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#order and he just goes 'which alphabet' with THE biggest smile on his face which wow what a mood lmao)
musical-chick-13 · 5 months
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Always funny to me when people say, "Why was the Doctor ever interested in River in any way when she's Not A Good Person," as if a) their oldest and closest friend in the universe isn't The Master, someone very much not known for being a particularly good person, and b) there wasn't literally a line that went, "And unlike me, [River] really doesn't mind shooting people. I shouldn't like that; kind of do a bit."
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belphies-cuhm-sluht · 3 years
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Hi hi! Gotta say I love the username, it makes me giggle. If your requests are still open can I ask for Satan headcanons + in what ways he expresses affection? It seems like a cute idea
Ahhh! Thank you! I’m glad it makes you laugh! Also, Happy New Year to you! I hope this year treats you well. 💗
Ways That Satan Expresses Affection Headcanons
He’s not the type to openly admit to you that he has any feelings for you, so if you’re not dating him yet, it’ll be just as hard to get him to admit to having those feelings as it would be to get Lucifer to admit. (Don’t tell him that though) 
Before dating he’ll send you little notes that contain quotes from his favorite novels. Quotes that remind him of you straight out of love stories that he hated up until he met you.
He’ll write little poems for you too, making sure that his name is signed perfectly at the bottom so you know it’s from him and not one of his other brothers. Honestly, you should know it’s from him though, his brothers couldn’t write poetry like that. 
His face will be in a permanent scowl up until he crosses your path or you cross his, then, and only then will you see that small little smile, and maybe a light dusting of pink spread across his cheeks. 
He’ll also find any reason whatsoever to try to get you to “hang out” with him. “Y/N, there’s a sale going on at the bookstore. Would you like to go with me?” or “I’ve been trying to organize my bookcase in alphabetical order, but it’ll take too long with just me. Would you mind helping me out?” 
Sometimes his reasons are a little sweeter, but that’s only when he’s feeling extra lonely, or when he notices that one of his brothers is spending a little too much time with you. “I found this new book and I thought you’d like to come up to my room and read it with me. I’ve got tea as well. Come when you’re ready, the door is open.” 
If you’re already dating, his affections aren’t hinted anymore. He’s more upfront about his feelings because he knows you feel the same way about him. He has no fear of you rejecting his advances which makes it a lot easier for him to let his true feelings show.
He’s not a fan of PDA, and that means in the house as well. He’ll hold your hand, and kiss the top of your head or your cheek. If he’s feeling edgy he might even place a small kiss on your lips before pulling your chair out at the dinner table. 
Satan is reserved, much like Lucifer, and he doesn’t feel like his brothers need to see everything that goes on in your relationship. As long as they know you’re together and respect that, then everything will be okay. 
It may seem at first like he’s ashamed or embarrassed of the relationship due to him seemingly being so secretive about it, but that’s not true at all. He’s very happy with you, proud even (but that would make him seem like Lucifer so he tries to hold back on being too proud), he’s just worried that if he shows you off too much, someone might try to take you away from him. 
He does post pictures of the two of you on Devilgram occasionally though. It happens once in a blue moon, but it does happen. Usually he’ll do it when you’re not around so that when you get the notification, he’ll know you’ll be happy when you see the picture. 
Little things are, to him, the biggest things. He doesn’t buy you jewelry, he doesn’t see the point in giving you items like that when they’ll just fade over time anyway. Instead, he’ll gift you with one of his favorite books, a little note on the cover page telling you in not so many words how much he loves you. 
He’ll bring you warm towels, straight out of the drier when you’re in the shower because warm towels are the best, and you deserve nothing but the best. He won’t even open his eyes when he leaves the towel for you in the bathroom.. Well… he might peak… but he’s a gentleman so he won’t stick around long to watch you get out. 
You are his everything, and he lets you know this every single day. Whether he says it out loud or maybe he just squeezes your hand a little tighter when he’s holding it or maybe his smile seems a little softer and his eyes sparkle just a little brighter when he looks at you. 
He loves you, and he won’t let a day go by where you don’t feel his love and affection in some way. 
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sweeethinny · 3 years
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James is Dating - Part 2
I love part 1, but I felt that Ginny's reaction to that was missing, so here goes, one more mother and son moment between James S. and Ginny
Part 1 | AO3
read bellow the cut :)
'Busy?' Ginny said, head into James' messy room, looking for him in all that mess of clothes, gifts, new things, and a lot of other things he kept inside.
'No. Do you need anything?’ He stepped out of the small closet by the window, still wearing only the old, dirty paint-dry shorts he had used to help build the new house for Sir, their dog.
'Do you want to go with me to the market? Your father asked me to buy more ice cream, fish and beer.' Today all the Weasley and aggregates would gather at the Potter house, Harry seemed more anxious than ever to open the new room, which was now not just a forgotten room at the back of the house, with everything that couldn't fit in the attic, which almost never had the windows open. It was an appropriate place, with comfortable armchairs, a wallpaper of flamingos that Ginny had chosen and an incredible view of the pool and the sunset.
'Sure, I'm just going to put the shirt on ... will I meet you down there?' She nodded, closing the door and walking to the stairs.
It had been a day since James told Harry that he was dating and so far he has remained silent to Ginny, which saddened her a little, since James always told her several things. She waited patiently after dinner, guaranteed to get James to help clear the table with her, and yet, today during the morning run, she tried not to say too much, hoping that he would bother with the silence - as he always did - and talk about the news she already knew.
Harry summed up what the two of them had talked about and how happy James looked about how it all went down, but Ginny wanted to hear directly from him, not just what her husband remembered.
Harry couldn't tell if James had that sparkle in his eyes that she saw appear during one of the dinners, while he and Mira talked softly in the other corner of the table, and her son seemed to almost sparkle every time she laughed. Or when he hurry down the stairs while the owl hooted to announce it arrival with the mail. And Ginny wouldn't even comment on the time she caught him looking at Mira' breasts. It was a quick thing, while she and Mira talked about Quidditch, the girl fixed the collar of her sweater, without any apparent malice, and out of the corner of her eye Ginny had been able to notice the movement of James' eyes.
She wanted to laugh and make some comment about it, but the boy soon managed to get them off track and take Mira away from Ginny, saying they were going to play Quidditch - and they went.
Mira was a girl that Ginny had been cheering James on to notice her, since the first day Ginny met her, she was a sweet person, and it was understandable that even Scorpion, always tried to be around her on vacation. She was also beautiful; tall, almost the same height as James, with blonde hair similar to Fleur's, but more wavy and messy than the perfectly smooth strands of her sister-in-law, dark eyes that seemed almost unreal, and a way of behaving that exuded confidence. Not much to detriment her, just enough that she could survive the world without being too affected. And she was smart, which was a very important point for Ginny not to worry about.
As far as James talked, her mother was a witch and so was her stepfather, while her father was a muggle, as were her grandparents. They even got to know her mother on a day when they went to get Mira to go with them to the Quidditch Cup, the woman had studied in the same year as the twins but was a Ravenclaw, just like her husband.
Mira was the perfect girl that Ginny could have imagined for James.
Okay, aside from the fact that maybe she was in as much or more trouble than the boy, but it was something to let go of.
'Is Dad going to make fish? I thought Teddy had convinced him to make that meat pie,’ James appeared, startling Ginny who was concentrating on watching the yard through the big window in the living room.
'You know what he looks like, when he put something on his head, forget it.' She turned, smiling at the boy and giving him her arm to hold, in order to apparate to the dark and safe alley where they landed. The market was a block and a half away, but today was a Saturday during the holidays, which meant crowded streets and long lines for even the simplest things.
'Excited to start classes?' She asked, needing to restrain herself from releasing a million questions about the courtship he had kept hidden for so long.
'Yes, at least I’m not going to see Professor Johann anymore, which makes me very happy. ’
'I thought you liked DADA.' The two stopped in the fishmonger line, surrounded by conversation.
'I like it,' James shrugged, fussing with his hair like his father did, almost making Ginny laugh. 'But he is very annoying, and he hates me.'
'I doubt it.'
'I'm serious, he hates us all but Mira, but it's because she and he share the same terrible taste for books, and they've been reading the same saga lately, but if it weren't for that, he would make her organize more than thousand of his books in alphabetical order too, as he does with us. '
‘And what does he tell her to do?’ Ginny wanted to jump for joy because they were talking about Mira, knowing that now it would be much easier to pull James’s secret.
'He almost never gives her detention, really, it's almost like he was blind to her walking down the corridors or in the forest at night, but the times he had to do that, Mira said that she just kept separating the tests by year and home' James denied, looking incredulous.
'Well ... and what would she be doing in the hall at night? Or in the Forest? ’
'Nothing I know of, of course.' James smiled in that way that always made Ginny and Harry watch, his eyes shining in something malicious, as if hiding to death what the hell they were up to at school. 'I am usually in my room, you know? Respecting the schedule and sleeping early. ’
‘Oh sure, I sure believe that,’ She smiled falsely. 'Will Mira come to dinner?'
'No, she traveled to her uncles' house in France, her cousin just gave birth to a baby.'
'Hm ... We should go to France for the next vacation, it is a pretty beautiful destination, especially in the summer.' James smiled in agreement, but if Ginny knew her son well, he was not thinking about French landscapes. 'I like her.'
'From whom?' The boy looked at her, curious, as if he were caught in the act.
'Mira. She is very kind to us. ’
'She is like that naturally.' James defended her, even though Ginny was not implying anything.
'A great quality, by the way ... And she is beautiful.' James' cheeks turned pink, but he continued to look confidently at all the fish exposed in the ice basins, it was almost their turn.
'Scorpion agrees with that, I think I saw him looking at her legs more times than I can count.' He looked at Ginny, his brown eyes looking so much like the ones she saw in the mirror when she caught herself thinking about Harry as she dressed for her class, trying to ignore how all the girls seemed to like him now that he was in sixth year and had grown up.
'And you? Do you agree?' She took a risk, biting her cheek to contain her smile when her son's face caught fire.
'She is my best friend.'
'Hermione was Ron's best friend.' She shrugged. ‘That didn’t stop him from finding her beautiful.’
'Daddy told you, didn't he?' James stared at her as if Ginny had just said that she knew his biggest secret, eyebrows raised.
'Did he tell what?' Before James could speak, however, the fishmonger called them.
They didn't waste a lot of time in the market, exchanging few words while choosing the products and then paying, walking at a slow pace and almost as if they were postponing their return home, feeling the breeze of that summer night, and seeing the city brighter and more awake than ever.
James didn't open his mouth, seeming to think well before speaking, but Ginny wanted to laugh and ask her son if he thought she was an idiot and that she hadn't realized that overnight, there were pictures of him with Mira in his room, especially the one of the two in Hogsmeade where he had his arm around her waist.
'He told you what I told him.' The boy finally spoke, and Ginny stopped walking, thinking that if they went home, there would be no way to talk without Albus, Lily, Harry or her whole family arriving and hinder, then, she preferred to stop and sit on a bench that was in front of a square they used to run, discreetly putting a spell so that the fish that would not spoil by staying out of the ice.
'Yes.' She looked at him as soon as they were seated, smiling from ear to ear. 'Your father is a gossip, you know that.'
'What do you think?' James also smiled, but his cheeks were flushed.
'Well, I like Mira, and as long as it doesn't interfere with your studies or hers, everything is fine. I've been waiting for this for some time.' The boy laughed, denying and looking at the lake that shone ahead, lit by the various lampposts.
'Her grandmother wants to talk to us.'
'Grandma?' James nodded, laughing even more.
'She says she wants to meet our family, said she is tired of just hearing about the Potter but never sees them in person.' The two laughed. 'It's all right? Are we going to have dinner with them after they get back from the trip?’
'Of course, it will be a good time, I'm sure.' She sighed. 'Do you like her? Isn't it just something to pass the time?' Ginny didn't know if she would be able to overcome the disappointment she would feel if James did that, even though she thought it unlikely that he would be able to play with Mira's feelings like that.
'Nooo, I really like her. We get along well.' He looked happy, in fact, during the Easter break he looked a little miserable, and Ginny wondered now if it had anything to do with her. James was no longer hiding in the room and remaining silent and scowling in the corners
'Good, because I like her very much, and we would fight if you were playing with her.'
'It is more capable of her making me cry than the other way around,' he joked. 'But I wouldn't have told you if it was nothing.'
'You didn't tell, your father told me.'
'Yeah, whatever.' He shrugged. 'I think I was embarrassed... Lily made the whole trip miserable, sitting in our compartment just to provoke, talking nonstop to Mira.'
'She's jealous of you, you're her big brother.' Ginny smiled, remembering how sulky her daughter was every time James went out with friends and she needed to stay. 'You did the same with Teddy. It's normal.'
'But it sucks.' He made a face. ‘Albus wasn’t like that when he heard.’
'He's better at hiding his feelings, we'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out.' The two were quiet, the music from the pub across the street was loud, as were the laughter and conversation, and Ginny almost started to worry with when it would James who wanted to go to places like that, wondering if she would stay up all night like she did when Teddy first went out.
Not that she didn't trust James, but it was still a little disconcerting to look at him, and realize that he was no longer that little boy who hugged her legs whenever he was embarrassed.
'Are you happy?' She looked at him.
'Yes.' James smiled, that shy dimple appearing on his left cheek. 'I was afraid that she would reject me. She’s a little scary. ’
‘But she didn’t reject it.’
'Yeah, something like that... She tried, and we fought, but then everything went well and I kissed her.' He smiled sheepishly, making Ginny laugh and that maternal concern dissolved a little.
'Well, this is what matters.' She stood up. 'Come on, let's go before your dad pulls out his hair and calls the Aurors to look for us.'
'He wouldn't do that.' The two walked to the alley.
'Never doubt Potter' drama.' Ginny lined them up, James holding her arm. 'I'm happy for you.' She kissed her son's forehead - which was almost starting to get taller than she was - and apparated them back to the house.
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cacoetheswriting · 3 years
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christmas alphabet - spencer reid
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a/n: request: this is just fluff, no warnings in place. enjoy!! 
A = After Dark (a date after dark? late night cuddles? surprise mistletoe?)
On cold winter evenings, when Spencer is not travelling for work, the two of you like to cuddle up on the coach under a fluffy blanket. A cup of hot chocolate in hand; with an even number of marshmallows each. The night is either spent discussing both of your days in detail or watching old Christmas classics, like Miracle on 34th Street for example. 
B = Baking (how does baking sweets go? for or with someone?)
The brunette doctor is skilled at literally anything he sets his mind to, but baking is not his forte. The kitchen always ends up a huge mess, and whatever concoction he was attempting is dangerous to eat. However, Spencer enjoys baking with you. Together you make a quite the team and the gingerbread cookies are a big hit with the rest of his team.
C = Cold (it’s cold out! how do they react to the freezing winter air? does someone else help with fighting the cold?)
Spencer enjoys the lower temperatures, they’re a nice contrast to sunny stuffy Las Vegas where he grew up. You on the other hand struggle with the crispy icy air and often find yourself stealing his scarf for extra warmth when you’re out and about. 
D = Date (christmas date! how is it asked? where do they go?)
You ask the brunette agent to go ice-skating with you. Spencer is reluctant at first but you hold onto him tight and any fears wash away. You whirl together around the rink in slow circles, simply enjoying the moment. 
E = Evening Dance (a night at a ball? or maybe just silly dancing in the kitchen?)
Spencer catches you one wintery morning humming along to Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley. He gently takes your hand in his and the two of you slowly sway around the living room.
F = Fireplace (how do they spend their time by the fire? hang stockings? fall asleep on each other?)
The two of you bought stockings with your initials, a lovely red pair with a fuzzy top. Since there is no fireplace at your place Spencer hung them underneath your mounted television. And whenever you feel like cozying up on the coach together you simply turn on a ten-hour fireplace video on YouTube.
G = Grateful (how grateful are they to spend time with others? enjoy being alone or with others?)
The hazel-eyed doctor is extremely grateful to spend time with you, not only over the holidays. While he likes the occasional meet-up with his team for after work drinks at their favourite bar, Spencer definitely prefers spending time with you alone. He's loves comfortable company more than anything.
H = Hosting Family (how does family work? are they invited to others, or stay with their s/o?)
While Spencer would love to spend Christmas with his mom, his unpredictable hours don’t usually allow him to make set plans. Therefore instead you decide that you will spend the holidays with your family, and if by chance he is free to join he will. 
I = Invitation (a sudden invitation comes up! what’s it for? how do they react?)
An invitation arrives for dinner with his team and their loved ones on a faithful Saturday in December. Of course Spencer asks you to accompany him; he wouldn't have it any other way. You’ve met his friends before so you shouldn't be nervous, but yet for some reason you were. This occasion felt different somehow. More intimate. 
J = Just In Time (the present arrives just barely in time! how do they rush up to hand it to them? do they wait for the perfect time?)
Spencer spent weeks trying to decide what to get you for Christmas. Nothing he thought of seemed right. You weren’t a material person, which is one of your many qualities he adored. He wanted your present to be thoughtful, he wanted something meaningful. About a week before the holidays, he came across a website that sold customisable star maps. He ordered one then and there - a map that showcased the stars the night you first met.  
K = Kiss (how do they react to a kiss? flustered? happy? surprised?)
When Spencer first kissed you it was gentle, almost timid. As if he was afraid to fully let himself go. Now when he kisses you he does so with all his might and immense passion. He cups your face with his hands and pulls you in as close as humanly possible. 
L = Lights (christmas lights are important! how do they hang them? around the house? on the tree? outside? what kind of shenanigans go on?)
The brunette agent had given you a key to his apartment. One night in late November he comes home after working a case to find you already there, tangled in a rope of lights. You tried to surprise him by slightly decorating his place for the holidays, but instead found yourself entwined. Spencer can’t help but chuckle at the sight. He sets off to help you; after taking a picture to commemorate this precious moment.
M = Mistletoe (how do they react to suddenly being placed under a mistletoe with their crush/lover?)
He gets flustered at first, mainly because you’re in public and everyone is watching. But the second your lips brush against his the whole world dissolves and he gets completely lost in you. 
N = Naughty or Nice? (how has your character been this past year? are they a trickster or a good of heart?)
Definitely good of heart. Spencer is one of the kindest people you have ever met. He’s caring, he always puts you first and stops at nothing to make you happy. The only time you could describe him as naughty would be in bed.
O = Opening Presents (how do they react to opening presents?)
Eagerly, although very neatly. Even though he is extremely excited to see what you got him, the hazel-eyed doctor rips off the wrapping paper so precisely that it is actually good to reuse.  
P = Packaging (wrapping presents is never easy. how do they fair?)
