#oh and i’m also gonna finish a book today *raise the roof*

[shieldmaidenofgod]

Writing Our History––Part 1

“Arthur, my boy!” Dutch van der Linde called as he spotted the outlaw ride back into camp. “Where have you been?”

“In town,” Arthur replied. “Had to grab some things. Why? Did something happen?” The light from the setting sun illuminated the worry in the cowboy’s eyes.

Dutch chuckled and a glint of mischief twinkled in his eyes. “You could say that. Hitch up your horse and follow me.”

Arthur ended up sitting by the campfire with a bowl of Pearson’s stew. The other men surrounding the fire leaned forward as they listened intently to Dutch’s news.

“So,” he began, “I got tipped off at the saloon today by the barman. Said there’s an enormous mansion right in the middle of a huge plot of land ‘bout ten miles north of here.”

“So we’re just robbin’ some rich bastard?” Sean asked, taking a sip from his beer bottle.

“Not if you let me finish, MacGuire,” Dutch scolded, and the Irishman raised his hands defensively, causing the other men to laugh.

“I also found out that the man of that house, Hawthorn, owns a rather successful tailoring company. He has a location right in the middle of Valentine, so I headed over there to see if I could find out anything else, and I heard he has but one daughter.” Dutch stopped there and spread his hands, as if the conclusion were obvious.

There was a pause while the men tried to figure out what Dutch’s plan was.

Arthur swallowed a bite of stew before asking, “So what, we kidnap ‘er?”

“You always were the smart one,” Dutch commented. “I managed to get a tipoff from one of his servants, if you can believe it. French girl. Poor young lady was barely holdin’ it together, you could tell she’d been cryin’ for a good long while. Apparently, he’s gonna marry his girl off to one of his business partners in a few days.”

“A good reason to demand a bigger ransom,” Charles spoke up.

“Exactly,” Dutch declared, pointing to Charles. “And think of this, if a mere servant has that much of an attachment to her mistress, who’s to say her parents don’t adore her even more? So, who’s with me? I’ll need a handful of men to get this done right.”

All the other men around the campfire looked to Arthur, as if for his permission.

Arthur shrugged. “When you wantin’ to leave?” he asked Dutch.

“Tomorrow morning. Early. Least we can do is scope out the house from afar.”

Arthur nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Dutch grinned. “It’s settled, then. Are you all with me?” he asked the others, who all nodded (except for Sean, who gave a hearty cheer). “Good, very good. Well, we all better get some rest then, if we want to head out by dawn tomorrow.”

The next day, Dutch, Arthur, Charles, and Sean rode out of camp at the break of dawn for the northern end of Valentine and eventually arrived on the border of Mr. Hawthorn’s land by 7:30. They all managed to stay low while observing the house and its surroundings through their binoculars.

“See anything interesting?” Sean asked Arthur, who was using the pair of binoculars the two of them were sharing.

“Not much,” Arthur grunted, handing the binoculars over to Sean beside him. “Lot of windows, though. We’ll have to steer clear of those.”

“I see a carriage. They just pulled it up to the house,” Charles announced from his position, also looking through a pair of binoculars.

“Anyone gettin’ in or out?” Arthur asked, Sean still looking through his binoculars.

“Not yet.” Charles paused for a moment. “Wait. The front doors are opening. It looks like Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorn––I’m guessing it’s them, at least. Ah, that’s definitely their daughter.” He lowered his binoculars. “When do we move, Dutch?”

“Not yet,” their leader answered. “We wait until they’re far enough away from their property and not too close to town. Then we strike.”

<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>

Once the Hawthorns were seated in the carriage and their luggage strapped to the roof, the carriage was off to the nearest town: Saint Denis.

Mrs. Hawthorn looked down her nose at her daughter, who sat across from her and her husband and was engaged in reading her collection of E. B. B. poetry. “Put that accursed book away,” Mrs. Hawthorn snapped.

(Y/N) jerked in surprise at the sudden break in silence. She looked back down in dismay at the loss of her only entertainment, closed the book, and put it in her carpet bag beside her.

“Honestly––” her mother continued, “––it’s positively shameful, being a female author. As if any decent man would wish to marry one. It’s not a woman’s place.”

“No,” (Y/N) countered in a biting tone, a smug smirk on her pretty face. “But it must be a woman’s place to be married against her will to a man she’s never met.”

“You will marry whoever we choose for you and that is final!” Mrs. Hawthorn slammed her fan against her lap in emphasis.

(Y/N) slumped in her seat and crossed her arms, a difficult and uncomfortable position considering her garments and tightly-strung corset, but the action was worth the horrified looks on her parents’ faces.

“This is so unfair! Maybe I do wish to become an unmarried author! Why should you be the ones to stop me?”

“Stop that ugly slouching and sit up this instant!” her father exclaimed.

“Oh, I’ll slouch if I bloody want to!” (Y/N) shouted back.

“Now you listen here, young lady!” Mr. Hawthorn roared and pointed a shaking finger in (Y/N)’s direction. “We know far better what is best for you than you do. I’ll not have you vilifying our family name by running off and becoming some undignified, unmarried hooligan!” he spat, his eyes glinting with rage. His fat mustache continued to wag as he yammered on about what a disgrace she would be to the family name if she did not marry his business partner, but (Y/N) had stopped listening.

Everything about the whole situation was so unbelievably unfair. (Y/N)’s parents had always been rather controlling of her, but never to an extent as drastic as this. Or, perhaps, she had just never noticed how little control over her own life she had ever actually had.

What I wouldn’t give to just run away from all of this, (Y/N) thought to herself, completely unaware of how soon her wish would come true.

<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*>

“Okay, move out! Come on! Go, go, go!” Dutch yelled, riding forward in a full gallop behind the carriage.

Charles, Arthur, and Sean, led by Dutch sped after the carriage, bandanas covering their lower faces to protect them from the kicked-up dust and from being recognized. Once they got closer to the carriage, Arthur whipped out a pistol and fired a warning shot at the carriage. The bullet zipped through the very top of the carriage wall right below the covered roof, signaling to those inside that they had company.

Terrified screams erupted from inside the carriage and the four horses pulling the car whinnied in fright. The driver desperately pulled on the reins, attempting to stop the beasts so that no more threatening shots would be fired in less-than-cosmetic directions. Once the carriage came to a stop, the driver threw his hands in the air.

“Pl-please don’t hurt me, sirs!” the driver exclaimed.

“Oh, we ain’t here for you, boy!” Dutch shouted as the other outlaws threw open the carriage doors.

Arthur and Charles reached into the carriage and pulled out a thrashing (Y/N). She clutched her carpet bag to her chest and screamed frantically but the men paid her no mind, throwing her in the front of Sean’s saddle.

“Take her home, boys!” Dutch shouted and he, Charles, Arthur, and Sean spurred their horses into a gallop back the way they’d come.

“Let me go!” (Y/N) screeched. “Let me go, you brutes!”

“‘Fraid I can’t do that, lassie,” Sean answered behind her. “We’re gonna be hangin’ onto you for now.”

Once the party arrived at camp, (Y/N) had calmed down, becoming rather apathetic. Sean lowered her off his horse and into the waiting arms of Miss Grimshaw.

“We don’t want to hurt you, miss,” Dutch called to (Y/N) in a slightly smug tone. “We just want some compensation from your family, that's all!”

“Come on now, dear,” Miss Grimshaw said gently. “Let’s get that dust out of your dress and a tent set up for you.” She led (Y/N), who only nodded, away from the horses.

#rdr2 #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x female reader #arthur morgan x reader #female reader #rdr2 fanfiction #fanfiction #writing our history

[coldflame96]

So stay with me and I’ll have it made

Summary: For Kyo Week. Prompt 5; Rain 

Rating: G

Also found on AO3

This is just ridiculously self-indulgent fluff. 

Kyo woke up and saw that Tohru's side of the bed was empty, neatly made, which hinted she's been gone for quite a while. He vaguely recalled her telling him she was going somewhere and then kissing his forehead, but it was hazy. She always was an early riser, and normally he was too, but today he felt...lethargic. Even just sitting up was a struggle, limbs heavy with fatigue, and he had a headache. Was he getting sick? He heard the gentle patter of something hitting the roof and looked out the window.

It’s raining. That explains it.

Learning that the rain still bothered him even after the cat spirit left him was...annoying, but he was used to it by now. He was sure that was probably the reason Tohru went wherever she was going on her own. He heard some shuffling from down the hall and groaned a bit at the thought of having to get up. Good thing it was a Sunday so he wasn’t obligated to be productive…

He stuck a leg out, mentally preparing to leave the comfort of his bed, and right as he did, his door flew open and Emika toddled in.

“Daddy?” She put her arms up for him to carry her. He smiled at her gently.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he hoisted her up, with effort because she wasn’t a tiny baby anymore and she was getting heavy. “What have you been doing?”

She didn’t answer, tugging at his shirt, holding out a large block. “Play!”

He grimaced. “I don’t know if Daddy has the energy for that today, honey. He’s not feeling too great.”

She cocked her head and he wondered how much of that she actually understood. She was still pretty little.

“No play?” Her huge, brown eyes practically inflated.

He wasn’t getting out of this, was he? But he really didn’t wanna get out of bed…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hajime had only turned his back for one minute, and Emika was gone. Mom had asked him to watch over her while she went to the store since it was raining and Dad never did well with that. It’s not like he couldn’t read outside in the living room just as easily as he did on his bed.

Except that last chapter had been particularly intense and one minute, Emika was playing with her blocks and the next minute, she was gone.

And he had a pretty good idea of where she went.

He rolled his eyes, tucked his book under his arm, and headed towards the parents room.

He saw the door completely open and his suspicions were looking more and more likely. His parents always left the door cracked so they could still have their privacy while not locking Emika out since she was too small to reach the handle.

Sure enough...There she was, sitting on top of Dad’s lap handing him a small collection of blocks (How did she even carry all those?) and he sighed. So much for letting him rest.

They both turned to him at the same time. “Did you need something?” Dad asked.

His voice sounded groggy and Hajime felt a little guilty for not doing his job properly.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I was reading and I got distracted. I was supposed to keep her from bothering you.”

He frowned. “You guys don’t ever bother me.”

He averted his eyes. “Yeah, well, I still should’ve kept a closer eye on her since Mom asked me to.”

“Where's your mom?”

“At the store buying ingredients for dinner.”

Dad gave him a confused look. “We just went shopping the other day.”

He shrugged. “Maybe she wanted to do something special.”

Emika decided at that moment that Dad wasn’t paying enough attention to her and started tugging his shirt again, whining. “Daddy, play!”

“Alright, I’m sorry. Your brother distracted me.” He gave him a sly look, almost secretive.

Hajime rolled his eyes. “I can take her if you want. So you can rest.”

His dad raised an eyebrow. “It’s fine, Hajime. You’re not her parent, so she’s not really your responsibility anyway.”

That was...technically true, but the dismissive tone sort of made him feel a little spiteful. Leaving the room would make it seem like he failed. He tsked and sat on the other side of the bed, the made side, next to them, and leaned back on the pillow, opening his book. His dad looked amused.

“What are you doing?”

“Reading.”

“Alright then.”

He was told to watch over his baby sister and if she was gonna be in here, then so was he.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kazuya’s episode of his favorite cartoon had just finished and it was then that he noticed he was the only one left in the room. Where did Emi-chan and Nii-san go? They were in here just a second ago. Were they playing hide and seek? He jumped from his spot. Well, if they’re hiding, I’m gonna find them.

First place he checked was under the couch. Nothing.

He opened the closet door. Nope.

He saw that Mommy and Daddy’s room was open and cocked his head. Their door wasn't usually open and Daddy wasn’t feeling well. And like a lightbulb, it came to him. They’re hiding in the closet!

He pressed himself to the corner, prepared to sneak up on them, but then did a double take when he saw Nii-san sitting in Mommy’s spot reading, Daddy sleeping next to him.

“Why are you in here?” he asked curiously, and Nii-san jolted, glaring at him..

“Shh!” he pointed at Daddy next to him, and he only just noticed that Emi-chan was on top of him, also sleeping.

“Sorry,” he whispered. Just looking at how comfy they were made him feel sleepy.

He went to his brother’s side, hopping over his long legs to press himself next to Daddy.

“What are you doing?” Nii-san hissed. “If you wake them up, you’ll be sorry.”

He maneuvered his way under the covers, warm from Daddy being there, and gave his brother a triumphant look.

His daddy groaned and both of them froze, Nii-san getting that look he usually did before getting mad at him, but then Kazuya felt an arm around him, bringing him in closer to his dad’s side, and then nothing. He relaxed.

“Nii-san, you should nap with us too. It’s warm under here.”

His brother didn’t look up from his book. “No.”

He pouted. “Why not?”

“Because I’m not a baby and I don’t need a nap.”

“I’m not-” he yawned in the middle of his sentence, “I’m not a baby.”

“Uh-huh.”

And the sound of the rain mixed with the heat of the blanket knocked him right out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tohru sighed, carrying her bags for dinner. She’d been gone longer than she thought due to the market being surprisingly packed for a rainy Sunday.

She opened her door, putting the umbrella in.

“I’m home!” She called out. But there was no response.

Huh, that’s strange. In a house with three children and a husband, it normally wasn’t this quiet.

She put her perishables in the fridge and walked down the hallway. Where was everyone?

She was about to ask Kyo-kun if he knew anything or see if he even was still here, but paused in the doorway at the sight before her.

There was her husband, asleep to her lack of surprise, but the interesting part was all the kids around him, also asleep. Emi-chan was on his chest, Kazu-kun was burrowed under the covers next to him, gripping his shirt, and Hajime-kun was on top of the comforter on her side, pressed against his little brother, an open book in his hand, like he’d fallen asleep while reading.

They were all practically one pile and it was quite possibly one of the most precious things she’d ever seen in her life. She got her phone out to take a picture and moved closer so she wouldn’t have to zoom in. Oh, she was definitely sending this to Uo-chan.

“Don’t,” Kyo-kun grunted.

She pouted. “Oh, you’re awake?”

“Have been since you walked in.”

She knew he was always very in tune with her, but she never thought that extended to her just entering a room. She almost felt bad about waking him.

“Right.” She kissed his forehead. “I’m sorry for disturbing you then.”

She made to leave, but felt a yank on her arm as she fell onto the bed, her husband’s face now in front of her, looking tired but amused.

“Nah, you’re not going anywhere.”  

“Kyo-kun,” she huffed, “It’s Sunday.” Sunday was normally the day she caught up on her chores.

And he knew this and was being smug.

“Should’ve thought about that before coming in here.” His grip tightened. “Now you’re stuck with us.”

She sighed in defeat. She supposed there were worse ways to spend a Sunday than in her husband’s arms, surrounded by her family.

The chores could wait a couple hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kyo blinked his eyes open, wincing a little at how bright it was. Why is it so hot? He was sweating. And his chest felt like there was a weight on it. His vision cleared and he saw his daughter on top of him, Tohru against his side, Kazuya and Hajime on the other side. He was completely trapped. He couldn’t get up even if he wanted to.

He saw the sun peeking in through the window. It had stopped raining at some point, but that was fine.

He wasn’t dealing with it alone anymore, holed up in his room and miserable. Now he was surrounded by the people he loved the most, his entire world.

It could rain forever for all he cared.

He was content.

#kyoru #kyo sohma #tohru honda #hajime sohma #fruits basket

[m-y-fandoms]

COMMISSION: Joker/Akira/Ren x Reader Part 2

Part 1

This is gonna be many more parts... I can already tell 

Word Count: 2.2k

SFW, SLOW BURN romance friends to lovers, gender neutral reader, anyone can enjoy it and place themselves as the reader!

- Admin Myah

You spent your entire free period up on that roof, hoping by some miracle that you weren’t crazy, that the group of second-year students that had seemingly vanished before your eyes were in fact pranking you, and upon seeing that you weren’t amused, would get tired of hiding and pop out, finishing the surprise. No such luck, however, and so you left, the second-period bell forcing your hand. Spending the first period of your day - a bit of free time meant for studying, finishing homework, or otherwise enriching yourself educationally - up on the roof and unaccounted for by any teachers was a bit risky already, and you were a decent enough student. There was no way you could just sit there all day, skipping the rest of your classes. Sighing, you resolved to just give up the hunt for your destined main character and by extension the group of potential new friends.

＊

Often after school, you headed to the library, which stayed open along with a select few other areas of Shujin for student use after the last bell rang. Today, however, you felt drawn back to that place, back to that rooftop where you’d seen Akira, Ryuji, and Ann disappear hours earlier. It just wasn’t sitting right with you; you felt a stirring in your soul, like a tiny voice in your head, a shimmering blue butterfly in your stomach. Lucky for you, the rooftop was also open, though you’d never really spent time there. Certain students, including another third-year you admired raised plants up there where the sun could reach them, while others simply came up there for the view or the breeze, some private space to study.

Today, the breeze was indeed blowing, and you sat there writing as it whistled past your ears, polishing up some plot points, scrawling down ideas for your protagonist straight from the imagination, since it seemed you wouldn’t be finding any real-life inspiration anytime soon. It was frustrating, writer’s block, and for the past month or so, it’s all you could do to write a single paragraph. You always found yourself lost in the pages of the novels you loved, and you could identify great writing, appreciate the artistry of another writer, but it was sometimes so hard to put your own thoughts down on the pages of your journal. Why was it so hard? You knew what real romance was. You knew which themes and cliches were overdone and unrealistic. You had a mature and healthy outlook on real relationships and could pick apart the stereotypical female protagonist who was strong and independent until she met the man who would break down her walls or the toxic bad boy who women loved on paper but would cry their eyes out over in real life. You’d read thousands of books and fan-fiction, listened to hundreds of audiobooks, watched tons of romance movies, so why, lately, was it not clicking?! Where was the disconnect between having thoughts and transcribing said thoughts down into your very own masterpiece? Fantasy came so easily to you, sci-fi, non-fiction essays for class, mysteries, research papers, but romance, the genre you loved the most, seemed to purposely elude you.

You were shaken out of your frazzled state when something caught your attention out of the corner of your eye. Shaking your head a bit to try and focus your vision, you looked over your shoulder to see that the black spot on the fringe of your blind spot was in fact actually there. You rubbed your eyes just to be sure, but there it was, a wavering black inky spot hovering in the air. Another appeared, then another, now red in color. You were beginning to feel insane for the second time that day, but rather safe than sorry, you quickly stood, shoving your work and pencils into your bag and shuffling away from the blobs, which were now oscillating and dancing around each other, phasing in and out of existence like a fisheye lens. This was a bit too freaky for your liking, and you were beginning to feel a frightening chill up your spine. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up, and you elected to put some kind of barrier of safety between yourself and the floating bubbles. Like any rational person, your mind was screaming “unknown situation: possible threat: run!” but again, that little butterfly in the pit of your guts was saying there was something worth staying for. So, running to the door to the roof, you swung it open, a ringing in your ear starting to buzz and chime. You closed it frantically, pressing your nose up against the small glass windows that allowed a limited view of the roof. A small gasp escaped your lips, and you instinctively grabbed onto your bag a bit tighter.

The red and black splotches began to dissipate and fade like some kind of glitch in reality, and three figures appeared like mist, like ghosts before beginning to solidify and slowly become tangible silhouettes. Then, as if some kind of magic ritual was coming to a close, the figures poofed into existence, and your brain processed the scene before you.

“Holy shit…” you whispered. There, clear as day were Sakamoto, Takamaki, and the new kid. They were just standing adjusting their clothes, stretching their arms and legs, situating their personal items. It was just then that you saw a little furry head poke up out of Akira’s school bag. Your harsh, analytical gaze softened a bit upon seeing the small black cat that appeared. Had he been carrying that cat around all day? Surely not, right? How would he keep it quiet and still? “What the…?” The inquisitive glare returned to your features when they began… speaking to the cat. It wasn’t the cute baby talk people often use with their pets, either. It was a full-on, serious conversation, and the cat was meowing back, clearly, in response to their statements.

It was a bit muffled by the thick door, but you could make out bits and pieces.

 Metaverse? Palace. Shadows... treasure? Kamoshida? Great, that asshole, but what could he have to do with this? What even was this? 

You were questioning everything you knew. You were wondering if the juice you had this morning at breakfast was spiked. There was no winning in this scenario, either you were crazy, or these kids were. You looked downward, contemplating your navel as your mind tried to make sense of the events of today. You glanced up again, trying to eavesdrop a little better, get some more detail. You took a step closer, trying to will the sound of their voices through the door to be just a little louder, just a little clearer, when Sakamoto suddenly pivoted, stretching and cracking his spine with a sigh.

“Gah!”  You shouted out. His eyes met yours through the window and widened like a kid caught in the cookie jar. You jumped with a start, taking a cautionary step back and nearly tumbling down the stairs. It was a miracle you caught yourself in time, but your little outburst had definitely caught the attention of the group. Your cover was thoroughly blown. “Oh, no…” You cursed under your breath, spotting both Ann and Akira’s eyes on you now as well.

“Shit! Do you think they saw?” Ryuji’s hands flew to his hair, mussing and working out his frustrations on the dyed strands while simultaneously, Akira was already in motion, rushing toward the door to apprehend the unwelcome listener.

Your heartbeat sped up, and like a gazelle spotted by a lion, a fire was lit under you and you began to sprint, clumsily fumbling down the stairwell and onto the flat platform where the stairs rotated 90 degrees and continued downward. Inhaling sharply, your foot, nervous and supporting jelly-like legs, missed the final step. Your belongings, along with your body, spilled across the square, flat platform, and the door behind you slammed open.

“Hey!” Akira’s yell echoed through the stairwell, and your thoughts bounced off the walls just like his voice. Scrambling, you scooped only the essentials into your hands: your journal, the phone of course, a few homework binders, ditching the easily replaceable items like chewing gum and pencils. Taking to one scraped-up knee and ready to bolt, you felt a hand close upon your bicep and clamp down firmly. “Hey, hey… slow down.” Akira again, now gentler with his tone, spun you around to face him. You stood clutching your things to your chest like a life preserver. “I’m not gonna like… kill you or anything.” A breathy chuckle, and now he was on the platform next to you, scanning you up and down for injuries with his hands in his pockets. “So, uh… so don’t kill yourself by fallin’ down these stairs, huh?” He played off the tense feeling in the air with humor, but the sheer proximity of him, standing there in front of you mere inches away in the cramped space, it was like you could hear your blood pounding in your ears.

What was he thinking right now? Did he think you were some weirdo stalker? I mean, you’d just met him this morning and now you were watching him through a small window like a creep after school… after following him there. Wait, that wasn’t important right now! Was he going to kill you? He didn’t seem like the type of guy to do that, but then again, he didn’t seem like the type to phase in and out of existence either… neither did Ryuji and Ann… what were people with powers like that capable of?

Right now, you were just going to mind your business, and play it safe. It wasn’t worth getting mixed up with people who warp through a “metaverse” and talk to animals just for some good writing material, not if it turned out to be dangerous.

“Well…” you hesitated, “it’s none of my business, what I just saw, and I won’t tell anyone.” You breathed a little easier, tried to regain your composure, to not look too weak.

“So they did see! Awww, shit!” Ryuji’s head popped through the door, interrupting the uncomfortable conversation, and the hot air of the enclosed space was cut through by a gust of wind from the now open rooftop door.

“Now, just hold on, Ryuji,” Akira held out one hand to placate his rather temperamental friend.

“No, no really it’s fine that you talk to your… cat and just… vanish... and I’m sure it’s all fine and multiverse-y and…”

“Metaverse.” Akira corrected you with a small smile, bending down to pick up the rest of your scattered objects.

