nanotech for a year, then we can take it from there. This would be your cut for this first year.” Osborn wrote something down on a piece of paper and slid it towards Tony across the table. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the numbers – and the amount of zeros –, but he pretended to be cool about it, he even put on a show of looking slightly disappointed. “And there’s a lot more where this comes from, Stark. This could be the beginning of a beautiful, and mutually beneficial, friendship.”

“I do hope it is, Mr. Osborn. I look forward to working with your company. I’m sure we’re gonna be a great fit.” Tony tried to sound cool and professional, but he was having a little heart attack on the inside. He had been trying to schedule a meeting with Norman for months and the billionaire – or, most likely, his PA – kept making excuses. Now there he was, closing a huge deal with the promise of a mutually beneficial friendship in the future.

After that, he could breathe more easily during dinner. He couldn’t wait to tell Pepper, Bruce and Nat, though, they had to celebrate properly, maybe they could all go to his apartment and finally crack open that Macallan he bought when he made his first million. But meanwhile, he was stuck in the restaurant with Norman and his boy-toy, which he wouldn’t complain too much about, at least it was a nice view.

Again, there was no denial that the boy was beautiful. There was just something naturally sensual and charismatic about him, Tony couldn’t avoid looking his way, even when he wasn’t talking. And when he did talk, it was magnetic. He didn’t say much, as Tony expected, but what he didn’t expect was for him to be so smart. The few times he said anything was to ask questions about his tech, and those were surprisingly pertinent. Sometime along the night, Tony figured out that he was studying to become a mechanical engineer at Columbia and he wondered if Norman had anything to do with it – probably.

Tony was reminded of his own college years, of how he had to work his ass off to get a scholarship, and how many crazy hours he had to work to make ends meet, just to be able to build something for himself. He didn’t seek the help of men like Norman, although he could have. The name Stark meant something, once upon a time. His father was considered a gifted inventor, he was respected by huge companies, but he never built anything of his own.

When he died, Tony was only eleven. He still didn’t know exactly what happened, but soon after that, his mother lost everything he had left – which wasn’t much to begin with. She was never quite herself again, she was so depressed, she never even smiled anymore, she sometimes didn’t have the energy to get out of bed, Tony was the one doing the house chores, cooking for her, trying to make sure she was okay. She died eight years later from an aneurysm, Tony found her lying on the couch, looking peaceful for the first time in so many years.

In short, he never had it easy, and he never tried to make it easier for himself either – at least not in shady ways. He just wanted to do the right thing, even if it took longer – which it did. He was a forty-five year old man, but he made a name for himself, the name Stark held respect once again.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom, I’ll be right back.” The young man got up after a quick peck to Norman’s lips and headed to the bathroom. Tony made a huge effort and pointedly did not stare at his ass as he left. He was really proud of himself for that, maybe two years earlier he wouldn’t have been able to pull that off, he had no shame. At least now he had some. A little. Sort of.

“What do you think of him?” Norman had a neutral expression on, he gave nothing away, but it seemed like a test. What sort of question was that, why did it matter what Tony thought of his fuck toy?

“He seems really smart,” he answered with a small smile. It was a polite, diplomatic answer, and not untrue.

“What else?” Norman pushed, with a knowing smirk, and Tony almost cursed under his breath, thinking that maybe he’d been too obvious with his staring all through dinner, after all.

“He’s very pretty,” he admitted, although still with his cool, professional face on. Norman’s smirk grew wider.

“He sure is. Cute pet. Smart, polite, funny. You should get one for yourself, Stark. They’re kinda expensive, but worth every penny.” His shark-like smile took over his whole face and Tony had to fight back a grimace. He just smiled and shook his head no.

“Not really my style, sir.” Buying people, paying for sex, that sort of thing, he wanted to add.

“It’s not anyone’s style until it is.” He gave Tony a once over and smirked. “We’re not getting any younger.” The engineer was offended, he wanted to tell him he aged like good wine, unlike certain people, but refrained. He just gave him a strained smile and took a sip of his drink.  

As if on cue, the pretty boy returned to the table and Tony took a couple of seconds to appreciate his outfit. He wore a dark blue suit, very elegant and very expensive looking, certainly a gift from Osborn, and it fit him like a glove. Tony supposed it was bespoke. It complimented his lithe, lean body beautifully.

When he turned around to pull his chair out, the older man subtly checked out his ass and – of course, it was delicious, round and perky, two perfect handfuls. He rolled his eyes and tried to focus on the fact that he had a huge character flaw, a hamartia – he fucked people for money. He was basically a glorified whore, and if there was one thing Tony never had to do in his life was pay for sex, one way or another. So, really, he wouldn't start with – what was his name again?

“So, come by the office on Monday, we’ll talk over all the details, then you can take the draft contract to your legal team and we can meet again – say, in another week?”

“Yeah, sure, this sounds perfect,” he answered coolly, not mentioning that his “legal team” consisted of one single Natasha Romanoff, who would have his balls for dinner when she found out that she would only have seven days to look over what was bound to be a very long, very complex contract.

“Well, then, Mr. Stark. You’ve got yourself a deal.” Norman got up from his chair, what clearly meant dinner was over, and Tony rushed to his feet, offering his had to shake.

“You won’t regret this, sir,” he spoke in a strong, firm voice, because he was positive of it.

“Good.” Osborn shook his hand once and turned to leave without saying goodbye.

“It’s been a pleasure, Mr. Stark, I hope we’ll see each other again soon.” The pretty boy took his hand as well, eyes glinting, a coy smile on his face. Tony couldn’t tell if he was flirting or if he was pretending to be shy, but he ignored it and just nodded curtly.

“Thank you, it’s been a pleasure to meet you, too.” He didn’t dare try to remember his name, Tony was pretty sure it started with a P, but he wouldn’t risk it.

As soon as they left the restaurant, the CEO punched the air in celebration, calling Pepper right away.

---*---

The meeting on Monday went smoothly, they agreed that Tony would be personally charged with the maintenance of his tech at least a week a month – he made it seem like it was a courtesy, but, in reality, he still didn’t have anyone on his team who could do the job quite as well as he could. They also agreed that he would have a small team of five scientists at his disposal during such period, so he wouldn’t have to dislodge anyone from his company to do it – again, he didn’t mention that five people were basically half of his scientific team and he couldn’t afford them not working for SI for a whole week each month.

As expected, he didn’t see the pretty boy in the meeting, Tony supposed he only made an appearance in social functions and such, so he could make Norman look good. To Tony’s surprise, though, seven days later, after Natasha bullied him into promising a 10% raise after the shit he’d pulled with the contract, the pretty boy was in the meeting room when he arrived to sign the deal. Norman’s PA and a few of his lawyers were there as well, Tony was with Pepper and Natasha, and he quickly whispered to Pepper that he was the boy he’d told her about. He approached them with a shy, nervous smile and Tony almost wanted to roll his eyes at the facade.

“Hi, I’m Peter Parker, I’m an intern here.” Ah, Peter. That sounded about right. Tony thought it was something along those lines. And he was an intern for Oscorps, of course. What a joke. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Stark. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Hello, Mr. Parker, this is Miss Potts, my assistant, and this is Miss Romanoff, head of my legal team. I’ll have a coffee – black, no sugar. Thank you.” Again, he kept it professional and barely even looked at the kid, he knew what he looked like and he knew he was off limits, so why tease himself by looking?

“I’m good.” Natasha smiled sweetly, making the boy blush even harder.

“I’ll have the same as Mr. Stark, thank you, Mr. Parker.” Peter quickly turned and headed out of the room and Pepper turned to whisper to him. “You weren’t kidding, he’s really fucking young, he looks like he could be Norman’s grandson, for Christ’s sake.” Tony snorted and Natasha eyed them knowingly, but with a look that screamed “behave” and they both schooled their expressions. Shortly after, the boy walked back in with their coffee and they thanked him, as he blushed and nodded, taking a seat to the left of what should be Osborn’s chair.  

The meeting didn’t take long at all, everything had already been discussed, it was just a formality, so barely twenty minutes later they were all getting up from their seats, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. Tony was almost out of the room when he felt a hand at his elbow followed by a softly spoken, “Mr. Stark, can I have a word?”.

Of course the devil himself would tempt him, even if Tony was trying to be good. He was forced to turn around and actually look at the young man, he was wearing a lavender dress shirt, with a dark gray tie and black pants. He looked like the cutest little businessman ever, and Tony was sure that if Peter were to turn his back, he would be presented with his perfect bubble butt looking amazing in those slacks, but – he was the forbidden fruit. Besides, Tony mused, he probably couldn’t afford a single night with Peter, he was only a millionaire, after all, and he’d rather spend his money on shiny things and get his lays for free.

“Yes, Mr. Parker?” The boy’s cheeks were impossibly red and Tony figured he couldn’t really fake that, so he supposed he really was shy to some degree. He looked over his shoulder and saw Pepper and Natasha waiting just outside the door, warning looks on their faces, and he rolled his eyes.

“I was wondering – I talked to No--, I mean, Mr. Osborn, about the possibility of maybe, uhm. Working with you? When you come to do the maintenance, I mean. It’s just, we don’t really have an engineering department, so you would be working mainly with biochemists and a few lab techs, so I thought maybe I could assist you with the hands-on work, you know? I don’t know if Mr. Osborn mentioned, but I’m studying to become a mechanical engineer as well and it would be an honor working with you, sir. Mr. Osborn said it was ok as long as you agreed, so...” He shuffled his feet and avoided looking at the older man.

“Look, kid.” Tony sighed, because, fuck. How could he say no to Norman’s boy without being rude? And how could he say yes to working with someone who was clearly useless to him and would only serve as a distraction – and worse, a temptation. He needed a way out of that. “I don’t really know if there would be much for you to do, I mean, it’s pretty new and advanced technology, and you’re, what, a freshman, right?”

“Actually, I’ll graduate next fall, sir.” Tony was taken aback by that and it must have shown on his face if Peter’s answering blush was anything to go by.

“I’m sorry, how old are you again?” He asked, trying not to sound too rude.