Packing presents with Spencer is just as organised. All the pieces of the festive wrapping paper are a perfect size for each gif and the ribbon is measured before cut to the correct length; so that there is no waste. 
Q = Question (how do they confess? is it the big question, or something smaller but just as intimate?)
“Y/N?” Spencer catches your attention. You look up from the book in your lap and meet his honey gaze. “Yes?” “How would you feel about spending next years holiday in a cabin somewhere? Just the two of us?” A smile spread across your facial features. “I thought you didn't like to plan that far ahead, especially around Christmas time.” You teased. He smiled back at you. “I don’t, but with you I can break a few of my rules.”  
R = Relaxing (how do they relax with their s/o? the best ways? the cutest?)
Watching Christmas movies, cooking, discussing various topics, or sitting in comfortable silence and reading. Simply enjoying each others company. 
S = Snow (how do they like the snow?)
Spencer likes to share uncommon facts about the snow; more than the weather phenomenon itself. “Snow is actually translucent, not white.” The brunette doctor chimed as the two of you looked out the window admiring the first snowfall of the season. “It’s the light reflected off a snowflake’s faceted surface that creates its white appearance.” 
T = Tree (how do they decorate their tree?)
Gold fairy lights intertwined with a simple white wreathe hung loosely around the Christmas tree at your apartment. Mixed between the more traditional-looking gold bobbles were various fancier ornaments that reminded both of you of your relationship, such as: a stack of books,  R2-D2, fast food items, gin bottle, a coffee cup. 
U = Undying Love (how did they fall in love? what was the real moment they found out?)
Your constant smile and positive outlook on life, not to mention your delicate beauty, lured Spencer in right from the start. He fell for you hard and pretty early into your relationship. And now not a day goes by where he doesn't tell you just how much he loves you.  
V = Villa (how is it in their house? festive? normal? candles?)
Apart from the decorations you had plopped around, the doctors apartment remains normal. The two of you have focused more of your time and energy decorating your place - from the living room to the kitchen and bedroom, there is even a miniature Santa in the bathroom. 
W = Wish (what is their biggest wish for the coming year? or in general?)
Spencers biggest wish for the coming year would be to keep evolving in this relationship with you. He hopes to grow even closer with you, learn more about you and explore the world with you (if he ever gets the time off work). 
X = eXcitement (general excitement about christmas? love it? hate it?)
He’s excited because you’re excited. Seeing you so happy around the holiday season warms his heart and he hopes he’ll get to cherish these moments with you for years to come. 
Y = You (how does their s/o react to them being beautiful? handsome? to them in general in the christmas season? how in love are they?)
The brunette doctor constantly reminds you how perfect you are. Whether you’re dressed up for an evening at the bar with friends or simply sitting on the sofa in a matching wintery pyjama set, Spencer will be sure to point out just how beautiful you look. You of course do the same. There is something about hearing you say how handsome he looks that makes his heart skip a beat. 
Z = Zzzz… (how do they sleep? lots of blankets? none? cuddled closely to their loved one?)
Wrapped up in a large duvet and blankets mainly because you get cold during the night. Spencer’s arm is placed gently yet firmly around you. He holds you close, quietly snoring into the crook of your neck. 
-
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For the NSFW alphabet, Obi-Wan Kenobi?
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A/N: A quick reminder to COMMENT AND REBLOG IF YOU LIKE THIS!!! The tags hate me personally and these take just as much effort as drabbles or one-shots.  Help a girl out.
A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)
He’s so attentive to your needs. You could ask him for a specific type of soup made in an obscure restaurant somewhere in the depths of Coruscant and he’d find a way to get it to you.  Most of the time though, he’ll run a bath or hold you close and overall make you feel comfortable and loved.
B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)
He loves your lips.  He loves the way they feel on his.  He loves the words that spring from them.  The mind that gives them motion.  The way they curve into a smile or poke into a pout he just wants to kiss away. 
For himself, Obi Wan is very proud of his hair; both the kind of his head and his beard.  He takes the time to care for it and absolutely loves the feeling of your fingers running through it.
C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)
Obi-Wan rarely cums inside you unless you specifically ask him to, even with a condom.  Maybe it’s paranoia, but he even if he’s enjoying himself in the moment, some part of him starts to panic the second he comes down from his high.  Rather than go through all of that, he ends up cumming on your stomach more times than not.
D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)
Not long after meeting you, Obi Wan had his first wet dream he had since he was a teenager.  Usually he’s able to control such urges, but something about seeing you in that outfit, speaking with Senators and holding the confidence of a queen did things to him.  It took him almost a week of meditation and serious concentration to be able to even look you in the eye.
E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)
Extremely limited.  Like one person limited.  Like Satine and only once limited. He only starts doing his research under a deep layer of encryption code when you get together.  Even then, he prefers to learn through trial and error.  There are some awkward nights, but you know he’s trying.
F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)
Call him basic, but missionary.  He likes being able to see your face.  He loves having full access to your mouth while pulling you close to him.  Not to mention it’s easier for him to pull out when the time comes. 
G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)
He switches back and forth between studious observation on what you do and don’t like, and being a sassy little bitch. He knows there are going to be moments when he’s still figuring out exactly what he’s doing and so has to make a joke to ease the tension.  Also, he likes to tease you.  It’s his thing.  Almost a reflex at this point.
H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)
He hasn’t really been paying attention besides keeping it all clean, but once you get together he takes the time to trim it back at least.  He takes pride in his hair, no matter where it grows.  And there is quite a bit down there.
I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)
Obi Wan can be such a romantic and nobody can convince me otherwise. There have been times he just comes to your room with absolutely nothing smart to say and just kiss you like you’re the most precious thing in the universe before you even start undressing.  You guys don’t get a lot of time together and Obi Wan want to make the most of it while you can.
J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)
Obi Wan has some Catholic level guilt when it comes to masturbating. He hasn’t really done it since he was a much younger Padawan and when he’s with you, he’s had enough training to wait until he can see you again. It’s when he’s on Coruscant with you and can’t touch you that’s the real kicker. 
K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)
Major praise kink, both giving and receiving.  He loves nothing more than worshiping your body, whispering soft insistent praises in your ear.  And when you turn the tables? When you tell him how good he makes your feel, how perfect he is, how precise and attentive; he loses it.
L = Location (favorite places to do the do)
You’re either at your place outside the walls of the Senate or the Jedi Temple OR you’re in some rented room far away from where anyone else can find you.  It’s not ideal, but Obi Wan doesn’t want to risk people finding out about the two of you.  It bothers you sometimes, but that’s the deal you made to be with him.  When you’re in your home, you can relax and actually be together like a real couple.  It’s nice, to pretend for a little while.
M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)
Competency.  Seriously, the moment you give a rousing speech to the Senate or rescue him from an attack or even just hold your own in a fight, he’s practically vibrating as he waits for a moment alone with you.
N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)
Age play or just a big age difference period.  Padawan/Master relationships are going be thrown right out the window.  He sees it in the same light as a parent and child and any reference to it genuinely turns his stomach.
O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)
He gives and receives with equal enthusiasm.  The sight of your lips wrapped around his cock is mesmerizing with the added bonus of him feeling free to cum inside you at he wishes.  Seeing you lick cum off your lips sends him.
At the same time, hearing the noises that spill from those lips as he goes down on you can be just as enticing.  He loves the way you yank at his hair when he does something truly magic with his tongue.  He loves your taste and takes a kind of pride at the bread burn on the inside of your thighs, even if you don’t always appreciate it.
P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)
Slow and sensual is the way of the game more times than not. Like I said before, you don’t have as much time together as other couples and so Obi Wan wants to take his time with you, drawing out the pleasure for as long as he can.
Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)
That’s going to be a negative.  Quickies imply you can’t take your time because one of you has to be somewhere which means someone will come looking if you’re not there on time.  Quickies can easily be lead to being caught and Obi Wan cannot relax long enough to have one.
R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)
Obi Wan really is willing to try most anything with you so long as you discuss it before hand; just so long as it’s no where near the Jedi Temple. Have a mentioned he’s completely paranoid about being caught?
S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)
It takes him a little while to build his stamina, given his lack of experience, but he can go for a while now.  He usually is good after one round, but he makes it last as long as possible, making you cum at least twice, if not more before he does.  That being said, if it’s been a really long while since you’ve seen each other, he can go for two or three.  Jedi recoup powers are a very real thing.
T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)
He doesn’t have any himself, but like I said he’s willing to try anything with his partner so long as they discuss it before hand.
There is something to be said for him being able to hold you down while he teases you with a vibrator and making you cum over and over again.
U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)
Once he figures out how; he’s the biggest fucking tease in the galaxy.  He’ll let you linger on the edge for well over an hour before he lets you cum. And for all his talk about not getting caught, damn does he like to get you hot and bothered in public.  If it wasn’t for his reputation of flirting with everyone then you’d be in much bigger trouble.
V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)
He usually a bit more quiet almost out of habit.  His words never rise beyond a whisper in your ear and his muffles in moans by burying them in your skin.
W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)
He is terrified at the idea of you being pregnant; not because he doesn’t want to be a father, but because he knows he would. 
When you’re together in secret, he can pretend like he can have both; being a Jedi and being with you.  But, if you became pregnant? He knows he would leave the Jedi Order in a second, no questions asked.  You could ask him tomorrow and he would probably say yes.  The only reason why you don’t is because you know how important being a Jedi is to him.  And knowing deep down inside you have that kind of power over his future terrifies him, but he loves you too much to let it scare him away.
X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)
He’s hung and he doesn’t even know it. It takes everything in you not to drool when you first see it; long and thick, but not so much for it to hurt.  He actually ask you how he compares and you have to lie; you can’t have his ego boosted anymore or his head will explode.  (He finds out later, but details)
Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)
Not extremely high, but just high enough that as soon as he’s given his report to the Council after a mission he’s at your door and kissing your senseless.
Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)
Once he knows you’re comfortable, he’s out like a light.  You feel a kind of pride in that, knowing that he trusts you enough to relax and actually let sleep take him. 
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snowdice · 4 years
Text
Road Trips and Missing Persons (Part 12)
Fandom: Sanders Sides
Relationships: Patton & Virgil, Virgil & Deceit, Logan & Patton, Emile & Remy, Roman & Remus & Janus
Characters: Patton, Virgil, Deceit, Remus, Roman, Logan, Emile, Remy
Summary: Patton was just getting groceries. The next thing he knew, there was a knife at his throat and he was an unwilling uber driver. Virgil’s on the run after the murder of his dad, and it’s not just his paranoia that’s telling him he’s being chased down. He has to get somewhere safe, somewhere he can trust, and all he has is a couple of stories from his dad and a name: “Green Bellow Foods and Dispensary.”
Notes: Secret Agents AU, knives, carjacking, kidnapping, murder mentioned, guns mentioned, pepper spray, blood mentioned, drugs mentioned, explosions (more to be added)
This is a fic I’ve been writing on study breaks that you have probably all already seen at this point. I’ve affectionately named it the Goblin Brain Fic because it’s helping my brain actually get motivated for studying. I’ve slightly edited it for wording and grammar, but not for content from my previous posts. Feel free to send in asks to direct it because I’m not 100% sure where this is going and you can help decide if you feel so inclined! You can see the process I went through to build this at this link.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 My Master Post
Remus sulked in the back of Roman’s car. It wasn’t fair. His brother and his best friend were both in the front seat and had been mocking him for the past 10 minutes and they wouldn’t even put on an interesting music station. Roman had even told Janus about the time Remus had peed on a wasp sting thinking it would work like it did for jellyfish.
“We should play a car game,” Remus suggested.
“Absolutely not,” Roman said immediately.
“Come on Ro, it’s tradition,” Remus said.
“You kill my cows every time!” Roman said. “You could kill Uncle Patton’s cows since he’s always winning, but you always choose to kill my cows!”
“But RooooOOO.”
“No.”
“Fine,” Remus relented. “No Cow Game.”
“Thank you.”
“I spy with my-”
“No, Remus.”
Remus paused. “I’m thinking of an animal.”
“I’m not playing Remus.”
They sat in silence for about 20 seconds. “There’s a Kentucky driver’s license. One point for me.”
Roman chose to just ignore him now.
“Janus you’ll play with me, won’t you?” he asked.
“Remus, I don’t even know what you’re talking about, and you’re already annoying me,” was the answer.
“Come on if we’re going to listen to stupid music, we should at least play a game. How about we try to find things outside of the car in alphabetical order. I’ll start. Airport sign! Now you find something starting with the letter ‘b’.”
Does the annoying bastard in the backseat count?” Janus grumbled under his breath.
“No,” Remus replied with a grin. “It’s got to be something outside of the car.”
Janus didn’t respond to that and Remus pouted. He went through a bunch of different car games he knew and tried to make some up, but none seemed to entice either his brother or Janus to play. While usually he might just give up after being ignored for so long, he noticed Janus’s hand start tapping a restless pattern on his leg after only about 10 seconds of Remus’s silence. So, Remus decided to drop the car games and instead just focused on being as annoying as possible.
“Theeeeeeeeee…. wheels on the bus go round and round!”
“I’m going to kill him,” Janus said blankly.
“That’s what he wants,” Roman said mildly. “Just ignore him.”
Remus kept singing for a long time. Eventually he ran out of verses, so he just started to make some up. “The strippers on the pole…”
“Oh my god,” Janus said. “I can’t handle this anymore.”
“Seriously Jan,” Roman said. “Just pretend he doesn’t exist, and he’ll eventually wear himself out.”
“In how long?” Janus asked, just the slightest edge of hysteria to his voice.
“It depends on if he’s had any caffeine today.”
Remus kept singing, but Janus and Roman remained resolutely silent on the matter until Remus eventually trailed off.
“This is boring,” Remus said.
Nothing.
“At least change the radio station to something not lame.”
Janus reached forward and turned the volume on the radio station up. Remus sat back in his seat and thought for a few minutes which is when he tuned into the radio station.
“So, if you’d like to request a song, you can call in or send a request through our new app,” the man on the radio said. Remus smiled widely and grabbed his phone from his pocket.
When he turned it on, he had a bunch of missed phone calls and text messages from dad. What? He opened the text messages and they all seemed to be asking the same question: ‘Have you seen your brother?’ Remus glanced up at the back of Roman’s head.
‘I’m not his keeper,’ he texted back.
Then, he closed out of the messenger app and pressed the button for the app store. He quickly found what he was looking for and pressed the download button.
It took a couple of minutes to download and about when it was over, he noticed Janus shoot a look back at him. He opened his mouth, doubtlessly to comment on Remus’s silence. Not wanting to be suspicious, Remus opened his mouth and let out his patented ‘banshee scream.’
“Don’t look at him!” Roman yelled over the sound of Remus’s scream.
“Why is your brother a demon from hell?” Janus asked, hands over his ears.
Remus ran out of air after a moment. There was a beat of silence.
“Can I please kill him, Roman?” Janus asked.
“No,” Roman replied. “Really, just ignore him.”
Janus grumbled under his breath and turned the radio station up even more. Satisfied that they were none the wiser, Remus opened the now downloaded app and quickly found the “suggestions” tab in the menu drop down. He didn’t even have to check the given list of suggested songs to know what he wanted was not on it.
So, he tapped on the button to suggest a different song and typed in the details of what he wanted before pressing send. Then it was just a waiting game and no matter what dad (and everyone else) had always said, Remus was good at waiting games. At least, he was when he wanted to be. Both Janus and Roman were looking resolutely ahead and Roman’s fingers were tapping to the beat of the current song on the wheel despite the fact that they were going over the speed limit to a crazy amount.
The song ended and a man came on the air.
“Hello, hello, hello,” the man said. “We’ll be getting right back to your suggestions on KSS-FM 102.9, but before that for anyone on Interstate 26, there was an accident near the Carlson exit involving a semi-truck full of cows. If you’re anywhere near exit 52, I’d suggest you moo-ve right on over to an alternative route.”
“Fantastic,” Janus hissed, slamming his fist against the dash.
“Hey, whoa, it’s fine,” Roman soothed, but Janus didn’t seem to be listening.
“Fuck,” he said.
“Hey, Jan,” Remus said. “You’ve got your map, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, it’ll be easy to find an alternate route, yeah?” he asked.
“We don’t even know where we’re going!” Janus said. “How the hell are we supposed to find an alternate route?!”
“We know where he was right?” Remus said. “The cows might actually be a good thing. It’ll probably slow everyone down and we can guess what alternate route he might be using.” Janus didn’t say anything. “Here,” he said. “Gimme.” Janus handed over his atlas and Remus peered at it. “Yeah, here, see,” he said, showing it to him. “There are about four likely alternative routes someone might take near where Virgil was the last we knew. Three of them end up funneling into to Lincoln to get back onto the interstate and Lincoln has an ice-cream shop that got burglarized five times one summer, so they put up a security camera facing main street.”
“Please tell me you didn’t burglarize the ice cream shop,” Roman begged.
“You can prove nothing,” Remus said. He hadn’t actually, but he liked the distressed noise Roman gave in answer. “Anyway, I’d say we throw in our lots with that and drive to Lincoln to check the security camera. Even if he didn’t go that way, we can then make another guess based on where the 4th route went.”
“That…” Janus said. “Yeah, that’s actually a good suggestion Remus, thank you.”
“No prob Janny Fanny.”
“And you ruined it,” Janus said.
Remus just gave him the biggest smile he could.
Janus rolled his eyes and turned away from him to look back at the map. He grabbed a pen and circled the location that Remus had suggested. “You’ll want to get off at the next exit,” he told Roman.
Roman nodded. “Got it.”
Remus had actually almost forgotten in the interim about his absolutely fantastic idea until a few minutes later when the radio man announced the next song. Remus could already feel a smile creep up his face as the man snickered a little bit when he started speaking.
“Now,” he said, “we usually wouldn’t play this song, but it does seem… appropriate considering the trucks that crashed on I-26 and the person who suggested it wrote about why he wanted us to play it in the comments.” He broke for another short laugh. “As a sibling myself, I feel sympathy for your plight D-dongmaster-5000. So, here’s for you, stuck in a car while your brother and best friend hog the radio. I hope your road trip goes well.” And then, beautifully, the radio started singing the song of Remus’s soul.
Two trucks having sex
Two trucks having sex
My muscles, my muscles
Involuntarily flex
Remus saw Janus look over at Roman. Roman didn’t look away from the road. Instead, he just said with zero emotion, “Kill him.”
Janus vaulted over into the back seat as the radio crooned:
Two pickup trucks
Making love
American made.
Want to read more? Click below!
Part 13
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petersasteria · 4 years
Text
168 Hours - Haz Osterfield (8)
Pairing: Haz x Reader
Haz Osterfield Masterlist ||  Ultimate Masterlist || 168 Hours Masterlist
DISCLAIMER:  *This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.*
𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: In which your son’s wish comes true and it turns horrible. Now, he has to fix it in 168 hours.