“Dude!” Ryuji ran a hand down his face in defeat.

“They saw us, no point in being tight-lipped,” he stood, handing them to you.

“Metaverse… right,” you took them, watching every move he made carefully. “Sorry, I’m… a bit more... eloquent in my writing,” you moved to the side, ready to sneak past and descend the rest of the stairs. Anything to get on with your day and escape this unbelievable situation. Akira shuffled, mirroring you and completely blocking the stairwell. There was something clever about him, something sharp and charismatic. He knew exactly what he was doing, what he wanted to achieve, and he knew how to calmly and smoothly execute his plans, unlike Sakamoto, who was far less… organized.

“Writing…?” He was keeping you locked into this conversation, as gently and amiably as he could, and you were not leaving until he was sure he could trust your word.

“Uh… yeah, that’s why I was up…” your eyes met his, quickly recoiling and looking toward the floor again, “...up on the roof. I was just looking for a quiet place to write.”

“What, uh, what kind of stuff do you write?” Ann had now joined Ryuji at the top of the stairs, leaving you feeling completely caged in. Ann threw Akira - who seemed like the leader of the small band of misfits - a desperate glance, a sort of look that seemed to ask: “Where are you going with this? Are we screwed?”

“It’s… it’s kind of private. It’s just… romance stuff. I don’t know, I do all kinds of different stuff, whatever I’m in the mood for.” Akira nodded, more to his friends than you, something you had a feeling you weren’t supposed to pick up on. He stuck his hand out flat, gesturing toward the rooftop behind you. You took the hint, heading a bit anxiously back up the stairs, Ryuji and Ann making way for you.

“You any good?” Akira followed behind you, and now on the rooftop once again, the cool air felt freeing, less constricting, though his question felt a bit insulting, a bit nosey.

“I don’t know… I’ve been told I am…” The three friends took a seat in areas that seemed very familiar to them, like they’d been up here warping in and out of this realm many times before. Now settled into place, Ann spoke up, obviously as apprehensive as you were:

“Well do you… do you think…?” Her high-pitched voice seemed to be hesitant, not yet confident in her next words, not sure if they were all on the same page.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” Akira smirked as if the three had one mind. He turned to you, trying to make eye contact that you vehemently avoided. “How would you feel about helping us out?”

#joker x reader #persona 5 #persona 5 protagonist #akira kurusu x reader #ren amamiya x reader #ryuji sakamoto #ann takamaki #Shin Megami Tensei #gender neutral reader #Female reader #male reader #commission #writing commissions #fan fiction #x reader #reader insert #y/n #s/o #slow burn #sfw #persona 5 joker #phantom thieves #friends to lovers #imagines #reactions #scenarios #shin megami tensai persona #angst #fluff

[fallingappleshurt]

At least I’d be of use

Me posting actual writing two days in a row?? Yeah don’t expect this ever again

This is a sadish Drabble I did and it’s just brrrr and reallly bad and BRBRBRBRRBRBR

This takes place in my DFF AU, it’s spunky and I wanted to write Ansgt ya know even if I’m bad at it

Anyways here we go, also this is half inspired by the song Boreas by The Oh Hellos

At least I’d be of use

Tommy was laying on the floor, neglecting his homework. He knew that he should at least start on it but he couldn’t focus, everything was distracting him today, the mice in the alley, the neighbors fighting above them, the chilly wind that pierced through his thin jacket and uniform.

He was racking his brain for ideas, any ideas, he wanted to do something useful, help out in some way. Grumbling to himself, homework didn’t help out the family but for some reason he still had to do it.

In another attempt he rolled over and opened his backpack, pulling out the math worksheet, the numbers and symbols swirled and scrambled around in his brain. Why did he have to learn this? It won’t help him in real life, neither Wilbur or Techno knew super complicated reading or math or science or anything like that and they were okay- Phil even admitted that he didn’t use that stuff in his job and he was a doctor! If he didn’t need that kind of math as a doctor then why did Tommy need it?

Then he finally had an idea.He pushed the paper away and sat up,Wilbur and Phil were still out but Techno was sitting on the couch, reading a book, at least he was when Tommy got home.

Stepping out of his and Wilbur’s room, Tommy jumped on the couch next to Techno, who’s eyes flickered up briefly.

“Teach me how to fight.” Tommy said, sitting on his knees, Techno didn’t even look up.

“No. You’re a child.”

“I’m serious, I want to learn how to fight so I can do those duels like you do.” Tommy said, staring at Techno. Techno closed his book and looked Tommy in the eyes, “How do you know about those?”

“I’m just incredibly observant,” Tommy said, almost matter-of-factly, Techno raised an eyebrow, staring him down.

“I figured out bits and pieces and then bugged Wilbur until he slipped up,” He confessed, not ashamedly, Techno sighed and rubbed his temples, he stayed like that for a few moments, considering his options.

“I’m not teaching you how to fight-”

“Come on!” He just wanted to help out.

“Let me finish, I’ll show you self defense tactics and self defense tactics only, under a few conditions; you cannot tell anyone about the duels, under any circumstances-”

“Why?” Tommy interrupted, Techno groaned, “Come on! Tell me or I’ll tell Tubbo!”

“Don’t even joke about that,” Techno said sharply, he paused, voice softening, “You can’t tell anyone about them because,” he licked his lips nervously, “They are technically illegal.”

“Oh,” Tommy deflated slightly, he chuckled lightly, then laughed a little louder, “Oh, Oh! They are illegal! I thought you were gonna say something about murder!”

“I’m ignoring that,” Techno said, “Listen, you cannot tell anyone about the duels and don’t go around showing off the defense moves, they are strictly for defense only-”

“What if I show them off anyways?” Tommy teased, biting his tongue through a grin, Techno rolled his eyes fondly.

“Then you better be ready to use them,” He cracked his knuckles, Tommy laughed nervously, he would never admit it but he found Techno to be a little scary. Red eyes, lean muscles, and scars that he never explained, Tommy knew he could do some serious damage and he hadn’t even seen him fight! Subconsciously Tommy also knew that Techno was a big nerd that got invested in weird books and cheesy radio shows but it took awhile to get to know that side of him.

The anxiety and frustration started seeping back into his skin, searing and shrinking it until it felt like he couldn’t breath.

“I want to go to the duels-”

“Absolutely not, the crowd is no place for a kid-”

“No, I want to fight in the duels, for money, like you do, I’m serious.” Techno looked at him and Tommy stared him down, mouth in a thin line.

“No.” Techno said firmly, red eyes piercing Tommy’s pale blue. Tommy’s chest felt tight.

“Come on Techno, school is useless, I could actually help out by doing them, it’d be better for everyone-”

“You can help out by staying in school,” Techno cut him off, “Enjoy your childhood, hang out with Tubbo, play, do whatever kids do, don’t worry about it, we’re doing just fine.” Techno waved his hand dismissively, opening his book back up.

Frustration wrapped its thick tendrils around his throat and made him want to scream, he wanted to blow up and yell and pull out his hair. They weren’t fine, he wasn’t stupid, he heard his older brothers talking in hushed desprate whispers. He had seen Phil sitting at the table late at night, papers scattered everywhere with his hands in his hair, trying to see if they could float another bill or if they could find cheaper options for dinner.

He saw the smaller portions the others had while his portions had gotten bigger, Techno claimed to not be hungry, Wilbur said he didn’t like the food, Phil just smiled and told him to eat it. He was growing, they said, he needed it.

Tommy felt like such a drain, going to school cost money, his uniform and books and bag cost money, everything he did cost money.

Money they didn’t have.

His chest hurt everytime he got something he could do without, like new shoes, the old ones had some holes and were scuffed but they worked just fine, he didn’t really need the new ones.

He was scared they’d get kicked out of their shitty apartment, scared everything they’d worked for would be gone, scared that one duel would go to far and Techno wouldn’t come home, that Wilbur would disappear like his parents did, that Phil wouldn’t take a break until he broke.

He feared they’d resent him.

All of the extra food and money spent on someone who made their lives more difficult,someone someone who didn’t help provide, on someone who drained their time with stupid questions and ideas, Someone who could barely pass his math class, someone like him.

He desperately wanted to feel useful, all his brothers provided something, Techno did the duels and chores, Phil was a doctor and got consistent pay and Wilbur had random odd jobs of some sort while Tommy did nothing.

He was a drain of resources.

But he couldn’t tell Techno that, he couldn’t tell any of them. He couldn’t speak or everything would burst out of him, instead he turned and went back to his room, going back to laying on the floor.

He put his math work back in his backpack.

Tommy was quiet for the rest of the night, only saying a few things about school at dinner, Phil tried to ask him about his day in a ditch effort to get him to talk but came up empty handed.

After dinner Tommy climbed the rusty latter on the side of their apartment building, then, jamming his feet in the grooves and cracks of the wall, just like he’d seen Phil do, he hosed himself onto the roof.

Standing on the cold brick he looked at the clear night sky. The moon was big and bright, casting icy light over the land, the wind was blowing so hard it threatened to knock him over so he sat down.

He wrapped his arms around himself, he wasn’t wearing a jacket. Suddenly his chest burned and everything came crashing down. Hot tears boiled in his eyes, stinging against the frigid wind.

He wanted to be useful, to help and provide for his brothers like they did him, he wanted Phil to be able to take a break, for Wilbur to have a better guitar, for Techno to not fight-

He wanted to not be a burden.

He burdened the people that had no reason to take him in, they’d resent him eventually, he knew it, and that thought alone caused him to choke on a sob.

He just wanted to be of use.

#mcyt #minecraft #tommyinnit #minecraft youtubers #sleepyboysinc #sleepy boys inc #technoblr #technoblade #Apples Writing #dff au? #myct AU #sbi au #angst #hurt no comfort #I might be projecting I’m not entirely sure #writing #fanfiction #fanfic #sleepyblr #I was gonna read firerys fic then I forgot I existed #drabbles #tired drabbles #mcyt DFF AU

[pilot-boi]

Snowed In

The first snow of the school year was shaping up to be quite the storm. Not the blow your house down kind of storm, but definitely the bury your house in mountains of frozen water kind of storm.

Ren just wants to get some studying done if he can, and then stay in before the snow buries the whole campus. But he might not be getting buried alone, which might be less irritating than he thinks.

(Secret Santa for @katmotif )

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. And since we’ve no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

AO3 LINK

The sky was growing dark outside, and stars would be twinkling into view if it weren’t for the thick blanket of clouds cushioning the sky. The air was crisp and cold, warning of frost and even colder weather to come.

After days of threatening, and warnings from the campus weather service that nobody heeded, the clouds that had been looming all week were finally fulfilling every student’s wish. Flakes of snow drifted silently from the heavens, dusting the roofs of buildings and cars alike.

While it was getting dark, it was not quite late enough for the streets to be abandoned. So occasionally a car would trundle past, making spotlights in the snow with its headlights. Or a particularly unlucky student would be seen trudging back to their dorm room through the gathering drifts.

One such student was Lie Ren, who was shuffling back to his dorm after a day of studying at the local coffee joint. As soon as the flakes started actually accumulating, he’d waved goodbye to his roommate Jaune, who was one of the unlucky employees, and had headed out the door.

Ren didn’t have a car, and he usually elected to walk around campus instead of employing some sort of transportation. So if he wanted to make it back to his room before the streets became completely un-navigable, he unfortunately had to leave much sooner than normal.

Jaune was not going to have fun biking back through all of this, poor guy.

So there Ren was, messenger bag slung over one shoulder, scarf wrapped tightly around his face, and water soaking through his shoes and into his socks. His breath fogged up the air in front of his face, and, more annoyingly, also fogged up his glasses.

Who needed eyesight anyway? He was seriously debating just taking them off, if only so he could freaking see.

Reaching his building, he swiped his card at the door, waved at the desk attendant, and hiked up all the flights of stairs to his room. He should have the room to himself for the rest of the evening, since Jaune was likely to be occupied at his job for the remainder of the night.

Ren wanted nothing more than to just sit at his desk with a cup of tea and let his mind relax into the comforting haze of schoolwork he already knew the answers to.

All his hopes were dashed when he got nearly tackled to the ground by what looked at first glance like a high-speed ball of cotton candy.

“Reeeeennnn!!” yelled the cotton candy ball, who revealed herself to be Nora Valkyrie. “You’re back already?” she demanded, already dragging him back into his dorm room.

“Nora? How are you here?” he asked, allowing himself to be dragged out of the hallway, through the common area, and into his room. “Did you bully Jaune into giving you his key? Again?” he continued, sighing slightly as he shrugged his scarf off his shoulders.

Nora pouted and plopped herself on his bed, kicking her legs petulantly. “Ren, do you have so little faith in me? I would never! Such baseless accusations, how could you?”

“Nora.” He wasn’t even looking at her as he took off his coat, but he could feel her rolling her eyes at him.

“Okay fine, yeah I did,” she replied, grinning cheekily. “But I promise it’s the last time!”

“Really?” he commented, grabbing his electric kettle and leaving Nora alone in the room to fill it with the water he needed. He didn’t believe her in the slightest. “I don’t believe you in the slightest.”

“Weeeeellll...” he heard Nora trail off noncommittally, in a way that didn’t get Ren’s hopes up at all. “I promise it’s the last time I steal Jaune’s room key!” Ren leveled an unconvinced look at her as he came back into the room. “No really, it is! I’m gonna get Ruby to 3D print me a copy in her next lab!”

She seemed extremely proud of her solution to the problem of how she was going to continue to break into his room. “Nora, I don’t think that’s allowed,” he reminded her, settling the kettle back onto its stand and setting it to boil.

Nora waved him off. “Pffft! Sure it’s not allowed! But it was either this, or breaking out the lock-picking kit Sun got me for my birthday.” Ren reminded himself to remind Jaune to complain to Neptune to yell at his boyfriend for giving Nora the disastrous present. “Besides, you never answered my first question!”

“Which question was that, exactly?” he asked, pulling out a couple of mugs, green tea for him, and specifically the box of non-caffeinated hot chocolate for Nora. Ren’s chances of getting any actual work done were lowered drastically by Nora being here, but they would be non-existent if she managed to get her hands on caffeine.

“Why you’re back so early!” she reminded him, stealing the container of marshmallows before he could stop her. Popping a few in her mouth, she commented, “I thought I’d be waiting around for-EV-er for you!”

“Have you been here that long already?” Ren asked, raising a fond eyebrow at her. He casually pulled the box of marshmallows back out of her hands and ignored her when she pouted. “If you eat all of these, there won’t be any left for your cocoa.”

“So what? They’re still ending up in my belly where they rightfully belong.”

“Now you’re ignoring my question.”

“Hmm? Oh right!” She bounced on his bed, kicking her shoes off to join Ren’s pair placed neatly at the foot of his bed. “But yeah my construction class got cancelled so I got done early. But you usually don’t get back until like freaking midnight!”

It was true. As much as the coffee shop was rarely quiet and he tended to get less work done than he would like, even there he still managed to get sucked into his work and not notice how much time was passing.

More times than not one of the employees would have to usher him out with a sheepish and apologetic smile because he was keeping them from closing up.

“So what’s the deal with that?” she asked, flopping onto her back to stare at him upside down. “Why’re you back already?”

“It’s snowing,” Ren replied simply, nodding at the darkening sky outside his window and the flakes that drifted past. “I wanted to get back before the roads disappeared,” he explained, lifting the whistling kettle off its stand and pouring twin streams of hot water into their mugs.

“What?!” Nora exclaimed, tumbling off his bed and somehow miraculously landing on her feet in a show of nimbleness that definitely would’ve eluded his roommate. “It’s snowing and you didn’t tell me?!”

Ren rolled his eyes at her mock display of offense, hand pressed to her chest and everything. “How was I supposed to know it was going to snow today specifically?” He set his tea to steep in one mug and poured a spoonful of cocoa mix into the other. “You’re the one who’s been waiting all week for this.”

He passed Nora her mug, who had to stop her bouncing to save herself from the burns the sugary drink would definitely give her despite her love of it.

Finally settling down at his desk with his bag and his books and a mountain of papers to finish, Ren got to work on his work. Not his work for work, of course, but damn if his psych professor didn’t make that class feel like a full time job anyway.

Nora started telling him about her day, and his mouth tilted up into a smile in spite of himself. After about a minute her mug was already empty, refilled twice more, and then abandoned. She set it next to his, and without thinking he removed it from the paper she’d set it on, and rotated it so that it faced the same way as his own mug.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ren could see her pacing back and forth and making huge gestures with her arms as she explained some disaster that a fellow stage hand got into. Ren knew that Nora knew that he was only half-listening, but he loved hearing about her day more than he was ready to acknowledge.

He’d comment every so often, and her eyes would light up every time he responded. Even the glimpses he got of her bright-eyed freckle-faced smile were enough to warm him more than the tea ever could.

After about a half an hour of no interruptions, filled with blissful quiet, productive work, and no cocoa refills, he started to get suspicious. Nora not babbling extensively was… oddly off-putting.

It was like when a canary suddenly went silent in a coal mine. You knew something had gone terribly wrong with the universe.

But honestly what was most strange was that he missed her rambling. Ren would’ve thought that she would distract him, but somehow the silence of his room was more deafening than she ever could have been.

He didn’t know how, but he’d gotten used to her stream of consciousness. And now with it gone, when normally he wouldn’t have even noticed that it was happening, its absence was louder than her actual speaking.

Unable to focus on working now, for reasons that eluded him, he sighed and tilted back into his chair. It was really coming down out there, he would barely see the sidewalk outside. And judging by the sky that he couldn’t see, night had well and truly fallen.

And then his eyes landed on Nora.

She was laying sprawled on his bed, one arm looped around his pillow and one hanging over the edge. Still fully clothed, red hair falling like a halo around her head, and completely and utterly asleep.

Well that explained the quiet.

Ren just stared at her for a moment, struck dumb for reasons he couldn’t quite articulate. Something about how he was just now realizing that he’d never seen her quite this peaceful before.

Still fully mobile off course, not even sleep could down Nora Valkyrie completely. Even as he watched she rolled over, pushed the pillow she was holding off the bed, and grumbled something about pancakes under her breath at now finding the pillow missing. Or maybe it was at the missing pancakes, who could say.

But she seemed calm. And exhausted, now that she was keeping still enough for him to really look at her. Dark circles painted the pale skin beneath her eyes, and her naturally frizzy hair stuck up more than even it normally did.

Ren stood up, took one step towards her, and hesitated.

Should he wake her up?

No. He couldn’t wake her up, especially not now that he saw how much she needed the sleep. And, he glanced out the window again, especially not now that the snow was making it dangerous nigh impossible for her to walk back to her own dorm. Even if she wasn’t exhausted Ren didn’t know if he’d be comfortable with her walking back alone in this weather.

And she looked so comfortable, so who was he to move her, really?

Sighing, Ren resolved to let her stay sleeping in his bed and also resolved to bunk on the floor. Or maybe he’d borrow Jaune’s room, as it looked like his roommate had given up on returning home.

After one final sip of tea, he pulled the drawstring to close the blinds and clicked off his lamp. Now the room was lit only by the cool light of the moon. Nora’s hair shone like fire.

He pulled his sweater off, determined that at least one of them would be going to sleep tonight in the correct attire, and folded it neatly. He climbed up onto the bed, intending to pull the blanket more firmly around Nora’s shoulders before leaving, but instead he yelped when she grabbed him and pulled him down.

Lacking the pillow she’d been holding, it looked like she’d made do with him.

Ren froze in her grasp, only remembering to breathe when he saw that she was in fact still asleep. Freckles like a million constellations layered on top of each other speckled their way across her nose and cheeks. Her eyelashes were long and a paler orange than her hair.

Without thinking, Ren wriggled one arm out of her tight grasp and brushed a stray lock of hair off her face.

He froze again, flushed as deep a pink as his eyes, his arm hovering in the air above them. Why the hell did he do that? What if she woke up, what would he do then? What if-

Nora mumbled something else under her breath, and Ren calmed down. He willed the flush out of his face and in froze. Good. Still asleep.

And he was still trapped, but there wasn’t much he could do about that now. Actually...

One arm was pinned to his side, but the other was now free, and having already decided to not wake her up, he instead pulled the blanket up the rest off the way to cover them both.

Shifting as much as he could, he got comfortable and resigned himself to a long night of probably no sleep.

Nora’s grip relaxed, and she nuzzled into his chest. Maybe she somehow knew that he wasn’t going anywhere. This warmed Ren more than the blanket was, and a soft smile spread on his face for a person who was too asleep to notice.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

The snow fell outside, blanketing the world in white flakes. Ren would normally have watched them drift past his window, but he was already fast asleep.

#rwby #lie ren #nora valkyrie #renora #jaune arc #sun wukong #neptune vasilias #seamonkeys #ruby rose #mine #my writing #snowed in #katmotif

[xmalereader]

Thomas Shelby X FTM ! Reader

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|| Masterlist ||

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I hope no one gets offend by this if I didn’t write this correctly, it’s my first time writing FTM so bare with me, also 1920’s was a rough time for same sex couples so do your research before you attack me :)

Requested; hey! hope you're well!! could i request a Tommy x m reader where r is ftm and is feeling Not Good Enough™ and Mr T Fooken Shelby makes him feel better? I'm aware that's vague as fuck and i am so sorry! :) ☀️✨

Warnings; fluff, reader struggling withchange, Thomas being a softy for his boi, cuddling, Shelby family being supportive, Tommy loving his boi, gonna use a random girl name for awhile!!

@chicken-poncho

-

-

He’s finally done it.

No more dresses, no more long hair, no more with having to deal with being someone he is not! Today was the day that he came clean and would confront his boyfriend of one year that he was a changed man and that this is who he truly is.

He stares at hismelf in the mirror, taking in the details of his new haircut and clothes. He can’t help but smile at himself, this was the right thing and it felt right...but would tommy approve? He’s heard of all the rumors about this sort of stuff and how they are casted out and treated like they were mental. His sudden happiness faded away into anxiety as his body shook in fear, was he really ready for this?

His anxiety spikes up once he hears the sound of the front door slamming shut, telling him that tommy was home. He gives hismelf one last look in the mirror before placing his own cap on and heading out to greet his own boyfriend.

He makes his way down the stairs in silence as he hears Thomas enter his office, he drapes his coat over a chair and grabs a glass cup, pouring hismelf a drink as he sighs tiredly. All he wanted to do right now was have a smoke and then sleep away his troubles, hoping that the next day would be less troubling.

As he hears his office door squeak open he can’t help but think that it’s Emma entering his office. “Sorry that I’m late darling, I know that I—“ he turns around to face the stranger that stood inside his office.

Thomas rasies a brow at the strange man that stood in front of him and in silence, he sets his drink down and slowly approaches him. Studying the man closely as realization hits him. “Emma?”

The other flinches from the name, the name that was given to him by birth. A name that he truly hated. “Not anymore...” he can only whisper out as he avoids Tommy’s eyes, waiting for the other to blow up on him or to kick him out, maybe call him disgusting or send him away to a a doctor—!

“Then what should I call you.”

His eyes widen at the sound of Tommy’s soft voice, his head snaps up to see Thomas staring down at him. He didn’t show any signs of anger or disgusted, he couldn’t tell what he was feeling so he swallows his anxiety and responds back. “Y/n.”

Tommy reaches up to remove the cap, slowly lowering it down as he takes in y/n’s new cut. Chucking he ran his fingers through his new cut. “Did the maid cut it, she seems to have missed a spot.” Y/n is surprised by Tommy’s words. “What?”

Thomas sets the cap down. “Whoever cut your hair missed a few spots, you’ll need to fix that in order to look like a man.” Y/n stares in shock, “Thomas aren’t you—“

“Upset?” Tommy finishes for him as the other nods slowly.

