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alwaysmarveling · 3 years

Text

Laryngitis

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: Nat’s a protective girlfriend and you may or may not be sick

A/N: I somehow just realized that since yesterday was Monday, by my unofficial posting schedule, I was supposed to post something yesterday. Sorry for missing it, but I hope you guys enjoy this :)

The annoying beeping of the alarm filled the pitch-black room. Not fully awake, you realized Natasha didn’t have to be waking up this early, so you shot up to turn off the clock before it could wake her up. Just as you were fiddling with the buttons, a groan from beside you told you that you were too late.

“D’you have to go already?” your girlfriend asked, her voice husky and slurred. You whispered back to her in an effort to not wake her up completely.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for waking you, Natty. Go back to sleep.”

“You don’t have to whisper, babe. We both know I’m not going back to sleep.” You let out a sigh, rubbing your eyes slowly to pull yourself into consciousness. She was right; Natasha was a light sleeper, and once she was up, she was up. “Don’t worry about it, dorogaya. Means I can do your hair for you.” That brought a small smile to your face. Not only was Natasha amazing at doing your hair, but it was always an intimate moment between the two of you that both of you loved. As long as Natasha wasn’t away, she made it a point to do your hair for you, even if you two were in an argument with each other.

A small cough brought you back to the present moment. You weren’t sure what it was, but you just weren’t feeling it today. You thought it was the sleep at first, but it was never this hard to wake up, and it wasn’t like you did anything particularly exhausting the day before. Shaking out your arms, you dismissed the thought and slid off of the bed.

“I’m going to go get ready first.” Both you and the redhead froze at your voice.

“Are you okay, detka?” You leaned over the mattress to gently rub at the deep crease between her brows, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, I must just have something stuck in my throat.” The spy chuckled at your response, but you could still sense an uneasiness in her.

“Go drink some water. Does your throat hurt or anything?”

“I’m fine, Nat.” She simply hummed, watching as you shuffled into the bathroom. You may or may not have told your girlfriend a little lie, but so what if your throat hurt? You’d be fine in less than an hour. You didn’t want to worry her over nothing.

When you were finished in the bathroom, the lights in the room were on, and Natasha was now sitting on the edge of your bed, legs crossed.

“Come sit.” She tapped the small footstool in front of her with her foot before returning to her position. “You sure you’re okay?” she asked again as you joined her.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. You really don’t want me to go on this mission, huh?” you teased. Your face contorted at the end as you tried to hold in a cough, and you still sounded like a frog. Still, you tried to play it cool, hoping Nat was still buying your previous excuse.

“Well of course I don’t want my girl to leave me.” You could practically feel your heart jump out of your chest when she called you hers, but you simply winked at her.

“I shouldn’t be gone long, half a week at most,” you informed her, sitting down on the stool.

“I’d miss you even if you were gone for five minutes,” Nat murmured, leaning over to kiss the top of your forehead. “Oh my god, Y/N. You are not going on this mission, you liar. You have a fever!” As if she planned it, you shivered as a chill ran through your body.

“Nat, I promise you, I’m fine.”

“Yeah, right,” she scoffed. “You sound like a zombie. You look like a zombie too.”

“I- hey!” You didn’t mean to yell as loudly as you did, and it threw you off a little bit, causing you to release a series of dry coughs. Lips pursed, the redhead rubbed your back in an effort to soothe you.

“You are definitely sick, Y/N. Get back in bed. I’ll tell Fury.”

“Natty, you’re not going to-” Before you could finish, she was already at the bedside table, phone to her ear. Damn your girlfriend and her spy skills.

“Hey, Fury, Y/N’s sick with a fever and probably laryngitis. You’re going to have to get someone else to cover the mission.” You groaned, burying your face in your hands. You hated missing work. You’d never been one to take a vacation or a day off; for the whole time you’d been working under SHIELD, you only took a sick day once after you’d had to get surgery due to a mission gone slightly wrong. Even then, it took some serious persuasion to get you to do so. You were too busy stressing about missing the mission to listen to the rest of your girlfriend’s conversation with Fury until you heard her calling your name.

“Y/N. Babe? Y/N? Hello?” Looking up from your hands, you met her concerned gaze.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Fury’s asking how you’re feeling.”

“Good enough to go on the mission?” The redhead rolled her eyes.