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𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 something to happen can only go two ways. One, it can go really well. Two, it can fail and it'll make us want to crawl in a hole and die of shame. Amadis and Harley were really nervous. They only have one hundred and twenty hours left for their mission. If you translate that in days, they only have five days left. Time was really ticking and they really need their plan to work.
They weren't nervous about asking Harrison to join them because Harrison was a free guy. It was Y/N they were worried about. She's always near Tom and they were worried that Tom might join them for their lunch. If that happens, they'll have to think of a back up plan. A back up plan that they don't have yet.
Take note: in planning something, we must have back up plans until we finish all the letters of the alphabet. When all twenty-six plans fail, that's the time when we should crawl in a hole and die of shame.
"Will this work?" Harley asks as he bites his nails. Amadis glances at the ten year old boy and scrunches his face, "First of all, stop that or God won't let you grow any nails anymore."
Harley looks at him innocently and stops biting his nails.
"Second of all, I'm not sure if it's going to work. But since I literally work for God, there's a big chance that it might work." Amadis tells him. Harley just nods as they both stare at the restaurant's door.
"What does your Apple Watch say?" Harley asks after a minute.
Amadis checks his watch and sighs, "It says here that they're getting ready."
"But that was like an hour ago!" Harley whines and rests his head on the table.
"Don't be overreacting, Harley." Amadis chuckles. "It was just ten minutes ago. Besides, they're probably on the way now."
As soon as he says that, the restaurant doors open only to reveal Y/N and Harrison walking towards them.
"Well, speak of the devil." Amadis says in shock.
"Isn't that against the angels' law or something? Talking about the devil?" Harley asks in confusion.
"I don't think so. If it were against the law, then all of us angels would be sanctioned. So far, no one's been sanctioned for years." Amadis shrugs as he stands up and pulls out a chair for Y/N.
"Aww, thank you." Y/N smiles sweetly as she sits down. Harrison sits next to her and they all greet each other. Amadis goes back to his seat and they all order.
"Thanks for inviting me! I honestly thought I'd never see you again." Y/N chuckles as she puts the table napkin on her lap.
"Well, you're wrong." Amadis chuckles lightly. "So how's your engagement and stuff? All good?"
Amadis notices her face falling after he asks that. Y/N quickly gives them a small smile and sighs, "It's, uh, really stressful. Can we- Can we not talk about it? I was really hoping for a relaxing day."
"I'm sorry for asking." Amadis bites his lips, immediately feeling guilty for asking.
"It's okay. You didn't know. Tom isn't really helping with the planning. He's always so busy and he's out of the country right now." Y/N tells them.
Their food arrives and they begin to eat.
"Where'd he go?" Harley asks.
"Prague. He told me he was there for business. In fact, he just left today." Y/N shrugs.
Harley and Amadis quickly look at each other before turning back to Y/N. Amadis smiles and says, "Speaking of Prague, I'm going there for work too."
Harley puts his acting skills to use and begins to act all sad. Amadis pats Harley's head, "This is why I asked both of you here. I was wondering if both of you could watch him while I'm gone?"
"How long will you be gone?" Harrison asks.
"Two to three days. Depends on how long they'll need me." Amadis shrugs.
"Oh, okay. I can totally watch him." Y/N smiles. "I love kids."
"Same here." Harrison grins. "But wait, where will he stay?"
Harley speaks up, "I just want to stay at the apartment if I'm being honest."
"I can stay with you." Y/N and Harrison say at the same time. They look at each other and laugh. Amadis subtly nudges Harley as Harley just looks down to hides his smirk.
"I'm okay with both of you staying there." Amadis says. "You guys can temporarily move there later, because I leave later tonight."
"Oh, okay." Harrison nods. "I can pack now so we can hang out earlier. I have nothing to do anyway."
"Same here. I'm kind of avoiding my best friend. She's acting like a bridezilla." Y/N rolls her eyes.
"Bridezilla? I thought YOU were getting married?" Harrison furrows his eyebrows in confusion.
"Yes, but she's the one who's helping me plan and she's so... ugh! Let's just say that she's not my favorite person right now. There are four days left until the wedding and I just need a break." Y/N sighs.
"I can help you plan." Harrison says as he looks at her. Y/N looks at him and it's the first time she's really looking at him. She notices his blue eyes and his glowing face and beautiful smile. She swears to herself that he's different from Tom. A good different. She wasn't really happy with Tom anymore.
"Really? That'd be amazing. We can plan at the apartment." Y/N smiles.
"I can't wait." Harrison beams. They stare at each other and Amadis clears his throat for both of them to snap out of it. They look away from each other and chuckle.
"I'm glad both of you are getting acquainted pretty well. I hope you'll get acquainted with my... brother too." Amadis says.
Harley just nods.
"I think we'll get along pretty well." Y/N smiles.
-
"Okay are you sure both of you will be okay with it?" Amadis asks. He's worried about the plan now.
"Yeah we'll be fine, Amadis." Harrison chuckles. "Don't worry about it. Good luck on your work."
"Thanks, man. I owe you one." Amadis says as he takes his backpack. He looks behind him and bids goodbye to Y/N. Harley runs up to him and gives him the biggest hug.
"I'll miss you." Harley whispers.
"I won't lie, I'll miss you too." Amadis sighs. "But we need to make this work, okay?"
"I know. Good luck in Prague." Harley smiles and pulls away.
"Okay, bye guys! See you guys in a few days!" Amadis smiles and leaves. He quickly runs up to the rooftop where Saint Christopher is waiting. When he gets there, Saint Christopher is sitting on the ground as he scrolls through his phone. Amadis clears his throat to make his presence known and Saint Christopher immediately looks up from his phone and stands up, "What took you so long?"
"Well, I had to say goodbye." Amadis says.
"Let's hurry up! I want to go to Prague too." Saint Christopher says.
Amadis walks to him and looks at him weirdly, "I thought you've been there a couple of times already because people to to you whenever they travel and stuff."
"Just because they pray to me doesn't mean that I go there with him. There are a lot of them and I can't split myself into billions." Saint Christopher playfully rolls his eyes.
"Whatever. let's just go. I want to see what Tom Holland is up to." Amadis holds on to Saint Christopher's arm.
"Tom Holland the soon to be CEO or something? His mother just prayed to me hours ago! How fun!" Saint Christopher giggles as both of them teleport to an angels' apartment in Prague.
They quickly get there in a second. Amadis looks around and looks at Saint Christopher, "Are we here already?"
"Yup!"
"How did that happen?! I literally just blinked." Amadis says in shock.
"I know." Saint Christopher smirks. "Now let's get settled in so I can take you to where Tom is."
"You guys talking about me?" a familiar voice says. They turn around and see Saint Thomas Aquinas with his arms crossed.
"Nope. We're talking about Tom Holland, the soon to be CEO of the Holland Incorporation or whatever." Saint Christopher chuckles.
"Oh, I know him! His mother prays to me even after he graduated college." Saint Thomas Aquinas chuckles and shakes his head.
"Yeah, well he has younger siblings that are still in school." Amadis shrugs. "Anyway, we should settle in now. The quicker we settle in, the quicker we find him. I really have a feeling that he's up to something bad and if he is up to something bad, the easier it'll be for Harley's parents to fall in love and get together! It's fool-proof!"
"Okay let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? Let's get settled in." Saint Christopher says as they walk to the elevator with Saint Thomas Aquinas tagging along. They patiently wait for the elevator and quietly get inside as soon as it arrives.
"I think it's funny how the patron saint of transportation and traveling is riding an elevator when he can just teleport." Amadis says, breaking the silence.
Saint Christopher playfully glares at him and Saint Thomas Aquinas just laughs. They exit the elevator when they reach their floor and they walk to their room that Amadis reserved earlier that day.
They quickly put down their bags and Amadis checks his watch to track where Tom is.
𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐲.
Amadis hastily searches where the restaurant is and smiles to himself when he successfully finds it.
"So, where is he?" Saint Christopher asks.
"At a restaurant nearby." Amadis says and shows the two saints the location. The two saints gasp and happily cheer. "What?" Amadis asks.
"We know that restaurant! Patron saints of the Culinary Arts own that." Saint Thomas Aquinas says happily. "Let's go because I'm hungry and I want decent seats."
"Same here." Saint Christopher says.
"Let's go!" Amadis chuckles. Saint Thomas Aquinas and Amadis quickly hold on to Saint Christopher to teleport to the said restaurant. They arrive at the alley next to the restaurant and they quickly enter the restaurant. The hostess shows them their table which is right next to Tom's table.
"Wow. God's good." Saint Christopher mutters as the other two agree.
"So you lied and told Y/N that you were here for work? You didn't tell her you that it was a short vacation?" Brad asks. The two saints and the angel subtly eavesdrop in the conversation. They turn out to be really good at acting.
"Nope." Tom says, popping the 'p'. "I feel like we should have time apart for a while, you know? I'm sure she needs it too after all that planning with Saoirse. She ranted to me the other day about Saoirse being so bossy and I kind of agree. Like, it's our wedding. Why does Saoirse have to meddle with everything?"
"Maybe it was a second opinion thing." Brad shrugs.
"Nah, I doubt it." Tom shakes his head. "I still can't believe we hooked up with her before."
"Yeah, thank God we got out of that situation." Brad laughs.
"I know right! I also want to thank Y/N for coming in my life the very next day after that." Tom chuckles. "Anyway, let's go to that new club later. The owner invited me when he heard I was in the country."
Brad shrugs, "Sure! I miss drinking, man. Holy shit."
"You're welcome." Tom chuckles.
Amadis, Saint Christopher, and Saint Thomas Aquinas look at each other as if saying that they'll go to the club too.
They leave the restaurant a little while after Tom and Brad left so that it's not obvious that they're following him. They arrive at the bar and they're surprised to see a lot of people. After all, there are no bars or clubs in heaven. They only have a grand hall where birthday celebrations happen.
"So, uh, do we split up?" Saint Christopher asks.
"What??" Amadis shouts over the music. "I can't hear you!"
"AYE AYE CAPTAIN!!" Saint Thomas Aquinas laughs.
"La la lap stain?? That makes no sense!" Amadis says.
"I SAID— DO WE SPLIT UP??" Saint Christopher shouts over the music.
"OH." Amadis shouts. "NO, WE SHOULDN'T. WE SHOULD STICK TOGETHER AND KEEP AN EYE ON HIM. IF WE CANT FIND HIM, MY WATCH WILL NOTIFY ME."
"OKAY." Saint Christopher yells. All three of them order a drink as they scan the whole place. They see Brad dancing really close to a girl. They scrunch their face in disgust and look the other way.
'So this is how people dance on Earth. Very different from the dance in heaven, I see.' Amadis thinks to himself.
Saint Thomas Aquinas leans in to Amadis' right ear and says, "Hey, I can't find the guy. I think he left."
Upon hearing this, Amadis looks around again only to realize that Saint Thomas Aquinas is right. Amadis quickly looks at his watch and the two saints look over his shoulders to see what it says.
"Oh my— This makes me want to say a darn curse word." Saint Christopher shakes his head. "You know, I was kind of rooting for him. I'm disappointed."
"I saw it coming." Saint Thomas Aquinas says. "He's a guy after all."
"Thomas, he's the guy we were talking about when you saw us." Saint Christopher says.
"The 'Tom' guy?"
"Yup."
"What about him?" Saint Thomas Aquinas asks.
Amadis tells the whole story to Saint Thomas Aquinas and at the end he gasps and looks at Saint Christopher, "This makes me want to say a curse word too."
"Exactly! But that's how Y/N and Harrison will get back together so I guess it's kind of good, right?" Saint Christopher says.
"I guess, but I thought he wouldn't do something like that, you know?" Amadis sighs as he looks at his watch once more.
"Let's go Amadis. I don't like the energy here." Saint Thomas Aquinas says as he leaves with Saint Christopher.
𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥.
* * * *
Jaeden Martell as Saint Christopher
Aidan Gallagher as Saint Thomas Aquinas
𝐇𝐀𝐙 𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @abrielleholland​ @silencetheslaves​ @imeanlifesabitshit​ @joyleenl​ @hjoficrecs​ @myblueleatherbag​ @poguesholland​ @harryismysunflower​ @justanothermarvelmaniac​ @lonikje​ @lizzyosterfield​ @itstaskeen​ @ilarbu​
𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @marvelousell​ @justasmisunderstoodasloki​ @rubberducky-jrr​ @petersholland​ @osterfieldnholland​ @miraclesoflove​ @god-knows-what-am-i-doing​ @perspectiveparker​ @parker-potters​ @itstaskeen​ @call-me-baby-gir1​ @the-panwitch​ @iamaunicorn4704​ @chloecreatesfictions​ @holland-styles​
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macybeckham7 · 4 years
Text
Fluffy Alphabet- Mason Mount
A- Attractive
Ofcourse he finds you breathtaking and every time he looks at you he cannot believe that someone can be that attractive. But if he was being honest he cannot just pick one, whenever he looks at you he finds something new about you.
B- Baby
He definitely sees having a family with you, you have both joked about having a tribe of your own to make your own Chelsea team in the future.
C- Cuddle
He loves hugging you from behind, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and hiding his face in your neck, his nostrils being filled with your scent.
D- Dates
Dates with Mason were always romantic, he loves packing a picnic and going to a stables and going for a ride into the woods and finding a cute place to stop and eating, neither of you seeing another person making you feel you are the only people.
E- Everything
You are my drug, feeling giddy when he is around you and completely obsessed with and when has been away from you too long he feels the effects, of his ‘drug’ addiction.
F- Feelings
When you went to the city of love, Paris together, when he couldn’t help but not take his eyes off you. You were so endearing to him and he knew how out of the world you were.
G- Gentle
Mason is rather boyish and doesn’t really know how to be gently. He treats you like one of the boys, always jumping out at you making you jump or rugby tackling you on the sofa.
H- Hand
Neither of you are the biggest fans of hand holding, but whenever you are sat opposite sides of table you are always playing with eachothers hands as a little signs of affection.
I- Impression
When he first meets you he finds himself just smiling at you everytime a small smile appears on your face. Declan goes over to you and introduces himself and becomes Mason’s wingman. When you first locked eyes with him, he couldn’t help but notice the cheeky look on his face, knowing he’ll be a lot of work.
J- Joker
Mason is a cheeky little shit and is always planning something. He is always jumping out at you making you jump and let out a scream, always keeping you on your toes. He records it and rewatches and is always in tears watching your reaction over and over again
K- Kisses
Mason is always up for kissing you, he engulfs you and kisses you all over your face, but once he locks lips with you he is always cheekily slipping his tongue in your mouth. Making you laugh as you push him away giving him a ‘behave’ look.
L- Love
You both say it at the same time, it was after one of your dates and you were just smiling at each other and you both just blurted out those three words.
M- Memories
When he surprised you with a trip to Bora Bora, and you stayed in a little hut in the ocean. That full week was just you two in your own little bubble, enjoying the sun and getting to know eachother better.
N- Nickel
You both usually treat eachother with holidays or adventures which you can look back on with fond memories. You both have a large list places to visit on your bucket list and you are each other’s travel buddies, and it’s the best way to enjoy your time together when the season is over.
O- Orange
Purple, he loves how elegant the flowers look which always reminds him of you, whatever you are doing you hold yourself with dignity. Whenever you wear the colour purple, he cannot help but look at you with heart eyes, enjoying the colour against your complexion.
P- Pet Names
Neither of you have loving pet names for you, you usually call eachother ‘chipmunks’ he calls you ‘dopey’ while you call him ‘bashful’ as whatever you say to him he smirks at you and becomes shy.
Q- Quaint
A trusty old map, whenever you are on a road trip and are slightly lost instead of looking on your phone he is whipping out the large map nearly blinding you as he tries to work out what road you currently on and trying to help you.
R - Rainy Day
If neither of you have to leave the house you both easily call the day off, the first half the day you both be grown ups and tidy up the house. Then in the middle of the day you start baking together, to help with both of your sweet tooth’s.
S- Sad
You know when he is in a mood as soon as you walk into your house, he is usually in the garden with your little doggo and teaching him new skills. Which never fails to make him feel more happy than he was when he returned home.
T- Talking
You both can talk to each other about anything, whether it’s you explaining something to him, or he wants your unbiased opinion. Or simply putting the world to rights early in the morning.
U- Unencumbered
When he find things getting on top of him, he finds himself just wanting to be at home, with you in your comfy clothes and ordering something greasy and sat on the floor watching a cute Disney film and cuddling up to each other. With Mason instantly forgetting what had him so worked up.
V- Vaunt
He is the most proud of being able to give back to his family, they have gave up a lot for him and travelled with him to allow him to do something he loved. And now he is pro and playing for his childhood club he brought his parents a nice house and gave them holidays they have always dreamed of going to.
W - Wedding
It was a spur of a moment thing, he was speaking to his mum and she was gushing about how he has found the one with you. That week he drags Tammy and Declan to a jewellers and gets a ring. He then cooks you your favourite meals and is in full suit and tie when you arrive home. You can tell something is up with him and he is nervous and then he bends down on one knee expressing how much he loves you.
X- Xylophone
You both being big Eminem fans and you are always randomly rapping to your favourite songs throughout the day, or blasting it out when you are cooking and trying to out rap eachother. Your favourite rap to sing together is ‘Berzerk’ and ‘Real Slim Shady’
Y- You
He would always tell you that you are ‘the Gwen Stacy to my Spiderman’ always telling you that you are his best sidekick.
Z- Zebra
You both being the biggest pet lovers, you start of with Mason’s family dog but end up buying him a little friend and then getting a little kitten. The only reason you have stopped is because you need a bigger house. But once you do, you’ll both end up having a whole farm.
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britishassistant · 4 years
Text
But I Like One Piece (17)
Unsurprisingly, they stay in for the rest of the day.
Naruto and Lee badger her to show them more of the “singy thing language”, so she writes out the alphabet for them.
It’s actually a bit difficult to translate individual letters back into the language of this world, which is based on grouping sounds that all involve vowels. The idea of singular consonants without that does take a bit for them to grasp.
Eventually she just grabs paper and some pencil and shows them how to write their names.
Lee’s name is easiest, and he delights in how quickly he masters the curves of the “r” and “e”s to write it out over and over again, each version getting a little bit more of a flourish.
Naruto struggles a bit more with his, given the larger number of letters in both his first and last names and his insistence on trying to write the cross of the “t” and then the stalk, like it’s a hiragana character.
“But why can’t I write it that way?” He whines.
“Because that’s not the way it’s written.” She replies primly, avoiding her mother’s knowing gaze and memories of being gently scolded for writing hiragana characters like they were “t”s.