“Why would I be, besides I always knew that you weren’t comfortable in those dresses. They never did suit you.” He chuckled out. Tommy didn’t need an explanation about this, he already knew all along he was an observant man and can read anyone like an open book. He once caught y/n trying on his clothes and noticed how comfortable he looked in them and how happy he was, that’s when he put two and two together and figured out everything. He didn’t need to confront y/n since he wanted him to speak up about it first when the time was right.

“You knew?”

“You’re an open book, love.” With that he leans down to steal a kiss from him, causing the other to blush.

“Now, I’ve been very busy and I’m very tired so why don’t we go upstairs into our bedroom and get some rest, yeah?” Tommy grins as he downs his drink and walks back over to y/n, wrapping an arm around him as the two head to their bedroom.

Y/n’s lip twitch up into a smile as he follows Thomas to their bedroom. After a year of being together he never expected Thomas to be so accepting towards him, always thinking that he felt uncorktable around him when really he just loved him a lot more.

—

“Alright everyone, family meeting!”

Tommy was shouting around the betting shop as he rounds up his family members, making sure that he has everyone in the family room before closing the double doors that lead them to the shop. He makes sure to count everyone up, knowing that everyone was here and waiting for him to speak.

“Alright—“

“Wait, where’s Emma? She’s part of this family too you know.” Said Polly as she lights up a cigar and raises a brow. “Don’t tell me that you left her for another women, she was a nice girl you know.” Tommy sighs, lowering his head as he shakes it. “Emma is—“ he didn’t know how to explain to the family. So, to put it all to rest. “She’s dead.”

“Bloody hell, tommy.” He hears John say as the rest of the family are shocked by the news. “Actually she was never really born.” He adds, only getting confused looks from the others. “Tommy what’s going on?” Said Ada, growing stressed and worried.

Tommy stands up straight and clears his throat. “Y/n, get in here.” He calls out as a pair of tapping shoes are heard from coming down the stairs. Y/n steps out to face the Shelby family, keeping his head down as he grew anxious and nervous.

“Emma?” Said Ada as she is able to see y/n’s face clearly.

“No Ada,” Said tommy as y/n approaches him and stands next to him, avoiding everyone’s eyes as he tries to concentrate on his shoes or on the floor, just something to keep him distracted.

“That women that you all knew was never born and instead grew up as a man, someone who we all dearly love and know so from today on, you will address him as Y/n.” Said tommy as he eyes everyone, Polly was the only one to be able to put the puzzle pieces together, she knew that tommy wasn’t very good at explaining this sort of stuff to others which means that she must be the only one that understood.

As the room grew silent, Y/n’s anxiety can only spike up. He hears the sound of a chair scraping against the hardwood floors and the sound of tapping shoes, his eyes slowly widen in fear as the person gets closer. He notices the high heeled shoes and quickly recorgnizes them as Pollys.

He flinches when he feels her fingers graze against his cheek as they trial down to his chin, lifting his head up slowly as he looks into Polly’s eyes. Polly slowly smiles at y/n. “Welcome to the Shelby family.” She says softly, using her thumb to wipe away y/n’s tears that were slowly trailing down his cheeks.

Tommy smiles at Polly as she pulls y/n into a hug, whispering soft words into his ear as she tries to calm him down. “Now, now, dear. No need to panic, we all support your decision and we promise to keep a close on you, we don’t want anyone else to notice, now do we?” She says the last part out loud as the rest of the family agrees. “People like you can easily get hurt but your now a part of the Shelby family so your safe with us.” She places a kiss on his forehead.

Y/n chuckles lightly at her humor. “Thank you, Pol.”

“Oh! He sounds handsome too.” She says, earning another laugh from him.

Y/n blushes, not noticing the others approaching as they pull him into hugs. He would get his hair ruffled by Arthur and John while Finn could only stare and blush at Tommy’s boyfriend, suddenly acting nervous around him while Polly and Ada started throwing him complimates and teasing him as they flirted as well.

Tommy watches his family closely, leaning against the wall as he watches Y/n being showered in affection and support from one of the most dangerous families of all. He can’t help but let one of his rare smiles slip as he continues watching his lover getting the suppprt and love that he deserves.

He pushes himself off the wall and walks over to wrap his arms around y/n and pull him into a hug. “Alright, no more affection form you guys, that’s suppose to be my job.” He says as he shoos away his family members who laugh in return. Y/n giggles as he fixes his hair and turns to face Thomas. “Thank you, for everything.” He tells hims. “You’re welcome, for everything.” He says back and leans down to kiss his boyfriend.

Y/n kisses back and smiles against his lips, he hears the others whistle causing him to blush in embarrassment.

“Right that’s enough.” Tommy shouts at his brothers as they laugh and tease the couple. “Back to work now.” He adds as the brothers groan and head back into the betting shop.

“You better not fuck under this roof, you have your own house for that.” Said Ada as she passes by them, a grin on her face while Tommy glares in return.

Y/n shakes his head. “No promises.” He gives her a smirk in return, feeling Tommy’s arms tighten around his torso. “Just like he said, no promise so will be starting now.” And with that he drags y/n upstairs and into the spare bedroom, making sure to lock the doors not wanting to get interrupted by anyone.

#thomas shelby x male reader #male reader #thomas shelby #peaky blinders #thomas shelby x ftm reader #ftm reader #cillian murphy x male reader #cillian murphy

[firemblem-fics]

here’s part three! I’m really close to 1k (five away) and I kinda wanted to wrap it up but also like ... leave room for a part four to REALLY wrap things up maybe?? Idk

Also I’m NOT happy wit dis one but I think it’s decent. This was also written in mobile so I’m SORRY it’s kinda badly formatted I’ll shorten it later

parents PT 3. | claude

“What do you want?”

“Can I not eat dinner with my two favorite people?”

“Lorenz and Hilda are at the other table.”

Claude laughed at your annoyance and sat down beside you. You wished August had wanted to sit beside you today, but he insisted on sitting across. He saw everyone else sitting across from the person they were talking to, so he wanted to try it out as well.

“That was a good one. It’s a shame I tend to despise Lorenz more often than not.”

You decided not to respond, instead watching August as he ate the fish you had cut up for him. The chatter of the dining hall faded away as a warmth enveloped your hand. You furrowed your eyebrows and looked down, seeing Claude’s hand on top of your own. You looked at him questioningly.

He wasn’t looking at you. “I just wanna say that you’re doing a good job with him. And that I’m sorry for being an ass about him.”

You were confused. “What? What spurred this on?”

“When August stayed with me the other evening and I taught him how to tie his shoes-“

“I taught him-“

“It was a mutual thing, okay? We both did it.” He sighed, “I realized that it was kinda hard to watch after a kid for even an hour and that I was being harsh on you since you had to take care of him 24/7. So, I’m sorry. And I want to help you more. The kid’s kinda grown on me.”

“Oh, and I haven’t grown on you?” You teased.

“You certainly have, but this is about the kid you’re raising alone at 17. I wanna take him off your hands for the rest of the night. He and I can have a dude’s night and you can relax.”

You watched his eyes for any kind of suspicious glimmer, but it was hard with his hand still on yours, warming your entire body. August was listening patiently to the both of you, excitedly kicking his feet as he finished his dinner.

Reluctantly, you sighed. “Okay. But, please, don’t teach him any bad things.”

Claude linked his pinky with yours. “I promise. And be safe, now, it looks like it’s gonna storm soon.”

You watched as Claude then walked around the other side of the table and picked up August and his plate, the younger boy giggling the entire time. People in the dining hall had begun to watch, expecting you to yell at Claude, but you just sat there, eating your dinner.

The two boys waved goodbye at you as they went back to Claude’s dorm and your heart slightly hurt. You missed him already. Which boy were you talking about? You didn’t really know.

Your hand felt cold now without Claude’s, but you shook it off. He may have some newfound respect for you or whatever the fuck is going on, but he’s only doing it to make you flustered. Hilda said so herself.

But, was Hilda really someone you should trust when it comes to such things? She can be a little… much. But she’s Claude’s best friend. She has to know something, right?

Goddess, who knows.

You cleaned up and headed back to your room, getting ready for bed.

———

The storm was slowly picking up, the clouds covering the normally starry sky. You sat on your bed, reading a book, not used to your room being so quiet anymore. Usually August was telling you a story that he made up or playing with the little wooden horses and soldiers that you had bought him at the market, but now the toys lay motionless in the middle of your floor.

Rain was falling heavily now, pounding against the roof and you yawned, feeling sleepy. You turned off the oil lamp and laid underneath the blankets, ready to sleep-

Knock, knock.

What?

“Y/N? Are you awake… August is crying and he won’t stop and I, uh, I don’t know what to do.”

You turned back on the light and shot up from the bed, opening the door and immediately taking August from Claude’s arms and into your own. The little blond boy was sniffling and slightly damp from the rain. Claude came in and shut the door, sitting on the bed as you grabbed an extra blanket to wrap around the boy as you sat next to him.

“Auggie, what’s wrong?”

He gripped tightly onto your shirt as thunder rumbled across the sky. “...Don’t like storms. Scary.”

“Aw, buddy,” Claude reached over to rub his back. “It’s okay, we’re safe in here.”

August shook his head. “No…”

Claude looked at you and scooted closer to where your legs were touching. He still held onto August’s back. “Well, how can we help you?”

“Stay with me?”

You gave Claude a look, because there’s no way in hell Claude would be sleeping in your bed with you and your son. There was barely any room for the two of you, much less three.

Claude smirked, still keeping eye contact with you. “Of course, buddy, I’ll stay as long as you want.”

You were about to yell at him, but the way August lit up in happiness made you rethink it. He was about to thank Claude before lightning struck and made the ground rumble. He whimpered and buried his face back into your neck. You sighed.

“Alright. It’s late, so let’s get you to bed. If you’re asleep, you won’t even know it’s storming.” You stood up to turn off the light again and when you turned back around, Claude was already making himself quite comfortable. “There’s not enough room for the three of us to lay there.”

“Well, August can lay on you, then. He’s not really heavy, you’ll be fine.” Claude replied cheekily.

You rolled your eyes and pulled the blankets back, getting in and laying on your back. August was already half asleep, feeling comforted by the two of you being there. Claude slipped his arm underneath your pillow and laid his hand back on the boy’s back.

“What are you doing?” You whispered.

“Uh, comforting my son?”

“He’s my son.”

“Our son?”

“No.”

———

When you awoke in the morning, you were laying on your side. Normally this was okay, because August is already up and playing around like you heard him doing just now. But today was different.

Your room usually smelled like vanilla and patchouli- a wonderful, comforting aroma.

Waking up, you smelled Almyran pine needles and a scent that one could only describe as Claude. You opened your eyes and came face to … face with his chest a little too close for comfort.

His arm was still underneath your head, the other draped lazily around your waist as long legs tangled with yours. You could hear August whispering, but you didn’t think much of it until Claude whispered back.

“Auggie, do you know where Lorenz’s room is?”

“Yeah…”

“Can you go to his room and ask him to make a cup of (your favorite tea)? When he finishes, bring it back and be careful. It’s hot and you could get hurt. It’s for mommy.”

You waited for August to leave and close the door before lifting your head. “Mommy?”

“Ah, darn, you heard.” Claude smiled softly. “I was hoping to surprise you.”

“Why?”

“No reason, really. Just wanted to be nice.”

“Claude von Riegan being nice to me? That’s strange.” You joked.

Claude only laughed and leaned forward a little, pressing a small kiss to your forehead and taking you by surprise. You flushed.

“Wh-“

“I think it’s time I apologize, Y/N.” He paused, “I’m sorry for being an ass to you. I know I said it yesterday, but I gave you shit because it made you pay attention to me. You being so damn cute all the time frustrated me because all I wanted to do was kiss you and show you off. But I was scared and I thought that with my teasing, I made you hate me, so I continued to just fluster you. That’s no excuse, of course, so if you don’t want to forgive me then I’ll go back to my place as a babysitter whom you hate.”

Every word Claude spoke made your heart flip a little bit more.

Hilda was right. Curse her.

“I- I forgive you, Claude. Now that I’m thinking about it, you kinda grew on me. If there was ever a moment that you left me alone, I felt a little empty. Are you still gonna tease me?”

Claude smoothed out your hair and rested his chin atop your head. “I’ll fluster you, but in more affectionate ways. If that’s okay with you, of course.”

You could only smile. “Of course.”

You laid there for a few minutes in silence, relishing in the feeling of Claude’s thumb rubbing circles into your hip before the door opened. August walked in, carefully carrying a cup of tea. You both sat up and smiled, taking the cup from August as he crawled up and sat in Claude’s lap.

“Thank you, little one. And thank you, Claude.”

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem x reader #fire emblem imagines #fire emblem three houses x reader #x reader #fire emblem three houses imagines #claude #claude x reader #claude imagines #claude von riegan imagines #claude von riegan #claude von riegan x reader

[slowly-writing]

Part of the Family: Part 6

Avengers x Kid!Reader

Part 1   Part 7

Word Count: 2274

a/n: Hey y’all! Here’s part 6! I wanted to let y’all know I have a few pretty important tests this week so I’m not sure how active I’ll be, but I’ll try to still get some stuff out for you guys. Have a great day!

After that day you started hanging out with Peter more at school, you and MJ merging in with him and Ned to form one friend group. You even stayed with Peter and his aunt when the whole team had to go to Sokovia. You had begged them to let you come but they refused. It was too high profile of a mission with too much room for injury. Your parents were still just a little too protective for your liking, so for now you had to watch the news and wait for them to come back.

You shake yourself out of your thoughts as you hear people yelling down the hall.

“Hey! It’s Penis Parker!” Flash yells as Peter walks into school.

You walk up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder, “hey buddy. Leave him alone, alright?”

You tower over him but Flash doesn’t know how to be intimidated apparently, and he refuses to back down, “why do you hang out with that loser anyway?”

“Because unlike you, he has a personality outside of being a dick. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to be anywhere but here,” you smirk as Flash’s friends laugh and walk back towards MJ.

“Hey, thanks y/n,” Peter says as he and Ned walk over, “I’m trying to keep the whole, uh, internship on the downlow.” You nod, acknowledging that he doesn’t want to say the truth with so many people around.

“I get it. That ship sailed for me a while ago, but you’re a part of the team now. We’ve got each other’s backs. If he keeps bugging you, let me know, yeah?”

Peter nods before walking off to class, you smile after him, he’s kind of turning into the brother you never had. He’s part of the family now, and you always take care of your family.

“You’re a good person, you know that?” MJ asks and you blush.

“It’s uh...the serum. I can’t help it,” you try to brush it off but she grabs your hand looking up at you.

“No it’s not. You and I both know that serum just brings out what’s already inside you. You’re a good person, and that’s all you.” She says and you smile down at her, “now c’mon. Let’s get to class, loser.”

You laugh, “you’re incapable of showing feelings for more than 30 seconds at a time, huh?”

“Shut up, Jr,” she teases and you roll your eyes.

xxxxx

“Thank you for dinner Miss Parker. And thank you again for letting me stay here while my parents are out of town,” you say and Peter’s aunt smiles at you.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me May? And of course, you’re welcome here anytime, y/n.”

“Thank you, May.”

“So what did you say your parents do?” She asks and you look to Peter who shrugs.

“You can tell her if you want.”

“Tell me what?” She asks and you smile.

“They’re, um…they’re Avengers. Black Widow and Captain America. I kinda am too. They had to leave on a mission. Normally I’d stay in the tower with whoever was left, but this was kind of a whole team sort of situation,” you explain and her eyes get wide.

“Wow, I knew I recognized your last name from somewhere. If it was a whole team thing why aren’t you with them?” she says and you smile.

“Yeah I get that a lot. They’re a bit protective. They don’t like to admit that I can help. I’ve been training with them since I was twelve and I think sometimes they still see me as a little kid,” you say with a laugh.

“That makes sense. I don’t know how I’d handle it if Peter was off doing what you do. That’s very admirable of you,” she says and you and Peter exchange a look.

“Um...yeah. Thank you,” you say softly.

xxxxx

“Come on Parker, one more rep!” You encourage Peter as he finishes his workout. You had come to the tower to use the training room. People looked at you funny when you bench pressed hundreds of pounds at the gym.

“Man, I may have the strength, but you definitely have the stamina y/n.” Peter says and you groan.

“Please don’t start that whole strongest Avenger fight right now. It never ends. My dad and I have been arguing about it since before he was my dad,” you say rolling your eyes. MJ laughs from her spot next to you. She’s sitting criss cross on an empty bench reading a book. You’ve long since stopped trying to get her to participate in your workouts but she always comes to keep you company.

“You were raised around way too much testosterone, y/n,” MJ stays and you roll your eyes.

“Don’t I know it. I swear heightened testosterone levels were a requirement to live here. I don’t know how mom and I survived.”

“By being the smartest people here,” your mom says from the door and you grin.

“Hell yeah we are!” You say, running over to hug her. “How was the mission?”

“The mission went fine. It was a tough one but we made it out, we always do,” she says and you smile at her. “Also, don’t let your dad hear you talk like that, he’ll yell ‘language’ at you,” she jokes and you laugh.

“I know he’s from the 40s but he really needs to get with the times.”

“Who needs to get with the times?” Steve walks through the door and you shake your head.

“Oh great, it’s a family affair. Did you guys need something?” You tease, but really you’re glad that they’re both home safe. You always get a little stressed when they’re gone. Your dad puts a hand over his heart.

“Our little girl is all grown up, she doesn’t need us anymore,” your mom says, wiping fake tears from under her eyes.

“They grow up so fast. It feels like just yesterday she was taking her first steps,” your dad joins in and you can hear Peter and MJ laughing behind you.

“You do realize you didn’t meet me until I was twelve, right? Is the old age finally getting to you dad?” You tease and he laughs.

“Very funny. Anyway, we were coming to tell you guys that we’re all home and dinner's almost ready, unless of course you don’t want food,” your dad goes to leave and both you and Peter jump to stop him.

“No!” You yell in unison cause the other three to laugh.

“We just gotta hit the showers real fast, we’ll be down in a minute!” You say and Peter looks at you.

“Race you!” He yells before taking off toward the locker room.

“You’re going down, Parker!” You yell, running after him.

“Miss Romanoff, I really think all that testosterone is getting to her,” MJ says with a laugh and your mom places a hand on her shoulder.

“You’ve got no idea, kid.”

xxxxxxx

“Hey guys!” Clint walks in to dinner a few minutes late, “I come bearing our newest recruit! She helped us out in Sokovia.” He says as a girl with brown hair and a shy smile step out from behind him.

“Hello, everyone. I didn’t really have time to introduce myself in all the chaos. I’m Wanda,” the girl says, with a thick accent.

“What is this, teenager recruitment week? Can MJ join up, too?” You tease and Clint rolls his eyes.

“We’re not making your girlfriend an Avenger because you think it’d be cute.” Tony says and you blush looking away.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” you grumble and MJ laughs.

“Only cause you won’t ask me out,” she says with a smirk and your jaw drops .

“Wait, what?” You look at her with wide eyes.

“Y/n, flirt later. Introduce yourself now,” your mom cuts in, snapping you out of your stupor.

“Huh? Oh yeah. Hey Wanda, I’m y/n. I’m the resident teenager around here. This is Peter, he’s on the team with us, and this is my friend MJ.”

“Your potential girlfriend if I heard correctly,” Wanda cuts you off and you glare.

“Yeah she’s gonna fit in fine,” you say rolling your eyes as she laughs. “Anyway! Neither of them live here, but they’re here all the time.  Everyone else stays here and they’re all members of the team. My parents Natasha and Steve, and that is Tony and Bruce. You’ve obviously met Clint.”

“That’s a lot of names,” Wanda laughs nervously and you smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ve had years to get this down. You’ll get there. Are you moving in?” You ask and she nods, “cool! Well, how about you join us for dinner and then Peter, MJ, and I can give you the tour. You three are lucky by the way! I only had all the old guys to show me around. They didn’t tell me that you could play video games on the screens in the lab or about the secret passageway to the roof.”

“Secret what now?”

“Nothing, mom!” You say, avoiding eye contact, causing everyone else to laugh.

xxxxx

“Hey, now that there’s more teenagers here can I drop out of school again?” You ask the next morning at breakfast and your dad laughs.

“Nice try, kid” Tony says and you sigh.

“Again?” Wanda asks and you nod.

“I dropped out when I first got here. I didn’t quite have control of my strength and they were trying this whole joint parenting thing. With 5 parents I could pretty much always convince one of them to give me my way. Then they adopted me and dad went on a power trip and put me back in school,” you tease and your dad rolls his eyes.

“Since when is making sure you get an education a power trip?” Steve asks.

“Since I could’ve been training and making sure I was ready for any danger that could arise.”

“Like wrenches?” Your mom teases as she walks in and you groan.

“When are you gonna let that go? I was a little kid!”

“Wrenches?” Wanda asks and you sigh.

“There was an accident in the lab when I first moved in. Long story short, I was helping Tony and he wasn’t paying enough attention leading to me getting hit in the face with a wrench and needing stitches,” you explain and she tries to hide her laugh.

“They won’t let me live it down,” you groan.

“Are you complaining about the wrench again?” Tony asks and you throw your hands in the air.

“Mom brought it up again. It wasn’t me!”

“Sure, y/n. Whatever you say,” he teases and you roll your eyes.

“You know what? I take it back. I don’t want to drop out. I’m going to school to get away from you crazy people!” You yell, grabbing your bag and heading for the door.

“Wait!” Your dad calls, “Wanda is going to start at your school today. Show her around, okay?”

“Yeah sure, welcome to the American education system kid,” you say leading her out the door.

“It surely can’t be as weird as they say it is, can it?” She asks and you laugh.

“It’s worse, there’s videos of my dad for almost every subject. You’ll hate it, let’s go.”

xxxxxx

“So how do you wanna play this?” You ask as you climb off your dirt bike, since you had turned 16 your mom finally let you drive it to school. Luckily she was a little groggy this morning and didn’t have time to put together that you don’t have a spare helmet. It’s not like you really need one anyway, you always give it to MJ when you sneak out to take her on rides.

“What do you mean?” Wanda asks as you lead her into school.

“Do you want to tell people you’re joining the Avengers? Everyone knows about me, but Peter keeps it a secret,” you explain and she nods.

“They’ll all find out eventually, right?” she says and you nod. “Then we can tell them. It’s okay.”

“It’ll hopefully help you get made fun of less,” you say and her eyes get wide, “Don’t worry. Most of them are scared of me. Stick with me and you’ll be good.”

“Hey, Captain Widow!” Somebody yells as you walk in and you nod in their general direction. That had become your sort of unofficial superhero name, but you kind of enjoyed it.

“Who’s the new kid?” Flash says stepping in front of you.

“This is Wanda, she’s joining the Avengers with me,” you say and he smirks.

“New teenager kick, I like it. Can I join?” he asks and you roll your eyes.

“You have to have some actual talent for that one, now, if you don’t mind, I’m pretty sure being in your presence is killing my brain cells,” you say stepping around him.

“Flash bugging you again?” Peter asks as you walk up and you shrug.

“He just wants to seem cool, he doesn’t do a very good job of it though.”

“You can say that again,” Ned says and you laugh.

“Oh, right! Wanda this is Ned, Ned this is Wanda, she just moved into the tower,” you introduce.

“Nice to meet you!” Ned says and Wanda smiles at him.

“Are you coming over today?” you ask MJ softly and before she can respond Peter cuts in.

“When does she not? She’s there more than I am and I’m on the team!”

“Watch it spiderboy,” you say and he raises his hands in surrender.