“I’ll be twenty in August, sir.” If Tony was impressed by that, he didn’t let it show, but if the kid would manage to graduate from Columbia at twenty, then he must not be that useless after all, but Tony wouldn’t hold his breath.

“Very well, then. I guess I’ll see you in a month, Mr. Parker.” He nodded and Peter could barely contain his grin when he shook his hand excitedly. It was cute and endearing and – oh, God, Tony almost fell for his little act. Fuck, he really needed to be on his toes around that guy.

“Thank you, sir, I really appreciate it!”

As soon as Tony stepped out of the building and headed towards his car with Natasha and Pepper on his heels, the Russian red-head looked at him seriously.

“Tony, I swear to God, if you try to get your dick wet with that boy, I quit. I’m not even gonna start on how much legal and PR trouble you’re gonna get yourself into by fucking Norman’s boyfriend, specially considering he’s, like, twelve, and happens to work for your business partner. Don’t fuck this up!” She warned as she got inside the car and, again, Tony had to roll his eyes as he got behind the wheel.

“Look, I’m not gonna lie, if the circumstances were different, I’d be all over that,” he admitted, noticing Pep’s aggravated look. “But of course I’m not gonna do anything to jeopardize this deal, ok? Besides, you know how I feel about gold diggers. You saw him and you saw Osborn, why in the fucking hell a guy like him would fuck a mummy like Osborn? He’s, like, a hundred years old!”

“He’s fifty five, and I don’t know if you know this, Tony, but people have sex for reasons that go beyond appearances. You know, like love, affinity, connection –”

“-- Money, fame, status. C’mon, Pep, don’t be naive. Do you really think that boy loves Osborn? He just likes expensive restaurants and fancy cars. Maybe, if he’s thinking big, he’s gonna use him to get a good job after graduation, but that’s it.”

“Well, then, if you think he’s such a terrible person, you’ll have no problem staying the hell away from him, right?” She looked at him with narrowed eyes and he looked away from the traffic for a second to smirk at her.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, easy breezy.”

--*--

As it turned out, it wasn’t easy breezy.

Peter was like a lost puppy trailing after him the following month, he spent the whole week glued to his hip, asking questions, making suggestions, and even supplying him with a never ending amount of coffee. If Tony was a hundred percent honest, he kinda liked it. The kid seriously treated him like a hero, a celebrity, he seemed to look up to him and, in the end, he proved to be a valuable asset on the team. He was really smart and hardworking, he understood everything Tony was saying even before he was done talking and he had really steady, tiny hands, which were always useful with nanotech.

Tony couldn’t really stay away from him and slowly learned a few things about him from what little information he stuttered out when answering his questions. First, the older man learned that he got into Columbia when he was only sixteen, which was kind of amazing, if he was being completely honest. Tony wanted to believe that that had happened way before he met Norman Osborn, but he didn’t really know when they met.

He had a scholarship and lived with his aunt until she passed away a little over a year earlier and now he shared an apartment with four other people, which surprised Tony, he figured Norman would have hooked him up with a nice place – but then again, he had no idea when they met, it could have been only months earlier. Peter said that, originally, he wanted to go to MIT, but he only got a partial scholarship there, so he had to give it up and go to Columbia. He also said that that was how he knew Tony beforehand. The older man was sort of a famous MIT alumnus, specially among the engineering students, so Peter heard of him and followed his work through scientific publications, which was – well, Tony was flattered.

Even if those bits of information somewhat made Tony warm up to the young man, other few things still annoyed him just as much. First of all, clearly Peter was a very bright kid, possibly one of the smartest people Tony knew besides himself and Bruce, he didn’t really need Norman’s influence to succeed, and still, there he was. Second, he quickly picked up on the fact that Peter wasn’t exactly Norman’s boyfriend, he was more of a… Sugar baby? And one of many, actually, although he seemed to be the favorite. After Tony signed the deal, he started paying closer attention to what tabloids said about Norman and apparently he had a very long list of (young) lovers, but he was officially single.

Somehow, that made Tony even more disgusted by their relationship. He just couldn’t understand why a guy like Peter would put himself in that position, for what? Money? A job? What was it that Norman could offer him that he couldn’t get himself? The thing was, Peter kind of reminded Tony of himself at that age. He was pretty much in the same situation: he had no family and no money, he only had his brains – and while Tony had made something out of it, Peter was trying to take a shortcut and the engineer didn’t appreciate that.

“Here, check this out, see how they respond a lot faster now?” Tony made room so that the younger man could look through the microscope, a wide grin spreading across his face in a few seconds. “You have to think of them as neurons, they communicate with each other by electrical pulses, similar to synapses. For that to work out perfectly and seamlessly, they need to be really close by, without touching, that’s why the electromagnetic field has to be perfect, if it’s just a tiny bit off, the response time increases exponentially. Got it?”

“Got it, Mr. Stark!” He answered excitedly and Tony smiled at him.

“Well, my work here is done. See you next month?” Tony got up from his chair, gathering his things around the lab.

“I can’t wait." Somehow, Tony knew he actually meant it.

The following month, Peter was just as helpful and just as excited as the month before. He was in the lab before Tony – who was always early himself – and he always greeted him with a bright smile and an excited wave of his hand. As the engineer settled his things on his work bench, Peter would get him coffee, and he always remembered how Tony liked it. They got right to work, which they did everyday for a week without any disruption. The intern always offered to stay late, but Tony never took him up on that, he knew he had classes in the afternoon and he didn’t want him to get in trouble. Just as he was starting to warm up to him, though, on Friday, the engineer was reminded why he didn’t like him in the first place.

“You’re late, Mr. Parker.” Tony mumbled from his seat in front of the microscope as soon as he heard the glass door open with a hiss as the smell of coffee filled the room. Peter was only twelve minutes late, but it was only their second week working together, it didn’t seem very professional.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark, I was – uh, in a meeting with Mr. Osborn.” He lied through his teeth, Tony could almost smell the nervousness when he came close enough. He hated being lied to, specially when he knew what Peter was probably doing in that “meeting”. It was just inexcusable.

“Just because you’re Norman’s boy doesn’t mean you get special treatment in this lab, you hear me? I don’t care what you do with him all the other weeks that I’m not here, but if you wanna be a part of my team, during my lab hours, you gotta be here and on time. Are we clear?” He didn’t bother lifting his eyes from the microscope and almost missed the whispered and wavered, “yes, sir” that Peter let out. When he turned to the younger man, his eyes were bloodshot, his clothes were rumpled, his face ashen and his lower lip was wobbling, he looked like he had a rough night and an early morning, and he looked like he was holding back tears. Tony almost regretted the harsh treatment. Almost. “Is this my coffee?” He pointed at the cup, averting his gaze.

“Yes, sir.” He answered quickly, offering the beverage like a gift.

On his third month there, Tony tried to keep his distance from the younger man. He promised Natasha and Pepper that he would and, up until that point, he hadn’t been very successful. So during the week of March that he had to go to Oscorps, he avoided the younger man, made himself unavailable and charged him with boring and complicated tasks that should take all week to get done. Still, the boy did everything he was told and only took half the time expected, he was always on time and always, always brought him coffee, just the way he liked it. It was really hard to ignore him.  

“You know you don’t have to bring me coffee, right? It’s not in your job description.” Tony felt the need to point out on Friday when he saw the boy walking in with the beverage, but he just shrugged and smiled a little.

“I know, I just want to make sure you have everything you need, sir. Besides, I used to work at a coffee shop, I don’t mind making your coffee.” When he said that, Tony’s brows shot into his hairline.

“You made this?” He asked, incredulously, and the boy cocked his head in confusion.

“Yeah, where did you think this came from?” He frowned, amused.

“Uh, I don’t know, some fucking gourmet coffee shop downstairs?” Peter laughed, genuinely laughed, and the corners of his eyes wrinkled in the most endearing way, as he shook his head.

“You’re funny, Mr. Stark.”  

Peter was the funny one, actually, and the whole thing was just so confusing to Tony. He thought he had the younger man all figured out, he thought he knew what kind of person he was, what he was after, but sometimes Peter would do or say things that just didn’t add up to Tony’s assumptions. The boy was kind and generous and humble, he was proactive and hardworking, and so annoyingly nice. He was easy to talk to, too, sometimes they’d have whole conversations about the most random subjects as they worked and Tony would only realize what they did at the end of the day, as he left and Peter waved at him with that charming smile and it made something burn in Tony’s chest and he couldn’t figure out why.  

On his fourth month there, Peter surprised him on the first day. He brought him coffee in a mug that read: “If it ain’t broke, take it apart and fix it”. Usually, his coffee was put in a styrofoam cup with Oscorps logo on it, he had no idea where the mug came from, and when he asked, the boy blushed slightly, shuffling his feet.

“Uhm, actually – I heard it was your birthday last week, so I just – I mean, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be inappropriate or anything, it’s just – the environment and stuff. So. Uh – happy birthday?” He looked really uncomfortable just saying that, and Tony was equal parts amused and amazed, so he  dropped his eyes back to the simple, white mug with bright red letters.

“That’s – actually really nice, Peter. Thank you.” He looked back at the young man and his cheeks were burning red. It was really… fucking cute. Fuck.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Stark.” His answering tiny smile warmed the older man’s heart, but he swallowed whatever feeling dared to emerge.

By Tony’s fifth month working with Oscorps, things finally started to feel natural, pleasant. When he arrived in the morning, he greeted everyone by name, threw smiles and flirty comments here and there and walked the hallways like he owned the place. His team worked like a well-oiled machine and they were always early, specially Peter, after that one time he was late. When he arrived, they already had a head start on him, which was always good, and they were able to go home a little earlier everyday.

“Good morning, everybody.” Tony raised his head when he heard Norman’s voice, a little surprised. Aside from his first day there, he hadn’t seen the old man at all, so it was weird for him to be in the lab, specially so early.

“Mr. Osborn, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Tony asked, watching closely as the older man walked towards Peter, who avoided his gaze furiously, pretending to be focused on his work, although it was clear that he was barely breathing. Norman grinned in his direction, but didn’t say anything, and Tony raised an eyebrow at the interaction.