“Try again. He’s worried about you.” She held out the phone to you. “Fury, you’re on speaker.”

“L/N, how’s the throat? Try tea with lemon and honey, it’ll help.”

“I’m fine, old man,” you rolled your eyes.

“Wow, you really are sick.” Your lips parted slightly, and Nat couldn’t help but chuckle at the indignance written across your face. “Get some rest, L/N. Don’t worry about the mission, it shouldn’t be hard to get someone to cover for you.”

“But-”

“No ‘but’s. L/N, your powers are literally based on your voice. This is a minor mission, but if this goes south, we need someone who can defend themselves to their full capacity. You are way too valuable to be lost just because you got sick. Listen to your girlfriend. Get better soon. That’s an order. Goodbye, L/N. Thanks for calling, Romanoff.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Wait, Fur-” The man hung up before you got the chance to finish. “This is all your fault.” You crossed your arms, turning away from the former assassin.

“Y/N,” Natasha sighed. “It’s just one mission. I promise everything’ll be okay.” She knew well of your anxiety regarding missing work considering she was the one who had convinced you to take the sick day after your surgery. While she hated making you upset, she knew—and if you were being honest, you did too—that you couldn’t go on a mission like this.

“What if I fall behind? Or what if Fury decides he doesn’t need me anymore? Or what if-” Your voice got weaker the more you spoke, partially because of your nerves but also partially due to your illness.

“Babe, as much as I’d love to talk this out with you, you shouldn’t be talking. Your throat is already destroyed, so for now I’m going to need you to trust me and just listen.” She took your hand and gently guided you back to the bed, purposefully avoiding the glare you were giving her.

“You won’t fall behind because this mission isn’t important. Fury said so himself. I promise it won’t affect your performance at work. And Fury will never decide he doesn’t need you anymore because he literally sees you as his kid.”

“He-” Natasha pressed a finger to your lips before you could finish.

“No talking. Yes, he does see you as his kid whether you want to admit it or not. He will also never replace you because you’re one of the best agents he has. He asked you to join the Avengers for a reason, printsessa. He’s not going to fire you just because you get laryngitis one time, even if you fall behind because of it.” Your girlfriend bent down slightly to meet your eyes, which were still directed at the floor. “You’re doing amazing, Y/N. You do so much for so many different people, and now it’s your turn to let people return the favor. Okay?” You stared at her for a second, your face so blank even Natasha couldn’t read it. When you finally nodded, the redhead let out a small breath of relief before giving you a small smile and a peck on the forehead.

“You stay here. I’ll be back in a little bit, okay?” You reached your arms to her, fingers grasping, when she began to walk away. Letting out a light laugh, she turned around and held one of your hands. “I’ll be back as fast as I can, malyshka. Why don’t you pick out something for us to watch?” She let go of you after one last kiss to the back of your hand and left before you could stop her again.

---

Natasha shuffled through the cabinets as the water was heating up in the kettle.

“Morning, Wan, starting breakfast?” the spy greeted the witch.

“Yeah, you’re up early. Y/N’s mission?”

“Actually, she’s sick,” Natasha grimaced. “Fury’s going to reassign the mission.” Wanda let out a whistle as she placed various ingredients on the kitchen counter.

“I bet she didn’t take that well?”

“Nope. But she can barely speak, and even when she can, she can’t speak more than a sentence or two without stopping to cough, which means…” She trailed off as she inspected a medicine bottle.

“No powers.” Satisfied, Natasha put the rest of the bottles away and returned to the now whistling kettle.

“Exactly.”

“Huh, the kid who can kill people just by speaking with a certain tone gets taken down by a virus.” The former assassin chuckled as she squeezed lemon juice into a steaming cup of tea.

“Don’t let her hear that.”

“Which part?”

“Any of it.” Wanda’s laugh rang through the room.

“Is she hungry? I can make some soup after breakfast if she’s up for it.”

“That would be great,” Natasha smiled gratefully, “Thank you so much.”

“Of co- Your girlfriend is calling for you.” Red flashed as Natasha’s head whipped up, confused.

“Are you sure? I didn’t hear anything. I told her not to-”

“No, no, not verbally. She’s just thinking it. Very loudly.” Nat sighed, but the corners of her lips curled upwards at your antics.

“Is there anything the queen needs?”