Tag list: @rvgrsbrns

Series Tag list: @hannahsairwave

#avengers x reader #avengers imagine #Avengers kid fic #avenger imagine #avengers #steve rogers x daughter!reader #natasha romanoff x daughter!reader #wanda maximoff #mj x reader #michelle jones x reader #peter parker #marvel imagine #part of the family

[saeyoungs-sunflower]

A Piece of You: Chapter 3

Pairing: Zen x MC

Synopsis: After the death of his sister, Zen is entrusted with raising her daughter. Six years later and MC has settled into RFA, but she just wants to be back on the roof with the love of her life like she was two years before. But dealing with teenage years, dragged out engagements and a lot of unsaid feelings, you start to lose a piece of you. Or, perhaps, find a piece you had that had been missing the whole time.

Warnings: None!

A/N: Heya! So I know this series isn’t getting a lot of notes or anything, but I still have a lot of ideas/inspiration for it so I’m gonna keep it going, even if it’s just for me haha! Also want to say a massive thank you to @sunshinejihyun for saying such kind things about this series and being so enthusiastic for it, as well as just generally being a lovely human being. She’s given me a lot of motivation to keep writing this so thank you so much for that! Love ya!! <3

⇦ Previous Chapter

***

“Oh, two can play at that game, buddy!” MC cried as she threw a handful of flour at Saeyoung, who was currently rolling on the floor, clutching his stomach as tears of laughter rolled triumphantly down his cheeks.

“Honestly, MC! It was an-an accident!”

“Ah okay, so the egg just accidentally got crushed on my head, did it?” you questioned, finger tapping expectantly on the counter, raw egg white now trickling down your forehead.

“Well,” Saeyoung tried to speak, but kept being interrupted by his own laughter, “I guess…you could say you have..” he bit his lip, “egg on your face.”

“You have five seconds to run,” MC said eerily calmly, but Saeyoung knew what was coming and did not miss a beat to bolt out of the kitchen. MC promptly followed, arms held out ready for the most fierce tickle war anyone had ever seen.

“So childish,” Saeran mumbled, perched on the counter-top as he scooped batter out of the mixing bowl before licking the spoon.

Saeyoung was finally caught by MC on the couch, shrieks of laughter filling the house as MC mercilessly tickled his stomach - his most ticklish spot, she’d learnt.

The three had grown remarkably close over the past year or so, after MC spent most of it living with the twins to help the two grow closer together, and to help Saeyoung when Saeran was at his lowest. She always knew how to calm Saeran down whilst also reassuring Saeyoung that he was not at fault. They had become more like triplets, and MC adored her little family. It wasn't a family until she found them, and Saeyoung willed himself to believe that such an immense kindness was nurtured in a place of warmth and care.

But MC was not an open book. She was a brand-new novel, placed prettily on a coffee table to be admired and shown-off. In order to read the contents, the spine would have to be broken, edges curled, pages stained. To understand her would be to break her, which was a price MC wouldn’t dare bid.

Saeyoung thought that such a warm heart would never survive the biting ice of the world, and therefore wearing it on her sleeve would be suicide.

And that’s where he went wrong. That’s where he lost his chance. Because the world wasn’t as cold as either of them initially thought, you just had to look in the right places. Saeyoung had found his place now, and the taste of remorse lingered bitterly on his tongue when he realised he couldn't be that place for her, and that she still didn’t know where to look.

But that thought was for another day. Outward gratitude spoke louder than inward regret.

“Okay! Okay okay OKAY MC I’m sorry! Please, have mercy!” Saeyoung pleaded.

“Hm, sorry’s not good enough.”

“What about if I promise you the love and affection from your favourite tomato - God Seven!”

“I get that anyway. And besides, Saeran’s my favourite tomato.”

Saeyoung let out a cry of disbelief, but Saeran snickered from the kitchen, “Idiot. Know your place.”

He sighed, giving in, “Fine, I’ll stop giving physics lessons in the chatroom for at least two months.”

“Now that’s a deal I can get behind.”

The two shook on it, giggling like children as they headed back into the kitchen, clearing up the absolute bomb site they had made. MC idly glanced up at the clock before letting out a loud gasp, startling both twins. “Crap, I gotta get ready! And get this stupid egg out of my hair!”

“Ooooo,” Saeyoung sung, the corners of his mouth curling into a smug grin, “has someone got a date?” he joked.

MC stayed quiet, suddenly peaking the interest of the red-heads who promptly stopped what they were doing, “Wait, are you serious, MC?!” Saeyoung burst, voice cracking (adorably) at the end, “You actually have a date?”

“Did that punk finally ask you out?” Saeran said nonchalantly as he finished scraping out the remainder of the batter.

MC quirked an eyebrow, “What do you mean? What punk?”

Saeyoung shot his brother a pointed look before turning back to MC, “Ignore him, it’s the salmonella talking. So who are you going out with? Do we know him?”

MC tried to busy herself by checking the cupcakes in the oven, suddenly feeling a little coy about the subject, “I doubt you know him, he's a friend of Zen’s. They’re co-stars in the play he's in, actually.”

Saeran gave Saeyoung a perplexed look, which went completely missed by MC. Saeyoung brushed it off, though he knew he felt the same way as his brother, “Awwww MC! You’re all grown up!” MC groaned, but this only encouraged him, “So, what’s his name?”

“His name’s Chul. And don't you dare go snooping around and doing background checks or whatever. I can figure him out for myself, thank you very much. Promise?”

Saeyoung whined like a toddler, but agreed anyway, “Well, you better get going or you’re gonna be late! Do you want a ride home?”

“It’s okay, I have to stop at the shop on the way,” MC said as she put on her coat and slung her bang over her shoulder. She was also incredibly grateful that she remembered to bring a hat today to…you know, hide the egg and whatnot. “You better save me a cupcake!”

“We’ll bring some round tomorrow,” he called after her, “and you can tell me all the juicy details!”

“Not a chance, Choi boy!” she called out from the doorway before slamming the door.

“She’s seriously going on a date with another guy? I could have sworn she was all loved up by Mr ‘God’s mistake’ or whatever.”

“She was,” Saeyoung sighed, cleaning up the remnants of their shenanigans, “but that was what, two years ago now? Zen hasn’t shown any indication of wanting to go further, she has the right to move on.”

“Sure,” Saeran started as he hopped off the counter to help his brother, “but isn't she going to ask him about it? Just in case?”

“Something tells me she already has.”

Her visit was completely welcome, but unexpected. MC had called the night before asking if they wanted to hang out, when she’d usually just text an hour or so before to check that they weren’t busy and then just turn up. It was like she needed the reassurance, like she needed to have the certainty that she would see them. Like she needed it to get through the night.

It could have been written off as pre-date nerves, but Saeyoung suspected it went deeper than that. You learn a lot from living with someone for months, and Saeyoung knew that MC wasn't acting like herself. The thought made him chew on his lip as he continued to wash up.

Saeran noticed this, lightly punching his brother in the arm, “Hey, she’s a tough girl. I’m sure she's perfectly capable of handling boy-drama.”

Boy-drama? Probably. But Saeyoung knew very well, from his own experience, the look of someone in love, as well as the look of someone heartbroken. He saw the first look fade away from MC’s face, being replaced by the latter. It felt like a punch in the gut.

Once everything was cleaned up, Saeyoung opened up his laptop and started typing away.

He was going to have to break his promise. Just this once. For her sake. He couldn’t fail her for the second time.

He never wanted to see that look on her face again.

***

“So, how long have you known Zen?” Chul asked casually as the waitress brought the bill.

“About two years now, I think?” MC replied, taking a sip of her wine.

“Mm, and how much of that time have you been in love with him?”

MC almost choked on her drink, her eyes darting to his. Chul chuckled, handing her a napkin, “Sorry, I suppose that was a little forward.”

“Just a tad,” MC said, trying to recover, “What makes you think I was in love with him?”

“I saw the way you were looking at him on stage, and the look on your face when he was doing the kissing scene,” he took a sip of his own drink, “I just connected the dots.”

“Ah…I see.”

“Relax, I’m not going to say anything to him. I just want to know what he did to make you look so defeated, so upset,” he stared directly into her eyes, “Were you guys together at some point? Did he hurt you?”

“God no! No no, we were never together,” she felt a sharp pang in her chest, “and he never did anything to hurt me. He’s always been such a sweetheart…”

Chul nodded, listening intently, “So why did you never get together? You both clearly care for each other.”

Why did they never end up together? Ah, yeah, because Zen clearly didn’t want that. Maybe she wasn't his type, maybe he saw her more as a sister, maybe she just wasn’t good enough for him.

Ouch.

“I…We just weren't meant to be, I suppose.” And why were they talking about this anyway? Bit of a weird topic of conversation for a first date, MC thought, “Why did you want to know?”

He smiled, “I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting in the middle of anything. And I’ve been worried about that look since I last saw you. I wanted to know if you were alright, and if you weren’t, if it was something I could help you get over.”

MC smirked, “Oh? You think you can help me get over him?” she said jokingly.

“I do,” Chul said gently, “If you let me.”

The night was surprisingly pleasant. Not that MC doubted that Chul was a nice guy, she just thought that going on a date with someone considering her current situation would be too weird, but she actually had a lovely time. They had a fantastic meal at a beautiful restaurant, which despite MC’s protests, Chul paid for. She said she’d pay for the next one, which made Chul smile at the confirmation of a ‘next one’. He walked her home, slowly strolling under the warm glow of the streetlights they passed, hands occasionally brushing against each other, chatting as though they were old friends.

He kissed her softly on the cheek at her doorstep before wishing her a good night. As he turned away, his words from before rang in MC’s ear.

If you let me.

He was already halfway down the block when MC caught up to him, grabbing his arm to spin him round to face her. After a moments hesitation, she balanced on her tip-toes to land a chaste kiss on Chul’s lips, which he happily returned with the same gentleness as before.

MC had never been one to kiss on the first date. Hell, she had never been the one to date full-stop. But she saw an opportunity for adventure, for companionship…for love. She obviously didn’t love Chul, but she knew she could. She would no longer wish upon a shooting star, now she would shoot after it herself.

She broke away from the kiss first and slowly untangled her arms from around his neck, “Goodnight, Chul.”

He smiled softly at her, loosening his hold around her waist, “Goodnight, MC.”

As she walked back to her apartment, she swore she felt the ghost of Chul’s hand on the small of her back, his lips on her own. She suddenly missed his voice, his scent, his touch. She suddenly missed him. Or did she miss being wanted by him?

MC took out her phone once she made it through her door, her thumb hovering over Zen’s number. Usually it was instinctual to call him the second she felt the pull of loneliness, and she knew he would have been worrying about her. But she couldn't bring herself to press the button.

If things were going to work out with Chul, she needed to give him the best chance. She needed to give him her attention, and needed to confide in him rather than a love that never was.

She knew that you can’t get over the hurdle if you never leave the starting line, and she knew that Chul could help her get over it once she did.

If she let him.

***

Masterlist || Next Chapter

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger fanfic #mystic messenger fanfiction #zen x mc #zen ryu #hyun ryu #mm zen #mystic messenger zen #my writing

[thiswasinevitableid]

for the meet ugly prompts: sternclay, 78, sfw pls!!!

78: I run a YouTube channel where I talk about different things and one video is on the topic of an immortal creature / piece of history and you track me down to tell me how inaccurate it all is.

Stern finishes his notes, shuts his laptop and pushes in the chair at the little desk. Rain patters on the cabin roof, making for a singularly cozy scene with the fire in the woodstove and the tea steeping on the counter. 

He can’t believe his luck in finding this place; he’d assumed his trip to the Olympic Peninsula would involve solely sleeping in tents in the rain. Which he’s prepared for, but it’s nice to have the spot of his longest stay be indoors. 

The vlog’s been getting a ton of attention on the trip, which is good news for him; turns out doing the legwork to tell something other than the same four Bigfoot anecdotes is popular with large chunks of the internet. 

He does a crossword as he finishes his tea, changes into his sleepwear and climbs into the queen bed; the owners must assume it’s couples who rent this space.

Yeah, right, like Stern is going to have a boyfriend any time soon. 

Turning off the lamp leaves him with just the light from the smoke detector and the nearby clock radio for company. Lord, he didn’t mean to stay up until 1 am working. Again. 

Snuggling down under the covers, he coaxes his mind in the direction of picturing a hot tub and someone rubbing his shoulders. It immediately veers back to two of the stories he collected last week, both about more...alarming Bigfoot encounters. One in which Bigfoot broke into a trailer, leaving the owner cowering in the bathroom while he trashed the place. The other about Bigfoot stalking hiker in the woods, staying just out of sight but growling constantly. 

Then there are the disappearances, but there’s not actually any solid evidence tying them to the cryptid. It’s as he’s reminding himself of this that he rolls over, eyes opening long enough to glimpse something moving outside the rain-streaked window.

He shuts them in a hurry, takes deep breaths to calm down. He’s seen deer all over the place today, that’s probably what that was. 

Knock knock

There is no way on gods green earth that he’s opening that door. 

Knock knock.

The odds of that being someone, or something, that wants to hurt him are much higher than those of it being someone in need of his help. 

Knock knock. 

He holds his breath, listens for footsteps. Instead, the doorknob clicks side to side, jiggles when whatever's out there finds it locked. Thank fuck for the deadbolt.

Crack

Both bolts splinter the wooden frame, and a figure that has to duck to enter the cabin steps through it. It has fur, it’s eyes reflect the light he shines from his phone onto them, and it has very, very big feet. 

“Fuck.” He whispers, pressing against the backboard. 

“You’re Joseph Stern, right.” A deep voice rumbles. 

He nods, finding the fact that Bigfoot is talking to him calming rather than perplexing.

“Thank fuck, ‘cause this was gonna be really awkward otherwise.” He shuts the door, slides the nearby bookshelf across it as if it weighed nothing. 

“Close the blinds.”

Stern reaches up and pulls the cord, sending them down. Fumbles in the dark, eyes on the shadowy figure as he tries to find the lamp switch. He hits it just as the cryptid reaches the foot of his bed. Bigfoot blinks, squinting, then crosses his arms. 

“Okay buddy, we need to talk.”

“About….?” 

Bigfoot gives him a look of barely-concealed exasperation, “about the videos you’ve been making. You got a bunch of stuff wrong.”

“I did my research.” Stern adjusts his blankets with a huff, is forced to do so again when Bigfoot sits down on the bed.

“Yeah, from sources that are full of shit.”

“That’s--” he raises his hand to object, then stops, “that’s actually fair. I, um, I have to hit a certain video length for each episode, so sometimes I include anecdotes that have little to no corroboration.”

“Like the trailer story?”

“Damn it, I should have trusted my gut on that one. It was the vocalization description, it sounded wrong.”

“Yep. Kinda surprised you missed that, you’re usually pretty sharp.”

“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment.”

“It is; I watch your videos, you’ve got a pretty good B.S detector.”

“How-”

“I don’t actually live in the middle of the woods. I have a house, with wi-fi, and I like to keep tabs on people who are investigating me in earnest. I’ve been following your channel awhile. I like it. But you keep getting things wrong and it bugs me, so grab something to take notes on.”

Stern flops and rolls to the edge of the bed not occupied by Bigfoot, pulling his field notebook and a pen from his backpack. As he rolls back, he catches Bigfoot staring at him, then looking away sheepishly. 

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“You’re, uh, you’re taking this fairly well.”

“Why shouldn’t I be? I get to interview fucking Bigfoot. This is a dream come true! Plus, I no longer thing you’re going to kill me. Wait, are you?”

Bigfoot shakes his head, “Nope. And that’s correction one; there have been zero cases where I or my kind have killed anyone. We, uh, tend to come down pretty hard on any of our kind who try to go after humans.”

“And by your kind, you mean other Bigfoots, or cryptids in general?”

“Both.”

“Got it. Wait” he looks up, frowning, “how am I supposed to cite you in these corrections without exposing you?”

A shrug, “just call me a ‘bigfoot expert.’ And, uh, you, specifically, can call me Barclay. Now, mistake two: look at my arm.” He holds his right arm out and Stern obediently stares at it.

“What color is that?”

“Reddish brown?”

“Right. Not black, not white, not grey. Touch it.” 

Carefully, Stern runs his fingertips up Barclay’s forearm.

“It’s so soft.”

“Damn right. None of this ‘coarse chunks of hair’ bullshit. When this comes off it stays soft. And I’m the only one of my kind who’s been on the west coast in a decade, so any hair that isn’t this color can’t be tied to a Bigfoot sighting. You can stop petting me, y’know.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Right, problem three--uh, fuck, hang on, I forgot what I wrote.” He lifts his other arm and Stern sees something he missed in his earlier terror blindness; a pouch hanging from his wrist, from which Barclay produces a tiny notebook. 

“Okay, so, the noises thing, you’ve got about half of them right…”

Stern spends an hour and a half diligently taking notes. When Barclay finally flips the book closed, the cryptid yawns, showing sharp teeth.

“There, that’s all of it. Now I gotta head out, I got places to be in the morning.”

“Wait, what about my questions? I, um, I have a whole list of them for if I ever meet a cryptid in person.”

“How could you possibly have more questions after that.”

“You underestimate just how much time I devote to my work.” He finds the page, turning his notebook around. 

“I...holy shit, did you organize these by cryptid?”

“Yes, since every cryptid is different, you each get your own question list.”

“Look, Joseph, I’m happy to answer them, but I wasn’t kidding about needing to be somewhere in the morning.”

“Oh, um, of course. Honestly I just thought you wanted to get away from me; I know I can be a bit of an overly curious nerd sometimes.”

“I like it. But-”

Thunder booms right above them and Barclay yips like a wounded fox, flinches when lightning follows on it’s heels. 

“Fuck, I was hoping it’d just rain and nothing else.” He growls when lighting flashes again. 

“I have to admit this is not a fear I expected you to have.”

“Lightning starts fires, and I got caught in more than one in my early days, and thunder, well, it sounds a little too much like gunshots for my taste. Had plenty of those directed at me too.”

“Oh, Barclay, I’m so sorry. Um” he casts around for something comforting, “if, if you’d rather not go out just yet, you can stay here. I promise I won’t ask more questions and just let you sleep. And, um, since it might take too long to get the fire going again,” he holds up the blankets, “you can sleep here. If you want.”

It’s a ridiculous suggestion, and he sees disbelief on Barclay’s face. Then it dissipates as Barclay looks him up and down, scooting to join him under the covers, mattress protesting every movement. When he lays down he’s so heavy the bed dips, sending Stern rolling without warning and landing against his side with an “oof.”

“Sorry.” They say at the same time

“It’s alright, big guy, you’re actually very comfy.”

“What did you call me?” Barclay chuckles, pulling the blankets up around them.

“Guess I’m tired too, getting a little loopy.”

“And cuddly” Barclay smiles, sending a pointed glance at Stern’s arm (now draped across the cryptid’s stomach) and cheek (now resting on his chest).

“Shit, sorry, I can-”

“S’okay” Barclays arm loops over his shoulders, “never held a human like this. It’s nice.” 

Another boom of thunder and he winces. Not knowing what else to do, Stern pets his belly soothingly. After a moment, his arm is vibrating.

“You’re purring.”

“Notrrrrr arrrrrrr wordrrrrrr” Barclay snuffles the top of his head but doesn’t stop him, and so he keeps rubbing his belly until he feels some of the tension drain from Barclay’s body.

“What do you like to do? For fun, I mean.”

“Like cooking” Barclay murmurs, “getting a human disguise was nice, ‘cause I didn’t have to worry about getting fur in the food.”

“Human?”

“Long story, but the upshot is any cryptid who’s been here awhile gets there hands on a charm that makes them human when they wear it.”

“Huh. Um, what do you like to cook best?”

“Hmmmmm. Well, pie is satisfying, but I also like making ramen, because there’s such an art to it....”

Stern snuggles closer, sighs as Barclay absentmindedly pets his back, and drops off some time later to the sound of that lovely, deep voice telling him all about dim sum. 

He wakes up to an empty bed, which isn’t a surprise. His missing notebook, however, is a surprise indeed and an unwelcome one. After turning the place upside down, he admits defeat; Barclay must have changed his mind and decided to remove what evidence he could of their conversation. 

Stern grumbles all the way into town, decides hot breakfast might soothe his disappointment. He opts for The Lodge, just as he has the last two days, and Dani, the waitress, smiles at him when he sits down. She brings him coffee and a laminated menu, returns a few minutes later.

“The cook wants me to let you now we have a new special this morning; sourdough pancakes with strawberry-rhubarb compote.”

“I’ll have that.” He smiles, handing her back the menu. Funny, he was just talking with Barclay last night about how strawberry-rhubarb is one of his favorite flavors. 

The pancakes are delicious, and it’s only his manners that keep him from literally licking his plate clean. When Dani brings back his receipt, he’s mid-sip of coffee, and so doesn’t see what else she’s brought him until he sets it down.

Beneath the little black, plastic clipboard is his notebook. 

He picks it up, spots a cupcake shaped sticky-note sticking out that he didn’t put there. Flips to the page and finds his “questions for Bigfoot” now have answers in tidy, if a bit spidery, handwriting. At the very bottom of the page is phone number and the words, “I’ll answer your questions any time.” 

Next to the words is a heart that has clearly been erased and redrawn several times.

He laughs, pulls out his phone, and quickly enters the number.

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

Back in the kitchen, Dani flashes Barclay a thumbs up when she comes back to pick up an order. 

His phone buzzes in his pocket, and he steals a quick look at it, smiling when he sees the message. 

Joseph: You’re full of surprises, big guy. Dinner tonight?

Barclay: I’d love that. See you then.

#agent stern/barclay #sternclay #meet ugly #prompt fills

[flowerpowell]

Unexpected (Drake x MC)

PART FIVE

A/N: Another chapter within two/three days? Who is she? I reallyyy hope I can update this series frequently but life’s kinda busy so we’ll see how I’ll do. I hope you’ll enjoy it! Feedback is always very appreciated! Characters belong to Pixelberry.

Rating: PG

Word count: 1811

Tagging: @gardeningourmet​ @delightfullypinkglitter​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @akrenich​ @blackcatkita​ @cora-nova @client-327​ @desiree---1986​ @jlpplays1​ @dcbbw​ @kingliam2019​ @the-soot-sprite​ @mskaneko​ @thequeenofcronuts​ @dr-ethanjramsey​ @missameliep​ @maxattack-powell​ @badchoicesposts​ @mymandrake​ @butindeed​ @burnsoslow​ @annekebbphotography​ @alesana45​ @addictedtodrakefanfic​ @walkerduchess​ @ao719​ @texaskitten30​ @lodberg​ @cordonianroyalty​ @emichelle​ @siriusxxvideos​ @i-bloody-love-drake-walker​ @samihatuli​ @choices-lurker​ @i-miss-trr​ @of-course-went-to-hartfeld @nikkis1983​ @innerpostmentality​ @msjr0119​ @bascmve01​ @mind-reader1​ @edgiestwinter​ @drakesensworld​ @queenjilian​ @princessleac1​ @saivilo​ ♥

“Ummm,” Riley hesitated, “could you repeat the name of that drink again because I don’t think I heard it right?”

“I didn’t ask for a drink, I asked you to marry me,” Drake repeated slightly embarrassed he had to ask her again.

“Right. Okay, bye,” she turned and started walking away. Drake grabbed her arm and lead her to a table in the back of the bar.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

“I did and I decided to ignore it. It’s clearly a joke,” she shrugged.

Oh boy, this is embarrassing. I hate Liam.