Years of giving up pudding cups have proven that she’s weak to Naruto’s whining, so eventually she just gives up and lets him write it whatever way he wants to.
It’s not long until the adults join in as well.
Okaa-san’s handwriting is flawless like her calligraphy, producing the most legible iterations of her name once she’s got the spelling down.
Gai-sensei produces the most written versions of his name, though that’s probably her fault for telling him his name could either be spelled G-A-I or G-U-Y. He seems to have decided to claim both spellings for himself, if his dedication to making sure he can write each properly is anything to go by.
Otou-san is just worrying over whether his name looks better with or without the “u” on the end.
Gai-sensei is also very interested in directions as well, for some reason. He makes her go over «left», «right», «up», «down», «behind», «ahead», «go», and «stop» until he, Naruto, and Lee have them all quasi-memorized.
Then her mother asks her about English swear words.
It isn’t until she’s finished running through them all and Okaa-san sweetly says, “If I catch you saying any of those, you’ll be banned from cooking for a week, alright?” that she realizes she’s been tricked.
Otou-san and Gai-sensei are awful at muffling their snickers.
They end up preparing a very late lunch/early dinner.
Turns out divulging her biggest secret and trying to guide her family through the travesty that is the English language is long and hungry work.
A few filets of the lamb come out to rest for an hour, because Naruto asks about some of the dishes from her past life.
While the idea of making a Proper Roast Dinner on her own still turns her stomach, she figures she can at least adapt the meat into the “plate-2-bowls” format.
She crushes a clove of garlic and takes a generous donation from Habu-san to prepare a marinade. “So, any more questions?”
“What kind of training did you do in your Springtime of Youth?” Lee asks, eagerly.
She feels sweat trickle down the side of her face as she finishes marinating the meat and sets it aside to rest before grilling. “Ah, not much really. I was more the... scholarly type—I’d rather have my nose in a book than do much physical activity.”
The thought of her past self trying to tackle anywhere near the amount of exercise she does now...
“I would die.” She states. “That me would die even trying to do a half-lap around our training field.”
There’s a moment of silence that feels highly judgmental.
“...That’s kinda lame, Mayu-chan.” Naruto says.
“I know.” She hides her face in her marinade-covered hands. “Can we not talk about it please?”
“You were the one who opened the topic of conversation, sweetheart.” Okaa-san says, putting the rice on.
“Regardless of the folly of the past, your determination to fulfill your creed has allowed you to blossomed into the Springtime of your Youth!” Gai-sensei shoots her a thumbs-up and a reassuring beam.
She smiles back weakly as Otou-san starts wiping the bits of rosemary and garlic off her face with a wet cloth and a chuckle.
After the marinade is cleaned off and the meat is grilling, she’s left to puzzle over what side dishes to make.
Traditionally, the lamb would be served with root vegetables—potatoes or turnips or swedes, parsnips roasted in honey—but alongside the rice, that many carbohydrates in one meal would be far too heavy, especially for the others who are used to smaller, more balanced portions.
Just as she’s wondering what to do, a bunch of green onions appears on the counter in front of her.
Her mind ticks over possibilities. They’re not leeks, but maybe roasted and served in miso soup...
She grins and grabs a knife.
The onions are diced into perfectly even rounds, sizzling to a perfectly browned texture before the dashi comes to a boil and tofu is cubed and dropped in alongside the onions and some dried seaweed to mellow the flavor.
Somehow a red cabbage appears under her knife, and is chopped into manageable slivers, joining orange slices without the skin and a light vinaigrette that tastes a little sharp, like lemon, on the plate.
The lamb filets come off the grill, each one a warm pink in the middle when they’re sliced against the grain.
The scent of cigarette smoke is barely noticeable under the delicious smells of food.
The cuts of lamb are arranged against the little piles of salad, the umami of the meat and its marinade balanced by the more refreshing flavors of fresh fruit and vegetables.
The miso barely splashes as she pours it into six bowls, onion and tofu bobbing merrily as she spoons generous portions of rice into the rice bowls.
She turns around, ready to serve—
Only to find the other occupants of the kitchen staring at her, frozen.
Gai-sensei’s mouth is hanging open. Otou-san has a hand on his bokkem.
Lee’s eyes are wide and starry. Naruto’s mouth is curving into an excited grin.
Her mother swallows and takes a breath to compose herself. Her voice is slightly strangled.
“Mayu. Let’s talk about boundaries for y—for those deities to follow when they’re interacting with my little girl, alright?”
A shiver goes down not-her spine at the look in Okaa-san’s eyes.
Late lunch/early dinner is delicious, even with the revelation that she had had help (Sanji’s help!) for cooking a lot of it.
According to Lee and Naruto’s enthusiastic descriptions, he’d actually appeared behind her, washed out and slightly blue and see-through, like an underdeveloped photograph, but there. He’d nudged ingredients towards her, steadied her hands while cutting and pouring, then looked over to them with a press of his fingers to his lips and a wink before vanishing just as she turned around.
She has to cover her face with her hands and turn to the side in her chair so she can kick her legs wildly at the thought of receiving Sanji’s unseen aid, let alone him actually touching her.
Her cheeks feel like they could melt snow, they’re so hot.
Gai-sensei volunteers to search all over Konoha in order to find Sanji for her mother, who is not very happy that the chef escaped before she could Have A Word with him.
To be fair, if she were Sanji, she’d probably run away before her mother could Have A Word with her too.
Lee is also on board with this plan, though both he and Gai-sensei are stumped when Naruto asks where to start looking.
Otou-san suggests they build a shrine for the StrawHats in the back garden.
“After all,” He says, swallowing a bite of lamb. “Providing these deities with a place of worship might help...ground them, somewhat, lessen anything nasty if they’re accidentally offended. It’ll give us a sure way to contact them whenever we want too, rather than just waiting for them to pop up willy-nilly.”
“An excellent idea, Jirou!” Gai-sensei cheers. Her father flushes bright red and shoves more food into his mouth.
On Monday, she goes to the Academy flanked by Naruto and Lee.
The masks are in the branches of practically every tree they pass.
She keeps her gaze on the ground and clutches Lee and Naruto’s hands a little tighter in her own.
Lee doesn’t seem to want to let go when it’s time for them to go to their separate classes. She gives him a hug, and that seems to placate him a little.
Naruto just doesn’t let go.
For the entire morning.
Even when it becomes difficult to write down notes for Iruka-sensei’s lectures, he holds on tight to her hand or her wrist.
She feels a bit bad for feeling grateful when they take their usual places at either end of the lunch table, but she was beginning to get worried he wouldn’t even let go if she needed to use the restroom.
Everything seems to pass as normal, even with Sakura’s strange behavior and Chouji’s continual bouts of summer flu. She’s getting quite worried about his health at this point.
They stay behind after the Academy day ends to ask Iruka-sensei about shrine-building. While he personally doesn’t know much about it, he very helpfully points them towards a few stores that do specialize in that sort of thing.
Okaa-san and Lee are waiting outside the gates to walk them home.
She sleeps in the big bed with Okaa-san and Otou-san like she did over the weekend.
A week goes by.
Nothing out of the ordinary happens.
She trains with Gai-sensei in the mornings, they all eat breakfast together, she, Lee and Naruto go to the Academy, she and Naruto eat with their friends at lunchtime, either Okaa-san or Gai-sensei escort them home, the saga of convincing a store to sell them the components for shrine building continues, they eat dinner together, and she sleeps in the big bed.
The problem isn’t that shrine components aren’t available for sale. They are. There are even little kits for mini home shrines that people can build.
The problem is that those shrines are all designed to be dedicated to this random sage guy or to dead people. And she doesn’t really think it’ll be well received if they make a dead person shrine for any of the StrawHats except maybe Brook.
But making one of those for him and a different one for everyone else would also be discriminatory and break his heart. Except he doesn’t have a heart to break.
Yohoho, Skull Joke.
Only Otou-san finds that funny. She sulks a little, but digresses.
Even the store owners who make personalized shrines get suspicious when they hint that maybe they would like something for worship that wasn’t dedicated to the sage guy.
They’ve been turned down in three stores so far, and outright banned from one.
In her defense, she wouldn’t have said anything about the owner’s mother if he hadn’t called Naruto a demon and those other awful things.
She gets another cooking ban anyways.
By the start of the following week, her parents don’t quite look at her like she’ll disappear if they take their eyes off of her.
Naruto and Lee stop keeping a death grip on her hands as well, though they do still hug her a lot more than they used to.
She likes the hugs, so she doesn’t bring it up. She’s mostly just glad she gets to sleep in her own bed again.
Chouji’s illness seems to be clearing up too, slowly but steadily. He still has a few hot flushes, but he’s a bit more alert now. When her current cooking ban is over, she plans on making him some chicken noodle soup to help speed up his recovery.
Shikamaru keeps laughing when she tries to enlist his help in identifying if there’s any flavors he particularly likes or doesn’t like, which is beginning to irritate her a little bit.
Sakura’s...not getting better. At all.
Ino’s face seems to be set in a smiling rictus these days, desperately trying to bridge the growing distance between her and Sakura.
Shikamaru and Chouji have been doing more stuff with her, like partnering up for group projects and walking home together, which helps a bit she thinks.
Naruto and Kiba are just on eggshells. Naruto is tiptoeing around them, trying not to do anything that sets off another scolding.
Kiba’s reached the stage where he’s yelling back in self-defense the moment Sakura turns to him and opens her mouth, though every argument leaves both of them looking even more miserable than before.
Hinata’s tried having a word with her, but she just reported back that Sakura either genuinely doesn’t seem to think there’s anything wrong or is doing a very good job of pretending.
She’s putting money on the latter, because the idea of the former being true is too unpalatable for her to swallow.
The weirdest thing is that aside from Ino, Naruto and Kiba, Sakura’s been treating the rest of them like normal.
It does throw her off kilter somewhat. Still, she, Hinata and Shino do their best to adhere to their plan of “be civil, but shut down any attempts to belittle Naruto and Kiba before it gets too bad”.
Uchiha has surprisingly been the best enforcer of this particular policy. All it takes is one disapproving look from him, and Sakura freezes in the middle of what she was saying like a rabbit in front of a hunter, then quickly turns to talk to Hinata about something.
She’d never thought she’d say this, but borderline assaulting chunin together may’ve been the best thing to happen for the three of them.
Still, Sakura is their friend after all. They’re not just going to abandon her. Even if she’s going through...whatever this is.
She’s asked Okaa-san and Otou-san covertly, but apparently all is well in the Haruno household according to Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno, so she’s at a bit of a loss as to what could be going on.
It had better not be a weird, warped form of puberty, courtesy of parasitic chakra somehow turning people into jerks. She’ll—she’ll—she doesn’t know what she’ll do if it is, but she won’t be very happy, that’s for sure.
To add to this confusion, this year boys and girls get split up for lessons after lunch.
The girls are taught by a different teacher to Iruka-sensei, a mousey woman with glasses who tells them that they will be learning how to blend in to civilian society as kunoichi.
She had no idea what that word means.
When she asks the teacher, the woman looks like she might burst into tears for some inexplicable reason. She then refuses Hinata’s offer of a tissue violently, as if the poor girl had offered her a bomb instead of something to blow her nose on.
It does not get better from there.
She’d anticipated that getting The Talk from Otou-san and Okaa-san, or from Gai-sensei, would be awkward enough. She thinks that even Gai-sensei would do it better than this teacher though.
At least he wouldn’t cry at every mention of the word “sex”. Probably.
She makes a mental note to give her friends the less confusing version later.
Hinata is constantly praised in this class for her ability to appear harmless and ladylike, while Ino is chastised for being too overtly “ninja”, whatever that means.
She gets told that, while her feigning ignorance is extremely credible and will serve her well on intelligence missions and under interrogation conditions, she needs to work on being less... memorable.
She’s...fairly certain that’s positive? Relatively certain. Kinda.
The way the teacher’s lower lip is set to a permanent wobble makes it hard to tell.
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hilllsnholland · 5 years
Text
Bucket List - (2)
Pairing: College!Tom x Deaf!Reader
W.c: 2.9k 
Warnings: swears, alcohol, slurs 
Summary: Ice cream really cures the soul 
Disclaimer: This is all written from my perspective as a Deaf/HoH person. If you have comments, questions, or concerns then you are welcome to message me :) 
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The only thing Creekview had to offer was the sun. In London, the sun was a distant cousin that came around only when it benefited themselves. As much as Tom loathed the small college town, he loved the weather. He loved the sun beating down his neck while he sat outside Milky, serving ice cream to the somewhat pleasant residents of Creekview.
Milky was what Creekview was known for. It was a small drive-thru or walk up shop that served ice cream and other snacks. On the side of the building, there’s a beautiful mural of cows eating ice cream, looking out to the observer with blank expressions. Every day Tom patted each painted cow on the head on his way to his shift. A good luck sort of thing. It was needed though as the lines and customers got crazy as the temperature rose.
“Fuck this,” Brant spat as he wiped his forehead again. “They can’t even buy us an outdoor fan? Cheap ass white people.”
Tom tries to ignore him and enjoy the feeling of heat on his skin. The Brit tilts his sunglasses up on his face so that Brant can’t tell he’s in another headspace. The party still absorbed his mind. It had been three days since that night but he hadn’t stopped thinking of Y/N. When he got bored he fingerspelled his name like Y/N did. As soon as he got home that night he went online and practiced basic signs. Things like ‘hello’ ‘how are you’ ‘bathroom’ were now part of his vocabulary. It wasn’t much but it would be a gesture of willingness. All Tom wanted was to see her hands move again.  
“I heard you hooked up with that pink haired chick.” Brant smugly says as he leans against the walk-up counter.
“No-”
“I saw her too. Looked like a wild one huh? I bet she’s hella freaky with that pink hair and shit.”
“Nothing happened. We kissed. She left. End of story.”
“Left you blue balling and shit? Sorry man,” Brant slaps Tom on the shoulder and smacks his lips. “I thought your British accent would help you pull but you keep striking out.”
Tom doesn’t respond. He spells his name again and goes through the alphabet to keep his mind at peace. The only good quality thing about Brant was that he was a talker. He could keep a conversation going for hours, but he mostly talked to hear his own voice. Tom could never say a word and Brant wouldn’t even notice.
“Ty got fucked up though. Kevin laid him out flat.” Brant snickers and eyes a few girls walking across the street.
“You told him to say that though, right? You set him up for it.” Tom narrows his eyes on the ground while Brant shifts his weight towards him.
“Hell yeah I did. You got a problem with that?”
Brant adjusts himself to stand straight. He was trying to be an alpha male alright, he was half a foot taller than Tom. Brant puffs out his chest but Tom does not give him the time of day. He knew his dirty work. He knew that Brant was a manipulative asshole, and sadly he was drawn into that culture. Times like this he really misses London. The guys there were assholes too, but this was a new breed of fuckery.
It seems like the div had found something else to be interested in because Brant was now flirting with a girl standing at the counter to order something. Tom went back to his original position of leaning on the wall behind him, his sunglasses tilting off the top of his nose. His mind went back to its usual job of putting Y/N in the center stage of his thoughts. God, if he’s on autopilot then he’s probably thinking about her. It was one meeting and he was hooked on it. He even approached LJ to ask her more that night.
*
LJ was in the midst of refilling the keg, her eyes locked on Harrison as he talks to a group of girls in his Sociology class. Tom had come up behind her hoping for answers. It was her party after all. She seemed to know everyone in this godforsaken town. LJ jumps when she sees Tom but settles with a laugh, hitting him on the shoulder.
“Scared me lovey.” She sloppily says.
“Do you know a Y/N?” Tom is quick with words while Lauren takes a second to think.
“Maybe?”
“She’s Deaf.”
“Oh, Y/N. Yes, I do.” LJ laughs and turns the nozzle of the keg back on. “I met her a while back at another party. She used to go to that Deaf school a few hours away.”
LJ shrugs and gulps down another solo cup full of beer. Tom wondered if he should ask more about her, but would that come off creepy? They didn’t seem like friends, but LJ is the type to gossip a bit. Lauren turns to Tom and looks as if she had come to an epiphany. Her hand caresses Tom’s cheek softly and she flattens her lips.
“That look on your face,” She purrs and drags her nail across his mouth.
“LJ, you’re drunk.” Tom tries to break the tension but she keeps staring on.
“So are you, but you’re...you got that happy look Tommy,” She’s not very coherent as she sways back and forth. “That same look I get when I see Haz…”
Her face becomes more flushed than usual as she breaks out into a fit of giggles. Her hand leaves his face as she turns back around to refill her cup. LJ wipes her face lazily and clears her throat.
“Tommy, be careful baby,” Her voice is shallow in her throat. “Y/N, she’s a different kind of girl. The kind to break your heart.”
LJ spins the contents of her drink around in the cup as she sways. Tom watches her face drop, the look of knowing more but not saying it. Although he wanted to push, there was something eating at him to not do it. Maybe it was self-destruction, but her warning didn’t persuade him any different. He still wanted to talk to Y/N. Learn her story, more than the gossip LJ would have.
“How would you know?” Tom defensively says and grabs the cup from LJ’s hand. “Did you hear that from your dumb rumormongers?”
She doesn’t react right away. LJ hums as her hand squeezes the air the cup had once occupied. Her eyes are sad as she looks back at Tom, almost pitying him. Was this a sick joke?
“Behind every rumor is a little bit of truth. Even if it’s twisted, Tom,”
*
There’s a loud ringing and Tom snaps from his thoughts. It was the customer bell from the counter. Brant was nowhere to be seen, possibly in the back trying to get away from the heat. Tom shakes his head and walks up to the counter with his fake smile ready to greet whatever Creekview trash would walk up.
“Welcome to Milky-” Tom stops and gapes at the two girls standing in front of him.
It was Y/N, staring with huge eyes, and her friend from before who was blinking rapidly. The friend laughs awkwardly, elbowing Y/N, and signs something Tom has not yet learned. Y/N scatters to reply but keeps an eye on Tom while she’s responding. Tom raises his hand and tries to sign, ‘nice to meet you’ while mouthing his words. The friend cackles through her accent, signing something back.
“Sorry, I’m trying to learn,” Tom says while trying to sign.
“You’re alright. We’re just...surprised to see you.” Y/N says while simultaneously signing. “Tom right?”
His name on her hands looks just as beautiful as before. Tom nods and fingerspells Y/N’s name slowly. She smiles, nodding her head and motioning the sign, ‘right’. The friend coughs, pointing to the orange ice cream picture on the counter.
“Oh right sorry,” Tom shakes his head and nods. “Can I get you guys anything?”
“My friend here,” Y/N elbows her friend and fingerspells her name. “Tejas, she wants an orange swirl. I’ll take a Coke Diablo.”