“Just you. And no medicine.” The spy shook her head.

“Tell her,” she started, tossing a spoon into the sink, “that I’m on the way. With medicine.”

“You got it,” Wanda promised with a wink. “Warning you now, though, her majesty won’t be happy.”

---

Sure enough, Wanda was right. You had already opened your mouth to complain about the medicine in Nat’s hands, but one stern look from her had you zipping your lips closed in a second.

“You take this, in a couple of days you can talk again.” Your girlfriend didn’t need to be able to read minds to understand what you were thinking; your face said everything. “Yes, a couple of days,” she ordered firmly, handing you two pills. “Take them. Here’s your tea, and I also got you a bottle of water.” You gave her a grateful smile before swallowing the pills, grimacing as they scratched their way down your very sore throat.

“Good girl,” Natasha murmured. “Now,” she started with a peck to your cheek, “Do you need anything else? Blankets? A cool towel? Oh, Wanda’s making you soup, by the way, but I could get you a popsicle or something if you want?” You shook your head at all of her requests. Instead, you patted the spot on the bed next to you.

“Alright,” the redhead smiled. “What’d you pick for us to watch?” You pointed to the screen in front of you. “American Idol. You really aren’t making things easier for yourself, huh?” Nevertheless, she slid in next to you, sitting cross legged, and pulled you into her, your head resting on her lap with the laptop placed in front of you.

“Maybe I can pull an Ursula and use one of their voices for the mission,” you whispered.

“I swear to god, Y/N, if you don’t shut up,” the spy laughed. A smile on your face, you hit play and snuggled yourself further into her.

As Nat ran her fingers up and down the length of your arm, you couldn’t help but relax into her. Sure, your throat wasn’t better by any means, and you had some lingering anxiety about the mission. But if you had to miss a mission, this was sure as heck the best way to do it, with Natasha right by your side.

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff #avengers x reader #marvel #mcu #I wrote something #alwaysmarveling

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aenngelic · 3 years

Text

I will protect her at all costs (chapter 2)

Disclaimer: please don’t hate me for it, if you don’t ship them please just don’t read it ok 🥲

contains: slow burn, Sniper falling in love with Kuon, Snipers view/thoughts, sexual fantasies, nudity, lemon stuff overall

It is a very long chapter I’m sorry

Note: please feel free to message me if you have certain romantic moments to include in the story! (Already running out of ideas oops)

It did not take long for us to find a bag of supplies. It was on a coffee table in some sort of lobby area. It seemed as if this building probably was meant to represent some kind of hotel, which I thought was a good thing, because that meant that there would be beds and showers to be found here as well. To our surprise, the bag contained mostly candy, which I wouldn't interpret as a balanced meal. However, the girl seemed to like this finding. It was only a matter of minutes before the chocolate residue stained the corners of my companion's mouth in a brown color. However, I preferred to smoke a cigarette at first and watch the girl devour her own body weight in the form of chocolate.

" This is fantastic! It feels like forever since I last ate chocolate! I faintly remember dieting before I entered this world too, so this must have been probably weeks since I held chocolate in my hand." Kuon said with delight. It was amusing to watch her enjoy sweets. Kuon's carelessness may be a burden at times, but her innocent character makes up for it.

" you partly remember your life prior to this, don't you?"

" Yes, not much to be honest. I'm sorry you can't," Kuon replied in a concerned voice.

"Tell me about it."

She gave me a visibly puzzled look before straightening her back so that she was sitting as straight as a candle on the sofa across from me, staring at her hands somewhat lost in thought. She seemed uncomfortable that I had now brought up this topic. Unfortunately, I could not take back my question. "Well," she began, "to be honest,the life I remember has not been the greatest, I guess." Kuon abruptly shook her head. " That's not true either. I was born into a rich family and had many privileges. My father owned a large company and had very high expectations of me from the very beginning. One day I was supposed to take it over. I was probably pretty lucky compared to other people. I was probably a big disappointment for him. My character was just not strong enough in his eyes. I also remember not really having any friends either, because I was privately educated. And anyway..." I could literally hear the lump in Kuon's throat as a tear began to stream down the girl's cheek.

" i'm sorry. You know, I didn't really mean to end up crying."