“It’s not, listen--”

“Drake, listen,” she took his hand and he frowned. “I hate to break it to you, but I kinda hate you. I don’t know if you’re saying this because of a stupid bet you made or because you are drunk but I will never marry you, okay?”

Drake took his hand from her and rolled his eyes.

“Jeez, I’m not asking you to marry me for real! I don’t even like you. I am forced to do it.”

“You’re forced to marry me? Are you drunk? Because if you are, I am not serving you any whiskey tonight.”

“I am not!” he sighed. “Let me explain, ‘kay?”

“Yeah?”

“My sister and her husband went missing some time ago and they’re cosidered to be dead.”

“I’ve heard about that and I’m really sorry. I met them once and they seemed to be great people,” Riley smiled at him reassuringly, still confused what his point was.

“Now Bartie, their son, needs someone to take care of him. I had a deal with Bartie’s grandfather that we would take care of him in turns but he just filed for a full custody. He is an awful man and I can’t let him take Bartie, especially that his new wife is a witch. So I need to win the custody case somehow,” he finished and looked at Riley. She seemed unimpressed.

“Umm, okay. Good luck! Go for it? I still don’t understand why you asked me to marry you?”

“Because it’s gonna be nearly impossible to win the case when I’m unmarried.”

“Ohh, I get it now. Ugh, that sucks,” Riley nodded and patted him on the back.

“So... what do you say?”

“Well, I am very sorry for you, like, very sorry, but no way. I’m not marrying a guy I hate, no offence. I wish you all the best but I’m not doing that.”

“This is going to be a fake marriage! Liam, the King, will annul it a few weeks later, I promise! It’s just so I can take Bartie. This is what my sister would want. Trust me, it’s far from an ideal situation for me too.”

“Listen, I’m sorry but no. Find someone else who can pretend to be your wife but that’s not gonna be me.” Riley stood up, ready to end the conversation when Drake spoke again.

“Why are you here?”

She turned to him, confused. “Hmm?”

“Why are you here, in Cordonia? I saw your CV, you’re from the U.S., you have a college degree, you  had a job, what are you doing here, working in a bar in a small European country?”

“I don’t see how’s that any of your business?” Riley answered calmly but Drake could see she tensed.

“It is, it’s my bar after all,” he raised an eyebrow and she sat back down.

“Change of plans,” she shrugged, “there’s no story. It’s just a dream I had and I decided to go for it.”

“Dream? To work in a Cordonian bar?”

“Well, no, I mean, kinda...”

“Well?” He asked and she sighed.

“I always wanted to have my own place. Restaurant, cafeteria, bar, whatever. My grandma was a great cook and she left me all her handwritten receipe books. I always dreamed of opening my place and serve everything she taught me. America is full of places like this so I wanted to try Europe and... that’s kind of how I found an American bar in Cordonia. It also helps that I’m far away from my overprotective parents,” she laughed but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“So you came here to take over my bar?”

“No! No!” her eyes widened, “I just wanted to gain more experience. Find out more about Cordonian cuisine. Find places without many restaurants,” she explained as Drake remained silent. He was thinking about something and Riley was chewing her lower lip wondering if she said something that would make Drake fire her. Finally, after a minute or two, he finally spoke.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” She was confused. Was he firing her or...?

“Okay. I’ll give you the bar, it’s gonna belong to you and you can do whatever you want with it if you agree to fake-marry me.”

Riley’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”

“You heard me. This bar for a few months of pretending we’re married.”

“You’re crazy,” she murmured. At that moment, all her dreams seemed more real than ever. She almost heard her grandma’s voice to take the chance. But was it worth it if she had to pretend to be in love with a man she hated so much? He was good looking, yes, but too annoying. Would she have to kiss him on their fake wedding ceremony? Ugh, she hoped no. Would they--

“You’re drooling,” Drake interrupted her thinking.

“I am not!” She said but instinctively wiped her mouth.

“So... what’s the verdict?”

She looked around the bar, a place that could be hers in just one word, all of her dreams coming true (after she would survive her nightmare) and she thought that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. She could always make his life so miserable that he would divorce her sooner. And if that wouldn’t work, she could always kill him, right?

“Well, Mr Walker, you got yourself a deal.”

~~~~

The wedding was scheduled for a week after their conversation. Drake said he would handle everything and they hadn’t seen each other since that day. The only people who knew that the marriage was going to be fake was Drake, Riley and Liam.

Maxwell got nearly a heart attack when he was informed about Drake’s wedding but he was happy for his friend. Olivia didn’t believe Drake was actually getting married and she tried to start a bet that Drake was only joking. Madeleine and Barthelemy were clearly not happy about it but they congratulated him and promised to come to the wedding. Drake noticed how Madeleine whispered something to Kiara, angrily gesticulating, and he was proud that he ruined her plan, whatever it was.

“It’s a bit strange, I’ve never seen you with her. In fact, it’s strange she’s not here with you today,” Madeleine smiled at him when she approached him with Kiara beside her.

“She’s not interested in being around Nobles. Besides, she’s getting ready for the wedding.”

“And, as I presume, moving, right?” she asked sweetly and Drake almost spit out his drink. He had completely forgotten they would have to live together.

“Yes, we’ll be living in my cabin. She loved it there ever since she first visited me, the day we met,” he answered not even having to lie too much.

“Hmpf,” was all Madeleine said before abruptly walking away, Kiara sending one last glare towards Drake.

He quickly pulled out his phone and messaged Riley, “I hope you’re all packed to move into my cabin. Don’t worry, the guest room is ready”

The answer came a few seconds later:

“I’m not moving to your dumpster. I’ll stay in the bar.”

Drake rolled his eyes as he typed, “Everything is clean and neatly organized just for you. Besides, that’s a part of our deal.”

He smiled at the reply that came five seconds later. “I hate you.”

~~~~

“Ugh,” Riley groaned, throwing her phone on the table. She forgot she’d have to actually live with Drake under one roof.

“Whoaa, someone’s in a bad mood! What happened?” the bartender asked but she just shook her head.

“Nothing. I need to pack my stuff, I’ll be moving out of our apartement tomorrow.”

“What? Why? Are you going back to America?”

“Worse,” she sighed, “I’m getting married.”

“Now, whaaat?!” her friend asked and she realized she never really told him anything.

“Yeah, to Drake. I’m sorry I forgot to mention it to--”

“Now HOLD UP. The last time we talked about him you hated him. I knew you were lying! I knew you liked him! I saw it in your eyes, I knew it!”

“Umm, yeah. I was totally lying,” I was totally not lying. I hate Drake even more now.

“Good catch, R! I’m sure your wedding day will be beautiful and your wedding night even better,” he winked at her and she felt sick.

“Please stop, I’m going to throw up.”

“No way!!!”

“What?” She was confused now.

“Now I get it! The wedding so soon, you feeling sick... You’re pregnant, oh my gosh!!!”

“No, please, no!!! I am not, listen--” her eyes widened in horror as her friend hugged her.

“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone! I’m so happy for you, girl! I’ll help you with moving out, you probably shouldn’t be carrying these heavy boxes by yourself now.”

“Seriously, it’s not like that, I--”

“Josh!!!” The bartender called out seeing the manager walking out of his office. “Riley is getting married! And she has a little bun in the oven,” he added quietly as the manager’s eyes went wide.

“I was aware of your marriage to Drake but I had no idea you two were already expecting. My sincere congratulations, to both of you.”

“Wait, no, I am not pregnant!”

“It’s okay, you can still work here until you don’t feel like it anymore,” Josh patted her on the back and left the bar before Riley could say anything else.

“Why does no one believe me?” she asked but her friend was already behind the bar making a drink. A few minutes later she got a message from Drake.

“Why is your manager congratulating me on having a baby? Am I missing something?”

She sighed as she typed, “It’s a long story.”

“Anyway. The wedding’s tomorrow at 6. Don’t be late.”

She sighed again as she shoved her phone back to the bag.  She now wasn’t sure if she just made the biggest mistake of her life or not but it was too late to back out now.

The die was cast.

#the royal romance #the royal heir #drake walker #drake x mc #drake walker x mc #choices #playchoices #trr fanfic #choices fanfic #my fic

[argylemnwrites]

Change of Plans - Part 3

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (An It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment universe AU, set nearly 3 years after that epilogue)

Word Count: ~4700

Rating: NC-17 (language, 30 diamond scene)

Summary: Living in NYC in March 2020 is redefining normal for Drake and Riley. Life doesn’t always go according to plan during a pandemic, after all.

Author’s Note: Finally finished up the third and final installment of my AU inside my AU. Sorry the word count got away from me a bit here, but hopefully you all like this conclusion to the journey even further into the real world for these two. (I might have fallen in love with this version more than my planned version... oops)

Just like parts 1 and 2, this does hint at or reference some events from the prologue and the first couple of chapters of Why Are We Still Waiting?, but it does not spoil the core content of the story. And again, Trigger warning for coronavirus discussions. Also, explicit adult content in this part.

Part of Drake couldn’t quite believe that today was actually real. It felt sort of surreal still, even though he had the marriage certificate in his hand and was wearing a ring on his finger. Even though the officiant’s words still ran through his mind, pronouncing them married. It felt too much like a dream. But they were married. She was his wife.

They were in their cab, back to their apartment. Obviously, no reception. No bars or restaurants were even open, except for takeout. But that was alright. Being married to her, that was what mattered. Who really cared if it didn’t happen as they planned?

“So, for our honeymoon, what do you think about Brooklyn?” Riley asked, settling in under the arm he’d thrown across her shoulders after giving the driver their address.

Drake chuckled, “Sounds great. You have a place in mind?”

“Yup! I found this little one bedroom apartment with absolutely no amenities, but it does come with a corgi.”

“Perfect. Hopefully it comes with the opportunity for digital filing of cases, because that’s what I really want to do.”

“But you finished your work for today, right?”

Drake nodded. It had been a pain in the ass, but he’d been able to take care of enough between last night and this morning that he would probably not draw attention to the fact that he’d taken this afternoon off. It had seemed stupid to tell his supervisor his plan when he’d been able to get the work done. The firm might be letting people work from home, but that didn’t change the fact that the leadership on his team was a bunch of frat bro assholes that would have absolutely made him use a half day of vacation.

“Good,” she said, turning her head and leaning over slightly so that her lips were practically on his ear, “I’ve got plans for you.”

Drake swallowed roughly, sparing a quick glance towards the cab driver before turning his head and kissing her. The only thing hotter than the promise her words held was the fact that she was now saying them as his wife.

After a few moments, Drake pulled back, not wanting to make the driver too uncomfortable, but Riley tugged him down again, deepening the kiss slightly. However, after several seconds, a loud buzzing sound interrupted them. Riley leaned back slightly, pulling her phone out of her purse.

“What the hell?” she said as she unlocked her phone. “I have six texts from Maxwell. Wait - seven.”

Drake watched her open up her messaging app, and she let out a big sigh almost instantly. She quickly titled her phone so he could read the screen.

😲😃😭🤗😤🥳

That’s all my feelings

Because

OMG 

YOU GUYS GOT MARRIED 

YAY!!! 👰🤵🥂

WITHOUT ME

BOO!!!! 😡👎👿

Drake glanced up from her phone, “How does he know?” They had decided it was better to tell Liam and Iris, Hana and Catherine, and Maxwell, Savannah, Bertrand, and the kids at the same time, and since they had plans for a Zoom call this weekend, that had seemed like the perfect opportunity. No hurt feelings at being the last to know, no guilt trips from Maxwell, and no judgement from his sister for eloping. However, Maxwell had apparently found out within 15 minutes of the ceremony.

“I have no idea how he-” Riley started, but stopped abruptly, “Shit. Give me your phone.”

“Why?”

“I want to check if Daniel posted our photos to Pictagram.”

“Liu, I don’t have Pictagram.”

“Yes, you do. Maxwell and I set that up for you like a year ago.”

“Yeah… I deleted it as soon as he left town.”

Riley rolled her eyes at him, but closed out her message thread with Maxwell and opened up her Pictagram account. Sure enough @liuthebagelbitch and @dw519 were tagged in numerous photos in Daniel’s account and story. Them signing the paperwork. Sitting on the couch waiting. Holding hands and saying vows. Putting on their rings. Kissing at the end of the ceremony.

“Maxwell must follow Daniel,” Riley said, scrolling through the feed, “Yup, squidwiththemoves has liked every single photo.” She sighed, exiting the app. “And he’s texted me ten more times. We have to call him.”

Drake nodded, but before Riley could even open her contacts list, a Facetime request popped up from Maxwell Beaumont. Letting out one last sigh, Riley swiped to accept the call.

“Hey Maxwell!”

“What the hell? I’ve been working on my speech for your ceremony for years, Riley!”

“Wanna try that again?” Riley asked, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

Maxwell sighed, “I mean, congratulations! I’m so happy you decided to get married without telling me or inviting me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry we didn’t consider you in our wedding,” Drake called out, leaning into the view of the camera and rolling his eyes.

“Drake! How could you do this to me, buddy?”

“Do you really want me to answer that question, buddy?”

Riley elbowed him slightly, probably wanting him to not escalate the situation. Truth be told, Drake was only mildly annoyed at Maxwell making their wedding all about him. The bigger issue was going to be getting Maxwell to keep quiet about it until Sunday. That was basically four full days from now, and Maxwell had barely been able to contain himself back when he found out that he and Riley were involved for half that time. 

“Sorry, Maxwell. But we didn’t want to wait again. Plus, I lost my health insurance, so now I’m able to go on Drake’s.”

“Why didn’t you guys tell me, though?”

“Because we wanted to keep this quiet and not make it everyone else’s business,” Drake grumbled.

“And,” Riley added, shooting him a look before she continued, “we were planning to tell all you guys together on Sunday.”

“I just can’t believe I wasn’t there,” Maxwell said, shaking his head sadly.

“We wish you could have been. We really do. But you understand why that wasn’t an option, right?”

Maxwell nodded. “Yeah, I get it.”

“And do you think you could not mention it to anyone before we see everyone on Sunday?”

There was a long pause following Riley’s question before Maxwell responded, “I promise not to tell anyone else.”

“Maxwell… who have you told already?” Drake asked, the word ‘else’ jumping out in his mind.

“Not that many, people I swear!”

“Well, I just got a ‘congratulations’ text with several question marks from Hana,” said Riley, glancing at the notification that had flashed across the top of her screen.

“I had to find out if you had told her and not me!” Maxwell said, gesturing towards the screen emphatically with his free hand.

“And Iris just asked me if what she’s seeing is real,” Riley continued as another notification popped up.

“I wanted to make sure she wasn’t more looped in that I was!”

“And now Savannah’s asking if I really married her brother today.”

“Wait, why is my sister texting you and not me?” Drake asked as Maxwell continued his defense, saying “I mean, we live under the same roof, so of course I asked her what she knew.”

“Maxwell, is there anyone you didn’t tell?” Riley asked, shaking her head.

“Well, Liam didn’t answer my calls, so he probably doesn’t know.”

“You told Iris!”

“Yeah, okay… fair,” Maxwell trailed off, clearly trying to find someone he hadn’t told. “This really isn’t my fault, though! You posted those pictures!”

“Daniel was our witness and photographer. He’s the one who posted them.”

“Well, then blame him. I just acted the way any normal person in my position would have acted.”

“Wanna try that again?” asked Drake, prompting a chuckle from Riley.

“Fine, I just acted in a way that you guys should have totally predicted. In fact, part of me wonders if you wanted me to find out so that I would tell everyone, and you wouldn’t have to deal with the drama of telling them that you got married without them.”

“Maxwell!”

“Fine, I’ll let you go be nauseating newlyweds. Congrats, you two!” With a little wave, Maxwell ended the call.

“Well, I guess people know,” said Riley after a moment. 

Drake let out a sigh, tipping his head back against the top of the seat.

“You aren’t really upset, are you? I mean, I know we decided to tell everyone at once, but it’s not such a big deal that they know, is it?”

“Nah, it’s just annoying that instead of this just being our thing for now, we’re gonna spend our entire wedding night on the phone with people.”

Riley let out a little burst of laughter at that, so Drake twisted his neck to glance at her. “What?” he asked.

“I think you are severely overestimating how many close friends we have. I bet we can finish this up before we even get back to our place.”

“Really.”

“You take Liam and Iris; I’ll take Hana and Catherine. All our New York friends can wait, don’t you think?”

“What about Savannah?”

Riley paused for just a moment, “We can set up a video call with her and your mother tomorrow.”

“But she lives with Maxwell. She knows that-”

“She owes us our wedding day, Drake.”

Drake nodded. As much as he wished that Riley and his sister got along perfectly, he knew that Riley had a good point there. 

“So, I’m gonna call Hana. If you give Liam a call now, it can just be our time when we get home.”

She didn’t have to tell him twice, so as she tapped Hana in her contact list, he unlocked his phone and scrolled to Liam in his recent contacts. The phone only rang twice before Liam answered.

“Yes, Iris. I see. Please let me actually talk to him, love?” Liam asked, his voice muffled and quiet initially before growing much louder. “Drake, I’m glad you called. You are apparently the source of great excitement here tonight.”

“Yeah… I didn’t mean to be-”

“Well, you are, my friend. Between my three missed calls from Maxwell about, and I quote ‘something that I probably wouldn’t consider an emergency, but he sure did’ and Iris bursting into my office with pictures of Riley and you pulled up on her phone, I’ve not been able to get very far in reviewing my nightly briefings.”

“Sorry about that. But, I… er, do have some news.”

“So I am gathering. It appears congratulations are in order,” Liam said. In the background, Drake heard a quieter “Congrats, you two,” that presumably came from Iris.

“Uhh, yeah. We decided to get married.”

“I’m guessing this was Riley’s idea?”

“What makes you say that?”

“She’s just a touch more prone to impulsive action than you.”

“Well, you’re wrong this time.”

“This was you?” The shock was evident in Liam’s voice, and it did bring a smile to Drake’s face. It wasn’t often that Drake was able to surprise him.

“It was.”

“Congratulations, Drake,” Liam replied after a moment, “I’m truly very happy for both of you.”

“Sorry we didn’t-”

“No. I’m happy for you. I’m not accepting any apologies as there is nothing that happened today for which you should feel even remotely sorry.”

“Thanks, Liam.”

“Can I talk to Riley?”

Drake glanced over at Riley, “She’s on the phone with Hana,” but she held up one finger and then held her free hand open, “but I think she’s about to wrap up and wants to talk to you, too.” Riley nodded in agreement.

“Excellent. And I mean it Drake, I know how much this means to both of you. So, truly, I wish you congratulations and nothing but happiness.”

Feeling a lump in his throat, Drake swallowed roughly. But before he could process the words of his oldest and dearest friend, Riley was snatching his phone out of his hand and passing her phone to him.

Hana and Catherine wished him brief, but heartfelt congratulations, but Riley was still on the phone with Liam after he said goodbye to them. He could only really hear her half of the conversation, and she wasn’t saying much, mainly listening to him apparently. Every so often, she would throw in an “of course” or “you know I will,” but other than a few chuckles, she was largely silent. Every so often, he would catch a word or two from Liam, but their conversation was basically a mystery to him.

It was a little strange, to think about how a couple of years ago, having to sit as an outsider while Liam and Riley shared something private would have filled him with a mix of jealousy and guilt and anger. Now, it was certainly a bit odd that his best friend seemed to have more to say to his… his wife than he did to him, but it wasn’t a bad feeling, necessarily. If anything, he was mostly curious, with just a bit of fear about what tales from their youth and adolescence he could be telling her. Those stories would require more explanations than he wanted to give tonight.

Eventually, the cab stopped in front of their building. As Drake paid their fare, Riley wrapped up the call with Liam.

“Thanks, Liam. We’re actually home now… Yeah, I know… You too. Stay safe, and we’ll talk to you guys in a few days.”

“What was that about?” Drake asked as Riley ducked under his arm as he opened the door to their building.

“Oh, he just had a lot of really mushy things to say about you.”

“I’m serious, Liu.”

“I wasn’t kidding. I think he basically gave me his best man speech just now,” she said with a shrug as she unlocked the door from the mailroom and started up the stairs to the second floor, “He just wanted to make sure I knew how lucky I was, I think.”

“Well, that’s fucking dumb. I’m the lucky one here.”

“This has all the markings of going on for a while. Why don’t we just agree that we’re both mad lucky and call it even?” Riley called over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway and pulled her keys out of her purse.

“Wait! I’m supposed to carry you through, right?” Drake remembered as Riley moved to push open the door.

She let out a little chuckle and rolled her eyes, but stood there expectantly, so Drake stepped up and scooped her into his arms, sliding one hand forward to turn the knob and open their door. Anderson came trotting over, eager to see his two humans, while Drake placed Riley down close to the door, not wanting to track their shoes and jackets too far into the apartment.

“He could probably use a walk,” Drake said, “and we should probably shower after spending hours out in public. How about I take him while you get started since washing your hair is always a… process.”

Riley swatted his chest lightly, but nodded in agreement. “You’ll join me when you get back?”

“Absolutely.”

Anderson took care of his business quickly, so it wasn’t too long before Drake was back in their apartment, hanging his sport coat up next to Riley’s jacket and kicking off his shoes. After washing his hands, he made his way into their bathroom, where the shower was running. The steam was already starting to get thick in the room, and eager to get out of his clothes and to join her, Drake quickly moved to drop his shirt on top of the pile of clothing she’d left next to the sink, but a scrap of tan lace caught his eye.

“I knew you were bluffing!” he called out as he fully removed his shirt and started undoing his belt and jeans.

“Huh?” asked Riley, peeking her head out from behind the shower curtain.

“About not wearing underwear. I knew you were full of shit,” Drake said as he stepped out of his pants and boxers, kicking them on top of the pile before climbing into the tub and under the water, sliding his hands into her long, black hair, somehow even darker now that it was wet, as she placed her chin against his chest and her hands on his hips, turning her face up towards his with a playful little smile.

He dropped his head to hers, pulling her into a passionate kiss, trailing his hands through her hair and down to her back. After a few moments, she tilted her head back. “As much as I like where this is headed, we should actually probably shower and not get too distracted,” she teased, trailing her hands around and squeezing his ass with a wink before she ducked past him and started rinsing out her hair. “Besides,” she added, “our track record for shower sex is not great.”

Drake couldn’t help but laugh as he opened up his bottle of shampoo and started lathering up his hair. Something about the floor of this tub was extra slippery, as they had learned the hard way not long after they moved in and then foolishly required repeat lessons about at numerous times. The worst was the time that he’d needed three stitches behind his ear after colliding with the tap as he fell backward, but the time Riley nearly dislocated her shoulder was a close second. “Yeah, a trip to urgent care would be pretty far from ideal at this point,” he said as he dropped a kiss to her forehead.

And so they both showered, trying to keep any touches light and loving, not wanting things to escalate just yet, but the sight of Riley with water trailing all over her naked curves was obviously turning Drake on. Based on the way she dragged her hand across him as she reached for her body wash, she was feeling the same way. By the time she was rinsing off and stepping out of the shower, Drake was scrambling to finish up, wanting to join her as soon as possible.

When he finally turned off the water and stepped out, there she was, wrapped up in her lime green towel, working a comb through her hair. She smiled at him through the mirror, her skin still looking like it was almost glowing from the warmth and water. As he drew up behind her, he slid his hands around her waist and dropped his lips to her shoulder, prompting Riley to shake her head.

“Drake, at least let me finish working out the tangles,” she said before letting out a little sigh as he worked his way over to the side of her neck, biting down ever so lightly when he reached that spot that always drove her wild.

“Who cares?” Drake mumbled into her skin, working his fingers to gather up the towel and moving one hand to her now-exposed thigh, “You aren’t gonna be seeing anyone anyway.”