Tom’s mouth feels dry and he can’t form a sign that would be correct in the situation. In his awkward mess of nerves, he stumbles away and into Milky to grab their order. He mumbled to himself as he makes their ice cream, his mind and mouth moving in two different speeds. What could he say to her? Maybe he needs to learn more sign before talking to her? It was a mess, all the little Toms in his head were setting things on fire. Next thing he knew he felt the cold, sticky mess of ICEE on his hand. He grabbed a towel and cleaned up the mess, setting himself straight before going back out there.
With an adjustment to his sunglasses and a mental pep talk, Tom walked back out to the girls. He handed them both their treats, earning a ‘thank you’ from Y/N and a condescending smile from Tejas. She was analyzing him, signing about him when he was right there. Although Tom wasn’t fluent, he could tell she was being snarky.
“$8.64,” Tom says and then watches Tejas sign something. “What is she saying?”
Y/N hands him a ten while signing back to her friend, contorting her face into a scrunched up expression.
“She keeps calling you ‘Hearing Boy’,” Y/N explains then fingerspells his name again. “She’s not very open to hearing people,”
“Why not?”
Y/N interprets the conversation which makes Tejas make a noise that was similar to honking. Her head shakes from side to side as her hands move rapidly, the ice cream swaying side to side and dripping down the cone.
“She says all you hearing people do is make fun of her.” Y/N slyly points behind Tom to where Brant has reappeared. “Your friend there has called her retarded since she moved here,”
Yet again Tom’s biggest weakness was who he allowed to be associated with. It wasn’t a surprise, Brant was a lowlife who would stoop to slurs like that. Tom felt a fire bubbling under his skin, god he wanted to knock him out but Brant was double his size and weight. He shakes his head and exhales.
“Brant is an idiot. A fucking div,” Tom hands Y/N back her money. “But we’re not all like that. Some of us want to understand Deaf people,”
Y/N watches his mouth move and smiles. Tejas looks lost and huffs against her ice cream. She could see what was forming and she was not happy about it. Tom met Y/N’s gaze and raised his hand to try to sign to her.
“Your hair...beautiful,” He signs slowly.
Y/N runs a hand through the dyed hair and giggles nervously.
“It’s fake...all for that party.” She responds. “Do you have time to talk right now?”
Tom immediately signs yes, not caring about if Brant would need his help or not with the impending rush. Y/N signs something to Tejas, who rolls her eyes and then watches her friend walk around the corner with car keys in hand. Tom leads Y/N to the other side of the building where the murals were.
“So, how Deaf are you?” Tom says while dragging his hand across one of the painted cows. “You seem to carry a conversation pretty well,”
Y/N feigns a smile, inhaling harshly as she leans against the wall and slides down. Her arms are crossed over her chest as she looks up to Tom.
“I was born hearing. I was in a car accident when I was a kid, lost the majority of my hearing.” She points to her ears and shrugs. “I can follow along because I know what sounds are. I can read lips alright.”
Her body tenses as she looks towards the beating sun. It was high in the sky, perks of the long summer days. She squinted and held a hand up to block the sun. Without a second thought, Tom hands her his sunglasses and steps into the sunlight. She motions a thank you and puts them on. Tom couldn’t help but smile, she looked better in his glasses than he did.
“So, what happened at the party, that kiss?” Her words are shaky which she masks with awkward laughing. “It was great. I just don’t think you know what you’re getting into-”
“Are you talking about the rumors?”
“Which ones?” Y/N pushes back the fading pink strands and sighs. “There’s so many now. I don’t even care anymore,”
“Someone said you’ll break my heart,” Tom watches her face fall slightly. “But I’m looking for someone to ruin my life anyways.”
Y/N laughs, but this time it's a real laugh though. It came from the bottom of her stomach as if this was the first funny thing she heard in years. Maybe not heard, but you know the specifics are hard. Tom laughs, switching her weight so he’s leaning towards her.
“I think you’re cool Tom, especially with that accent I can’t hear.” Y/N tries to wink behind the glasses but it doesn’t really work. “I just don’t want you to expect much because we don’t know each other,”
“Can I get to know you?”
Y/N looks to him in surprise. There’s a long pause though, she doesn’t speak but she reaches inside of her backpack to find something. Tom isn’t sure if she’s handing him her number or a restraining order but she pulls out a piece of torn out paper. It’s folded perfectly, doodles on the corners of little turtles with sunglasses. He opens it and at the top of the page it says in big letters, ‘Summer Bucket List’.
“What’s this?”
“You want to get to know me right?” She stands and pushes the sunglasses down the bridge of her nose so her eyes are seductively pooling into his. “Read this, then next time we meet I’ll tell you the plan.”
Y/N places the sunglasses on Tom’s head, her other hand rests on the middle of his chest. She can feel the rhythm, fast and all for her. There’s a moment where everything is still, their lips so close from touching but uncertainty clouds the moment. It wasn’t right, Tom was sure of that. If he wanted to kiss her it had to be lead by her. Y/N puts her backpack back on and steps away.
“I’ll see you around,” She says then signs something new. “This is your name sign for now okay?”
She shows him, it’s the sign for ‘hearing’ but with a T hand shape. He smiles and repeats it. A name sign, something only given by Deaf people to their friends and family. Tom took this as a way of her promising to see him again. The list felt heavy in his hands as he watched her walk towards a beat up Cadillac on the corner driven by Tejas.
“How will I find you once I’m done reading this?” Tom yells down the street which causes a few Creekview residents to stop and stare.
“You can try to find me on social media or,” Tom can see her smirking playfully. “Or let fate decide. Your choice.”
Y/N enters the car and that’s the end of their meeting. Tejas whips the car from the space and drives away. The whole interaction felt like a dream. It did not feel real in a conceivable way. Tom looked to the list and back to the corner she was standing at before to make sure this was not a figment of his imagination. He unravels the list completely and was surprised to see only five.
Swim in Creek Lake
Easy enough. That was one of the most popular destinations during the summer. Creekview had a lake that was swarmed by people who were either swimming, tanning, or canoeing. Tom had yet to go into the water though, he usually did a hike around the hills behind the lake with Harrison.
    2. Watch a Drive-In movie
That was something he did not expect. Do Drive-Ins have captioned movies? Tom didn’t even know where they still had Drive-Ins. It had to be something he’d look up later.
   3. Go to DeckFest
Deckfest? The Deckfest? Also known as the Coachella for people who can not afford Coachella. A music festival between California and Nevada, held in a desert, with lesser-known names. It was a mix of Rolling Loud and Warp Tour.
   4. Win a fistfight
Y/N obviously had more layers that he was expecting. The fourth one made him laugh, folding the paper while smiling a little too much. Watching her fight? He’d pay money for that. Tom looks to the last one and drops a bit.
   5. Find my purpose
Tom’s heart panged as he read it over and over. He related to the last item, something he needed to figure out by August also. In the time where he needs to figure out his major, his future, he was more interested in reading this Bucket List and talking to Y/N. Maybe it was master procrastination, or maybe it would lead him to his final destination. Either way, Tom had his roadmap for the summer, all starting with Creek Lake.
///
///
Taglist: 
@screeching-student-unknown / @nyctophilicstyles /  @captainbuckyy / @vintage-moonlight / @breadbudzo / @h-natale / @originalpinkpowerranger/ @happywolves81 / @drunkgreek / @iamnida95 / @sydthekidsloth / @spiderboytotherescue / @laureharrier / @starksparker / @madon566 / @nophunleague / @itsbrittneynicole / @hereiamhereigo
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Text
Winteriron fic recs
This is a fic rec list of some of my favorite Bucky/Tony fanfiction!
They are organized and numbered in order from shortest to longest (1k-167k). There is a collective total of 36 fics on this list.
All are located on ao3 (Archive of our Own).
The word count is listed underneath the title. (for example, 14k is the same as fourteen thousand words).
I have tried my best to avoid any stories with Major Character Death or an Unhappy Ending. So you don't need to worry about those here!
If they have a little star (*) that means they are some of the more memorable ones that I have read.
ENJOY!
1~killer love
1k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/20646356
“Nice to finally meet you in person," Bucky said. "If you’re anything like you were over text, I think we’ll get along just fine.”
“More or less,” Tony shrugged playfully. “Just with a little more murder.”
Something dark passed over Bucky’s face, there and gone in an instant. “Murder?” he asked.
“I’m a mystery writer,” Tony explained, hands waving. “That’s why my search history was so bizarre, you know? Gotta do my research and all that. What do you do?”
“I work in forensics,” Bucky replied after a beat.
Tony breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh, good,” he said. “For a second there, I thought you were a serial killer or something.”
2~Like me better
1k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17636204
For almost a fraction of a second, Tony thinks this is it – Barnes isn’t attractive anymore, he’s not some badass bad boy; he’s a giant squishy nerd – he isn’t hot. I don’t want to take his pants off with my teeth, I don’t want to lick my way down his body and I don’t want him hoisting me up and fucking me against a wall – no, sir, I – am a giant fucking liar.
3~suicidal stolen art
1k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/20134036
Tony was going to kill Bucky Barnes. Tony was going to cut the other thief’s flesh arm off and beat him with it. It was bad enough that they were both running jobs in the same building, but they had to be going for the same necklace, too.
Really, the universe hated Tony. He stared at the ceiling, sending up a very nasty prayer in case someone was listening, then turned back to the job at hand.
4~Bad Days
1k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/11971314
Bucky likes Tony, but is too scared to tell him. What he doesn't know is that every time he has a "winter soldier" moment, he is constantly protecting tony and not letting anyone near him, so tony already knows that Bucky likes him ("genius, remember?"). Bucky finally gets up the courage to talk to Tony, only for Tony to tell him what's been going on and he's been waiting for Bucky to be comfortable enough to actually tell him.
5~Bad Scoping Mechanisms
2k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20607554
Like, the general public hates Tony Stark for having been a weapons manufacturer but actually he was pretty popular while he was still in the weapons industry so one wonders, who would have been a fan of Stark Industries before Afghanistan? Military, alphabet agencies, private security, hitmen and assassins? ...Hydra assassins?
-In which the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes, is an avid fan of Tony Stark for reasons.-
6~Sometimes Life Happens
2k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/4376774 Prompt: Imagine Tony and Bucky where Bucky works for the Russian mob and he hijacks Tony's car with Tony still in it to run from the cops. Tony wants to be mad, but really, he was sort of bored anyways and hang on, this guy's deadly, hot, and he has an awesome f*cking arm. Maybe this hostage thing isn't so bad after all.
Tony hadn’t necessarily been looking for further proof of his maladjusted—one might even argue self-destructive—approach to problems, but sometimes life happened, and you didn’t have any choice but to take a long, hard look at yourself. Sometimes, you’re sitting in your car, staring into your recently emptied coffee cup, contemplating whether or not you really want to do this whole “leading a responsible life” thing anymore, and a guy with a gun slides into your passenger seat. Sometimes, that’s just the way your Monday goes.
7~Tell Me Your Name, I Need To Know
2k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/19907770
Tony is overworked and underappreciated, always pushing his limits and not taking care of himself well; but someone decides to take care of Tony for a change.
Tony just wishes he knew who it was.
8~Nightmare Dressed Like a Daydream 
3k https://archiveofourown.org/works/17322914 Bucky accidentally crashes a blind date and he's not all that sorry about it.
9~Arm(s) Dealer
3k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/20869010
Just Tony being totally oblivious of Bucky being his fanboy and Bucky trying to 'play it cool' and kind of failing at it and coming across as kind of a weirdo.
-In which Tony slowly but surely realizes Bucky is his biggest fan. Slowly though.-
10~Warmth 
3k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/10543758 The day Bucky realizes that the Winter Soldier is in love with Tony Stark, he nearly brains himself on the doorway between his room and the rest of Stevie’s floor.
Because that’s the thing, he’s somehow not noticed, despite sharing a headspace with him. It’s been a team-wide question since Bucky came in from the cold as to why the Soldier spends so much time with Stark, and even Bucky’s been unable to answer, though now he’s just unwilling. The Soldier is in love with Stark. He’s the sun, the Soldier thinks. How the hell is this Bucky’s life?
11~How to Survive a Haunted House
4k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/19070833
“Lord save me from crazy white boys,” were probably going to be Rhodey’s last words. He didn’t care what his friend said; this place was haunted, and they were both gonna end up dead because Tony was too taken in by the ample closet space.
A fanfiction based on a popular twitter thread.
12~How to get away with (murder) Tony*
4K
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/13516308 All Bucky wants is five minutes alone with Tony - is that really too much to ask? Yes, it is, at least according to the rest of the Avengers that made it their mission to never leave him alone with the engineer for whatever reason. So if he ever wants to make his moves, he's going to have to employ every single one of his assassin training techniques and more. And he better do it fast, before the annoyed Winter Soldier takes over and just kills the meddling fools. Naturally, Tony is completely oblivious to the entire situation until a mysterious note leads him to the most unlikely of places - McDonald's.
13~forgiveness (can you imagine)
4k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17585558
bucky gets called back to the states so the man whose parents he killed can help him fix what has been unmade
he never expected tony stark's massive capacity for forgiveness to remake him
14~Not a Competition
5k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/16951419
Steve Rogers has been trying to force himself back into Tony's life, despite the fact that Tony no longer wants him there. Bucky makes some mistakes but tries his best to keep Tony safe and away from Steve's unwanted advances.
Features clear communication between Bucky and Tony, Tony learning about healthy relationships, a realistic approach to jealousy, and a potential bash down of Captain America.
15~These Sleepless Nights of Ours
6k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/19971652
It's another sleepless night and no one is around to keep Tony company. That is until he wanders into the Compound gardens and finds an insomniac Winter Soldier in desperate need of a hug.
16~Today's Forecast*
7k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/6830737
Loneliness had followed Tony Stark his entire life, so they were on pretty good terms. Ignoring those empty places inside of himself was easier once the day was in full swing, but the mornings had a way of slipping a knife between his ribs and getting him right in the heart.
The last place Tony expected to find the cure for his condition was on TV, but now watching the morning weather report has become the highlight of his day. Well, it was less the weather, and more the weatherman. One look at Bucky Barnes making some adorably lame joke about umbrellas, all lopsided smile and sparkling eyes, and Tony was in love.
17~This Ship (Ain't Never Ginna Sink)*
7k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/7939663/chapters/18149251
HYDRA kidnaps Tony Stark. What happens next should be obvious—the torture, the snark, the dramatic rescue. You know, the usual. Except.
Except Bix—the newest self-proclaimed faceless HYDRA goon—really ships WinterIron.
Or: Why faceless HYDRA goons aren’t allowed to have a Tumblr account.
18~The Gift Of Care
8k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/19908034
Freshly back to the States, James Barnes has a lot to learn about his new world, so he watches and learns and finds himself slowly falling for one Tony Stark, who always appears miserable when he has to spend time at the Compound with his former teammates, but who still takes the time to treat James with kindness.
James sets out on a mission to take care of Tony, make Tony’s life easier in whatever small ways he can. An unfortunate misunderstanding nearly ruins that, but in the end, James still reaps the rewards of his secret good deeds.
19~The Art of Petty Theft
8k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/15943550
All Tony needs right now is a good night’s sleep, but with nightmares nipping at his heels, he can’t do it without his sweatshirt— Rhodey’s sweatshirt, technically, that had become Tony’s long ago, back in their MIT days. The sweatshirt had kept him warm, cozy, and safe through many bad nights, but now it’s missing and when Tony finds out which one of his teammates is a no-good clothes thief, oh, they were going to have words.
20~Merry Kissmas
8k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/5368094
In which all Bucky wants for Christmas is a certain genius superhero, and for the rest of their teammates to stop hanging mistletoe and kissing said genius, thank you very much.
21~The Voice Inside My Head
9k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/12253551/chapters/27844158
The Soldier is overly protective of Tony after the rogue Avengers come back, forcing his way out when the slightest thing happens to him, so it's a problem when Steve doesn't know when to stop.
22~Whatever you say darling
9k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/6942853
Tony has been trying to woo Bucky for about a year now. He flirts, he builds him things, he kisses him on the cheek after movie nights and does almost everything he can think of to convince the guy that he really wants to date him. Bucky is strangely steadfast in his answer though: No, they can't date. After an explosive argument about the issue, Tony leaves the Tower for Malibu, making the team wary of a moody Bucky. When he comes back after two weeks, things are a bit...different.
Tony is actually doing exactly what Bucky asks. And it is creeping the team out while making Bucky go crazy.
23~Phase Change
10k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/16336445/chapters/38220197
The man who used to be both Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier but now neither has to figure out who he is and what he wants, with a little prodding from Tony along the way.
24~by any other name
10k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/14944860/chapters/34627725
He hates 'Bucky', hates the man, hates the way it makes his skin crawl and his chest ache.
Hates hearing that name thrown around so cavalier. Hates the image it evokes.
But he can't do anything about it. His tongue is leaden, his tongue sour with disgust, and he's unable to push out the words.
Until Tony Stark rages a one-man war against 'Bucky Barnes'.
Or, the 5 times Tony rejected 'Bucky’ and the 1 time James did.
25~Let It Grow 
10k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/15711483
When Tony steps inside a random flower shop on pure impulse, he doesn't expect to find himself face to face with the hottest florist he has ever seen. Sure, the guy is also the snarkiest florist he has ever seen, but Tony wouldn't consider that a bad thing. Bucky is clever, funny, and can keep up with Tony's banter better than most, and maybe Tony becomes a little bit infatuated with the man, right then and there.
And maybe Tony ends up going back to that same flower shop, time and time again, just to talk to Bucky. That's not weird at all.
He can always pretend it's for the flowers.
26~Speed Dating (Isn't Supposed to Happen in Cars)*
11k https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/19388686 Tony's temporarily broke due to a scandal at Stark Industries, and with no one willing to hire him, he's got to get creative in how to get by. When he reads about a solar-powered car race that pays out in the millions, he knows he can win it. He just needs a car, all the parts, a racing team, a sponsor, a driver, and like a gajillion other things he does not have. What he does have is: one whole month, an Air Force pilot, an heiress, two enthusiastic teenagers, a discredited science teacher, three ex-cons, a high-tech robot disguised as a Roomba, and a wicked crush on the guy from YouTube. Seriously, how can he lose?
27~And Time Again
11k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/21033113
When Bucky starts acting strange — well, stranger than usual — Tony notices right away. Their friendship might still be new, but he likes to think that he's gotten to know Bucky pretty well by then. The problem is that Bucky doesn't want to tell Tony what's wrong, even when he asks. He dodges Tony's questions, saying everything is fine.
But the way Bucky keeps looking at Tony — as if he expects him to disappear the moment he turns his back — says otherwise.