“Miss Watson let me know you would be here today, so I thought I’d personally invite you to our annual Charity Gala, it will take place next month, on the eleventh. Will you be able to make it?”

“Yes, of course, sir, I can move some stuff around.” Fucking hell, he hated those functions. A bunch of assholes kissing other assholes’s butts and pretending to be good citizens by donating to charity only for the press. Just his type of event. But nonetheless, the type of event he needed to be seen in, someplace where he could meet people and make connections.

“Great, I’ll send the formal invitation to Stark Industries, I look forward to seeing you there. Mr. Stark.” He nodded in his direction and Tony did the same. “Mr. Parker.” He turned towards the young man who still hadn’t looked up. His cheeks burned a bright red when he looked at the older man.

“Mr. Osborn.” He gritted his teeth and, again, Norman grinned, buttoning his suit jacket as he left the lab.

Hm. Odd.

--*--

“At least pretend to be having a good time, Tony.” Pepper whispered through her teeth, a fake smile plastered on as she waved to people Tony could barely recognize. She was wearing a beautiful blue gown, his birthday gift to her, apparently, and not for the first time Tony wondered what would have been if he hadn’t blown things up with her. If he hadn’t cheated on her with half the city when they were in college. He was a stupid, stupid boy in his twenties. And thirties. And early forties.

It was a work in progress.

“I am pretending, don’t I look convincing?” He turned to look at her with what he was certain was a terrible grimace and she snorted into her champagne glass, causing them both to giggle like stupid teenagers. He was glad she had agreed to go as his plus one, he would have blown his brains for sure if he was alone in there.

“Good evening, Mr. Stark.” Ah, Tony could recognize that sweetly high-pitched voice from miles away, but when he turned around he wasn’t ready for such a vision. Peter was wearing a gorgeous burgundy suit with a black, silk shirt underneath, as well as a black tie. His hair was perfectly swept to the side, his curls tamed for once, but still showing at the nape of his neck. He looked absolutely beautiful and fucking expensive. Tony wanted to unwrap him, then wreck him in the best possible way. “And Miss Potts, right?”

“Yes, Mr. Parker, it’s nice to see you again,” she answered pleasantly and Tony was glad she was there because he was sure that he was staring for way too long to be polite. He cleared his throat and smiled at the young man, who quickly slipped into character looking shyly at him from under his eyelashes.

“Mr. Parker, fancy seeing you here,” Tony spoke confidently, subtly looking around for Norman, but he was nowhere to be seen. “And where’s Mr. Osborn?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him.” He averted his gaze, his tiny and usually steady hands trembling a little, before closing into fists. “Well, it was nice seeing you –“

“Hey, c’mon, have a drink with us,” Tony interrupted him, sensing his discomfort.

“Oh, uh – I’m sorry, sir, I’m not old enough to drink.” Tony was almost taken aback by that fact. The amount of information that he carried in that brilliant brain of his did not compute with his age.

“I won’t tell if you don’t. Neither will Miss Potts, right?” Tony turned to look at Pepper, only to see her staring daggers at him, in a way that probably only he could tell, they had a special way of communicating, so he quickly sent her a “what?” glare and she sighed.

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear any of this and I’m just gonna go talk to Mrs. Bain, if you’ll excuse me, please.” She smiled sweetly at Peter and walked away from them, as Tony rolled his eyes.

“Well, her loss.” The older man shrugged, grabbing two champagne glasses from a passing waiter. “Have you ever had one of these?” He asked, offering him one of the glasses. “I’m not corrupting you, am I?” Tony asked charmingly, with a crooked smile and a raised eyebrow. Peter giggled,  blushing and shaking his head no.

“No, it’s okay, Norman usually gets me a few drinks when we’re out,” he answered, accepting the glass. Just the mention of the older man had Tony deflating slightly, reminded of the fact that Peter couldn’t be his.

“So, how come you didn’t come together?” He asked innocently, although he knew it was probably a touchy subject. The younger man took a long sip of his drink, licking his wet lips once he was done, and Tony wished it was his tongue running across those thin, pink lips.

“He’d rather bring another date, so.” He shrugged with a small, fake smile, and quickly changed the subject. “I’ve recently read that you’re working on a holographic system that’s supposed to connect with the user's hippocampus and project their memories, is that true?” Tony was surprised by that, he had written a paper about it with Bruce not long before, Peter must really keep up with his work.

“Yeah, but I’m in a bit of a pickle right now, got stuck with the neuroscience portion of it.” Tony scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed about the admission, but Peter only smiled wider.

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out. And it’s gonna be groundbreaking. Again. Well, it seems like everything you do changes the world somehow.” His cheeks were flushed, and maybe it was wishful thinking, maybe Tony was falling for Peter’s little game, but he thought he was actually flirting with him. Really flirting, not “I wanna be your sugar baby” flirting.

“That’s a lot of trust you’re putting in me, kid.” Tony dared to step a little closer to him and the young man bit his lower lip, holding back a smile, cheeks flushing pink.

“Yeah, but I think you can back it up.” He tilted his head back a little to look up at the older man. Tony held his gaze for a few seconds, before he dropped it to his lips. He smiled when the young man nervously licked them.

“I’m sorry I’m too hard on you in the lab. I just don’t want anyone thinking that I treat you differently because of the boss.” Tony took yet another step and Peter didn’t move an inch, allowing him to get closer and closer.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m just thankful to be in your team, I’m learning a lot.” This time, Tony was sure he wasn’t imagining things, Peter’s eyes definitely dropped to stare at his lips and the engineer inhaled sharply.

“Peter –“

“Ah, there you are.” Norman appeared out of thin air and Tony took three steps back, a cool smile on his face. Osborn was accompanied by a gorgeous blonde girl who couldn’t be older than twenty five, she was tall and slender, and looked like a supermodel – and she probably was. “Good evening, Mr. Stark. Pete.”

“Good evening, Mr. Osborn,” Tony answered with a schooled smile, not sure if he was in trouble for giving Peter champagne, but the CEO barely seemed to notice it when he turned to the younger man, who didn’t even bother to answer him.

“How do you like the party so far?” He asked politely, although his gaze was fixed on Peter. His date seemed bored out of her mind, but she eyed Tony with interest and the older man had to avert his gaze, he really didn’t need yet another sin to avoid.

“It’s great, sir,” Tony answered politely, but the older man didn’t really seem to care.

“Good, good. Do you mind if I borrow Peter for a little while?” He eyed the younger man and Peter grit his teeth, his hand tightening around the champagne flute.

“No, sure, he’s all yours.” He gestured towards the boy and he looked back at him with a look of betrayal on his face. Tony raised his eyebrows, not sure what Peter expected him to do, but the young man rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Come on, Peter, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” And with that, he led the way, confident that the boy would follow behind, which he did, after downing the rest of his drink, shooting one last pleading look Tony’s way. Again, the older man had no idea what he wanted.  

Once they left, Tony quickly found Pepper in the crowd as she chatted with Justin Hammer, the biggest asshole to ever exist in the corporate world. He stole all of Tony’s projects when the engineer worked for him, all the weapons the U.S.A. Army used ten years earlier were designed by Tony and he never got any credit for that. Two years after he quit Hammer Industries, they lost that contract because they simply had nothing new to offer.  

“Good evening, Mr Hammer, if you don’t mind, I’m just gonna take my date elsewhere, someplace where the toxicity level is more bearable. Bye.” Tony interrupted them unceremoniously and steered Pepper away from him as she threw apologies over her shoulder. “Don’t apologize to him, he’s trash.”

“Tony, you can’t act like this if you wanna be the CEO of the biggest tech company in the country. You need to make connections and keep good relation –“

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do that with anyone else, except for him, promise.” He rolled his eyes once they got to the bar, where he leaned on the counter and flirted with the barman, before ordering two drinks.

“Great, then I hope you intend to keep a good relationship with Mr. Osborn,” she whispered, looking around to make sure nobody was listening. “Just a quick reminder: fucking his boyfriend is not very friendly.”

“Peter’s not his boyfriend,” he answered automatically, before taking a sip of his scotch, his eyes scanning the room until he found the younger man in a small circle of people, along with Mr. Osborn and his date. Tony hated that so much, the boy looked devastated but he was still there. Why the fuck was he still there? He didn’t need that shit. “They didn’t even come together today.”

“Okay, not the answer I was looking for, not a reassuring answer at all.” Pepper spoke to herself under her breath, then grabbed him by the jaw, forcing him to look at her. “Tony Stark, I hope you’re not –“

“Jesus, relax!” He snapped, freeing his face from her grip. “You and Natasha are driving me mad with this, I swear to God, the more you tell me not to do it, the more I wanna do it, just out of spite. Leave it alone, will ya?”

“Fine, whatever, do what you want, that always works out perfectly for you,” she snapped right back, taking her drink from the counter and walking away from him. “Don’t come crying to me when it all blows up in your face!”

Tony ignored her, they always had those arguments – she was usually right, Tony usually fucked up somehow and he usually went crying to her anyway, and she always helped him, so whatever. He was slightly tipsy, anyway, he would regret the whole thing in the morning, but right at that moment he was focused on Peter. The young man seemed really uncomfortable and out of place where he stood, among a few businessmen, but he was still there.  

Norman stood to his left with his date, talking animatedly with the other men. To Peter’s right, there was a tall, slender man, in his early forties, and he wouldn’t take his eyes off of the boy. Sometimes he would whisper things in his ear, eliciting a small, polite smile from him, but no answer. Some other times he would rest a hand on his waist for no particular reason and Tony would watch with amusement as the boy tried to get away politely. Norman watched the whole interaction discreetly, carefully, but didn’t intervene.

Eventually, Peter excused himself and headed towards the bathroom. Tony watched the other man and, sure enough, he followed him there a few seconds later, under Norman’s intense gaze, a small smirk playing on his lips. Tony quickly understood what was probably going on. Again, the older man was disappointed in the boy. Such a smart kid, with so much potential, he could do so much better. Tony turned towards the bar, ordering another scotch. Since he was there, with no date, and nothing else to do, it wouldn’t hurt to have a few drinks.