Riley shuddered, dropping her comb to the counter before snaking her hand behind his neck as he slid his fingers to her center, his touch still light and teasing. “Maybe I want to look good for my husband,” she sighed out, moving her other hand to the knotted portion of the towel across her chest.

Drake groaned. Was her statement supposed to slow him down? Because hearing the word ‘husband’ coming from her lips? Talking about him? Well, fuck. It turned him on even more. Riley had to know what that sentence would do to him, right? So, he increased the pressure of his fingers, stroking her in the way he knew she loved before sliding a finger inside her. The angle wasn’t perfect, but he could feel her arousal and the fact that she practically growled “Fuck” as she clawed her fingernails into his neck seemed to indicate that she was just as ready to keep going as he was.

After a few moments, Drake stilled his motion when Riley grabbed his wrist. She spun, letting the towel fall to the ground and hopped up onto the small counter. She tugged him between her legs, but Drake shook his head.

“Our bed is just a few feet away,” he protested as Riley wrapped her hand around him, causing him to question why he was trying to change anything going on here.

“But it’s nice and warm in here,” she responded, dropping kisses along his jaw, “and I’ve never been good at waiting, Drake. We can be all tender and gentle later. For now, I just want you to fuck your wife.” She punctuated the last words by biting down lightly on his earlobe. Letting out a groan, he brushed her hand away and lined himself up, sinking into her. He hadn’t wanted their first time as a married couple to feel like some frantic quickie, but it had always been nearly impossible for him to deny her anything. So he started rocking his hips into her, reveling in the feel of her around him. The scrape of her nails along his shoulders. Her breath across his cheek.

As he shifted his stance slightly to fill her an angle he knew would be better for her, he caught a glimpse of their reflection in the mirror. There it was, a gold band on his ring finger, resting along her spine. It was almost hard to look away, so he just kept staring at it, soaking in the sight that proved they were married. It mixed with the feel of her hands digging into his skin and her legs hooked around his back, the sound of her breathy sighs and whispered “fucks,” the taste of her skin of her neck, and the smell of her peach body wash, spurring him on and increasing his pleasure.

Sensing that he was heading towards his peak a little quicker than she was, he tore his left hand off her back, sliding it between their bodies. He glanced down to where they were joined, his thumb circling roughly right above that, his ring pressed against the skin of the thigh he clutched. He slammed his eyes shut and dropped his face into the crook of her neck, not needing any additional stimulation. But soon, he felt Riley’s leg clench around him a little more.

“Are you close?” he murmured into her ear.

“Yes,” she moaned out, arching her back slightly. He wasn’t sure if she was specifically answering his question or not, but her response was enough of an answer regardless. Picking up his pace, Drake stroked his thumb harder. He knew he was seconds away from release when he felt her clench around him. He barely was able to recognize her climax before he shattered, spilling into her as he groaned into her skin.

After a few breathless moments, Drake felt his awareness returning. He slid out of her and shifted up, reaching behind her for a washcloth off the rack, dropping a kiss along her cheek as he stood up fully and helped her off the counter.

He wanted to tell how much he loved her. How much he would always love her. How he would always try to prevent her from ever regretting today. But any words he could think of didn’t feel like they were enough to actually describe his feelings, so he settled for gentle caresses and light kisses as they got cleaned up. Before they moved to go to their bedroom to get dressed, Drake grabbed her wrist and tugged her back to him, kissing her deeply.

“I’ll make us something nice for dinner, Liu. Okay?” he said as he pulled back, running his hand through her wet hair.

She nodded and gave him a bright smile before responding, “And I have an idea for dessert.”

He raised an eyebrow at that, “You have an idea in the kitchen?”

Riley just shook her head. “Yes, you ass. And not only will I not mess it up, but I know you’ll like it.”

Dinner was a quiet affair, Riley having thrown on some acoustic cover songs in the background and lighting a couple of candles they had leftover from their Valentine’s dinner while Drake cooked up a couple of steaks, some roasted potatoes, and some sauteed frozen squash. It wasn’t a perfect meal, but he thought he’d done a decent job finding something special for them out of their stock. He’d been surprised when Riley had set their glasses of whiskey on the coffee table instead of their dining table, but he got it once she’d tucked her legs under herself and curled up against his side on the couch. It was cozy and warm and intimate and felt right for the way they’d gotten married.

After they finished eating, Drake started loading the dishwasher and soaking the pans while Riley dug around in the tall cupboard they used as their pantry and then pulled something out of the fridge.

“You better not be baking something,” Drake told her over his shoulder, “Eggs are too hard to find these days to use them in a kitchen adventure of yours,” chuckling lightly as he felt a towel whip between his shoulder blades.

“If you’re done being a smart ass, I’m ready for you.”

Drake shut off the faucet and turned to face her, a smile slipping onto his face as he took in the graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars on the counter.

“I know it’s not exactly a wedding cake, but I figured we could do s’mores over the stove,” she said, settling in next to him.

“It’s perfect, Riley,” he said, slipping his hand into hers as he noticed an apple sitting off to the side, “but why the apple?”

“Oh, well I thought we could still do the apple-cutting,” she said with a little shrug, placing her chin against his shoulder, “I mean, I wasn’t sure if someone else needed to be there for this tradition or not, but I just thought it might be nice.”

Drake squeezed her hand, grabbing a knife out of the block and handing it to her. That she had remembered the one Cordonian wedding tradition he’d mentioned incorporating into their reception and thought to do it today was so perfectly her. Not snarky her, when she was annoyed at others or the world or at him. Not playful her, who would tease and laugh and lighten the room. But thoughtful her, who saw forgotten and neglected and broken people and made sure that at least for a moment, they felt seen and heard.

“So, just carve your initials,” Drake instructed, reluctantly dropping her hand so she could pick up the apple.

“Old or new?”

“What?”

“My old initials or my new initials?”

The weight of the day hit him again. Maybe this wasn’t the wedding they’d planned, but it was still their day. Their commitment. Their promise. And that meant more than having Maxwell as the officiant or getting married where his parents did or hearing toasts from Liam or Hana ever could. Watching the woman he’d loved for years, who he knew he’d love for all the years ahead, carve “RW” into that apple was plenty special.

He knew Riley could read him and his mood. She had always been good at that even before they lived together, so it didn’t surprise him that she kept quiet as he carved his own initials into the apple, then cut out a slice for them to share. She had to know he was dangerously close to being overwhelmed, so she didn’t push, just ate her portion of the apple before taking a step to the side and lighting one of the burners. After spearing a couple of marshmallows onto two forks, she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the stove with her. They toasted their marshmallows without saying anything and without letting go. They were ready to face the good and the bad, together and united. The world was changing, but their world felt steady and sure.

Permatag: @ravenpuff02 @octobereighth @drakewalker04 @kimmiedoo5 @speedyoperarascalparty @mfackenthal @lilyofchoices @thequeenofcronuts @jamesashtonisbae

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie

Drake x MC only: @jovialyouthmusic @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @riley--walker @notoriouscs @butindeed @axwalker @drakesensworld  

It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment: @wickedgypsymoon @thesumofmychoices @cosigottahavefaith @thequeenchoices @katedrakeohd @feartheendlesssummer @ao719 @ooo-barff-ooo @sunnyxdazed  

Change of Plans: @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @burnsoslow​

#drake walker #drake x mc #trr fanfic #trr au #trr au fanfic #tw: coronavirus #n*sfw #30 diamonds

[mrs-takami-keigo]

King of the Clouds

Chapter 2

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

————————————

‘His niece? HIS FUCKING NIECE?!’Hawks whipped his head around the room trying to find the newest hero in town, spotting her talking to Mirko at the bar. He was mad for a number of reasons, one he knew the organization had to have been lying to him and he needed to know why. Two Endeavor could have just told him instead of going for the dramatic route. And finally he was pissed at the fact she still had the one up on him. He could hear Quinn’s voice as he got closer to the bar. “Your thighs are so in shape, I would honestly kill for them.” “Are you kidding me? You’re body is on fire. To be very honest it’s nice to see another women with curves like ours in the room.” Mirko said making Quinn laugh. If he wasn’t in such a mood he would have paid more attention to the butterflies that fluttering his lower stomach but right now he didn’t have time for that.

“So you’re a Todoroki?” He said as soon as he reached the two women who were in the middle of a conversation.

“Well hello there Hawks. Please, cut us off it wasn’t like me and Quinn weren’t having a lovely conversation just now.” He know it was rude of him to just interject himself. Sighing he turned to the white haired women, “My apologizes Mirko, may I borrow Phoenix for a second I wanna compare wing sizes.”

“I’ll just text you later girl.” He watched as Quinn hugged Mirko before turning to him fully. “Follow me.” Her voice was calm no malice or mocking behind her words.

Phoenix POV

My Uncles words rang through my head, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ I sighed, he was right. I’m way to old to be playing these ‘I’m better than you’ games with Hawks. I lead the younger male to my office which was down the hall from Endeavors. I would have used his but he was in there with some pro’s.

Opening the door I moved out of the way so Hawks could walk in first, when he passed me I caught a whiff of his cologne. It was musky but with a hint of sweetness to it. ‘Focus Quinn!’ I shut the door before turning to face him. I could see he was about to say something but I stopped him before he could.

“I apologize for how I acted earlier today. I don’t know you and it was just rude of me.” I saw the surprise on his face, which was expected.

“I was not expecting you to say that kid.” He leaned on my desk crossing one foot over the other while his arms did the same. Once again that thought of if were in a different time and place I wouldn’t have minded him taking me home. But I hated when he called me kid. Taking a deep breath I knew I had to keep my composure. Making my way across the room to my desk, I pulled my chair out, “Let’s have an adult conversation shall we?” I gestured for him to take the seat across from me. We both sat down, I leaned back crossing my legs. “My name is Quinn Bailey-Todoroki. Born and raised in New York where I am the number one hero and number three in America. My powers I’m sure you are aware of are telekinesis and fire control. And last I am not a kid I am older than you by about 5 years, so no more of that kid nonsense okay?”

He eyes had never left mine while I was talking. It was refreshing to see, to have someone listen instead of just gawk at me.

It took him a moment to say anything to me. The wheels in his head were turning I could tell. “And you couldn’t have said all this when you first met me because?” I rolled my eyes just when I thought he stopped being a complete jackass.

“Because unfortunately my temper comes from the Todoroki side. So once again I’m sorry can we start over?” I stood up putting my hand out waiting for him to shake it and call truce.

“So you are a Todoroki?” Why was he so obsessed with this question. I just nodded my headband stuck my hand out even further. Hawks followed suit and grabbed my hand shaking it. “Good, now I have a party to get back to.” I tried to take my hand away from his but there was a grip from his end. Looking back at the blonde I watched as he brought my had up to his lips, gently kissing the back of it before letting it go.

“What the hell are you doing Hawks.” I wiped my hand on the back of my skirt, trying to hide the fact that it sent butterflies to my stomach. He chuckled and walked back to the door opening it while using his other arm to cross in front of his torso before he bowed his head.

“I always wanted to kiss the hand of a royal.” I hated this man with my entire soul.

-Next day-

I laid in bed staring at the ceiling not even caring that the alarm clock on my phone was going off I just kept hitting the snooze button. Today was my official first day as a pro hero and for some reason I felt off. Thinking back to last night I remember the conversation Endeavor and I had in the car.

“I saw you go into your office with a bunch of pro hero’s, anything I need to know about?” He could tell from my tone that I was being deathly serious. The one thing about the dynamic between us was there was always respect and no secrets.

“There have been some more Nomu sightings throughout Japan. We haven’t seen them since the Kamino incident so this is interesting if true. We aren’t sure if they are rumors or not.” I could see in his face this was worrying him. I knew about the Kamino incident, everyone did. All Might’s retirement effected everyone around the world.

“Any sign of the League of Villains? Wherever the Nomu is one of them is sure to follow.”

“No sightings of them and that’s what really concerns me, what could they possibly be planning?” We both didn’t say anything after that. Just the thought of what they were capable of doing sent shivers down my spine.

“Are you going to turn that alarm off or not?” Jumping a little I looked at the door to see my Uncle standing in my doorway already in costume.

“God you scared me! Ever heard of knocking?” I grabbed my phone and aggressively hitting the stop button.

“I did but you didn’t hear me. It’s almost the afternoon I’m heading out for a meeting. I’ll be back later tonight.” It was always right to the point with this man. Hearing his footsteps go down the hall I got out of the bed. Stretching my arms up above my head I felt my shoulders pop back into place. I didn’t have patrol until later tonight so I was thinking of using the day to look for apartments. Putting on my house slippers I made my way to the kitchen to see if I could whip anything up to eat.

“Oh Quinn you hungry?” Fuyumi was sitting at the table with her laptop open and papers scattered around her.

“Yeah but don’t worry finish your work I can make something.” I waved my hand at her while opening the fridge. Fuyumi was just as kind and thoughtful as she was when she was a little girl. While growing up she always followed me around and it was the cutest thing.

“Do you work today?” She was typing away on the computer but I knew she was talking to me.

“Yeah I have patrol later to night probably won’t be back till the early morning.” I decided to make a sandwich, nice and simple I wasn’t in the mood to make a mess. “But I was thinking about going apartment hunting and since your home wanna have a girls day my treat?” The clicking sound of the keyboard stopped, “oh my god yes please! I feel like I’ve been stuck in the house forever!” The excitement in her voice made me smile.

“Once I’m done eating I’ll go get dressed and then we’ll head out.” I saw her nod before going back to what I’m assuming was grading papers.

-later that day-

“I really really like that last apartment we saw.” We were in the car on our way back to the house trunk full of shopping bags and bubble tea in our hands. Before we went to the open houses in the area, I took Fuyumi to the mall and let her get anything she needed. I knew it wasn’t easy taking care of three men when you’re the only women in the house. I want her to know she doesn’t have to have that burden on her shoulders while I’m here.

“It was nice but the third place we saw might have to be the one. It had access to the roof which is perfect for me when I just wanna fly home after a hard day. And I’m also a sucker for floor to ceiling windows.” Taking a sip of my taro bubble tea I looked at my cousin, from her side profile she looked just like her mother.

“How is aunt Rei? Have you guys seen her?” Fuyumi looked down at her hands as she started to play with her thumbs.

“Me and Natsuo try to see her as often as we can but it’s Shouto who ends up going the most. She’s a lot better now! We’re all hoping she’ll get all hoping she’ll get released soon.” Her face lit up at the last sentence it made me smile.

“Maybe we should go see her, I still have plenty of time before I have to go to work.” I leaned forward to tell the driver about the change of plans only to be stopped by the emergency alarm coming from everyone’s phone in the car. My stomach sank I knew what it meant. There was a fight happening and we were close.

“Quinn it’s dad.” Fuyumi had a look of horror on her face. I quickly leaned over looking the phone with her.

‘Were here in central Fukuoka where a hooded figure crashed through the window of this building. Fortunately two heroes were already on the scene, Endeavor and Hawks!’

My body started to shake as I watched the hooded Nomu land a punch on my uncle sending him back through the already broken window. The screams of the people trapped in the building and the people down below that were trying to escape the falling glass were ringing through the speaker of the phone. ‘I have to go! I have to help them!’

“Sir please drive us as close to this area as you can!” At first he was hesitant of my request, “PLEASE!” His hands gripped the steering wheel before the car sped up.

“Quinn you’re gonna go?! You don’t even have your costume!” The worry in Fuyumi’s voice was evident but I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing I was a hero.

“That’s why I asked him to get us as close as he could if I use my wings to fly there from here my clothes would be all burnt up.” I know she didn’t want me to go but I had to and she knew that.

‘There seems to be more Nomus appearing out of nowhere!’ There were Nomus climbing all over the buildings but other hero’s arrived on the scene to take care of them while Endeavor and Hawks took care of the stronger one.

Their movements were fast but I caught each and every one. I watched as I say red feathers carry civilians down to the ground and reattached themselves back onto Hawks wings. The camera was trying focus on him but he was fast. With Two large feathers in his hands as swords he took a few swings to the animal only to be hit his yellow visor broken in half. Most of his feathers were gone trying to save people so he couldn’t stable himself in time before he fell on top of a building.

Endeavor took this time to try and beat the Nomu only to receive a cut to his face sending him flying as well. This was bad very bad. With both of them down and out for the count I could hear the sheer panic from the people. I needed to get out of this car and get to them fast.

“Miss this is as far as I can go.” The driver pressed hard on the breaks as to not hit the car in front of us. “It’s only about ten minutes driving distance from here but I’m sure you can get there in no time.”

“Thank you so much. Please keep Fuyumi safe for me.” I patted his shoulder before turning to my little cousin. Taking my hand in hers I looked her in the eyes. “I’m going to be alright, we all are I’ll make sure of it.”squeezing her hand once last time I opened the door, jumping out wasting no time to take to the sky. ‘Please be okay!’ The city below me zoomed right by my wings taking me as fast as the could. I could feel that the t-shirt I wore was already buried where my wings were but I could care less. That feeling I couldn’t shake from this morning was back, my instincts have been trying to tell me something all day but I just ignored it.

I could hear the commotion from the fight in the distance, the scream’s of the people. It made me so mad, how could anyone take joy in doing this to people!

“Endeavor use my feathers! Let me help you go faster!” It was Hawks, trying to find where the voice came from I found him on top of a building. His face was serious but also banged up. I could see the blood coming out from where his visor broke and from his mouth. Hawks was looking up towards the sky I tried to follow his eyesight and when I did I covered my mouth with my hands. Endeavor was giving his last little bit of strength to take this monster down. He was far away from me but I could feel the heat coming from his flames ‘He’s over heating!’ The feathers Hawks sent him pushed him faster to the goal. The next thing I saw was a flash of bright light and a scream from my Uncle. I had to close my eyes from the light but the force of the flames was like a gust of wind that you could only feel during a hurricane.

Everything seemed to go quite after the wind and the light died down. Opening my eyes I caught a glimpse of Endeavor falling back down to earth. I flew over but slowly, scared to see what I would discover. ‘Please be alive, please!’ I kept chanting that in my head as the cloud of smoke started to disperse. That’s when I saw it, My uncle standing there with his fist up in the air standing on both his feet. I could feel the breath I was holding in my chest leave my body. ‘Thank god he’s alive.’

“Endeavor are you alright?!” Hawks was next to him in a flash trying to hold him up but his strength was just as weak as Endeavor’s was. His once large bright red wings were much smaller. Having had to use the feathers to fight, save people and still be able for him to fly took a lot out of him.

“What a nice show there you gave us Endeavor!” It was a voice I wasn’t familiar with. “I was supposed to bring High-end back alive what the fuck am I supposed to do with a dead burnt up Nomu. Not very hero like of you!” This guy had a lot of anger in his voice. He was y’all that much I could tell. The thing that caught my attention was the scarred skin he had. It was all over his body, arms, neck, chin even under his eyes. Just by the looks of him I knew he was part of the league.

“This was the day I’ve been waiting for though, the day when I can finally get rid of you Endeavor!” I saw blue flames shoot out from his hands aiming towards Hawks and my uncle.

Third person POV

“What the fuck am I gonna do now? My wings won’t be able to carry the both of us and Endeavor is barely holding on to consciousness.” Hawks growled under his breath. He knew there was no way out of this situation and the other hero’s were to busy trying to get everyone to safety.

“This was the day I’ve been waiting for though, the day when I can finally get rid of you Endeavor!” Hawks heard him shout while blue flames started to appear from his hands.

‘Think Hawks think!’ He felt the heat of the flames but not the flames themselves. Looking up he saw the sight of Phoenix standing in front of them both her hands had flames coming out from them. ‘Where did she come from?’

“Hawks are you alright?” He looked at the older female, she looked different than she did yesterday. He couldn’t put his finger on it just yet.

“I’m fine how did you get here?!”

“Don’t worry about that now can you get him somewhere safe?” Hawks could see that her shirt was all burnt in the back and she was starting to sweat.

“Yeah, but what about you?” He would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about her.

“I’ll be fine,” Phoenix turned her head to look over her shoulder at Hawks. “Plus I don’t think this I good match for you dove. Now go!” She faced her opponent again this time her flames became hotter and stronger.

He tried to pull Endeavor up but he was to heavy for him. Just as the winged hero was about to try again the bright red and blue flames ceasefire.

“Well well look who it is, Phoenix right?”

“Aw that’s not fair, you know me but I have no idea who the fuck you are.” Phoenix cocked her head to the right staring at the man that was across from her.

“The name is Dabi. Glad I could be the last thing you see before you die.” The scarred man put one foot behind him to steady himself before another huge ball of blue flames came at her, but this time it was much bigger. Everything started to happen in slow motion for Hawks. The wind around him started to pick up. He could feel a strong power emitting from the women in front of him.

“Phoenix, d-don’t it’s too dangerous!” Endeavor’s voice was weak but Hawks heard him.

Bright red and orange wings appeared on her back as she started to hover above the ground. The blue flames circled her instead of blasting her to burnt bits. It was like what he saw in the video she was absorbing the flames. But something was different this time. Hawks watched as her back arched making her face the sky, eyes wide open. She was in pain and he could see it. Stopping his assault Dabi watched in amazement “Well that’s different.” He’s seen people deflect his flames or even try to stop them but never absorb them. “Too bad for you but I’m not dying anytime soon motherfucker!” Her back was still arched while she spoke. But the voice that came out of her was scary it sounded like multiple people were talking at the same time. Letting her back straighten out she made a straight dive for Dabi.

“Ever have your own flames try to kill you?” Phoenix was smirking as she released those same blue flames back onto her opponent. She was terrifying, her power sent chills down the spines of many like how All Might’s used to.

“Like you said I’m not dying today either.” As soon as he said that a black circle appeared behind him, sucking in Dabi and the corpse of the Nomu right before a bright blue flash hit the spot he was standing on. Hawks had covered himself and Endeavor with what little wings he had left. Peaking over the wing he saw Phoenix walking back towards him. Her t-shirt burnt falling off her body in little pieces her sports bra showing and her jeans had burn holes in them as well.

“Phoenix are you alright?” He could tell she wasn’t. With each step she staggered and stumbled, her face was void of any emotion and Hawks knew this wasn’t good. Reaching her uncle she fell to her knees on his right side. Her small hand reached out putting it on his back. A sigh escaped her lips as she bent her head down.

“Thank goodness you’re both safe.” Her voice was soft but the blonde could hear her. She was staring at her fallen uncle while she did that. Soon her brown eyes locked with his golden ones.

“Thank you for protecting him Hawks.” A smile passed on her lips before she too collapsed on top of her uncle.

“Quinn!” ——————————————————————————————————— I’m very proud of this chapter! Thank you so much for the likes on the first chapter! Please don’t be afraid to comment! Comments help me know that people like what I write

#my hero academia keigo takami #mha hawks #mha keigo takami #mha #bnha x reader #bnha #bnha hawks #takami keigo #hawksxreader #bnha dabi #mha dabi #endeavor #mha endeavor #bnha endeavor #hawks x oc

[cuthie]

Cuthbert: The Benny Of Many Names

  Outside of the Feathermoon stronghold, deep into the woods, a circle of six kaldorei women dropped to their knees. Arms stretching out to the heavens, they threw themselves forward into the grass, worshipping at the feet of another elven woman who’s entire body was made from tree bark. The wooden elf woman gently clapped her hands before her bosom, bowing her head as her worshippers praised her. Beyond the circle of kaldorei, a dark skinned high elf watched, rolling his glowing blue eyes.   Oblivious to his presence or simply unperturbed, the circle continued their praises as a white haired woman rose back to her feet. “Quer’coos, daughter of nature, please grant your children a word of wisdom and comfort in these troubling times. Our faith has been shaken, the skies have been opened, our people struggle and look for answers. It has been long since we were blessed with your presence, but please know that we are as uncertain and fearful as we are humbled before you.”