And Tony is determined to get to the bottom of what's really going on.
28~Spring is Coming
12k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17709014/chapters/41776952
When Tony returns to Earth, he finds out that Bucky Barnes died in the Decimation.
The Winter Soldier, however, did not.
29~Weekly love
12k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/11095257/chapters/24754530
Steve flicks him off and Bucky shuts his mouth. “Anyway, so what about Monday?”
Sam leans his hip on the table. “It’s about Stark.”
Bucky almost snorts at that. At MIT almost everything comes back to Tony Stark one way or the other.
Sam stares at him and Bucky clears his throat only then Sam continues.
“Every Monday Stark agrees to go out with the first person who asks him out.” Then he adds, “for a week.”
Bucky makes a face at that, mumbling ‘damn playboy’ under his nose.
Steve shakes his head at his antics. “Unless they have no chance to ask him out then they have to wait another week to try.”
“Mondays are exclusive, any other day and Stark will turn them down harshly.”
“Yep.” Steve nods then stretches, his eyes become a bit distant. “And at the end of the week, he will break up with that person saying: I couldn’t fall in love with you. Let’s break up.”
30~Misremembered
14k
https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/11046240
When Loki smirked at Rogers in the middle of a battle and told him he would give Rogers what he wanted most in the world, the mind of his old friend back, Tony had a very bad feeling.
31~Scars
26k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/4799096/chapters/10983695
When Tony tried to urge the homeless guy sleeping on the steps of the Tower’s loading dock to move, he never expected that he'd found Hydra’s pet assassin—James "Bucky" Barnes.
Now, after months of keeping his presence a secret from the Avengers and helping Barnes learn to cope with both his returning memories and the modern world, Hydra is back for their favorite toy and Tony must call in old friends to save the life of the man he just might have come to care for a little too much.
32~Hate Me
45k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17054348/chapters/40099106
There were moments where Bucky wondered what could have made Iron Man, possibly his best friend here in the future, sarcastic and gentle and funny and caring, hate Tony Stark so much. Moments where he wondered what Tony Stark, who could manage to be kind and generous to the assassin who had murdered his parents, could have done to Iron Man. But he never dared to ask, afraid of the answer.
33~Fractures (Filled With Liquid Gold)
63k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/10913913/chapters/24268908
Ultron happened. The Avengers left.
Tony is fine with being alone again. He always worked better as a Lone Wolf than a team player anyway. He's not sleeping or eating or resting or... living, but it's fine. It's good. It's okay.
And then there's James.
34~Far from Heaven*
67k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/13808031/chapters/31748817
Bucky Barnes falls asleep with the man he loves in his arms. In their bed, in their home, safe and sound.
He wakes up in the cold room of the cryostasis chamber in Wakanda to the worried faces of his former best friend and King T'Challa.
Everything that happened in the past six months— his pardon, his recovery, Tony's forgiveness, falling in love— he's told it was nothing more than a fevered dream, conjured up by a broken mind in cryostasis sleep.
The second chance at life he worked so hard to embrace. A newfound family and a place to call home. Tony, the love of his life and his whole world. All gone in a blink.
Bucky Barnes breaks.
35~Dig No Graves
142k WIP
https://archiveofourown.org/works/11633517/chapters/26163312
"I'm here to kill you, Terminator," Tony said slowly, "does that compute?"
The soldier looked up at him with wide blue eyes and no expression. "Okay."
Tony froze. "Okay," he echoed. "I tell you I came here to kill you and your response is 'okay'?"
"I am being decommissioned," the soldier said, and for one horrible moment, Tony thought he actually seemed relieved. "I understand. I will comply."
(Or; Tony learns the Winter Soldier killed his parents and goes on a search for revenge, but ends up learning how to heal instead)
36~Such Sweet Revenge*
167k
https://archiveofourown.org/works/15146219/chapters/35123417
When the Rogues are back in the States after being pardoned, the New Avengers want nothing to do with them and as far as Tony is concerned, if he never speaks to them again, it'll be too soon. After all, he didn't spend the last year putting himself (and his family) back together only for his former co-workers to ruin all of his hard work.
But then he gets a hand-written letter from the Winter Soldier himself, apologizing for the events that transpired and an off-handed comment from Rhodey about Rogers failing to take care of an obviously miserable Bucky Barnes sets in motion Tony's new, oh-so-evil plan to get some payback.
After all, what better revenge than to steal the Winter Soldier away from his best friend?
The only problem: Tony sucks at being vengeful, but apparently he's an expert at inadvertently falling in love.
23 notes · View notes
baldtaelovemaze · 6 years
Text
Love me for me (1)
Tumblr media
What kind of love story starts with two people locked in a classroom and ends with the two same people in a courtroom? This one. After unfortunate circumstances, Venice is forced to illegally change her identity and live as a boy in a all boys school.
She planned everything out. Every. Single.detail. but no matter how much she tries, she can’t stop herself from falling for the son of one of the biggest lawyers.
Is loving the man of her dreams worth  years in jail?
Reader (OC) X jungkook ft.Taehyung
Warnings: mature language
Words: 3k
"Dear Miss. Abass, unfortunately, your demand at Yale University has been Rejected-"
“fuck” 
Orbs clouded, I rip apart the letter. The torn cream pieces dance with the wind my fan generates and I watch them gracefully fall to the floor, blending perfectly with the wood. 
Years of studying, isolation, practically not having a social life I forced upon myself to proudly become a valedictorian graduate but everything i did was in vain.
On the floor lays the last piece of hope I once clung on to. Now crushed under the weight of disappointment and failure, my chest hitches as I desperately try to hold back a sob. Water gathers at the rims of my heterochromia eyes. Left one a muddy green and the other a murky blue with a tinge of that same muddy green who manages to stick out no matter what like I do so very well. Intentionally or not.
I don’t cry, instead, I sniff away all the mucus who threatens to slide down my nasal passages and roll myself into bed.
For a moment, the smell of the freshly cleaned sheets and my dearest pillow make me forget of the hell hole I am in, of the chains that confine me.
That moment is short-lived when it all comes back rushing down on me like a wave. These chains that I have, invisible to the human or anything supernatural expect me. This rope around my neck who never ceases to tighten as time goes by.
I ponder on this fact. Or is it a question? It’s something I definitely know the answer to. So a fact it is.
The chains that hold me aren’t emotional or even close to physical. Nor did I ever do anything to earn them but that’s how the system works.
The system refused every single application I sent to prestigious universities. Not one of them accepted me even after they had contacted me for scholarships offers. Claiming that “my chosen classes were already full and to try elsewhere.’
It wasn’t a coincidence. Out of everyone, I should know that. Because I knew the system far too well.
That system chained me without even binding my wrist to chains, that system took my freedom away without truly stripping me of my rights, that system tied a noose around my neck and is waiting for any given occasion to rip away the chair from under my feet.
The system doesn't want my education to blossom. the system wants me to settle for less every time then die. That’s our government. the system is our government and it’s trying to kill me off. 
I could apply at a community college and get accepted in mere seconds but that's what they want. That is their plan and no matter what, I will not succumb to it, not after seeing how it ended for father. Not after seeing that.
I gulp at the thought of him. My body and mind react instantly at the mere idea of my father. My breathing becomes ragged and I sense my palms get clammy and sweaty. The noose around my neck feels like it got ten times tighter. Even though nothing is truly there, my brain acknowledges the hard rope covered in sharp split ends digging at the skin of my neck. My hands who once were tucked underneath the pillow flock to my neck, grasping around nothing but my own skin.
I seal my eyes shut and begin chanting the only thing that calms me down during my breakdowns.
“A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I....” 
the alphabet, something you often associate with learning toddlers full of life and not a 19-year-old having a nervous breakdown.
“J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S!!” I scream loud, frail body shaking like a leaf as I try my best to block out the nose, block out the shots and the footsteps who are threateningly close. I hiccup between a sob when I feel his big greasy hands grip my long ebony hair, yanking me back painfully, he throws my whole body across the room.
what letter was I at? I forgot. Now I can barely breathe. I frustrate the man furthermore. I know this when he yells  “shut the fuck up. Make another sound and your lovely mother gets it.” I open my eyes and stop breathing altogether. She lays on the floor.
I shake my head, clearing my mind of theses awful flashbacks as I shoot up from bed to reach for the pieces of paper, crumble them into a tiny ball and neatly shoot them in my plastic dollar-store basketball net who hangs just above the door. It hits the rim before falling on the floor with a plop. 
“damn, where did my basketballs skill go?” I ask my self, feeling slightly better due to the self-pity that seems to have eaten me whole.
 The alphabet always calms me down, it brings me back to earth when I need it the most -when my anxiety decides to lock me in my painful past.
My back now on the bed, I look at my white ceiling, its time to think rationally, like an adult - I smile to myself. Like an adult, huh? I quickly recognize the fact that most adults don’t actually know what they are doing. Most of the time they let themselves get dragged with the wave. Some try to overpower the water while others succumb to it and others find a way to float, to stay on the surface no matter how strong the storm gets.
I huff a breath of defeat "what am I going to do? It was the last one on the list.” I toy with my phone. I run my fingers against its smooth metal surface all while making sure to not unlock it by accident with the touch ID.
I've been ignoring Haerin’s messages for a while now. 
I frown, hoping that she won’t misunderstand and think that I a mad at her.
the screen lights up.
Haerin: Don’t worry I know that you’re not mad at me or anything but I'm just worried.. plus I kinda miss your ugly ass so text back soon. I can’t believe you’re making me seem like a desperate hoe by ignoring all my text. Your fuckgirl mode has, unfortunately, been activated :/ [2:45]
I snort. Not being able to ignore her for any longer, I text back. 
Me: I usually don’t text girls back after we fuck... but ur kinda special so come over or whatever... [2:46 pm]
Haerin: omg okay daddy! I’ll bring take out that way my ass won’t be the only thing you’ll eat today! I'm omw bitch you have some explaining to do. [2:46]
I chuckle and lock my phone.
 With the stretch of my limbs, I'm out of bed and I beeline straight to the bathroom.
I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. “fucking hell, I barely look alive.”
after peeing and a quick face wash, I stand in front of the mirror and notice that my pixie cut may need a trim soon. I can’t ever let my hair grow past my ears and I rather not think about the reason behind this -not yet at least, not yet.
I watch the clear droplet of water cling on to the curl near my forehead before dropping and rolling down my tawny skin. I can’t help but to glance down at my neck, it’s red. I pray that I won’t bruise. I take in the fact that my new skin care routine has been working marvelously. From my high cheekbones, my narrow chin and slightly protruding forehead my skin is spotless.
"Venice, you little thot, I have arrived in your domicile"
I jump in surprise at first. After a smile covers my plump lips when I realize who that voice belongs to. I step out of the bathroom which is linked to my room and meet the fake redhead. 
In a matter of seconds, I am engulfed in her tight embrace. Face hidden in the crook of her armpit I notice that the tall girl is wearing her favorite mustard hoodie.
I break the hug. “ I missed you too,” I say, gazing up at her through my short lashes. I see the worry in her slanted eyes but I know she isn’t judging, she never does.
“let’s talk, okay?” her voice is soft when she speaks. I nod and lead her to my bed.
A couple tears, three hugs, and many heartfelt words later, we lay diagonally on my bed. Looking up at the ceiling. With a shift in position, I look over at Haerin’s toes who never fail to not be ugly and stinky but who can blame her? She's an aspiring basketball player. Now I look up to her profile. It seems like the ceiling is long forgotten and that she is currently deep in thought, I can tell by the way her straight thick brows furrow and how she chews almost aggressively her full bottom lip. I Am caught red-handed when she suddenly turns at catches me staring.
“I've got an idea.” her lips part as she smiles, revealing the gap in the middle of her two front teeth that fits her so well.
“Shoot”
“How about we watch old Disney movies to take off some of your stress for today? let's deal this fucktard of a situation tomorrow. '' She pushes her elbow underneath her to lift herself. Her round glasses droop down the bridge of her nose but she's quick to push them back with the help of her lanky fingers.
I smiled at the idea. I ask myself how can someone be so pure and genuine sometimes.
''Okay, but just don't put anything with romance in it. I don't want to be reminded of the fact that the only thing I wake up next to in bed is my life-sized Makoto Tachibana pillow.'' My feet drag on the warm floor as Haerin intertwines her arm with mine. '' That's extremely sad and I hope that you'll throw it out once you get a boyfriend-'' she stops in her tracks and looks at me.
we both stare at each other only to explode with laughter.
 ''BAHAHA! I can't believe I just said that! You? a boyfriend? I think WinWin would finally be getting lines in songs before that happens.'' wiping away the tear that escaped, we go down the stairs and she grabs the laptop on the kitchen counter before plopping herself beside me on the sofa.
''Shut up you shouldn't be the one to speak here.'' I laugh back with her.
''Whatever ugly loser, go grabs snacks that way we can stuff our faces and I'll pick a movie'' She orders and am up in seconds.
''I know you said no romance but I still picked the Amanda Bynes movie She's the man '' Haerin informs me as I come back into the living room
I shrug my shoulders, indifferent.
''I don't care what we watch at this point, anything to get my stress down.'' I slur on my words near the end, taking a big fat handful of popcorn and shoving it down my throat.
'We could watch porn then'' she wiggles her eyebrows suggestively and I pinch her left nipple.
''shut up and play the god damn movie.''
And with a click, the movie is playing and I am finally relaxing.
About an hour and forty-five minutes later the movie is done and you're left with a strange idea in mind.
''hey Haerin..'' you start off
her eyes squint, which suggests that she's thinking . ''hm?''
''Are you possibly thinking the same thing as me ?'' now my eyes squint, trying my best to read her expression.
 '' If you are thinking about dressing yourself up as a male and infiltrating the all-boys prestigious Uni then yes, we are thinking the same thing!'' her grip on my wrists is tight and I feel light headed when she shakes me like a polaroid as soon as I nod.
''CALL CHRISTIAN RIGHT NOW! SOME MADAME DOUBTFIRE MAKEOVER SHIT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN IN THIS BITCH!'' She screams at the top of her lungs.
"You called me here because am what?" Christian took place on the sofa beside me. Brows creased together, he leaned forward, as if he hadn't heard me the first time. He heard me perfectly fine. "Because you're the dude-dest dude I know and I need to learn how to become a dude."
He drowns himself deeper in the couch, taking a chunk of his locks between his fingers, he let out an exasperated "what kind of fucking drugs do you guys take to come up with this shit?" And shortly after "Okay, I'll help."
This was our relationship. Christian Yu a very stable young adult that happened to be my childhood neighbor. Even when I moved out of my mother's home, he never left me behind. Kind of like a big brother that allows me to do dumb shit only with his supervision.
"This might seem crazy but just trust me on this. It might work,"I reassure.
His eyes bulge “What exactly might work Venice please don’t tell-”
“I can’t keep living on like this. I don’t want to live a meaningless life all while knowing that I can achieve so much more. Just entering that school and studying to become a lawyer would be a huge step for me” my jaw clenches “Its a step towards my goal and..” nostrils flared, I watch Christian tense, the weight of my words slowly seep into his pores, completely changing his first resolve. “ I will fulfill it no matter what”.
“I understand what you want to do but wouldn't that be proving what the government is doing to people like you -no offense, right? You're just doing what they expect of the children of criminals, you're becoming one too” He remains tense. Lower lip stuck between his pearly teeth, Christian avoids eye contact. 
“Reflect on this: What do criminals have in common?” I get up from the couch under the perplexed gaze of my friend.
Lips puckered, brows screwed together, he comes up with an answer quickly “Its simple, they do illegal things!”
“That's partially true but I want you do think of the biggest names in the dark world, the infamous one. What brought them together besides the fact that what they did was prohibited?” I am patient, smiling down at my friend who racks his brain fora retort. His wide shoulder slump, not knowing where exactly am I go going with this. I give in, choosing to spare him a brain burn out “they were all selfish.”
“W-What?”
“yes, it really is that simple.” I smirk “ Just think about it, All their lives, their goal was to enrich themselves, gain profit or some form of power. They were ready to do whatever it took to gain these things. Kill, steal ect. What separates me from them is that I am not only doing this for me but the others who suffer alongside me in silence. We both know that the system is wrong and should be taken down even if that means sacrificing the little freedom I have.” I exhale, coming back to sit near Christian on the couch.
He sighs, elbows now up on his tighs, he rubs his eyes. “Fine, I support you in this but please don't you dare end up in jail or else-”
“You’ll lose your mind since you can't live without her.” Haerin finally speaks. She had remained so silent I forgot that she was even there.
“Y-yeah, you're probably right actually, I don't think I can't live without either of my girls” he pipes, scooping both of us in his toned arms and engulfing us in a tight hug.
“Let me go, Chris, my face is literally buried in your armpits”  Haerin whines.
“Then smell them!”
“Oh no, you don”t-”I send my knee in his crotch in a matter of seconds, making him groan in agony all while curling into a ball on the floor. Haerin stares unbothered, pulling out her phone and calling someone. The conversation is short but it leaves a smile on her lips when she hangs up.
"Okay whores, I just called the best makeup artist in town. After you get your lesson on how to become an owner of a dick and get a makeup lesson cuz god knows you struggling in that.." Haerin shakes her head and muffles a laugh with her hand when I pipe out “bitch.”
 "You will go in the room and do what you have to do to make the world believe you are a man."
"Okay, let's start then!" the serious and somber mood is gone, excitement is now what is left behind. Am thrilled, justice pumps through my veins and it's only fueled more by the support of my friends. I can do this
"Okay let's start then...but no homo"
"I know I taught you to use 'no homo' but it doesn't mean you need to say it in every  sentence, Venice," Christian shouts from the kitchen, watching the makeup artist teach me the basics on how to make my face look more masculine and the brands that stay on the longest.
Haerin had told her that we were just filming a really weird porno and the women weirdly enough, nodded as if what Haerin said was something that she had seen often.
A couple more minutes spent by my side and she was out of the house, I shooed Christian and Haerin out as well.
With years of fraudulent knowledge in my hands, creating a new identity would be a breeze. 
What should my new name be?
I grab my phone and open the group chat
Me: I need Name ideas, got anything? [5:15]
Chris: keep it simple... something like Steve Duncan or whatever [5:17]
Haerin: Don't listen to this loser, Bob Mcniplecoker shall be your new name, beloved  ;)  [5:17]
Chris: i-  [5:18]
Me: 00Ooo thank you Haerin! very cool! [5:18]
Chris: please don't tell me you're actually using that- why am I the only sane person in this group? [5:19]
I shut off my phone, content with the name and ready to get down to serious business. Hours and hours of serious business.
Creating a whole new identity sure was time-consuming.
The wait was over.