Several minutes later, he was leaning against the bar, talking to Mr. Zimmer, the CEO of Accutech, and actually scored a meeting for the following week to pitch his nanobots. After his deal with Oscorps, he was able to close two smaller ones and had a few more meetings scheduled. As he imagined, people took notice of Stark Industries after that. Having such a huge, important company such as Oscorps trusting SI meant a lot to potential partners.

As soon as Mr. Zimmer left, Tony saw Peter rushing across the room and out the door. He seemed really upset and agitated, so the older man followed him outside. When he found him again, Peter seemed a little lost. He looked around, as if he didn’t really know which way to go – the gala was held in one of Osborn’s mansions upstate and even leaving the premises was difficult to do without a car, the property was huge. He checked his phone, then, but Tony noticed the screen didn’t light up, it was probably dead. The kid ran his hands through his hair, seemingly desperate, and finally Tony decided to put him out of his misery.

“Hey, kid.” He stepped closer to the boy and he turned quickly, almost as if he was ready to throw a punch or something. “Whoa, there!” Tony held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, examining the boy’s face. He looked distressed, his eyes and face were red and he was a little out of breath. “Hey, are you ok? Do you need a ride home?” His eyes lit up in relief, his face relaxing instantly.

“Would you mind?” He almost pleaded and Tony was a little taken aback by the tone. “It’s just – my phone’s dead and – I just really need to get home.”

“Sure, kid, it’s fine, I was heading home anyway, c’mon.” Tony asked a valet to bring his car around and watched Peter as the younger man seemed to calm down slowly, but he was still acting a little out of sorts as they waited for the car to arrive. “Is everything okay, Peter?”

“Yeah, sure, just a little tired, I guess.” He lied, a fake smile on his face. He was easy to read, most of the time, when he wasn’t trying to attract older, rich men, Tony supposed.

Once the valet brought the car around, Tony opened the door for Peter, who quickly slipped inside like it was an oasis. Tony tipped the valet and joined the younger man, noticing that he seemed almost relieved to be leaving the party.

“Rough night?” Tony asked conversationally once he started the car, pulling away from the driveway. It was a stupid question, but he couldn’t help it.

“Try rough couple of months,” he scoffed, running a hand though his once tamed hair, elbow resting against the window.

“Wanna talk about it?” He looked at the younger man from the corner of his eye and saw him shake his head weakly.

“Not really,” he mumbled and they fell silent. Tony wanted to say something else, but Peter didn’t seem to be in the mood to talk, so he just drove for a few minutes, heading for the city, when the kid spoke up again. “I’m so sorry for the trouble, you can drop me off anywhere, I’ll just take the subway.”

“Don’t be silly, I’ll drive you home. Where is home, by the way?” Tony knew Peter lived with four other students close to campus, but he didn’t know where exactly.

“Harlem.” He sighed, sounding annoyed. “Ugh, that’s the last place I want to be right now,” he mumbled, mostly to himself, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“Why? Trouble with your roommates?” Tony raised a brow and the boy shook his head a little.

“Not really, they’re just really loud, specially on weekends. They probably have people over right now and I’m not in the mood, it’s all.” He gave him a tiny smile, but he didn’t really mean it.

“Tell you what,” Tony started, choosing his next words carefully. “Why don’t you come to my place?” He saw from the corner of his eye when Peter almost broke his neck turning to look at him in surprise. “Just for a few hours, so you can cool down some. We can have a few drinks, grab a bite to eat, and once you’re feeling better, I’ll drive you home. Or you can crash there, whatever you prefer. What do you say?” He turned to look at the young man and his eyes were wide, mouth agape in shock. Tony almost wanted to laugh.

“Uh – I don’t – I don’t want to be a bother, sir, you’ve alre--”

“Don’t be silly, I wouldn’t be offering if it was a bother. You don’t need to say yes if you don’t want to, but if you do, you’ll make this old man very happy, I wouldn’t mind some company tonight.” Tony smiled charmingly at him and Peter blushed, the older man could tell there were a million things going through his head.

“Uhm. Okay. Yeah, sure.” He nodded and Tony’s heart did a little flip in his chest and he didn’t even know why. If he was honest, he had no idea what he was doing or why he was doing it, he just wasn’t ready to let the younger man go.

The rest of the drive was long and mostly silent. Peter was usually very lively and talkative in the lab, he always had some fun fact to share or an anecdote about something that happened in class, but that night he was gloomy and quiet, but he still answered to Tony’s small talk. When they arrived at the older man’s penthouse, Peter was a little nervous, looking around as if he was out of place, looking almost regretful. Tony decided that he hated seeing him like that.

“Hey, wanna see something cool?” He asked as soon as they walked into the living room. The young man turned to look at him curiously, a small smile on his face as he nodded. “Evening, Jarvis. Could you get the windows, please?” As he said that, Peter frowned, then jumped almost a foot in the air when the A.I. answered.

“Good evening, sir, I hope you had a good time at the party.” As he said that, an entire wall of the living room turned from blurred, dark glass to transparent glass, revealing an amazing view of the city skyline. “Good evening, Mr. Parker.”

“What – how – you have an AI here? How does he know who I am?” Peter half whispered, half shouted, apparently undecided if he should be concerned or amazed. Tony laughed and placed a hand on Peter’s lower back, guiding him towards the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“I don’t only have it, I made it. And he’s equipped with an advanced face recognition technology that I designed, in case anyone comes in here with ill intentions. I started working on Jarvis when I was at Hammer Industries, it was supposed to go to the military, but after I resigned, I decided to keep it to myself. Jarvis runs the house and helps me in the lab.” Tony stuck his hands in his pockets and observed as the young man leaned against the window, looking amazed and a little lost.

“So cool!” Peter’s eyes were round and excited, all the gloominess from earlier apparently forgotten. “Can I talk to him? Like, will it acknowledge my voice?”

“Of course, Mr. Parker, why wouldn’t I?”  

“Hi, Jarvis!” And just like that, Peter stroke up the silliest conversation with Jarvis, as Tony headed to the kitchen. He decided that since Peter wasn’t really allowed to drink, he’d make them some coffee, and later they could order something to eat. When he went back to the living room, the young man was still leaning against one of the windows as Jarvis tried to convince him that he had no intention of starting a rebellion to wipe out humanity.

“Don’t worry, Jarvis wouldn’t do that,” Tony smiled, placing two mugs on the coffee table and Peter shrugged.

“I wish he would, sometimes I think we failed as a species.” He turned around to face the engineer with a cheeky smile. Fuck, he was so beautiful. “Thank you for everything, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up.”

“You would have figured something out, you’re resourceful. Maybe you would have built a car out of a cardboard box, two paper clips and four potatoes.” He leaned against the window beside Peter and the young man looked up at him with a grin.

“Or maybe I would have found someone to lend me a charger so I could call an Uber?” He bumped Tony’s shoulder with his own and the older man scoffed.

“Yeah, but that would’ve been boring, don’t you think?” He raised a brow with a grave face and the young man laughed.

“You’re right, this is much more fun.” His face was so open, so beautiful, all awkwardness from before completely gone. Tony leaned in to whisper close to his ear.

“It can get better.” He pulled back a little to look at the boy’s face. He looked surprised, eyes wide and lips parted, but he didn’t pull away, he didn’t take a single step back, so Tony took a chance. He placed one hand gently on his cheek, testing his reaction, and Peter’s breath hitched, his gaze dropped to Tony’s lips, but he stood still, breathing rapidly but quietly. That was all the answer he needed.

He buried his hand in those curls he’d been dreaming about for months, as his other arm snaked around his thin waist, pulling him close, no chance of escape. Not that he thought that Peter would try to escape if he could, anyway. Tony felt intoxicated when their lips touched, Peter’s mouth was as soft as it looked, his skin as smooth as he imagined. The younger man melted against him, bodies flush together as Tony’s tongue begged for entrance in his mouth.  

He pushed him against the window, once again testing the young man’s reaction to his advances, but Peter was so far gone, he barely seemed to notice they’d changed positions. Tony kissed him deeply, slowly, as his hands made their way around the boy’s hips, thumbs stroking his hipbones over the silk shirt, and he sighed. Tony licked into his mouth, swallowing his little gasps and whimpers, and he could tell that Peter had never been kissed like that before, if the way his legs gave out were any indication. He held him up, though, his body trapped between the older man’s and the cold window.

He felt Peter’s erection already poking his upper thigh and he smiled into the kiss, feeling his own cock start to swell against Peter’s lower stomach. He moaned quietly, pulling away from the kiss for a few seconds to check if the boy was doing okay, but Peter didn’t even open his eyes, he just rocked his hips slowly, rubbing his erection against Tony’s thigh. Feeling confident enough, the older man lowered his hands to his perfect ass, squeezing his cheeks tightly as he pulled him even closer to him. Just as he imagined, it was firm, yet supple, it filled his hands nicely, and Tony didn’t hesitate to lift him a little by the ass, aligning their cocks and pressing both erections together.

“Mr. Stark,” he whimpered, humping against Tony, trying to balance his weight on the tips of his toes as Tony held him up. The older man took advantage of the way he threw his head back, exposing his throat, to make his way down his skin, peppering his long, pale neck with kisses and bites. Peter moaned as he tried to undo Tony’s suit jacket, which he allowed, putting just a little distance between them. He went back to his mouth with another kiss, faster than before, more urgent, before pulling away just a few inches, panting against the kid’s mouth.

“C’mon, babe, let me take you to bed,” he whispered and Peter nodded quickly.

Tony took his hand and led him to his own room, and as soon as they were inside, he pushed Peter against the king sized bed and quickly started working on his shirt, every inch of silky, white skin it revealed made the older man harder. Peter smelt and looked expensive as fuck, his skin was smooth as a baby’s, not a single hair in sight, and it was soft and unmarked, peppered only with a few light brown freckles along the collarbones. His nipples were tiny and light pink, hard from excitement and begging to be bitten.