  Speech finished, the speaker returned to her knees in a deep groveling bow. The figure of oak bark threw her head back, brown hair transforming into antlers. Taking a step forward, soft elven feet transformed into hooves as the figure grew double in size. As each hoof touched the ground, flowers began to sprout in her wake, until finally she reached the speaker. Gently her fingertips stretched out, growing akin to the branches of a great tree until they brushed against the night elf’s cheek.   As the Wild God’s carved lips opened, her voice poured out like honey, “You all have my blessing. Carry it forward, protect this realm from the agents of evil. As for what lies beyond the veil, put your faith in me and mine.” With that, the wooden woman pointed beyond the circle, out to Cuthbert Allbright. Not sure how to react, Cuth just ran a hand through his hair and gave the ‘girls’ a confident nod.   Each woman in the circle gave Cuthbert an appreciative smile. It was an entirely new experience for him. Generally people looked at him with either exhaustion, annoyance or doubt. But this hopeful confidence? It was kind of hot. Should- should he take his shirt off or something?   Before he could even savor the moment, it had passed. The Wild God had spoken to her worshipper Sentinels and sent them on their way with a small magical boon. Turning to walk towards Cuth, her body shrunk in size as white robes just folded out from the wood of her skin. Her beautiful angelic face distorted, morphing into an expressionless metal mask. The once sweet feminine voice had become the familiar whisper of The Benefactor. “Cuthbert, are you quite finished following me?”   Cuthberted hopped down from the large protruding root, landing before his mysterious ‘friend’. “Well Benny, or should I say.. Coocoos? I’m gonna keep following you until you let me in through the sky like everyone else.”

There was a sound of chimes coming from behind the mask. “Quer’coos is the name my Kaldorei and Shu’halo followers call me.”

Cuth popped his collar, “Oh, did they sign your Book of Love, also?” The Benefactor slowly shook their head, “There was no need for that. They love of their own volition.”

Cuthbert wrinkled his nose, “How come you didn’t turn into a big bug like last time?” “Not just a bug. The noble beetle. When I address my Troll practitioners I approach them as Tenki’massa, the  Loa of Gift Giving, and whatever form they need to see me in at the time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an urgent matter to tend to.”   Without another word, The Benefactor raised a hand to their side, opening a swirling rift of blinding white magic. As Cuthbert shielded his eyes, the magic widened, bursting and taking the ‘Deity’ with them. -----   In a dimly lit wooden room, a Pandaren child rested still in a casket. Her parents wept on their knees, uttering prayer after prayer. Behind them, a small white cat leapt from a swirling powerful white sphere. Noticing the pretty kitty, the child’s spirit reached out to pet her.   Before she could reach the cat, the world began to fade away. The blackened horrors of an ancient realm of binding opened up, claws grabbing hold of the ghost child. However, the cat hissed and batted the evils away, protecting over the lost cub.

The parents continued to weep, oblivious to everything, even to the dark skinned high elf frowning in the corner.

<Hold her Cuth, do not let her go.>   Without being told twice, Cuthbert dove for the Pandaren girl, wrapped her in his strong arms. It was like trying to wrangle a tie out of a goblin blender, or at least, that was the closest experience Cuth could compare it to. All he knew was that his friend Benny needed him to hold a child and keep them away from.. From something bad. Without question, he was ready to exchange his life for that child’s, diving betwixt her and whatever evil had been summoned to take her away. That’s when he heard it. A little girl’s cry for help. And another.. And another and ten more, a hundred more, a thousand more. Desparate souls colliding against one another, confused and in agony and terror as their screams grew louder and rose higher and higher in pitch! And as he feared losing his grip, the world faded to white.

  Blinking, a cold chill ran down the quel’dorei’s spine as he clung the cold spirit to his chest. They were no longer in that sad dark room. There was no more blackened magick tugging at the girl. There was no anything, just a void of white and grey and wind? <You can let her go now, thank you.>   Cuth’s gaze looked up, beyond the white sphere he had been trapped in. The little kitty who had come for the girl’s soul was now a bajillion feet tall. Bright green cat eyes dwarfed Cuth, as if they were blinking at a spec of dirt. Gulping, Cuthbert released the Pandaren girl, feeling her aura as if it were a physical palpable thing. Her fears were being soothed, her sorrows drifting away, and then.. She was gone.   A giant paw threatened to bat the realm away as if it were simply a ball of yarn, yet Cuthbert stood his ground. He didn’t care if he was the size of an ant or ten feet tall. Nobody was more better than him, not even cat gods. Puffing out his chest defiantly, Cuthbert watched as the paw collided with the ceiling of his new swirling white world.

     In the blink of an eye, Cuthbert was standing outside beneath a extended roof attached to a humble Pandaren noodle bar. The rain was beginning to trickle, splattering against his forehead. The white cat, now cat-sized instead of god-sized, rubbed herself against his leg. <Thank you. That shouldn’t have been as difficult as it was. They’re getting stronger now.> “They?” A Pandaren woman behind the noodle counter looked towards the strange elf talking to himself.

<How are you following me, Cuthbert? That shouldn’t be possible.>   Cuthbert wrinkled his nose towards the Pandaren, “Hey, mind your business, I’m feeding my cat.” Shaking his head with a sigh, he returned to The Benefactor, “It’s your fault. You gave me the magic to do it, just sayin’.”   There was the sound of a ticking clock before the cat’s voice returned to his mind. <Explain your process, please.> “Well, I see little bubbles of arcane or.. You know I’m not good with words. Bubbles of magic, whatever portal magic you’re using. I then just concentrate and poof inside.” <You poof?> Cuthbert disappeared in a ‘poof’ of smoke, reappearing on the bar’s rooftop a good fifteen feet up. A few moments later and the white cat likewise ‘poofed’. <Short range teleportation utilizing the shadow magic I bestowed upon you. I didn’t think it would be capable of tracing spellwork. You’re a peculiar creature, Cuthbert Allbright. But I owe you, for assisting with my duties. Ask of me one thing and it shall be yours. Anything.>   Cuthbert scratched at the back of his head. Anything, huh? “Okay, then tell me what we just did. And your REAL name! And what’s goin on.” Chimes rung. <I am The Benefactor. I am Quer’coos. I am Tenki’massa. I am Jhizu, worshipped as a Guardian by the Pandaren. These are not lies, they are all my names, my duties. Today you assisted in ferrying a child’s soul to the Spirit World, to the Shadowlands. There she will wait without hunger, fear or harm, until she can be reunited with her family in my realm.>   Cuth scratched under his chin, “My mind’s goin like a mile an hour. You got me all twisted and dizzified trying to figure out your words and.. Stuff. I. So you sent her through the sky? But you won’t send me? That’s kodoshite.” Somewhere a glass broke. <That is not a place for mortals, Cuthbert.> “You said you owed me.” <And I repaid your favor by answering your questions.> “So you’re not gonna help me get up there? You know, they opened up a portal in Stormwind. I’m sneaky as fel, I could get in there without anyone even knowing. So you may as well let me take a peek.”   The cat nuzzled Cuth’s leg, her purr sending shivers coursing through the elf’s shoulders. <I promise you, when I have need of you, I will call upon you. I know you’re eager to serve.>   Cuth scratched the cat behind her ear, “Mmhmm.. I just wanna go up there and be the big hero that fixes everything. Is that so much to ask?”   Jhizu’s reply came in the form of a familiar portal. Beyond the tinge of magick shimmered Feathermoon. Knowing the conversation was over, Cuth sulked with drooped shoulders as he hopped through the portal.   Ugh.. When was he gonna get to be the hero again? 

#wrarp #WRA RP #Wyrmrest roleplay #wowrp #World of Warcraft

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

It’s The Avengers (02x11)

Loki x Reader Avengers The Office AU (Slowwwwww Burn)

Season 2 Episode 11: Oh God! They were Fake Dating!

Warnings: oh shit! I wrote fluff! Aaaah! Also, I’d suggest you guys listen to the two soundtracks added in here so that it’s better to imagine what our precious goofballs are truly up to.

Word Count: I didn’t realise when my medications were over. And now I’m not feeling that good. I was supposed to make an appointment for this weekend to meet the new doc but I am so exhausted mentally that it looks like such a huge effort to travel to and from another city for four hours in a single day and talk to someone from freaking scratch. *falls in the floor face down*

MASTERLIST in bio, darlings. Tags are open (check bio)

Scott's voiceover: I don't feel like they're going anywhere.

The camera showed you sitting in the lounge, your hair a hot mess, your reading glasses nearly falling from the bridge of your nose. Pietro, with quite possibly the biggest sandwich he could make along with a tall glass of iced tea, passed you, sniffing the air of the lounge before scrunching his nose.

"Mh, haven't showered for two days, huh? Let me guess. Your finals are from tomorrow."

You didn't even acknowledge what he just said, too engrossed in the pile of notes and books kept in front of you.

"How could this bitch of a scientist ever think this could work?!" He heard you exasperate before wishing you luck and walking to his room.

The camera shifted from the lounge to the library where Loki sat engrossed in a book only he knew the theme of. Mainly because it was a hardback with nothing but the blackness of the fabric covering it.

I know! I know! This is finals week and I could not possibly let Y/N have any distractions but that doesn't mean Loki can't be distracted?

The camera shifted from a very engrossed Loki- who didn't so much as flip when Clint walked by, calling him all sorts of names, or when Stark quite literally peeped into the library, telling Rhodey to let Loki just sit there and maybe bring him some snacks and let world rest in peace till that book lasts- to a very curious Peter by the library door.

Scott: *concerned* But looking at the way Y/N looks like right now, the only way she's going to distract Loki is with the exam stench coming from her. *very concerned*

Scott sat by the kitchenette and watched as Tony brought you a cup of coffee to keep by your side.

"I can't drink coffee," you mumble, scratching your head with your pencil, "it does something to my heartbeat."

And without any word, Tony took away the coffee to the kitchenette, dumped it in the sink and made a jug full of iced tea with lemon and mint and placed the jug and glass at your table, pouring one for you.

"Thank you," you muttered, scratching your face this time.

"You better study hard or I'll cut your phone time," he announced.

Tony stood there, shifting his weight on his legs before walking out of the room. Your eyes followed him, your smile growing bigger with every passing second at the sweetest little gesture before gulping down the glass of iced tea and feeling drained power return to you while Scott followed Tony, all the while saying, “You know I could’ve had that coffee.”

 The Next Day

Scott: Okay, so I may have done a little something today. And by something I mean I took advantage of Y/N's sullen mood because she doesn't know how her first exam went.

The scene shifted to you sitting in the library this time, a soft playlist on as you sifted through your notes while sitting in your PJs at three in the afternoon.

Oh yeah! I told her library would be so much better to work in. No distractions. *chuckles*

Scott, proud of himself, walked out into the lounge to have all the pride drained from his face as he saw something he wasn't supposed to. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to be in the library!"

The camera swerved from his shocked face to look at Loki lounging in Tony's favourite seat, deeply engrossed in his book.

The God looked up from the pages, only to furrow his brows at Scott. "First the spiderling drags me out of the library saying it's better in the lounge and now you come out of nowhere to push me back in there. What is going on?"

Scott: Dammit! We should have synchronised! *flails his hands in defeat*

Peter: I know! *groans*

Scott: *turns to Peter* don't you have exams, mister?

Peter: *shrugs and droops* I finished all my revision when Aunt May grounded me for hanging out with Mr Brock.

Scott: Who?

Peter: *tired sigh* Venom.

Scott: Oh! OH! Ohh, kid. No.

Peter: I know *nods*

*silence*

Scott: Will she allow you to meet him under adult supervision?

Peter: *stares blankly at the camera before turning to Scott*

Both Scott and Peter give a knowing smirk to the camera before doing a fistbump.

 The Night Before the Last Exam

A soft wail like a note rising from a broken guitar rose from the library, forcing Loki and Peter to stop on their way to the roof to fly Peter's final science project.

Exchanging confusion building on their faces, they entered the space- with the camera following them right at their toes- to find out you slouching into your knees in a corner surrounded by scattered notes and books.

"Y/N?" Feather-like lightness left Loki's lung as he called out your name, "are you okay?"

You raised your head to show the audience the mess that was your face smeared with tears and snot along with the hair sticking in the waters of despair- only the strands that managed to not go wild over your head. "Umm-nna~ff~aal 'marro-"

Loki's brows furrowed at alien language you spoke.

"She said 'I'm gonna fail tomorrow'," Peter tried to help with the translation.

Peter: Of course, I know. I'm an expert in tear-translation. Thanks to all the A-holes who broke Aunt May's heart. *squints in anger at the camera* Especially you, Charles. *camera pans in* You are on my black-list. *forces out a low husky threatening voice* It is so black it can compete with vantablack. Oh, yes! That is exactly what I'm gonna do to you if I ever see you get out of Apartment 24, 75th block, Myrtle road.

"I've been trying to learn the observations and conclusions and their downsides but nothing is going inside my head," you sobbed, your eyes closing up and the tears running down thicker and faster than all the waterfalls you visited in your life.

Loki looked at you before shifting his gaze between Peter and his winged bot in his hands. Coming back to you, he gave you his hand. "Come with us," his words more of a command and less of a wish, "we're going to fly Peter's invention."

You looked at him with third-degree confusion crinkled between your brows, about to burst out but not doing so for the God's hand was still out for you. Waiting.

Peter took one- not so discreet- step towards you, breaking the silent conversation of whatever sort of understanding was going on between the two of you to hand you a tissue.

Wiping your tears, and clearing all nose blockage, you dunked the used tissue into the nearest waste bin before taking Loki's hand. Those long and slender fingers wrapped over the back of your palm, helping you up quite effortlessly- not to mention, gracefully.

The camera recorded the two of you walking out, going to the rooftop and testing out Peter's work. Just as time passed, both men could see the difference in you. By the end of the evening, you were laughing your heart out when Peter tried to explain Loki what was the urban meaning of the sentence 'Word'.

Loki was seen smiling as he watched you cackle without care.

Loki: Y/N has no idea how horrendous she looks when she laughs. *chuckles* her mouth open wide, her tongue on the edge of coming out to catch heaven-knows what while she tries to hold her stomach as if it's going to dash somewhere. *chuckles again* And to think that silly woman was worried about some unworthy test that's not even going to matter in the future. *shakes head and rolls his eyes*

Peter was enjoying watching the two, happy and content, playing with his science project when suddenly he felt his brows crinkle right when Loki and you are standing less than a foot together.

"No, dummy, that wire is the reason it is grounded," he heard you tell Loki, who looked at you with shock in his eyes.

"This dummy created a grounding spell when he was twelve. You better start to learn a thing or two about the God you live with, woman."

You looked up at your 'God' with a tilt. "Damn, son. No wonder you're so single with the ice you spit."

"Learn some better metaphors too," Loki quipped without even taking a breath, feeling a slight nudge in his torso as you punched him.

The crinkled brows turned into narrowed eyes looking at the camera.

Peter: Why have we even been trying so hard? *infuriating whisper*

 Next Day

"I did it! I *bleep* did it!" You stormed into the conference hall with the biggest grin slapped on your face, watching the grim faces of the Avengers turn to you and transform into the warmest smiles. Even some hoots and applause.

"That's my girl," Natasha declared, pulling a chair next to her for you to sit down, the smile never leaving her face till you planted your ass in the cosy leather.

"Oh, wait," you suddenly felt your body sit too straight for your comfort, "am I interrupting something?"

"You mean apart from your biological father going on and on about how incompetent everyone in this room is?" Loki added from where he sat, which was the far corner with a witch-hat that had dunce written over it. This did not seem to bother him for he looked two comfortable with his feet resting on another chair as he read a book- this time with a red hardcover. "No, not really."

"Dum-e," Stark's voice announced, making the robot squeak and stroll towards Loki before gassing him with an extinguisher.

You tried your best not to let the laugh escape your mouth.

"We are having a meeting regarding this latent threat. So, if you don't mind please walk out of the door where you came from," Tony ordered you, swinging his fingers towards the door before turning to look at the screen.

"Wait a minute," Scott nearly jumped off his seat, "that's it! Y/N can help us with the mission!"

A whole bunch of 'excuse me', 'wait what', 'you gotta be shitting me,' and 'do you want me to kill you's rose up around the table, definitely taking you by surprise.

"How could I possibly help in a mission?" you stressed the last part so Scott would know what he was talking about.

You: I can barely lie to myself about how much ice cream I’m gonna have in a day and Scott expects me to lie to professional liars and criminals? *raises his arms in disbelief* What?

"No, seriously, just hear me out," Scott stood and begged out loud, trying to calm everyone. "The target knows us all. He has seen our faces and one whiff of us near him and he'll disappear from here before we get a chance to retrieve the shiny thing."

"The pulsator," Steve helped Scott.

"Yes, that thing. Thanks, Cap. So Y/N can be our eyes and ears at the restaurant that we know he is definitely going to visit tonight with his wife, thanks to his crush on the bartender that works there. All she has to do is go there, enjoy and observe while Peter and I take care of the extraction."

"Why can't you two be the eyes and the extraction?" Pietro asked the most obvious question.

"What we if he sees this and develops a crush on me?" Scott pointed out at his bod while Peter pointed at him with a 'true fact' expression.

"Y/N is not going and that's the end of the discussion," Tony declared. Or at least tried to.

"I agree with Scott on this one," Natasha broke the low buzz, nearly giving Tony a stroke. "But," she raised a finger while sitting up straight, stopping whatever dad-rage was about to come out from his mouth, "I'd rather ask Y/N if she'd be open to the idea of doing it."

That's it. All pair of eyes were on you now. Especially Tony's trying to wear you down.

Y/N: And I thought studying basic psychology was mental murder.

"Oh, I'm in," you simply shrugged, taking away twenty years from Tony's life. "Just give me a test run before you send me out in the field."

"You're grounded," Tony announced, making you furrow your brows at him with a layer of pure judgment.

"Oh come on, Tony," Steve smirked, "she's your daughter after all."

"She is not going in there. Not alone at least."

"Loki can go with her," Scott added without skipping a beat, getting the God's attention. "They can uhh...they can play it like they're on a date!"

Clint: *twists his jaw* *narrows eyes* Is this another one of those bets or is Scott just trying to get on my nerves?

Tony: *gazes right into the camera* Right now I am searching ten thousand ways to slowly murder an ant. *taps the phone without looking at it* *phone chimes* *still stares at the camera* Oh look! It says suffocate them in their sleep.

"I'm extremely interested in knowing why Loki and why not Pietro or Wanda?" Tony was genuinely curious, never seeing the coherent groans and shaking heads that filled the room. Even you stretched the corner of your lips and gestured him to cut the topic.

"Pietro had a crush on a Y/N. Y/N didn't like him. I knew all of that the entire time." Wanda practically picked up the baggage and threw it smack into Tony's face."

Tony: *shocked eyes looking at a distant void* Suddenly I feel Pepper saw what I could never see. And to think *pause* all this time I was worried about frat houses.

Pepper: Oh! Don't put this on this me! *raises her hands in question with crinkled brows* I was worried about her staying with people sharing three brain cells that are solely made for fighting. And those brain cells belong to Natasha, Wanda and Steve. *nods* Probably.

He gave Pietro a 'the audacity of this bitch' look. "You know what, I'll go with Y/N," he finally concluded. According to him.

"Tony, stop being such a whiner," Natasha broke the wave of authority Tony clearly was riding on, justly, "Y/N is an adult who can act her age during the mission and that's all we want her to do. We will obviously be standing by in case anything goes wrong. Loki will be going with her because thanks to you and Fury no one has any shred of evidence of his existence now. No one would even look at them twice while you have a tendency to be a magnet in the crowd."

Loki: She's wrong. *scoffs* *nods his head in his defence* clearly she doesn't know how many heads have turned to look at me twice when I twisted them off their shoulders. *smiles contently*

*camera pans out to show Natasha sitting with him, looking at the God with a judgy brow*

Natasha: Only you could interpret that phrase in such a way. *pauses before breaking into a sly smile* I respect that.

Everyone could feel how hard Tony was trying to refrain from breaking his own jaw by the veins showing all over his face and neck. "I'll be keeping an eye on them."

"No," Steve and Natasha blurted in unison. "You are staying out of this one before you start making it personal," the black widow, announced.

"I'll be fine, Mr Stark!" you stressed, "Loki'll be with me all the time."

Tony: *nearly breaking the glass with his voice* “flailing his hands wildly* THAT'S EXACTLY THE *BLEEP* SHIT THAT I'M WORRIED ABOUT!!!

"That's if he's okay with it," you interrupted yourself, turning to Loki- forcing others to look at him too- to find out his thoughts.

Loki: *counting on his fingers one by one* Going on a covert mission, getting out of this godforsaken place, getting the chance to finally at least punch someone in the face, *faces with camera with innocent wonderment* all the while getting to piss off Stark and Barton because I will be with the former's daughter? *slowly wrecks up the evilest grin* Well, isn't that a ball!

Tony: *his hand on his heart* Friday! Check my vitals! *turns back to camera* I can feel him scheming right this second. *turns his gaze away to the door* there is no way I'm leaving my daughter alone with him.

*camera pans out to a very calm and very pregnant Pepper reading something*

Pepper: *clicks tongue, still engrossed in her Tycoon magazine* Sweetie he's alone with your daughter practically every time you aren't in the room.

Tony: *eyes go white while he turns seven shades whiter before looking at his wife* What, are you trying to kill me?

Pepper: *still doesn't look up* oh, get over yourself.

 Mission Night

"Everyone check your comms," Natasha's voice crackled in Steve's ears, who was dressed rather casually for himself in a black leather jacket over a white shirt and blue jeans. Wanda, on the other hand, was all black, laid back in her seat inside the surveillance van.

Wanda: *smiling* Ooooh! Someone's dressed to hold hands!! *giggles*

"Is the Raven and kitten ready?" Steve asked in the comms.

The click of the door turned the camera to show Natasha stepping in. "They're ready," she announced before checking Steve out. "Oh!" she whistled, "looks like someone is buying a lady some Virgin Mojito tonight."

Steve crinkled his brows before realising what was going on.

"Really?" he flatly spewed at Nat.

"And then maybe ask her if he could get her a cab since she didn't have a car," Wanda added matter-of-factly.

"Oh, yes," Nat continued, sitting down on the empty chair, "and then leaving her at the front of her house and telling her to lock all the doors and windows because ‘this ain’t the good neighbourhood ma’am’, giving her a salute and walking away."

Giggles burst out through Wanda while Steve twisted his jaw and rolled his eyes at his ladies.

"Shut up," he simply cut, looking at nothing in particular in the screen in front of him.

"Okay, but why am I the kitten? Kitten?! Really?" your voice broke through the comms, making the captain smile eventually.

"'Cause you are cute but dangerous," Nat spoke with a motherly intent. "Now go get those bad guys for us." And just like that, she switched her warm tone to a freezing one, "Loki."

"Icy," Loki's voice commented monotonously before clearing his throat, "Are you sure you want me to go in, Captain?"

He almost brought the worry lines over Steve's forehead. "I might kill a few men, women and allies with just my looks."

A crssh and crash followed by barely audible curse echoed through the comms.

"Did he crash into a bin?" Steve whispered to Nat, who shook her head. “Must be our extraction guys. Wait, is Tony listening into this?”

"Scott, Peter. What's your twenty?" Steve posed the question.

"Yeah, sorry," Scott answered, "I think that was me. We're in position. Playing the best servers at the minimum wage we're being paid."