The letter who held my fate had arrived to my surprising displeasure. I huffed a breath of frustration. Why am I so nervous? With the grades I have, it is certain I’ll be getting in but why can't I open it?
The pretty creme letter waited for no one other than me to open it. I was first made known of its presence when I was taking a shit and my uncle so kindly slid it under the door when he was staying over for a couple days.
All Boys: Great Jeon University
I had just finished taking a shit but after re-reading the letter I felt like taking a second shit.  Curling on the floor, my nose rose up in defiance as I glanced at the paper, still centimeters away from under the door.
Let's just open the letter and get this over with.
With trembling hands, I reached over to the letter but I at last second I let my hand fell back to my side.
This Is so stressful! Is it possible to vomit and shit your pants all at the same time? I shot up, heading to the sink determined, with a couple splashes of cold water on my face I stared at myself in the mirror, determined.
I pursued my full lips, taking in a pimple that formed right next to my thick brows. This stress is really getting to me. I know damn well that a pimple wouldn't have been there otherwise.
"Okay you big wuss, tear that shit open !" I gas myself up, finally picking up the letter, I rip the envelope, already expecting the worst.
"Dear Mister. Mcniplecocker, we are glad to inform you that you have been accepted-"
“Oh thank God...” relief washes down on me like a ton of bricks. ”Thank 
god..”I exhale, I can't contain the small smile that forms on my lips.
"THIS CALL FOR DANGEROUSLY HIGH AMOUNTS OF CALORIES !" Haerin shouts, grabbing the takeout menu to order too much food and possibly max out her credit card. She is reckless and often thinks of the consequences after she does something but if she ever got in trouble with the law due to her shenanigans, me, a soon to be law student would help her.
Christian took his usual seat at my right and Haerin at my left on our favorite brown couch. They were here so often on this couch that their butts were permanently imprinted.
"I need to tell you guys about this girl I've met. She's older but I swear I've never seen a woman more beautiful" Christian gushed, tugging on my shirt. "Oh, my man is finally getting some action! I started getting worried for you I was almost going to ship you with Haerin."
The girl snapped her head to look at me at the mention of her name. "Excuse me? Me and Christian? I'd rather let your creepy pillow anime guy date me." She snickered and I scoffed "Bitch, you wish Makoto Tachibana would be with your dusty crusty ass plus you're acting like Christian is ugly! I mean he might be a lil on the grandpa side since he's so old but-"
He deadpanned. "I'm literally 25 ???"
"Anyways, in two months I'll be going to one of the most prestigious schools and I'll be a lawyer. If one of you ever gets in trouble with the law don't call me because I'll be the one making sure you go to jail." I joke, picking a movie on the laptop.
I was over the moon. Things were going my way and it felt good, so good.
"If you ever do get caught, who will defend you ?" Christian hesitated when he asked, not wanting to stress me.
"Don't jinx it, idiot. I won't happen, don't worry." Haerin leaned forward, taking my hand in hers and gave me a small smile not knowing that the damage was already done.
 It was something that I ridiculously tried shoving at the back of my brain. It was something I needed to face. I was going to be a lawyer for crying out loud, I knew that I could face time in jail and fines I wouldn't be able to afford to pay.
It was something I was ready to risk. For my education. I was breaking the law in order to work as a person who enforced the law. How ironic.
"Yeah, don't jinx it, Chris." 
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alittletournesol · 5 years
Text
Kingdom Of Jinju {MinKey} part 9/33
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Chapter 9 : Lending a hand
Jonghyun was slowly walking between the desks, in the classroom, while his students were busy reading the words on their scrolls. They had just returned from their morning break outside and the teacher would always reduce their youthful energy by giving them a reading lesson. But before he would teach them how to read new things, he would give them a moment of peace, when they would take their time to remember the words from the previous lesson.
Thus, the classroom was almost quiet if it wasn’t for the two youngest students who needed to whisper what they read to help themselves. At first, it had bothered their mates and particularly the oldest ones, who were entering their teenage years and obviously tended to get irritated more and more easily. Jonghyun had faced his friends’ adolescence before, it wasn’t a new situation to deal with and curiously, he was handling it quite correctly.
After all, it was nothing but a period for children to grow up and find their inner self, with both their body and opinions changing maybe too fast for them to follow the rhythm. It was a time of curiosity, of wonders, and of course, of discoveries that weren’t always in agreement with adults’ ways of thinking. With an extreme sensitivity added to all of that, it was beyond understandable that fights occurred, degrading one’s equilibrium.
“Teacher ?”
A tiny voice shyly called for Jonghyun and he raised his head, his eyes searching for the origin of the call. He smiled at the boy who was looking, up towards him and lifting his hand as soon as he got noticed. He was one of the youngest from all of his five years of age, but he was extremely smart and full of promise when it came to numbers. Reading, on the other hand…
“What is it, Minguk ?” The teacher asked as he crouched next to the desk. “Are you done ?”
“No, teacher.” The boy said, seeming embarrassed considering the pout on his small lips. “I dunno how to read this word…”
“First, boy, it’s I don’t know. Careful when you pronounce it, okay ? Then, this word, let’s read every letter first just like teacher taught you. What is this one ?”
“Hmm… b ?”
“Almost there ! Look.” Jonghyun took the student’s pencil and wrote the letter on the scroll. This is b, see its belly ?”
“Yes, it’s huge like mommy’s belly !”
“That’s because Minguk is going to have a little brother or sister soon. Now, back to the b. It has a big belly, can you hear it, big belly ? So it is a b. What if teacher puts the belly… on the back ? Is it the same letter ?”
“Ah, no ! It’s a d !” 
“Excellent ! So here we have a d. Next one, what is this letter that looks like the moon when it’s round like this at night ?”
“I know that one ! It’s a o !”
“Very well, and the last one ? It’s the most difficult one among the three but I’m sure you can remember it. Let’s recite the alphabet and find out what letter it can be, try to recognize it.”
“Yes teacher. A, b, c… d, e… h… no, f ! G… Oh, teacher, it’s a g !”
“You’re right, Minguk ! So we have a d, a o and a g. Try to read them all together.”
“D… Do… Dog !”
“Wonderful, a dog. It’s perfect, boy, keep going like this and you will soon read better than me.”
Jonghyun smiled and ruffled the student’s hair before he stood up and started walking again. He carefully observed every single child, studying their features to notice any kind of discomfort on their face, could it be a frown, a pout for the youngest ones or a quiet sigh. He stopped next to a few students to help them the same way he did with Minguk : the kids might not be all of the same age, with a seven years gap between the eldest and the benjamin of the class, but they all had the same level.
None of them knew how to read, write nor count. For their parents were working a lot to make their family live quite decently, they had had no one to teach them… until their new tutor showed up, by order of the King. It had been great news for the people to have the school renovated and more than that, to send their children to receive an education. 
The teacher was helping one of his students when the classroom’s door opened, making everyone turn their head towards the newcomer. The atmosphere suddenly tensed up as the King’s General was stepping inside, slightly bowing to salute Jonghyun and nodding to some children. He remained silent, as always, and walked until the end of the room to lean against the wall behind two windows.
The blonde man frowned when he noticed how fast the kids looked back at their words, some of them having their shoulders slightly lifted, in an uncomfortable position, as if they were trying to hide. It wasn't the first time this situation happened, and Jonghyun had been busy observing these reactions : the soldier didn’t come every day but once to twice a week, spending at least four hours in the classroom. He wouldn’t move nor talk, but just stood there without disturbing anyone.
If discipline was needed, he would let the teacher do his work and would never interfere. After all, he was coming only to keep an eye on the good working of this new teaching, not to make sure each child would listen well to the adult and study hard. The main topic of his report obviously was their progress throughout the weeks, but his sovereign also wanted him to tell about Jonghyun’s behaviour as a teacher… and somehow, as a subject. The man’s reliance was still tested, it wasn’t a secret and he had to show how loyal to his King he could be.
As for today, nothing negative had stained Jinki’s reports, and he was relieved about it. Even though he didn’t show it because of his reserved nature, he was completely approving Minho’s decision to inaugurate a school for the people, and he wouldn’t appreciate for it to be closed again, because of Jonghyun’s misbehavior. 
“Kids, you all worked well.” The latter’s voice suddenly resounded in the room as he walked towards the board. “Now it’s time for our new lesson, which means…?”
Silence answered his question, and he raised an eyebrow with surprise. All students would usually show themselves extremely involved in everything their teacher proposed, yet it was strange and sort of worrying not to see even one hand being raised. The blonde man looked at every child, but it was as if they were avoiding his eyes, staring either at their scrolls or at the floor in front of their desk.
It took him a second to understand that they were not exactly avoiding him. They were making the biggest effort not to move, not to look behind them.
“Which means,” Jonghyun repeated, “new words. Last time, we read the names of some animals, right ? Today, I prepared something else you all know well : colors ! So everyone look up, please, what’s with those faces ? Aren’t you happy to learn how to read ?”
“Yes, teacher…”
Children answered all together this time, as they obeyed and raised their head, but it lacked their usual enthusiasm. 
“Fine, let’s start then. Here is our first color.”
Jonghyun offered his back to the class to write the word red on the board, and the lesson began as it always did : he grabbed his wooden stick and put its tip under each letter, making his students read every letter one by one before assembling them to form sounds. Only after this, they would try to read the entire word and copy it on their scroll. Reading and writing were complementary, yet the teacher would walk between the desks to check the spelling of each word.
He wrote a few colors and made the kids read them, taking more time than usual as some of them seemed to struggle even more than before. But it wasn’t normal, and a sort of worry was noticeable in their voice. The blonde one ended up worrying in his turn, and he put his stick on his own desk before staring at the class with concern.
“Okay, what is it ?” He asked, his voice soft and willing to reassure everyone. “Is today’s lesson difficult ? You can tell me, I won’t be angry at you, I know it’s really difficult to learn how to read.”
“No, teacher…” All students answered, some even shaking their head.
“Then is it the topic ? You didn’t want to learn how to read colors ?”
“Colors are fine, teacher.” A girl said.
“I’m relieved. But there is something wrong today and I can feel it, you all feel bad at the moment. Come on, I promise you I won’t scold you, I just want to understand why you look so unhappy.”
“It’s just…” The boy named Yoogeun ended up saying, gulping. “I mean…”
“Yes, go ahead. There is nothing to be afraid of.”
“We are slow, teacher… what if the King thinks we can’t learn and decides to cancel school ?”
Jonghyun raised his eyebrows, his surprise growing more important by seconds passing. As an answer to their classmate’s words, he noticed how some children slightly turned their head but stopped their movement so they wouldn’t completely look behind them. The teacher pondered the explanation for a few seconds and studied his students’ expressions and movements, even the most imperceptible ones.
And then, it hit him.
“Are you afraid that the General is here to tell the King that you are slow at learning ?” He asked, smiling to show them how this situation was not as serious as they thought.
And finally, he got a positive answer. It wasn’t vocal, but the way every single kid nodded frantically and seemed to relax a bit… it talked for them.
“I understand now.” Jonghyun said. “Well, you don’t have to feel stressed by the General’s presence, because it’s absolutely not why he is here. Listen, first of all, the King is sending our brave General here because he wants to know if school goes well for you. He doesn’t want to verify if you’re fast, but to know if you like to learn and to see your progress. So everything is fine, you will not be scolded because you think you’re slow, and the school won’t be closed because I will never let it happen. Then, it’s completely normal that we are going slowly, because you have to learn everything. And there are a lot of things to learn, so we must take your time. I want you to be as slow as you need to, because it will not be good for you if you try to go fast. Don’t feel bad because you’re slow, there is nothing wrong with that. Do you understand ?”
“Yes, teacher.” The children said with a bit more enthusiasm than before, making their tutor smile.
“And do you want to hear a secret ? Even the General is slow when he reads.”
“Really ?!” 
On these words, every kid stood gaping and immediately moved on their chairs to turn towards Jinki, who tensed up and almost lost all colors on his face. He, who wasn’t comfortable around children in a first place, was now the centre of attention of around thirty young humans. But what was even more awkward is that he had just been used, and when he looked up at Jonghyun… he was stunned by the death stare he was receiving.
Well, it wasn’t really a bad stare… but the teacher was definitely using his eyes to tell him to behave. And by behave, he meant to play the game. So, to admit something wrong to reassure those kids.
“Come on, General, they asked you a question.” Jonghyun rubbed it in, and the slight smirk on his lips didn’t go unnoticed by the soldier.
“Yes, I heard it.” The latter mumbled before clearing his throat and standing straight, trying to still look impressive despite what he was about to say. “It’s true, kids. Reading is difficult, even for adults.”
“Do you know how to read, mister soldier ?” The youngest girl asked, chuckling as all her fear seemed to have disappeared.
“Of course I kn—” The blonde man’s stare cut him off and he corrected himself. “I mean, a little bit.”
“If teacher isn’t with him, he struggles just like you.” Jonghyun added, smiling but trying not to look like he was making fun of Jinki. “So there is no reason for you to be afraid of the General, are we good on this ?”
“Yes teacher !”
“Does it mean mister soldier is learning how to read with us when he comes here ?”
“No, teacher must help him when we don’t have class !”
“Teacher, mister soldier can sit next to me if he wants to learn with us !”
Jinki looked at every child speaking in one after another and raised his head, looking daggers at the teacher who couldn’t help but laugh at his students’ questions. What an humiliation. At least it gave back their enthusiasm to the kids and the lesson could start again with a whole new atmosphere, the kind Jonghyun appreciated. Colors’ names sounded like the best thing ever, and he even had time to teach about some shades of blue before it was time for lunch.
As usual, he asked everyone to tidy their belongings so nothing would move because of the open windows while they weren’t inside the classroom. Once it was done, he sent half of his students home, where their parents would feed them before sending them back ; the teacher made sure to give them firm recommandations in order not to have them running around and risking to hurt themselves. Then, he led the rest outside, on the meadow that would welcome the kids during their breaks. 
Students started playing along with each other while Jonghyun stayed next to the bench, lighting a fire under a cooking pot. It was something he loved to do, cooking lunch for his students while they were enjoying a short rest before eating, to whet their appetite. That day’s set menu was a sort of stew with beef, potatoes and carrots. He had already cut everything during the first break, so he only had to cook everything.
Standing next to him, Jinki was keeping a close watch on the children, wincing when he saw a little boy falling on the ground. But his classmates were quick to pick him up and to dust his knees.
“They will be fine.” The teacher said without looking up, stirring his stew. “They know the rules so you can drop your guard.”
“Will that scare them too ?” The General asked but obeyed, his shoulders unwinding.
“Your stare ? For sure it will, I mean, for the youngest ones.”
“I never meant to scare them.”
“Of course you did not. But they are children, and moreover, children of the people. Having a soldier around them is already burdensome, but you are the General. It is normal that they feel even more uncomfortable, since they know that you are the closest to the King.”
“What about the oldest ones ? It was not fear I saw in their eyes when they looked at me.”
“No, it was mistrust. Typical reaction from teenagers, they are trying to be noticed but they are clumsy and do it by seeking conflict. You do not have to feel uncomfortable, General, they will not disrespect you as long as I am here. I cannot promise you anything outside school, nevertheless.”
“I am more feeling uncomfortable by the fact you keep taking so formally to me. Maybe we should drop that, since I’m going to be there often ? It will relax the kids, too.”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea. Should we call each other by name ? Or is it too comfortable ?”
“I suppose we can. But not in front of them and no nicknames, no hyung or whatever.”
“I’m good with it. Nice to meet you, I’m Jonghyun.”
The teacher softly smiled and his eyes closed, just a bit to make them look like two crescents, as he offered his hand to the soldier. The latter first cocked an eyebrow, but eventually shook hands with the other man, clearing his throat.
“Jinki.”
He only said this word before Jonghyun nodded and went back to his stew, making sure it was well cooked before he shouted an order to the students. Children immediately stopped their games and came running towards the two adults ; at first they stood in line, and their teacher waited for everyone to pay close attention. Then, he started filling their plates, one after another, and gave one to each of his students until the very last one. Kids ended up sitting in a circle on the grass and eating while talking with each others. 
Jinki looked at them for a moment, imperceptibly laughing when he noticed how the youngest girl was staying really close to the oldest boy, the latter wiping her mouth and feeding her himself from time to time. It was a cute thing to see, and as the soldier he was, he thought that this little girl had her personal bodyguard. He was drawn out of his thoughts by the other man handing him a plate, twice as full as the children’s.
The soldier nodded to thank him and took the recipient before sitting on the bench. Jonghyun joined him and they started eating quietly, looking more at the students than at their own plate. The silence was broken by Jinki, whose question made the teacher laugh, with his so beautiful crystalline voice.
“So… do I have to pretend I don’t know how to write either ?”
In the meantime, the bell announcing lunch had also rung in the royal palace, and Kibum was walking alone towards the dining room. He had spent a good part of his morning resting since the reception from the night before had lasted longer than he had expected. The moon had been high in the sky when he had joined his quarters and the first sunbeams of the sun piercing through the curtain hadn’t woken him up as usual.
He was known as an early bird, but when none of the employees had seen him walking in the gardens at his usual morning hour, they had all understood that it was well advised not to disturb him. His absence had made several servants talk, and for once it had only been about compliments : they had all recalled how their Prince had joined them for the preparations and been a precious help, without being mean to them regarding his higher status. It had been deeply appreciated that he had even put himself at their level by removing his royal attire to work with them.
This benevolent behaviour had worked to his advantage, as the few people still not believing in his potential good side had suddenly changed their minds. Thus, Kibum found himself blushing when he was greeted by employees in the corridor, everyone smiling at him and wishing a good day to his Grace. Yet, he could also make out some stares which weren’t as welcoming, but he pretended not to care and politely smiled to the persons.
When he approached the dining room’s doors, a soldier announced him and the Prince guessed his husband and mother-in-law must be there already. He entered the room and bowed before looking at the King, standing next to the window and offering him a wide smile, while the Queen Mother was already sitting on her chair and barely answered his greeting. She nodded, but kept her lips pursed and avoided his eyes.
“My Prince, I was afraid that perhaps we would not have you with us today again.” Minho said as he approached the other man, bowing in his turn. 
“I apologize again for the previous lunches I missed, your Highness.” Kibum answered, slightly smiling. “I tend to forget about basic needs like eating when I am overloaded, yet, this should change from now on.”
“Your presence honors and delights us. Please, have a seat.”
On these words, the King approached a free chair and kindly pulled it away from the table so his husband could sit. The Prince smiled and tried his best to prevent his cheekbones from becoming pink at the attentions, as he sat down and cleared his throat. Seeing the other man had hit him with memories of the night before, and his mind had travelled back in time to this waltz, sending a shiver along his spine. 