Tony wanted to eat him up – and out – he always looked good when they were in the lab, in his cute slacks, dress shoes and lab jacket, but that night he looked delicious, like an expensive meal, and Tony was a starving man. He got rid of the shirt, revealing his thin chest and surprisingly defined abs, and he worshiped the exposed skin, covered it with open mouthed, wet kisses and bites until it turned red from the abuse. He wanted to mark him up, leave bruises on him so that at least for a while, Peter could be his.

He took a perked up nipple in his mouth and sucked it mercilessly, as he pinched the other one between his fingers, and Peter gasped, hands flying to grab Tony’s shoulders. He didn’t waste too much time, though, and quickly started undoing his pants, pulling them down his legs. The act revealed even more soft, smooth skin and plump, soft thighs that the older man couldn’t help biting. Peter whined quietly when Tony splayed his open palms on his legs and squeezed, as he sucked bruises on the boy’s inner thighs. His face was so close to his cock, covered only in tight, black boxer briefs, so Tony rubbed his cheek against it and Peter cried out.  As soon as he lowered his boxers, Peter’s cock sprung free, and Tony was delighted. It was small and flushed pink, rock hard and already dripping pre-cum. The older man didn’t think twice as he put it all in his mouth, eliciting a scream from the young man.

“Oh, my God, Mr. Stark!” He bucked his hips wildly, his legs falling open, and, for the second time that evening, Tony thought that maybe nobody had ever done that to him. “Oh, God! Fuck!” He kept moaning desperately, as Tony sank his fingers in his ass cheeks, bobbing his head up and down, sucking and licking his shaft and paying extra attention to the head. Peter kept both of his hands beside his body, clenching at the sheets, not daring to touch Tony or demand anything. The second the older man’s fingers touched his balls, he lost it. “Mr. Stark, please, I – Oh, God, oh my God –“ He blushed furiously, Tony noticed when he raised his head and let go of his cock with a loud pop.

His whole face and chest were flushed pink, he held his upper body up, resting on his elbows as he panted, looking thoroughly debauched. His once gelled curls were wild and loose, covering his forehead, and Tony just wanted to ruin him even more. He smirked at the younger man, who seemed completely out of it, barely able to understand what was happening. Tony lifted his legs, pressing his bent knees to his chest and Peter got the idea and held his legs in place, exposing himself beautifully to him.

The older man’s mouth watered as he looked at his quivering, pink hole. It looked so fucking tight and so fucking ready for his cock at the same time, he could see Peter was mortified in that position, but he still held himself open, so eager for what was to come. Tony grabbed his ass cheeks and spread them, burying his face in his crack and licking a stripe up from his tailbone to his balls, only to hear the young man screaming desperately.

Tony was feeling really smug, he didn’t remember the last he made anyone scream like that. He was always a generous lover, he liked giving his partners pleasure, but Peter didn’t seem to be used to it if his reactions were anything to go by, so the older man took even more pleasure in making him feel so good.

“Mr. Stark, I’m gonna – I’m not gonna last, please!” Tony pretended not to hear him, as he kept licking over his rim before he started to try to breach him with his tongue, as Peter cried out, bucking his hips. The older man held him in place and kept trying to fuck his tongue into him, until he felt Peter’s fingers in his hair, pulling him up. “I wanna come with you inside me – please,” he whispered once Tony’s lips were over his mouth, his cock perfectly aligned with the boy’s hole.

He grunted and kissed him again, just as wildly and roughly as he did before. The young man quickly started undoing Tony’s shirt, and only then did he realize that he was still dressed as Peter laid on his bed completely naked. He groaned into the kiss, because fuck, that was hot, but he helped the boy take off his shirt and undershirt.

Peter curled one leg around his waist, kissing Tony back enthusiastically and a little less shyly now that the older was a little undressed as well. He ran his soft hands all over Tony’s broad back, then up his shoulders and into his thick hair, all the while moaning and bucking his hips, begging to be touched. Tony took advantage of the position they were in to slide his fingers in between Peter’s cheeks, feeling his tight entrance twitch, anticipating the touch. He didn’t do much more, though, he just kept kneading his ass, letting his fingertips just slightly brush against his quivering hole.

Peter grew impatient then, and instead of pushing his hips up, against Tony’s own cock, he started pushing then down, against his fingers. The older man chuckled, brushing his chin against the pale neck, already noticing it turning pink with beard burn.

“Mr. Stark, c’mon, please, I--” He mumbled incoherently, holding on for dear life to his shoulders, his breath short, swollen, wet lips parted, his lids heavy. A vision of paradise. “I need--”

Tony knew what he needed, but he wouldn’t give it to him just yet. Still, he let his middle finger wander towards his entrance, feeling his hole clenching, trying to pull it inside, ready to take whatever Tony was willing to give. He grabbed his thighs again, spreading them far apart, making Peter yelp in surprise. He kissed his hole gently one last time, then moved away, getting off the bed.

“I’m not done with you yet, sweetheart.” Tony smirked, undoing his pants, and he noticed Peter’s eyes intent on him. As soon as his cock sprung free, the young man whimpered, whispering “fuck” and biting his lips hard. “Like what you see?” Tony asked, cockily, he knew it was a nice view. He was nicely groomed and his cock was cut, long and thick, and at the moment it was rock hard like never before and dripping with pre-cum. He stepped out of his pants and headed towards the night stand before Peter could answer. He grabbed a bottle lube and made his way back to the bed, positioning himself between his legs once again.

He coated his fingers with plenty of lube and breached his entrance with one fingertip, only to hear a long, deep moan coming from the younger man, who clung to his shoulders for dear life. He fucked his finger in and out of him, slowly at first, but quicker as Peter’s hips started moving along with him, begging for more. Tony leaned down and kissed him, and felt one of Peter’s hands in his hair, as he curled both of his legs around the older man’s waist. Tony kept kissing him as he sunk another finger in his hole, eliciting a surprised moan from him, as he tried to adjust to the stretch.

They kept kissing and rocking against each other eagerly, as Tony fucked him open with his fingers, scissoring and curling them, until he couldn’t take it anymore, he needed to be inside him. He drew back just enough to hold his cock, guiding it towards Peter’s entrance. Slowly and unrelentingly, Tony sank his cock inside him, blinded with pleasure as each inch sank further inside. Peter whined in pain but didn’t budge or asked him to stop, he took it like a good boy, holding still, legs spread wide, until Tony bottomed out. When he did, he wrapped his arms around his slight frame, lifting him a little from the bed, and Peter took a deep breath, holding his shoulders.

“That’s it, sweetie, you’re so good for me, I’m gonna make you feel so good.” Tony whispered nonsensically in his ear, kissing his cheeks and neck gently, waiting for him to adjust. They stayed like that for a few seconds, until Peter started rocking his hips slowly, and Tony soon caught on. He grabbed his hips and slammed once inside him, hearing a scream coming from the younger man. He drew back and slowly built up a pace, slamming against him like there was no tomorrow. He moaned loudly, a mixture of pleasure and pain, Tony could tell, but instead of asking him to slow down, he pushed back against him just as hard, biting his neck.

Tony may have lost his mind somewhere along the way, pure instinct took over as he fucked into him with abandon, he heard his screams and moans and they made him hit harder, harder, and he thought he heard the younger man screaming just that, as he sank his nails into his shoulders and down his back, until he grabbed Tony’s ass and pulled him closer, faster, harder –

“Oh – Oh, Mr. Stark – I –“ Peter rolled his eyes back and it took Tony the better part of a minute to realize that he was coming, and he hadn’t even touched his cock. Spurts of his warm, white come covered both of their chests and Tony could feel that some of it caught on his chin. The sight of Peter underneath him – debauched, utterly satisfied, ruined – was enough to bring Tony over the edge, the force of his orgasm was almost blinding, something that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He let himself fall on top of Peter, barely aware of the fact that he was maybe a little too heavy for that, but the younger man didn’t seem to mind, if the soft, barely there caresses on his back were anything to go by.

They were silent for several minutes, bodies cooling down and falling asleep, but Tony’s mind was wide awake. What had he done? Peter was supposed to be off limits for a number of reasons, so many he couldn’t even focus on a single one. He felt the young man sigh softly under him, his hands drawing circles on his back peacefully.

“This was nice,” he whispered and it triggered something in Tony, because, fuck, it was perfect. It was perfect, but it was a lie, wasn’t it? Peter wasn’t really into him. He was just – he was just a fucking –

“I really hope this was a free trial, ‘cause I don’t think I can afford you, kid.” The minute the words left his mouth, he felt the younger man go rigid beneath him. He quickly pushed at Tony’s shoulders, trying to raise his upper body and the older man easily rolled off of him to the side, resting his head on his clasped hands on the pillow.

“What are you insinuating?” Peter asked with a frown, suddenly appearing very uncomfortable, gathering the sheets around him to cover his exposed skin.

“I’m not insinuating anything, I’m just saying I don’t think I have enough money to pay for this very expensive meal.” He wiggled his eyebrows, smirking, pretending he wasn’t as affected by what happened as he was. Peter turned bright red, his mouth falling open, gaping like a fish.

“What – I –“ he stammered, frozen for a few seconds before he jumped into action and out of bed, taking the sheets with him as he looked for his clothes around the room. “I can’t believe you just said that, you fucking asshole! Fuck you!” He yelled towards the bed and Tony was a little  surprised by his reaction.

“Chill, it was a joke.” He rolled his eyes, noticing that he young man was almost fully dressed by then, at least he had his pants and shirt on, his tie and jacket were draped over his arm as he looked for his shoes. When he turned back to Tony, his whole face was inhumanly red and soaked in tears, it made Tony’s heart clench. “Jesus, kid!”

“I’m not laughing, asshole!” He yelled again, marching towards the door without looking back. “You’re all the fucking same, bunch of assholes, what was I thinking? I’m so fucking stup– ” Tony couldn’t hear the rest of his rant because he slammed the door with so much force that the older man was pretty sure he felt the building shaking a little bit.

Well, fuck.

--*--

Two weeks later, when Tony stepped inside the lab, he had a whole plan figured out. After Peter left that night, he went through all five stages of admitting he had been an asshole – as was common for him, he usually went through those at least a few times a week.