"He's here," Steve announced it more for himself, "all right. Positions, everybody. Y/N, Loki...go."

.

*The cameras planted inside the restaurant captured everything in HD because Tony wouldn't want anything less than a 4k resolution for watching bad guys being taken down by his team*

The subtle light bouncing off the bricked walls inside the restaurant gave it a quaint touch, something way too sophisticated and warm for what they were about to witness.

The speakers playing soft jazz crackled without a warning to softly go 'la la la' before breaking into the heavy beats accompanied by the two figures entering the space.

And suddenly, everything went slow.

*When I popped off then your girl gave me just a little bit of lockjaw

Baby so cold, he from the north, he from the Canada

Bankroll so low I got nothing else that I can withdraw

Ran out the door*

Loki entered the space in his most casual yet somehow scintillating apparel of a black henley hugging him, showing away the muscles no one thought he had.

The cameras caught Wanda and Natasha's brows going up as they leaned in- quite in sync- towards the screens to see the perfect cuts on his biceps that were teasing every looker. Steve really had to look at them twice to believe they were looking at Loki in a new light. Now that henley would have been enough, but the black jeans perfectly curving his toned ass really added to the mix, making both the red-heads turn to eye each other and give a knowing smile, all the while Steve pressed his lips, sighed and let his head drop.

*I shine my wrist it go like shashasha, shashasha

I got your bitch singing like lalala, lalala*

You walked by Loki's side, the camera panned in on you to show your thigh-high sundress painted in yellow flowers drowning in red, your legs exposed to lights, soaking them in, your arm locked in Loki's while the other one let your hair fly free.

Eyes flew towards the two of you- well, mostly Loki- as glasses tipped, spoons clattered, women forgot to breathe, men bonked themselves into walls and the allies drowned in that dapper energy the God just threw off like breathing out carbon dioxide.

*I shine my wrist it go like shashasha, shashasha

I got your bitch singing like lalala, lalala

How I stride like that?*

The music suddenly died, the cameras panning in on Peter standing by the audio controls in one corner while Scott stood next to him with the plug in his hand. "He deserves better than that. They deserve better than that," Scott stressed in a whisper to Peter, who was still stunned by the intro song cut short, "not that this wasn't...kewl."

 Peter raised his brows at Scott. "Kewl? Really? Kewl? That's how you think the youngsters talk?"

The manager walked by glaring at the two dressed as servers. Scott giving him a 'hey how ya doin' smile.

Scott shushed him to see what Loki and you were doing.

The God was clearly basking in the attention he was getting. You, on the other hand, seemed...

You: Of course, I love attention. Who doesn't? *smiles before licking her lips and feeling that smile disappear* Who doesn't love it when people keep staring at you to question if you have something on your face? *smiles again, but this time it's forced* But then it turns out it's just your face!

"Wow," you muttered as you sat down by Loki's side, the camera panning over to your target right behind you- a man in a blue suit, clean-cut beard and soft blonde hair going back- showing the close proximity in which you were sitting, "people are really not buying we could be together."

Loki settled beside you, looking at you in some deep thought before asking, "Would you like to sell it?" You shrugged. "Sure. I always wanted to be an actor," you whispered, leaning in close and touching his chin with your finger, making Loki smirk devilishly. The camera did not miss the woman and man sitting at two separate tables looking at the two of you with such intensity- and quite possibly, jealousy. While the man practically stabbed the table with his fork, the woman cracked the glass of champagne in her hand.

Loki- it seemed- could see everything going around him without even seeing. "Well, Miss Girlfriend," he sang softly, leaning closer to you, his cold breath tickling the hairs on your face, "you seem to be getting a lot of negative attention just by breathing right next to me."

"Hmm," you tilted your head and hummed, taking a swig of water without increasing the distance, "I can surely feel their stare on my back, boyfriend. They are willing to kill me just to get a whiff of you."

"Well, why don't we give them more reason to spell murder on their hands?" he spoke softly before extending his arm behind you, wrapping you in his side.

"Comfy?" he asked. You nodded, trying to suppress a smile. "Smooth raven," you muttered.

A thwack was heard followed by Loki cursing under his breath as he retrieved his arm from behind you for both of you to watch the back of his hand go through a light bruise before quickly disappearing.

"Oh, I am sorry, mister," an old man with a grey beard, fine lines and judgy eyes, dressed in a funky beach shirt and jeans. "I thought you were trying to strangle this beautiful dame."

"No, he wasn't?" you shook your head in confusion at the old man.

Old man: *looking directly at the camera* *in his authoritative old man voice* that's what all men want you to think. *camera starts panning in* don't zoom on my face *stops and slowly pans out*

"Okay, kitten," Natasha's voice crackled through the comms, "the ant and the spider are approaching the target."

You turned towards the man in question, observing him for a good second before turning to the woman sitting with him. "That is one stunning piece of jewellery you have there."

The woman turned to watch your gaze right at her sapphire bracelet. "Why, thank you! My husband bought it from me," she cooed, looking at their target.

"Too bad my darling isn't amused by stones," Loki chimed in, shifting his hand over yours before grazing it softly and letting your fingers intertwine, "otherwise I would have gotten her something...out of this world. Something worth...infinity and beyond."

You: *evidently not being able to breathe* *licks her lips* *tries to talk normally but all that comes out is a whisper* damn! He's a pro!

 Scott: Is it just me or does Loki look effortlessly hot tonight? *turns to watch Loki planted casually in his seat, leaning towards your ear to say something that makes you smile so wide that you have to bite down on your lips* *camera pans out to show Scott glowing* So hot! *creases brows* Of course, full homo! Even Hope knows that.

"Your wife is a very lucky woman," the man finally spoke, taking you by surprise.

"Son of a beee-" a staggering shout came from behind your table. Both you and Loki- along with your target and his company- turned to see the same old man making quite the ruckus, pausing only when he realised all eyes were on him and pointing to the stage.

The piano and trumpet introduced a beat and in came a man in full leather on the stage with his back to the audience, the microphone on ready.

I went down to the river and lost my mind

I said Lord won't you save me just one last time

Thought I told ya'

I was looking for a sign

"Wait, I know that voice," you uttered loud enough for only Loki to hear.

"Son of a-" Nat's voice crackled over the comms before the lights shone about the slick face of Clint Barton swinging and singing on the stage all the while glaring at Loki with a death stare, almost hissing the song through his teeth.

Had it once wonder if I would get it twice

Peace of mind only comes in the afterlife

Thought I told ya'

I was looking for a sign

"Oh," Loki rolled his eyes, "you have got to be joking. Romanoff!"

"Ignore him," Steve ordered, "eyes on the prize. Y/N."

You got up just when Peter the server was 'passing by', to collide with him and have your dress ruined by whatever liquid he was carrying.

Like any villainous gentleman, Mr Target got up and offered his handkerchief to you, asking you if you were okay. Mrs Target, just as quickly she'd gotten jealous, felt sparks when Loki took her hand in assurance.

"It's all right," Loki reassured her, "I'll take care of her."

The woman was growing ten shades of red as she watched Loki give her his signature smile, making her melt right there.

What neither part of the target couple caught was Scott taking advantage of the dim light, you and Loki to swap the man's phone and wallet, hiding it no-one-knows where.

.

The Red Velvet Van

"I got it! I got it!" Scott barged into the van wheezing.

Nat took the phone from him, already cloning it. "You look like you ran a marathon."

"Yeah," Scott huffed, standing straight finally, "my manager's gonna fire me any second so...woah! Do you have a date tonight, Cap? Gonna hang out at a diner? Grab some shakes and do the twist?"

Wanda did a really loud ‘ha-haaa’ while Nat just gave Steve an 'I told you so' look.

"Here, take it back and keep an eye on Clint," Natasha ordered Scott, getting a salute in return before the van's door closed behind him.

.

Inside the Restaurant

The old man too had joined the little mayhem caused on Mr Target's table, accidentally smacking his hand when he tried to grab your arm and ask you if you were okay.

"Hey grandpa," Mr Target nearly shouted in the old man's face, "are you blind?"

The old man looked at him with subjective eyes before muttering, "Not yet, no. I can still see your wife trying to flirt with her friend."

You and Target turned to watch Mrs Target laughing out loud while grabbing Loki's arm every chance she got.

"Babe," you raised your voice just enough for Loki to hear you over Clint's aggressively teasing music, "I'll go to the washroom to clean this out."

The camera caught Scott coming back, smoothly keeping the phone on the table before grabbing the old man. "Let me help you back to your seat, sir," he stressed, nearly running into Loki's back, pushing him into you.

Loki grabbed you by the waist in order to not fall over you- neither of you noticed the shriek that left Clint and the bewildered 'what? WHAT?!' that left the old man- wrapping his other arm around your upper back.

"You want me to come with you?" he asked rather seriously.

"No, I'm good," you assured him with a nod and a smile, all the while the camera capturing the hesitant jealousy steaming up inside Mrs Target as she watched the two of you get so intimate.

Loki let his hand drop from your back to take your hand in his, never losing his eye contact with you. Bringing your hand closer to his lips, he planted a light kiss on the back of your hand. "Come back fast," he requested ever so softly, leaving you without words for a few seconds before you remembered how to blink.

Neither of you noticed Clint's 'son-of-b****' off the mic as he jumped off the stage, walking towards the two of you before being carried away but a young brunette boy soothing him with a 'there, there. Shhh, let's go outside and shoot some arrows, okay? Yes, the spider is clearly stronger than the hawk tonight."

.

The Lounge

"We got the location of that Pandora's box Pulsator. Friday is checking out the geography of the location where it's stacked. Vision said he'll pick it up on his way back from another mission."

"Wait," Sam interrupted Natasha, stopping in his swivel chair with a dramatic pause, "when did Vision go on a mission?"

Peter arched his brow before leaning towards Scott. "Can you say that fast? When did Vision go on a mission?"

And so began the whispering battle of saying the phrase as fast as possible.

"Last night," Wanda joined the conversation, "he wanted to get some special paprika," she ended with a knowing smile, clearly meant for the boys to stop talking and start smiling.

"Dayum," Sam stressed with his little high pitched voice, "that AI is finally getting the hang of it, isn't he?"

"Speaking of getting the hang of it," you spoke from the couch, sprawled on it lazily while Loki sat on the floor, curiously looking at Peter trying to teach him, Steve and Bucky how to play Cards Against Humanity, "somebody looked like they were ready to take their first date to second base."

Steve looked up to watch every set of eyes looking at him with a devilish smile.

"Sure, if by second base you mean eating greasy burgers at a hilltop and talking about how expensive the nearest city is," Clint added as he entered the lounge.

"Says the man who kept being a cockblocker the entire night," Steve did not even miss a beat, leaving everyone to gasp and shriek senseless.

Sam: *Bucky and Peter sitting next to him* I don't know whether to hoot for that comment Clint throw or shriek at Steve throwing a f*****g perfect comeback.

Bucky: *guffaws* I'm just surprised he knows what cockblock means!

Peter: I know!!!! *laughs*

Sam: *looks at Peter in confusion and laughs at him*

Bucky: *pauses mid-laugh* *tilts his head to look at some invisible void, his face still plastered with that paused laugh*

Sam: *looking at Bucky* you don't know it either, do ya?

Bucky: *without missing a beat* Nope.

"What?" Clint nonchalantly poured himself some whiskey, "I was a distraction. Or should I say...main attraction," he grinned at the eyes rolling at him.

"Hey, great job tonight, Y/N," Natasha scruffled your hair, gathering affirmed 'yeah's through the lounge.

"Thanks, guys. It wasn't much though. All I had to do was...be there."

"Cool," Nat smiled at you before morphing her face into a serious one, "now tell me honestly. Did he do anything inappropriate with you? 'Cause I'll drive to his place and break his bones right now if he did."

"Wow, no, thank you so much, Nat. I really appreciate it. But no, he didn't do anything. Loki was there with the whole time. He was a good distraction for our bi target."

Scott: *suggestively sings* Distraction? Or should I say 'Main Attraction'! *arches his brows repetitively while smiling hella wide*

"All right, now you off you go," Nat patted you on your back, forcing you to get up and walk towards the dorms, "go get some sleep and remove all the tiredness from your exam week."

You went off to the dorms while the rest of the gang sat down on the floor to play Cards Against Humanity.

"Javier," Nat pointed at the boy behind the camera, "come with me for a sec."

Both of them got inside the elevator, rode to the first underground level and got out to walk into the direction where the overhead dim lights led them.

"Sir, you have company," the duo heard from across the glass wall where Tony sat amidst an ocean of holograms of information.

Nat clicked the door open to let the camera see Tony swipe away everything with a wave of his hand.

"Hey, you're not allowed here," Tony said, not looking at Nat or camera. "This is my holy ground. So, off you go."

"Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just gathering evidence. Next time wear a better disguise," Nat dropped the bomb on Tony, who sat there puckering his lips at the air for what could be said was a considerably long while for Tony Stark.

"I was gonna go for something Sherlock-y but Pepper says I get very method and it destroys the mood," he finally spoke.

"She's old enough to take care of herself, Tony. Not to mention she had me looking out for her all the time," Nat had her arms crossed across her chest now.

"Why is Javier here?" he looked behind the camera.

"Like I said, gathering evidence to blackmail you in the future. She is just starting to get to know you, Tony. Do you really want to sabotage the father-daughter relationship even before it begins?"

Silence falls over the wide space that is broken only by Dum-e's whirring as he looks between Nat and Tony before turning towards the camera.

"I just want to protect her, Nat," Tony sighed, dropping his hands on his lap. "I just want to protect her from all the bad in this world. And you know why."

"I know," she replied softly before sitting down next to him, "but that doesn't mean you won't let her experience anything out of your comfort zone. And Loki is not bad. You know this better. You travelled to space and met some really weird creatures."

"That's true actually."

"Give him a chance too. He's done nothing yet that would tell us otherwise. And if he ever would, I have stacked up on that alien juice in my poison dart for a reason."

"Sometimes I truly wonder why do you hang out with Rogers. He doesn't deserve a friend like you."

Natasha chuckled and got up.

"Yeah, yeah. Steve tells me the same about you," she commented as she walked away, signalling Javier to follow her.

"Find that old man a date, Nat."

"Go back to your wife, Tony. You need to sleep."

"Right."

.

"For the last time, Peter, the Leaning Tower of Pisa isn’t an example of erectile dysfunction," Scott stressed as him, Peter and Loki walked back to the dorms with their respective cups of hot tea.

"Is this another one of your meme things?" Loki asked.

Before Peter could answer, your door opened and you came out devoid of makeup, your hair tied up- still messy- dressed in your overused shirt and shorts.

"Oh, yes!" you whispered in content, taking Loki's mug from his hand to blow on it before taking a careful swig.

"Hey," Loki ordered, "that's mine!"

"But what's yours is mine, fake boyfriend," you sang ever so innocently, never catching the fistbump that happened behind Scott and Peter's back.

Loki looked at you with furrowed brows before arching his good brow at you. "Oh, if that's the case then you're mine, fake girlfriend."

You looked at him for a moment before going 'cool'. "I've got two assignments, one mini project for the break and three appointments to make. Do them by the end of the day tomorrow since I am all yours, fake darling," you suggested, taking another swig.

Loki opened his mouth to speak something to shut you up and get your cup back while simultaneously you got on your toes, turned to his one side and planted a light kiss on his cheek.

"Good night fake babe," you signed off softly, giving him back his cup and walking back into your room, leaving Scott and Peter more notably befuddled that Loki.

Scott: *water at the edge in his eyes* *whispers* this is it. Peter, this is it.

Peter: *nods at Scott and turns to the camera* *whimpers* why is this so much better than a Disney movie?

Scott: *sniffles* Because it ain't canon. It's real life baby!

#loki #loki odinson #loki god of mischief #marvel loki #loki series #loki (marvel) #hot loki #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x y/n #loki x ofc #loki x oc #loki son of laufey #loki smut #loki speaks #loki fanfic #loki fluff #loki fic #loki fanfiction #loki fiction #fluff #avengers fluff #marvel smut #smut #marvel #loki marvel #Marvel MCU #marvel fanfic #marvel fluff #marvel fanfiction

[myheadinthecloudsnotcomingdown]

When Lila Gives You Lemons - Chapter 4

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Ao3

“We need to tell Ladybug.” Adrien said numbly. He was purposely not thinking about how bad this looked. Ladybug had suspected his father of being Hawkmoth before, but hadn’t given him any reason why. Could she have been right? Could the Collector have just been a red herring to throw them off the scent? Adrien pushed those thoughts from his mind, he could freak out later when he was alone with Plagg.

Marinette nodded and began rolling up the map, “I’ve learned a few tricks from Alya, so I should be able to track down Ladybug and give her this. For now, I think this should stay between us and the heroes. Who knows what Hawkmoth would do if he knew we were doing this.”

Adrien nodded. He wasn’t worried about himself, he had superpowers, but he didn’t want Marinette getting hurt when she was only trying to help. He stood up and gathered his bag, which had been lying forgotten in the corner of the room, “So, um, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Marinette startled from where she’d apparently been lost in her own thoughts as well, “uh, yeah. School. Tomorrow. Sure.”

As Adrien left, he wondered how he was ever going to face his father.

//

Dinner that night was awkward. At least, more awkward than it normally was. Adrien just couldn’t unsee the myriad of butterfly symbols strategically placed throughout the house. He’d written it off as a coincidence before, but now? Now he wasn’t so sure.

“Remember you have a photoshoot during your afternoon classes tomorrow, then a chinese lesson after fencing practice. Your father expects you to reach an advanced level by the end of the month.”

“Yes Natalie.” Did Natalie know? Was she involved somehow?

“Are you feeling well, Adrien? You’ve been playing with your food for the past five minutes.”

Adrien set down his fork, “um... I’m fine, I guess it’s just kind of been a long day and I’m not really that hungry?” He looked up at Natalie, who was scowling slightly.

“If you’re not sick, you need to finish your food Adrien. Your nutritionist would have a heart attack if you’re not getting enough calories, not to mention the legal issues.”

Adrien nodded and forced down another few bites of food. Wonderful, yet another way he was failing to live up to expectations. And wasn’t it telling that it was the nutritionist that would care, not Father or Natalie?

The rest of the meal passed in silence. Adrien finished his food and got up to go back to his room when the door opened.

“Hello Adrien.”

“Hello Father.”

Why? Normally, Adrien would have been ecstatic to have his father come to dinner, even if it was just at the end, but after the revelations of the afternoon, it was all he could do to act natural. Of all the days for his father to talk to him, why did it have to be today?

“I was informed that you disappeared this afternoon. Do you have any explanation why?”

Adrien’s mouth went dry and his stomach sunk, “I told my bodyguard that I went over to a friend’s for homework.”

Gabriel’s glare hardened, “Ms. Rossi said she hasn’t seen you since before the akuma attack.”

Adrien didn’t know what to say. He’d actually checked? “Lila's not my only friend.”

“She’s the only one I have approved of.” Gabriel turned to leave, “You are grounded for the next week. If I hear of you going over ‘to a friend’s house’ again, you’ll be staying home from school for a week. Do you understand?”

“Yes Father.”

“Good. Sleep well, Adrien.”

Today sucked.

//

“Just because your house is in the search radius does not automatically mean your father is Hawkmoth. Just ‘cause the man’s a dick doesn’t mean he’s a supervillain.”

“But he might be. Just think, Plagg, is there anyone else that Ladybug has suspected? I didn’t want to believe her then, but Ladybug doesn’t do things like that without a good reason. And if Father is Hawkmoth then that means that Natalie is probably Mayura and oh my god, is Gorilla involved? I don’t know what I’m gonna do! I’m living in the same house as a supervillain!”

Plagg bopped Adrien lightly on the nose, “Stop that. This whole mathy science thing isn’t exact, especially since your girlfriend was just writing down things as she went.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Adrien muttered, but he was freaking out anymore.

Plagg smiled, “Whatever you say, lover boy.” Adrien glared at him, but since when had Plagg let that stop him, “Besides, even if your dad is Hawkmoth, that wouldn’t be a recent development, meaning that you’ve been living under the same roof as the supervillain for almost a year now. The only difference is that now you know .”

Adrien sighed, “I have no idea if that was supposed to be comforting or ominous.”

“I try.”

Adrien looked out his window at the moon, “It’s getting late, let’s go.”

Plagg swallowed the piece of cheese he was holding and let himself be sucked into the ring. Tonight was going to be interesting.

//

Ladybug was already waiting for him with a rolled up map slung across her back when Chat arrived at the Eiffel Tower for patrol.

“Hey Kitty, we need to talk.”

He already knew what this was about, but he knew he wasn’t supposed to, “What? Has Milady finally realized that I’m the cat’s meow?”

She smiled sadly, “Not tonight, Chat. Do you remember Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

“That’s the bakery girl, right?”

Ladybug nodded, “Well, she tracked me down today. Apparently she’s been tracking akumas and she and Adrien Agreste compiled the data earlier today and, well...maybe it’s better if I show you the map.

She stretched it out on the support beam between them and Chat studied it for a minute. Somehow it looked different than it had this afternoon. It seemed more important somehow, like it was telling him that this was his fault and his responsibility. It was probably because he was transformed, or maybe because he’d actually seen his father that day. After a few minutes, he looked up at his partner.

“We’ve suspected Gabriel Agreste of being Hawkmoth before.”

“I know,” she hugged herself, “And I know it sounds paranoid to think he might have akumatized himself to cover his tracks, but what if he did? What if we’ve really known who he was for months and just couldn’t see it?”

Chat rolled up the map and handed it back to Ladybug, “Why did we suspect him the first time? I don’t think you ever told me.”

“It was because of guardian stuff.” Chat raised an eyebrow, and Ladybug sighed, “I couldn’t tell you then because you didn’t know about the guardian yet. I’d only just found out and Tikki only took me to him because she had to. Gabriel Agreste had a book. A spellbook entirely on the miraculous and their properties written in a code known only to the guardians.”

Chat’s eyes widened as he remembered. He’d gotten pulled from school because of that book.

“Master Fu told me that the spellbook was lost at the same time as the Butterfly and Peacock miraculouses. He said that since all three were lost together, it was likely that whoever found the book, also found the miraculous.”

Chat nodded as he processed everything, “That...makes a lot of sense. So, if he has this book and he lives right where the akumas seem to be coming from, then…”

Ladybug nodded, “Then the evidence is piling up and there’s a strong possibility that Gabriel Agreste really is Hawkmoth.”

Chat looked out over the city, “That’s a good thing, right? I mean, now that we know who he is, we might actually be able to stop him.”

“I guess,” she fiddled with her yoyo, “It’s just, where do we go from here? Right now all we’ve got are coincidences and conjectures and that’s not nearly enough to go in guns blazing. Besides that, he’s got a son. I don’t want Adrien getting caught in the crossfire.”

Chat’s heart warmed in spite of the conversation. His lady cared! But she raised a valid point.

“Maybe we should talk to Master Fu about this. Even if he doesn’t have any advice, it’s still probably something he should know.”

“You’re right. Would you like to do it this time, Kitty?”

Chat shook his head, “It’s probably safer for you to. You already know where he lives and I’m grounded, so it’ll be harder to sneak away.” Not to mention the danger if his father realized what was going on and followed him.

“What’d you do kitty, push all the mugs off the table?”

Chat smiled, “Something like that.”

“Well, I’ll talk to him tomorrow then. Goodnight kitty.” She threw her yoyo and swung off into the night. Chat stood watching her disappear for a few minutes, reluctant to go back to the place he called home.

“Goodnight Milady.

#when lila gives you lemons #adrienette #gabriel agreste's a+ parenting #smart marinette #i'm alive