He could remember Minho’s words clearly, and it was like he could feel his breath against his ear again as soon as he was recalling this moment. His heart had needed a few minutes to recover but it had all been thanks to a woman clumsily hitting him with her elbow while dancing. He had immediately apologized and come back to his throne, observing everyone else from afar and trying not to feel overwhelmed by this situation… Traditions. It had only been about yielding to traditions and the King had played the game until the end.
Nothing more.
Lunch was served and Kibum heard his stomach show its enthusiasm, what made him blush when he noticed everyone else around the table had heard it too. Minho laughed heartily but his smile suddenly disappeared when his eyes fell on the plate’s contents.
“Please, my apologies, I forgot to warn you.” He said, turning his head towards the servant. “Could you bring the Prince his meal without carrots ? This plate will be for me.”
The dark haired man raised his eyebrows, surprised like he had never ever been. It was true that he had a love-hate relationship with carrots, but never had he told his husband about it. The latter must have noticed his stupefaction, because he smiled to him.
“I noticed your face when you ate carrots during yesterday’s dinner.” He said. “I may have asked Taemin about it when I met him in the corridors this morning…”
“Oh, I see.” Kibum nodded, relaxing his features. “I suppose he did not resist the temptation to reveal another one of my dark secrets. Indeed, carrots and me do not get along well.”
“I will keep in mind that I owe you a secret, once again.”
“I believe it will be about something disciplined and safe, once again.”
The King raised his eyebrows for a second but the Prince’s smirk before he drank didn’t go unnoticed and he laughed, ignoring the suspicious look his mother threw him. A few minutes passed by in an uncomfortable silence, only chewing sounds being heard in the room. Kibum ended up looking up to catch a glimpse of the two persons with him : he had Minho on his right for his husband was always sitting at the end of the table, while the Queen Mother was sitting on the opposite side.
This forced her to face her son-in-law, and her discomfort was noticeable — she was making sure it was, and it didn’t go unnoticed by her son. The latter decided to end this awful silence and emptied his mouth, drinking a bit before clearing his throat.
“What did you thing about your reception, Mother ?” He asked out of the blue, and the woman looked up, tenderly smiling to the man.
“It was delightful, my son.” She said, and the way her attitude changed when she talked to the King upset Kibum, yet he didn’t show anything. “I believe you were planning everything for days, am I right ? Everything was so well thought, and I appreciated a lot the way you decided of the theme. It suited our season and I was pleased to wear a pastel attire.”
“You always loved pastel, I know that well. Your dress was as beautiful as spring, and I believe the Prince agrees with this. I heard you were really interested in clothes, my Prince ?”
Kibum almost choked with his own saliva when his husband addressed him, and the Queen shuddered with surprise. She hadn’t been prepared for her son-in-law to be brought in the discussion.
“Indeed, your Highness.” The Prince answered, slowly nodding. “My mother sews very well and she knows how to craft her own outfits. She often imports fabrics from Maguk and creates her ceremonial outfits, for receptions, or even her night clothes. I learned it from her and found interest in creating too… but I am not doing it, I content myself with resewing damaged clothes.”
“This is really interesting, isn’t it, Mother ?” Minho smiled. “And what did you think of the Queen’s dress, yesterday ?”
“I think the color is perfect for your complexion, your Majesty, and the cut was perfect for your morphology… but I do think you know it already. My apologies.”
“There is no need to apologize, please. You see, Mother, it was not me who prepared this wonderful reception in your honor. It was the Prince.”
The Queen seemed to freeze on her chair as her jaw tensed, and Kibum thought he was going to run away. But the King was still smiling, wishing to give his husband the recognition he deserved for the hard work he put in these preparations. And now that he had the proof that his mother had adored her party, he wouldn’t let her walk over the Prince. 
It was his way to take his revenge on the slap she dared to give him, days before.
“I was too busy with the council members’ resignations at that moment, so I asked my husband to be in charge of your reception.” Minho pursued before drinking a bit, relishing this moment. “He was kind to accept when nothing forced him to, and I was so grateful. This is even more delightful to know you appreciated his efforts, Mother.”
“I…” The Queen started. “Indeed, I liked this reception. It was correct and appreciable.”
“Are you being modest all of sudden ? My dear mother, please. You can say what you really think, I think the Prince will be relieved to know his work was that good.”
The woman seemed on the verge of bursting out, but her son was remaining calm and kept a smile on his lips. It was a smile that was clearly notifying his irritation regarding his mother’s attitude, insolence exulting. After a few seconds that felt like hours, the Queen ended up sighing and for the first time since the slap, she looked up and her eyes met Kibum’s.
“This reception was a marvel.” She confessed, and even though she looked like she was saying the hardest words ever, her sincerity was perceptible. “You definitely have a good sense of organisation, your Grace.”
“Thank you, your Majesty…” The Prince bowed his head, and he couldn’t hide a slight relieved smile. “My only wish was to please you, and for everything to be in harmony with your magnificence. I meant my words when I said pastel suits you, that is why I decided to have it as the main theme of this event.”
“It is delightful to hear. If I had known earlier than you have such interesting tastes…”
“It would have prevented a previous incident between the Prince and yourself, indeed.” Minho cut his mother off, and his stare became more serious. “Now, Mother, I will ask you to remain courteous and to behave in front of my husband. I will no longer tolerate your childish behaviour, he is your son-in-law and one of the rulers of this kingdom. You must show him as much respect as you do with me.”
“I understand your words, my son.”
The Queen nodded as she said that, and she turned her head towards Kibum, slowly bowing the upper part of her body as a way to apologize for everything that had been said and done to him before. The Prince felt uncomfortable and lowered his eyes for a second, but when he heard his husband clear his throat, he looked up and noticed that Minho was smiling to him… and he slowly blinked, as a malicious way to tell him everything was fine now.
The Prince smiled back, and for once it wasn’t as slight as usual. 
“I accept your apologies, your Majesty.” He eventually said so his mother-in-law would straighten up and look at him. “I hope we will be able to start again on a sound basis, for I wish to serve my King as much as I can and to rectify my mistakes from the past.”
“And I am grateful to hear it.” The woman smiled, and the look in her eyes was softened. “I would be honored to hear about how you came up with all these ideas… I also learned from my companion, Joohyun, that there had been a disaster in the kitchens right before the reception ? Please tell me more.”
Under the King’s encouraging stare, Kibum eventually smiled and nodded, starting to confess everything that had happened during the week of preparations. The Queen was curious and so, she listened carefully to what her son-in-law was saying ; she ended up joining the talk herself, making some comments and asking for more precisions about this and that.
Minho emptied his plate without interrupting them, and he felt extremely proud inside. The tension between his mother and husband had been bothering him since the first day, not to say since he had known about the slap, and he had tried to find a subtle way to avenge the Prince’s dignity. Everything had worked just the way he had planned, and the glint he was now seeing in the woman’s eyes was the proof that the hatchet was buried… for long, he hoped.
Yet, what was making him prouder and shook him with raw emotions, was the way Kibum had called him out loud. My King. He hadn’t said this while looking at him, yet it had been the really first time he had designated him with another title than your Highness. It felt refreshing, and the way it was echoing to his own way to always call him my Prince was making his stomach feel strange.
Those were just some words, and he had heard the word king being said around him for so many years. Now he was even hearing it to talk about him, it shouldn’t feel any different. But he had the new and irrepressible need to hear the Prince call him this way again, just to feel this pride combined to a new kind of emotions again. 
But at that moment, he didn’t want to pressure the beautiful man sitting next to him. He didn’t want to draw his attention for the pure and simple reason that Kibum was smiling. And it was making him speechless, unable to say a word, to let a single sound escape his throat. The dark haired man was talking about the incident with the cake, and he had this smile that betrayed his need to laugh about the situation he had had to face. 
Minho already thought his husband was of a rare beauty, it had surprised him at first but he had gotten used to it with weeks passing. But seeing this smile enlightening this pure and gorgeous face… it was beautiful beyond imagination, and no word existed to describe how he felt as he couldn’t take his eyes off of the Prince’s face. All he knew was that he needed to make everything he could to see this smile again, to never let it disappear again.
“Hyung, you’re still in bed ?! Get up, quickly !”
The sound of Taemin’s voice arrived ahead of the quarters’ door closing, and the young boy put the fourth bucket of hot water next to the bath tube, before he rushed to the huge bed. He caught the white sheets and mercilessly pulled them to uncover the body of his friend, Kibum immediately curling up on his mattress before he raised his head. His sleepy eyes were half-open and he frowned.
“What are you doing ?” He asked with his hoarse morning voice. “I was having a wet dream, you ruined everything.”
“Do you know what time it is ?” The youngest man replied, ignoring the Prince’s question. “I came twenty minutes ago ! Listen, I know you celebrated a lot yesterday but now, Seollal is over and you’re expected at the Royal Council ! How can you still be sleeping ?!”
“The Royal Council…?”
Kibum’s eyebrows furrowed even more for a second, as he stared at Taemin who was pouring the content of each bucket in the bath tube. It hit him when the boy took a very official attire out of the wardrobe : the celebration of the New Lunar Year had taken place the night before, and now that it was over, it was time for the King to announce their upcoming departure to Dongjeo, assuming the reply from the Prince and Princess had been positive.
Once he got a grip on himself, the Prince jumped out of bed and let his night shirt fall at his feet, tying his long hair in a messy bun before entering the tube. He hushed his friend away, quietly notifying him that he would wash alone so it would be done faster, and while Taemin was preparing the brush, ribbons and hairpins, Kibum rubbed his body with soap and rinsed it. He then stood up and grabbed a towel to dry his skin.
Once he had his bathrobe covering his naked person, he sat at his dressing table and let his companion take care of his hair. The young boy untied it and let the long strands fall on the Prince’s back, combing them out with gentleness and carefully brushing them. On the meanwhile, the elder was slowly rubbing his skin with a cloth slightly soaked with rose water, to wake his skin up and become fresh-faced. 
It took them several minutes before Kibum’s hairstyle was perfect thanks to Taemin’s impressive skills — that boy was more gifted with his hands when it came to style his master’s hair than to hold a sword, but that should never be said — and when the companion was helping the royal to get dressed, they finally found time to breathe and have their usual morning chit-chat.
“Has the council already begun ?” The Prince asked.
“I think so, the King was about to leave his quarters when I came back here.” His friend replied. “He asked me if you were up and ready to join. I kinda panicked.”
“What did you tell him ?”
“That you were having nausea.”
“For fuck’s sake, Taemin !”
“I know, but it’s so flustering when he talks to me ! He smiles at me like a big brother would do and I’m confused ! And you should thank me, at least he doesn’t know you were still sleeping.”
“Sure, and now he will think I’m late and sick because of alcohol.”
“That’s true, you drank alcohol last night… traditions are scary, why did you have to drink that much ?”
“I don’t know, but since when traditions are reasonable ? I thought my head was going to explode at the end of the celebration… I wonder how the King held his drink so well.”
“I suppose he had some pride and didn’t want to look weak in front of you or the nobles. Or maybe he’s just strong. I mean, have you seen how he’s shaped ?”
“Do you think I’m wasting my time staring at him ?”
“I don’t think, I know it. You’re so obvious, you find him attractive. I know the look in your eyes, hyung. And don’t you dare trying to deny ! I know you since I’m born.”
Kibum didn’t reply and rolled his eyes, only asking for his friend to hurry. Once his outfit was perfectly adjusted, he carefully put his hat and made sure no strands were escaping it — he hated it, he liked his face to be elegantly surrounded by some bangs. He wasted no more time and put his shoes on before leaving his quarters, followed by Taemin who almost had to run to stay level with the Prince.
The latter walked along the corridors of the palace, greeting every employee they met with a smile and a nod, for he was too much in a hurry to do it properly. After a few minutes, they finally arrived in front of the Council Room’s doors, which were guarded by a soldier, who politely bowed before his Prince. He asked them to wait a moment before he discreetly slid inside the room to warn the King about his husband’s presence.
Since they were alone, Taemin decided to ask the question that was burning his lips.
“Hyung, does it really annoy you to know that the King might like you ?”
“Stop telling nonsense and imagining some fantasies, Taemin.” Kibum sharply said as he tensed up. “We’re married, it’s a fact, but nothing will happen between us, for the pure and simple reason than he doesn’t have a penchant for men like I do.”
“You don’t know about that.”
“I know enough, and even though I’m really… pleased, by the way he treats me, nothing more will ever happen. He’s charming, handsome and certainly the kindest man I ever met but he’s my husband because of political reasons and I have no right to imagine more. He will never want someone like me in another way.”
“You’re underestimating yourself again, hyung… but if you’re so defeatist, does it mean that you… you considered or just thought for a second about the King as more than just a political husband ?”
The question remained unanswered for the enjoyment of Kibum, who was feeling drops of sweat forming on his temples and nape, when the door slightly opened on the soldier from earlier. Both men looked at him, the man seeming embarrassed.
“Your Grace, I offer you my sincere apologies but the members of the Royal Council are extremely agitated and his Highness is having struggles.” He explained, bowing. “I could not announce you.”
The Prince cocked an eyebrow and was about to answer when a vehement hubbub was suddenly heard from the inside of the room. For sure, those old men were being rude and it wasn’t the first time. Kibum could imagine the chaos behind the door, and how his husband was certainly feeling overwhelmed. It was like adrenaline was now running in place of blood in his veins, and he thanked the soldier before he brutally pushed both doors open.
Hearing this show of violence when the two wooden panels hit the walls, every man and every woman stopped their shouts and turned towards the newcomer. Standing in front of the now open doors, the Prince was staring at them and his eyes were looking daggers at every single person they met. His entrance had made such an effect that the room had become quiet, and he took advantage of the situation to walk back up the room, between the rows of seats until the platform where his husband was sitting on his throne.
The King was looking at him, and when their eyes met, Kibum didn’t notice overwhelming in the beautiful doe eyes of his husband… but growing anger. He was on the verge of bursting out and was admirably trying his best to remain courteous and calm, because that’s what the etiquette wanted from the sovereign. But the Prince didn’t have to follow this rule, and at that moment, he felt like it was his turn to return all the kindness and help Minho had offered him since his arrival.
All those times he had landed him a hand deserved to be return, and it was the right moment. Thus, the black haired man offered him a softer stare before he hardened it again and turned towards the audience, still standing next to the throne.
“Is this the attitude you dare to show in front of your King ?” He asked, his voice loud yet firm and sharp, cutting like a dagger and shocking most of the persons he was addressing. “How dare you ? You are members of the Royal Council, it is an honor that is given to you and by your conduct, you are bringing shame on your sovereign and on the kingdom.”
“Your Grace, your position…” A man had the nerve to interrupt Kibum, who cut him off by shouting.
“Quiet ! Do not abuse your sovereign even more by insulting me ! In this room, in this palace and in this kingdom, you are under the orders of the King ! You owe him respect and allegiance, who do you all think you are in this place to shout like you do ? You have the honor to have been chosen by his Highness to advise him, is this a way to do so ? Is this a Council of grown up adults or a school yard ? Let me assure you that the children who run bare feet in the streets of Jinju have better manners than you ! My position, you dared to say ? My position allows me to command the General to make you leave this room using force. Do not try me. I am not as patient as his Highness, and you will do well not to provoke me. Am I clear ?”
Silence welcomed the Prince’s speech, and the few members of the Council who had been newly named by Minho were proudly smiling. Unlike their seniors, they were young, certainly in their thirties and so, way much more willing to serve a young king and his young husband. The oldest men and women pursed their lips and made the biggest effort they ever made not to respond to the scolding, and Kibum kept staring at them for a minute before he sat next to the King.
After a short moment of peace Minho used to get himself together and, let’s say it, making the most of this delicious silence, he slowly stood up in his turn.
“I must confess that, although I admire the Prince’s eloquence, I feel beyond ashamed that he had to put himself in such an embarrassing position.” He said, his voice deep and his tone betraying his anger, yet with an uncomfortable calm. “As he said, his position and so, mine, allow us to dismiss anyone who goes too far in this room. Starting today, I will not tolerate any form of riot from you, and if I have to reduce my council to a dozen of persons, I will do so. Now, we may pursue on our discussions about this new year for Jinju.”
On these words, he sat down and cleared his throat, accepting the cup of tea Kibum was offering him. He drank a sip of the hot drink and the meeting started again, both rulers discussing the several projects and issues to solve for the year. They listened to the omens given by the priests, just like the tradition wanted : Seollal had opened a new year, under the sign of the Snake. 
It cast a chill and drew a lot of whispers, for the presages weren’t good during a Snake year. Just like the reptile being snide and sometimes poisonous, a year under its sign was forecasting meddling and conspiracies, for the sovereign had to beware of felonies. Obviously, a lot of members turned their head towards the Prince when these words were pronounced, but the latter haughtily ignored them.
Just to make them freak out, he let a smirk being drawn on his thin lips each time someone would stare at him during the entire meeting. After all, since they liked to act like children, he was also allowed to play a bit. He didn’t really believe in astrology, he was interested in it because his former teacher was, but he never thought his fate could be decided by stars. 
Felonies ? As he was thinking he was more the kind of person to say what he had to say to one’s face, he remembered that he hadn’t been the most honest with his husband. It suddenly felt logical that everyone thought he could stab the King in the back once again, this time more than with adultery… but Kibum had promised Jonghyun, and he had promised himself he would behave, and he actually wanted to.
He would never betray his husband again, and he knew Minho wouldn’t betray him. Not now that he was giving him responsibilities and putting a certain trust in him. 
“I studied the reply I received a few days ago from the Prince and Princess of Dongjeo.” The King said at that moment, drawing the Prince out of his thoughts. “And I will dismiss this council on my decision : I will leave Jinju tomorrow at the crack of dawn, and will be away for fourteen days. I will leave alone, with the General and an escort. During my absence, I will leave the kingdom to my husband, the Prince Kibum. Dismissed.”
After the final command, the Council room was slowly emptying in an uncomfortable silence, and soon were left alone Minho, Kibum, the General and Taemin, who had just entered to wait for his master. And even though he was far away from him, the young boy noticed something he knew really well in his friend’s eyes : hurt, combined with anger.
The Prince was deeply breathing, pondering the words he had just heard from his husband’s words. He was being removed, removed from a tradition he had shown himself willing to yield. Without asking him about it, without even warning him about the reply of the rulers of Dongjeo, the King had taken the decision to go alone on a trip they were supposed to make together, as the royal couple of Jinju.
Trust. So this was how the so kind Choi Minho was taking his revenge on his sinful husband. He had played the affectionate guy for weeks, taken his time to break a bit of Kibum’s shell and almost earn his trust… only to crush it. Taemin had felt that something was going to happen and had started walking towards the throne, alerting Jinki, but it was too late.
The Prince bursted out.
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