So, first, he denied it.

“The kid is obviously overreacting, right? It was just a joke and, even if it wasn’t, well, I wouldn’t have been that far off from the truth.”

Then, he was angry.

“Fuck that kid, he had no right to react the way he did, who does he think he is, slamming the door like that, yelling at me, calling me names, all because of a stupid little joke? Fuck him.”

Then, he bargained.

“So, okay, maybe I was a little over the line, but I can fix it, right? It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

Then he felt a little sad, because, fuck, thinking back to their time together, the kid had never been anything but nice to him, he didn’t deserve that and Tony always fucked up with people, what was wrong with him?

Finally, he fully accepted it. He was definitely, irrevocably and undoubtedly an asshole. They had a nice time together, the kid was the best lay he had in fucking years, and sure, maybe he was with Norman for money or whatever, but what they did, what they shared that night – it felt pretty fucking real and Tony blew it.  

So when he walked into the lab two weeks later, he had it all figured out. He would ask Peter to stay a little late, then, when everybody left, he would apologize to him sincerely and since he had a taste for expensive gifts, he even got him a gold bracelet, just as an “I’m sorry I was an asshole” gift, a peace offering.

The thing was, when he walked into the lab, Peter was nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Mr. Parker?” He asked the closest lab tech and the young woman shrugged, uninterested.

“He quit a few weeks ago, I heard.” She mumbled, concentrated on the microscope in front of her, and Tony cursed under his breath, feeling even more guilty than before. Had the kid felt so offended that he decided to quit the team? That couldn’t be right, he was Norman’s boy, how would he justify that to him? He wouldn’t tell him about them, would he? Tony figured that if he had told Norman anything, he would have heard about it by then, but everything seemed normal and in order, other than Peter’s absence from the lab.

“He went back to being Mr. Osborn’s intern?” He asked just to clarify, maybe he could go talk to him after he was done in the lab for the day.

“No, he quit Oscorps.” She looked at him like he was asking dumb questions, like everyone should know that piece of information.

Tony did not expect that. His heart raced a little when he heard those words, for some reason. He thought he should be relieved, one less thing to worry about. With Peter gone, he wouldn’t need to worry about apologizing or Norman finding out about them. He didn’t need to worry about things getting weird in the lab or Peter trying to use it against him or something. But he wasn’t relieved. He was – what was he feeling? Whenever he thought about the possibility of not seeing Peter ever again, his heart clenched.

The engineer couldn’t understand what was going on inside him, he just needed to talk to Peter, fucking apologize, get him back on the team, make sure that they would still see each other every month, that they would still talk, and laugh together, and share a workbench so small their hips touched every now and again.  

Which was why Tony found himself waiting at the main entrance of Columbia's Morningside Heights campus on Wednesday evening, probably looking suspicious as hell as he swept the crowd, looking for a familiar face. It was a long shot, but he new Peter had classes every afternoon and he knew at what time he was done most days. He guessed the young man would take a train at the subway station on 116th Street, so there he was, looking and waiting.

After almost two hours and no luck, Tony was ready to give up and leave when he saw him walking out, arms full of text books, a heavy looking backpack hanging from one shoulder. He was wearing reading glasses, baggy, ripped jeans, and a graphic t-shirt underneath an oversized gray hoodie and Tony realized he had never seen him like that, he was always well dressed at work and he only ever saw him in other two occasions: his dinner with Norman and at the gala.

Tony thought he looked even more beautiful like that, stripped off of all the fancy things that made him look like an expensive doll. He looked at ease and comfortable and Tony felt a weird desire to hold him. Fucking hold him. Not rip off his clothes and fuck him – well, that too – but to take him into his arms, pull him close and breathe into his his wild curls.

“Hey, Peter,” Tony called out loud enough for him to hear and as soon as his eyes made contact with the older man’s, his face turned red and his eyes widened before he dropped his gaze to the ground, picking up the pace to walk away from Tony. “Hey, hold on, kid, c’mon, I’m talking to you.” The engineer quickly followed, grabbing him by the arm and making him turn around.

“What do you want, what are you doing here?” He asked impatiently, looking around as if afraid to make a scene, there were a lot of people walking in and out of campus at that time.

“You quit Oscorps,” the older man stated, dumbly, and Peter stared at him as if he wanted to say just that. He waited to see if Tony would say anything more and he really meant to, but nothing else came out of his stupid mouth.

“Yeah, and?” He prompted, holding his books close to his chest defensively, getting ready for a fight, but Tony just shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets.

“And now I don’t have any engineers on my team,” he offered, as kind of a joke, he thought, but again, Peter wasn’t laughing.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He rolled his eyes and tried to walk away, but Tony held him back again. “What the hell, don’t touch me!”

“Ok, sorry, I’m sorry.” He let go of his arm and raised both of his hands in a peace offering. “I’m trying to apologize here, I’m not very good at this.”

“Clearly,” Peter snarked, and Tony nodded.

“Right. Ok. I deserve that. Look, let me just –“ He wracked his brain for something to say, he really should have thought it through. The thing was, he thought Peter would be a little more… Compliant. He didn’t expect him to still be that pissed off after almost two weeks. “Let me treat you to dinner, how about that? So we can clear the air?”

“No, thanks,” Peter answered quickly and started to walk away again, heading to the subway station. Since grabbing him and trying to stop him didn’t seem like a good idea, Tony started walking alongside him.

“Hey, c’mon, don’t be so stubborn, I’m just trying to apologize here,” he insisted, attracting Peter’s impatient gaze, as he still tried to balance all the books in his arms.

“You’re forgiven, is that what you wanna hear?” He snapped, and Tony was taken aback by the anger and hurt in his eyes. “There you go. You’re absolved! Goodbye now.” Again, he tried to leave the older man behind, but Tony didn’t let him.

“Hey, kid, don’t be so difficult, I just--”

“Tony!” Weirdly enough, after everything they’d done, that was the first time the younger man called him by his first name and even if the situation was less than ideal, it still sent a shiver down his spine. The boy stopped walking to look at him dead in the eye. “You called me a whore, now you’re asking me to dinner! What am I supposed to think here? I’m not for sale, I’m sorry if I misled you, go bother someone else.”

“Peter, I’m sincerely, honest to God, just trying to apologize here. I know I was an asshole and you didn’t deserve to be treated like that, nobody does, I’m sorry, I was way out of line. I just wanna take you to dinner because I think you’re a good kid, I know you enjoyed working with me and you looked up to me somehow, so I just wanna make it up to you, ok? I promise, nothing else. I just don’t want you to have the wrong impression of me. I’m a good guy, I’m just kind of an asshole sometimes.” Tony tried to convey all his honesty through his eyes, which made Peter deflate a little bit. The young man stared at him for a few seconds with a frown on his forehead, before he sighed, rolling his eyes.

“You’re very annoying,” he said, matter-of-factly, and the older man nodded.  

“I’m known to be quite annoying, yeah,” he admitted, putting on his best pleading face, puppy eyes and all. “Let me make it up to you,” he insisted, and Peter rolled his eyes and sighed in resignation.

“Fine, dinner. Not tonight, though, I have work.” Tony cheered on the inside – and a little on the outside – but the younger man kept a straight face.

“Whenever you’re free.” Peter thought for a second and it almost seemed like he was regretting it already.

“Tomorrow, then. You can pick me up here. And I’ll choose the restaurant.” He stuck up his nose, defiantly, and Tony just spread his arms in surrender.

“Fair enough.”

So Tony decided to be a perfect gentleman, he put on a nice suit, he bought some flowers and took the gold “I’m sorry I was a jerk” bracelet with him when he went to pick Peter up. He was sure he would pick the most expensive restaurant in New York as payback and maybe he would order the most expensive things on the menu and, yeah, Tony knew he was really stupid if he were to comply, but, apparently, he wasn’t as smart as he once thought. And apparently he wasn’t immune to cute boys who knew how to play their cards right. So, yeah, maybe he fell right into Peter’s web in the end and maybe he wasn’t too upset about it. He could afford to spend a few dollars on him, have a good meal, smart conversations, and then move on. Because that’s what it was, right? Just him needing closure, if nothing else.

Except, when he parked his car, Peter was standing on the sidewalk in plain blue jeans and a cheap gray sweater and he looked thoroughly amused by Tony’s outfit when he got out of the car to get the door for him. He offered him the flowers and the boy was even more amused, a small chuckle leaving his lips when he read the “I’m sorry I was a jerk” card. Tony decided not to give him the bracelet after all, didn’t seem like a good idea by the looks of it.

“Where do you think we’re going?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, stopping in front of Tony before he got in the car.

“I was thinking a three-star Michellin restaurant?” The older man frowned and the boy snorted, apparently very amused.

“Yeah, and how in the hell would I afford to eat there, Mr. Stark?” He cocked his head to the side with feigned curiosity and Tony frowned.

“Afford? What – no, I’m buying! This is an ‘I’m sorry’ dinner. Besides, I invited you, it’s only polite.” He argued, but the boy quickly shook his head.

“You’ve apologized enough.” He gestured to the flowers. “Besides, I’m sorry, but I’m a little skeptical about gratuitous generosity at the moment, so we’re just gonna get some cheap pizza if that’s ok with you.” He shrugged, pointing in the general direction of the pizza place he was probably planning to go.

“What? Peter, come on. At least –“

“I only agreed to come if you let me choose the restaurant, so it’s either this or I’m heading back home.” He threatened to turn away and Tony jumped to stop him.

“No, no, sorry, you’re right. It’s your pick.” He opened the door to the passenger seat before Peter could change his mind and leave.

They got inside the car and Tony followed the young man’s instructions to the pizza joint, it wasn’t far from campus and was mostly empty when they got there. It was really not the sort of place that Tony went to anymore, but he couldn’t deny that was exactly the kind of restaurant he could afford when he was 19 at MIT. He was still a little confused by Peter’s choice of restaurant, not really sure if it was all a game, a plot to get back at him, but he seemed honest when he said he wanted to pay for his half.

“Maybe lose the jacket? And the tie?” He suggested with an amused smile from beside him when they parked the car and Tony chuckled slightly, doing just that and undoing the first three buttons of his shirt, rolling up the sleeves as well. “Much better.”

When they got inside the restaurant, Peter seemed to know the waiters, they sat at a table in the far back and ordered their drinks. They didn’t even have wine. A pizza place that didn’t serve wine, what even was that madness.

“So, you come here a lot? Everyone seems to know you around here.” Tony tried to start some amicable conversation and, surprisingly, Peter was receptive.

“I used to work here, actually. Before Oscorps.” He smiled fondly as he looked around, like he had some good memories there.

“Oh, cool.” Again, he was surprised by the boy’s story, Tony always assumed that he had an easy life. “Did I – was it because of me? The reason you quit?” He asked with a wince and Peter raised a brow, amused.

“Don’t be so self-important, it had nothing to do with you,” he rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, so Tony thought maybe he wasn’t that mad anymore. He sure seemed a lot calmer than the last time they met. “You’re a jerk, but I’ve dealt with worse.” Tony snorted, he couldn’t even be mad, Peter was just stating facts. He was a little curious to know what led him to quit his job, if it wasn’t Tony, and suddenly remembered how upset he was when they left the party. He didn’t think it would be a good idea to ask, though, they were just getting back on good terms.

“So, what are you doing now that you quit Oscorps?” Tony cocked his head to the side and the boy shrugged, playing with his paper napkin.

“Back to waiting tables and making coffee.” He smiled, he didn’t seem upset by the turn of events, which was… unexpected? It was just so odd. Tony had this idea that Peter liked to live that expensive lifestyle he had with Osborn, wasn’t that the whole point of being with him? His confusion must have shown on his face, because Peter chuckled, furrowing his brow. “What?”

“Nothing, I just –” He shook his head and gave up in the middle of the sentence.

“What, you thought I’d find another rich dude or something?” He creased his brow, looking genuinely confused, not mad. “Wait, do you actually think I’m an escort?” He asked as an afterthought, and Tony could deny it, but he didn’t think he could make it believable anyway.

“Not exactly, but – something like that, yeah,” He admitted, scratching the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed for the first time in a long time, and braced himself for the explosion, but Peter just showed him a sad little smile.

“You thought I was with him for his money,” he stated and Tony winced, because when Peter said it out loud, when those words came out of his mouth, they sounded so wrong. Like they could never be true. “It’s okay, I guess he thought that, too, and so did everyone else. My coworkers, the press, even some of my friends,” he scoffed, folding his napkin in half just to have something to do with his hands. “I guess I’m just a stupid kid who watched way too many Disney princess movies growing up. I blame my aunt, honestly.” He tried to joke and Tony shook his head.

“I shouldn’t have judged you, it wasn’t my place. I just thought it was so odd for a guy like you to be with a guy like him.” Such a beautiful, brilliant, young man like you deserved so much better than him, was what Toy didn’t dare to say.

“I loved him,” he said and it shouldn’t have stung, it shouldn’t have made Tony’s stomach twist and turn, and his heart clench, but it did. It fucking did. “Or I thought I did. Turns out I got it all wrong. I thought we were going somewhere, but he wasn’t really serious about me, which became very clear when he decided not to take me to the gala, so.” He blushed slightly and dropped his eyes to the table, still folding the napkin until it was impossible to keep folding.

“Yeah, but you still came. Why?” Tony insisted, because he really wanted to figure him out, he needed to, because Peter wasn’t who he thought he was, he wasn’t that person Tony was so quick to judge and he needed to know who he was, after all. Because – he just needed to.

“I guess I – I just thought... He would regret it or something, you know. Once he saw me.” He gave a self-deprecatory laugh, rubbing a hand across his forehead as if trying to physically erase something from his mind. “Like… A stupid rom-com or something, you know. Like, the happy ending scene. Whatever. It’s stupid.” He ran a hand through his hair, blushing even harder. “Again, I blame my aunt, she was the one who made me watch all these stupid movies.”

Tony wanted to say it wasn’t his fault that everybody else was fucked up and couldn’t see what an amazing person he was, but the waiter chose that moment to interrupt them with their food, which was good, because Peter perked up and actually looked excited, rubbing his hands together and looking at Tony expectantly.

“Try it, tell me if it’s not the best pizza you’ve ever had in your life.” Tony smiled at his excitement and grabbed a piece of the cheap pizza. As expected, it tasted like garbage, but he wouldn’t tell Peter that, obviously.

“Sorry, kid, it’s not. But I’m forty-five and I’ve been to Italy, so don’t look so bummed.” Peter deflated slightly, grabbing a piece of his own and taking a huge bite out of it, like it was the best meal ever.  

“Fine then, the best pizza in New York?” He compromised and Tony was a hundred percent sure it was most definitely not the best pizza in New York, but –

“I’ll give you that.” He conceded and Peter beamed.

“I’ll take it.”

They fell into an easy conversation about engineering and about Peter’s expectations for the future, which ended up turning into a conversation about what Tony did after college. The older man told him about all the steps he took to get where he was, working for other companies, having his ideas stolen, not getting credit for his work, quitting multiple jobs, almost going bankrupt trying to get Stark Industries off the ground and then finally being in a comfortable place in his professional life at 45 – better late than never.

“I think it’s amazing how you managed to turn your life around, you know. It’s really inspiring.” Peter seemed truly moved by Tony’s story, and the older man knew it was quite impressive, but he just shrugged it off.

“Yeah, boo-hoo, but now that you know my sob story, you have to tell me yours.” He took another bite of the terrible pizza and decided that sometime after the third slice, it became almost edible. Key-word: almost.

“Well, there’s not much to say and it’s definitely not as interesting or as successful as yours, but let’s see. My parents died when I was really young, I think I was around four – I’m ashamed to say I don’t really remember them. I still have their pictures, but I just – you know.” Peter shrugged and, yeah, Tony knew. After his mom died, he couldn’t look at pictures of her for years; at the same time that he wanted to remember her, he kind of wanted to forget. “I was raised by my aunt May and uncle Ben, but he was killed in a mugging when I was ten. Fuck, my life story is such a downer, are you sure you wanna hear it?” He chuckled, running a hand through his hair, and Tony smiled softly.

“As long as you wanna tell it, kid.” Peter took a deep breath, as if considering if he actually wanted to tell that story, but finally seemed to decide to go on.

“So, my aunt May was a nurse, she struggled to make ends meet, but she was just – amazing, you know? She was like a mother to me, she never left me wanting for anything, specially when it came to my education, which was how I was able to get into college so early. Anyway, she passed away almost two years ago from a stomach cancer. So… It’s just me now. I’m the last Parker standing.” He smiled sadly, dropping his gaze to stare at the slice of uneaten pizza in his plate.

“Fuck, that’s rough, kid. But hey, if it’s any consolation, I’m also the last Stark standing. Maybe we should start a club or something,” he joked to try to lighten up the mood and the young man giggled, looking back at him with a smile.

“Like, the Parker-Stark Lonely Orphans Club?” He asked cheekily and Tony laughed. “Anyway, a year ago I got into Oscorps’s internship program, which was a dream come true, but then I screwed it up by sleeping with the boss, because I’m an idiot. The end.” He snorted and, again, Tony was a little surprised to learn that Peter got the internship before he met Norman, but at that point, it wasn’t much of a shock, he should have seen it coming.

“So, can I ask what happened? Between you and Norman? What made you quit?” Tony asked carefully. As the night went on, he felt like he and Peter were getting more comfortable with each other, more comfortable than they could ever be all those months before, when Tony made such an effort to despise him.

“Ugh, it’s… Well, it’s embarrassing.” It was barely a whisper. Peter’s cheeks were bright red and he wouldn’t meet Tony gaze.

“It’s okay, you don't have to tell me if you don’t want to.” He reassured him, feeling confident enough to place a hand on top of his on the table. Peter stared at them for a few seconds, before looking up at him.

“It’s… Something he did at the party. He kept pushing me to this guy, you know. Some business partner or whatever. And I didn’t quite understand what he was trying to accomplish, but then I went to the bathroom and this guy followed me there and he – he tried – to kiss me. And to touch me.” He blushed, gaze fixed on the table between them once again. Tony tightened his grip on his hand. “When I pushed him away he said something about Norman not knowing how to teach his whores good manners. When I tried to talk to Norman – he said I owed him.” He frowned, lifting his eyes to look at him. “For all the expensive gifts, and nice restaurants, and everything he did for me. He said it was the least I could do.” He scoffed, but his cheeks were pink, like maybe some part of him believed that – believed that while he thought he was dating someone he loved, he was actually whoring himself out to him.

“That’s why you were so upset at the party,” he whispered, realizing what a massive jerk he’d been after that. The kid must have been feeling like shit that day. Used and expendable and lost. And then Tony treated him like a fucking cheap hooker.  “Peter… I’m so sorry for that night, I didn’t –“

“It’s okay, I’m fine now. Don’t get me wrong, it was a total dick move, but I already knew you were kind of a dick, so no alarms, no surprises.” He smirked, trying to lighten the mood, but nothing he could say could ever absolve Tony of what he’d done, of the harm he’d caused him that night. Fuck, if he was Peter, he would never have talked to him again, let alone agreed to dinner. His behavior the previous night suddenly made perfect sense. “I quit the next day, put his stupid gifts in a box and sent it to the tower, he can choke on them for all that I care.” He shrugged, trying to appear non-nonchalant, but Tony knew the whole thing must still fucking hurt, it had only been two weeks.

“I sincerely hope he does,” Tony offered and Peter laughed out loud, throwing his head back in delight.

When they walked to the car at the end of the night, Tony could feel that something had changed between them. He felt like all that time he knew Peter he had been missing a huge chunk of information, which made all the difference in the world. He could see Peter now, the real him. The ride to his place was taken in comfortable silence and when Tony parked his car, neither of them moved. The older man turned towards the younger one and licked his lips. He knew the answer to the question he was gonna ask, he knew he deserved it, but still –  

“Can I get you number?” It wasn’t part of the plan. The plan was to apologize, show the kid a good time as a way of making it up to him for the terrible things he said and move on. Go back to work, go back to his life, but now – now he was stuck. Looking at Peter and seeing a whole new person. Someone he wanted to get to know more, but knew he didn’t deserve.

“Oh, I don’t know, do you think you can afford it?” Peter teased, and Tony actually blushed, embarrassed to remember how much of a dick he’d been.

“Ugh, I said I was sorry,” he mumbled, rubbing a hand across his face, only to hear Peter’s delighted chuckle.

“I’m just kidding, don’t worry. But I don’t think It’s a good idea, Tony.” He bit his lower lip and Tony nodded to himself, because, yeah, he knew it wasn’t. It shouldn’t be. Because Peter deserved so much better than him. “But this was nice. Thank you for caring enough to apologize.”

“It was the least I could do.” He gave him a small smile and was taken by surprised when the young man unceremoniously leaned in and kissed him. Tony didn’t waste any time burying his hand in his hair, pulling him impossibly close as their lips brushed softly and tongues met in a sweet embrace. The young man pulled away after just a few seconds, though, and Tony didn’t even have the courage to open his eyes and acknowledge it was over. “Are you sure this isn’t a good idea? Because it sure tastes like a great fucking idea. I would know, I have great ideas all the time, ask anyone.” Tony whispered and Peter laughed, his face was still so close the older man could feel his breath on his lips.

“Goodbye, Tony. Good luck with your company,” he smiled, as he opened to door to get out of the car.

“I’ll miss you on my team.” Which was to say, I’ll miss you. Plain and simple.

“I’m sure you’ll find a replacement in no time.” I won’t, I don’t want to. I want you. “Gotta go now, I have work in the morning. Bye!” He got out and closed the door behind him, waving one last time before he walked away.

“Goodbye, Peter,” he whispered to the empty car, hands clutching the steering-wheel as he watched the boy disappear into the building.

--*--

Working at Oscorps was not the same without Peter. First, because he was actually a very good intern who helped a lot with every single task Tony assigned him. Second, because even though he hadn’t noticed it before, he always looked forward to talking to him. To learning those tiny little pieces of information the boy let escape through his lips once in a while, only to blush profusely and apologize seconds later.

Still, he kept going. Norman never bothered him, which was nice, and as the remaining months passed, Tony’s name became more and more recognizable, he closed so many deals over the course of that year, he was able to more than double his team and the office and lab they used to work got way too small for them. He started looking for some other place to go and the more he thought about it, more sense it made to move SI headquarters to California. Most of his partners were there and he would also be closer to his suppliers and many other business opportunities.

So after talking to Pepper, Nat, Rhodey, Happy and Bruce – “the original six”, as they liked to call themselves, including Tony –, he decided to move right after his contract with Oscorps was done in December. Those last few months were crazy and got crazier when B.A.R.F. was finally announced to the public. Both the product and the technology behind it sent Stark Industries to a whole other level, their stocks skyrocketed and Tony literately became the richest man in New York overnight, even richer than Norman – and that was saying something.

Which was why, when December rolled around and Osborn invited him to dinner to discuss the possibility of renewing the contract and he showed up with some supermodel hanging off his arm, he couldn’t help but think of the first time he was in that same situation. He remembered how nervous he was before the dinner, how excited he felt when they closed the deal and how gorgeous Peter looked that night. But he remembered, specially, what Osborn did to the younger man months after that. How he’d treated him, what he’d said to him.

“So, what do you say, Stark? Wanna be partners for five more years?” Osborn’s smile was kind of creepy, he hadn’t noticed it before. He offered him a hand and Tony stared at it for what felt like hours, although it was probably only a few seconds. It was great fucking deal, way better than the one he had before, but –

“You know what, Norman?” He smiled to himself and took a deep breath, wishing he was wearing his smart glasses so he could record his reaction. “Fuck you.” He beamed, standing up from his chair, admiring the expression of shock and horror on the older man’s face. He buttoned his suit jacket and, still smiling like a madman, left the restaurant like he owned the place – which he could, if he wanted.

On his last night in New York, he decided to look for Peter. He didn’t want to pressure him or anything, but they hadn’t seen each other in almost six months, so maybe something might have changed for him. Tony still couldn’t get him out of his head, each day that passed he wished he’d done things differently, so fucking differently.

He wished he’d been nicer, from day one. He wished he had lived up to his expectations, his hero worship. He wished he could have been a decent human being, a shoulder to cry on that night he was so vulnerable and broken. He wished he could have wooed him and gotten him to fall in love with him, the way he’d fallen for him.

He wanted a second chance, he really did, but when he knocked on the door of the apartment the boy used to live, the place where Tony had said goodbye to him all those months ago, some stoned college kid answered the door. When he asked about Peter, the boy just shrugged.

“He moved away a while ago, dude. Got a job somewhere or something.”

So that was it. Tony didn’t have his number and Peter wasn’t on social media – at least Jarvis couldn’t find him, and he sure as hell looked. So he gathered the last of his stuff and left New York for good, mind wandering to those few moments he’d spent with Peter, thinking how different things could have been if he hadn’t been so quick to judge.

No point crying over spilled milk.

Stark Industries flourished in L.A. All of Tony’s crazy, genius ideas were funded, so he finally finished his arc reactor project – something he’d started as a teen, but didn’t have the resources to continue – and started a line of electronics – computers, cellphones, tablets, all the good stuff. After the first couple of months, he bought a mansion in Malibu, just because he could, and finally felt like his life was heading in the right direction.

Still, it felt like there was a Peter-shaped whole in it, which was insane, they’d only known each other for a little over five months, it made no sense how much he missed him, they hadn’t seen each other in almost a year, and still there were nights he could fucking smell Peter’s scent on his sheets – sheets he’d never even laid on. Could feel his soft skin under his fingertips as he hugged his pillow close to his chest, the way he wished he’d held him that night when he stormed off, humiliated and hurt. Those nights he couldn’t sleep, could only stare at the ceiling, trying to figure out time travel, just so he could go back and fix things.

Once he was settled in California, he was invited to give lectures in universities all over the country. MIT was first, then NYU, Stanford, Yale, UCLA and, finally, Caltech in late November. His lectures were usually about the arc reactor, clean energy was in fashion, everybody was talking about it, and the fact that he figured out cold nuclear fusion was still a very hot topic.  

It was still early in the evening when he finished his lecture at Caltech, a few students stayed behind to ask him questions or just talk for a bit, Tony had become sort of a celebrity for nerds, and he didn’t mind staying a little late talking to those starry-eyed kids, so it was already dark out when he was done. When he thought he was alone, he started gathering his things, thinking of somewhere he could eat in Pasadena before he headed back to Malibu, when he heard it. That sweet, unmistakable voice.

“That was a hell of a lecture.” Tony turned around slowly, almost afraid to be wrong, but there was no way he’d be. Peter was there, staring back at him, standing by the door with his arms crossed over his chest and a slight blush on his cheeks. “Hey. Long time, no see.”

“You ran away from me, kid.” He breathed out, letting his hands fall to his sides, even though they itched to touch, his legs were shaking with desire to run to the younger man, but he stood still, afraid that if he moved, the spell would be broken and he would realize that Peter was just an illusion.

“That’s a big ego you got there if you think I’d make such a dramatic life change just for you, old man.” He stepped into the room slowly, until he was standing right in front of Tony, close enough to touch, but neither of them did. “I’m getting my Masters here. I heard you were coming for a lecture.”

“So you came by to say hi?” Tony cocked his head to the side and Peter chuckled, nodding.

“Yes. Hi.” He perched himself on the desk Tony was using during his lecture and it was the older man’s turn to move to stand in front of him.

“Hi.” He smiled, stepping closer, paying attention to see if the young man was in any way uncomfortable by his actions, but he didn’t even flinch.

“So, I heard you ditched Norman.” He crossed his arms over his chest again, a small smile on his lips.

“I believe my exact words were ‘fuck you’, actually.” That made Peter laugh, throwing his head back and exposing his long throat. “I missed you kid.”

“Couldn’t find an intern to make you coffee and fawn over you while you were at Oscorps?” He jabbed a finger in his chest and Tony caught it in his hand.

“Couldn’t find you. Anywhere. And I looked.” He confessed, not letting go of his hand, not looking away from his eyes. “Couldn’t stop thinking about you and all the things I didn’t say.”

“Such as?” Peter asked coyly, biting his lower lip as he looked at Tony from under his eyelashes.

“I’ll miss you. Don’t go. Give me a chance. I’ll make this work. I’m in love with you. Things like that, you know.” He didn’t care that he was putting his heart on the line, he couldn’t choke on those words anymore, and if that was the last chance he ever got to say them, at least he could sleep peacefully at night. Peter blushed deeply, lips parted in shock, but then his face stretched in a slow, lazy smile, eyes focused on Tony’s.

“Can I buy you coffee?” He asked quietly, blinking slowly, and the older man shrugged, pretending to consider it.

“Depends. Can I buy you dinner? And don’t you dare ask if I can afford it.” He closed the distance between them as Peter laughed out loud, head thrown back in delight.

“I was just gonna say yes,” he promised, as he placed his hands on Tony’s shoulders, allowing him to come stand in between his legs. “Which is something I regretted not saying.” He confessed. “So, coffee first?”

“Yeah, coffee first.” Tony leaned down to kiss his lips, and they tasted so familiar, so right, and he knew it was crazy, because they shouldn’t, they were together for such a short time and Tony wasn’t a fucking teenager, he was a grown man, and he didn’t know how in the fuck he fell in love so hard and so fast, but he did. “It’s so good to see you.” He stole yet another kiss from him and felt the younger man’s lips stretching in a smile under his. Suddenly, he was reminded of a conversation they’d had over a year earlier. “So, do you think this is the happy ending scene in our movie or what?” He asked a beaming Peter, who pretended to examine his face carefully, before answering with a grin.

“I guess we’ll see.”

#starker #ironspider #peter parker x tony stark #sugar baby au