I felt my heart break once again, watching the girl grieve. I was surprised now, though, to find out that this yet seemingly uncomplicated high school student was actually carrying a lot of emotional baggage. I did not hesitate as I jumped up from my seat to calm the blue-haired girl. I really hated it like the plague when she cried. Trying to preserve my Coolness, however, I grumbled, "oh girl. What's wrong?"

I placed myself to her left, and pressed her against my shoulder while running my hand over her hair a few times. There was no way I could bring myself to face her, though. It would be too embarrassing and, after all, I was far from being the Prince Charming who would dry her tears with a silken tissue. Besides, I could not withstand the sight of her teary eyes. So there I sat, a weeping teenage girl wetting my blazer with salty drops of grief on my right, awkwardly staring off into the distance.

"It's, it's..." she stammered, not being able to form a word. "You're the first person I've been able to trust, and because of that, I'm kind of..."

She took a deep breath, "It makes me so unbelievably happy."

Almost for the second time that day, a cigarette nearly got stuck in my throat, but this time I was able to suppress my urge to cough. The girl seemed to really like me. But did I like her too? I would be lying if I said I did not care about her. And if she got killed, I could never forgive myself. It was astonishing how one could form such a strong bond with another person in such a short period of time. However, pouring out my entire feelings in front of her would not come close to the cool lifestyle I was pursuing.

" i'm also happy to have met you, Kuon.", i finally decided to answer after a moment of figuring out how to respond.

Kuon's face, which was still streaked with tears, started to smile again, which made me feel much relieved. However, it took her a while to completely stop her wailing . We remained in this position for a while, until at some point I realized that the girl had fallen asleep. Her head had lowered in the meantime even further toward the ground, so that after some time she was no longer leaning against my shoulder but much rather against my belly. When I noticed this after some time and looked down to the girl, a cute sight presented itself to me. Admittedly, on the one hand it felt nice to act as this girl's pillow. On the other hand, it triggered an immeasurable amount of embarrassment in me. But cool guys do like to take care of girls' comfort, don't they?

Therefore, I decided I'd rather not wake her up and hardly moved at all. I looked out the window to my right, watching the sunset and reflected on certain issues. I was thinking about Rika as well as the two girls we were trying to find and, of course, about Kuon and so many other things until my eyes started to close.

When I regained consciousness, the night must have settled in. Before I could even perceive my surroundings properly, I swiveled my head once to the left and once to the right and let my gaze wander through the room. Because the moon was particularly bright this night, everything around me had taken on a deep blue tone. It was so quiet around me that I could have heard a pin drop. In the next second I realized that I should not have fallen asleep in the first place. Somebody would have had to keep watch, after all! Crap! If an enemy would have come along the way, it certainly would not have been good for me and Kuon. I looked down to my thigh where the blue-haired girl was supposed to lie. I felt her place her head on my thigh at some point during the night, but when I looked down at my thigh, I could not find any girl. Where the hell was Kuon? A rational thinking person, as I was one, could of course assume that my companion did not necessarily have to be in danger, but could also have simply visited the toilet, for example. Nonetheless, my alarm bells started ringing immediately. Kuon was, after all, a young girl who, apart from the "rail gun", did not posses many possibilities for self-defense. So of course I was worried.

Without thinking much, I hopped up from the sofa, on which I had been napping a few moments before. In quick stride I wandered through the poorly lit hallway without really having a clue where I was heading. My head was foggy from the idea that the girl might be in serious danger. A few days ago, I probably would have accepted the fact that she was suddenly nowhere to be found and continued my journey. And now my stomach was already twisting at the thought of her getting in trouble.

Nevertheless, a short moment later, my heart pounding madly from the ever-repeating scenario in my head, I heard a noise at the end of the corridor. A soft, high-pitched humming was heard, drowned out by the pattering of many drops. Light emerged from the crack of a door on the left. Was she taking a shower? The feeling of relief spread through my chest, followed by some degree of annoyance. Why did the girl not wake me up? I took a few steps towards the door, but before I was about to reach for the door handle, I remembered that I should not do so. A gentleman never violates a lady's privacy. So I decided to wait.

I leaned against the local wall, one leg bent. Then I let my thoughts wander, while the pattering of the raindrops in the bathroom right next to me showed no indication of stopping anytime soon. A lady of high society must spend quite a bit of her life showering, I thought to myself. And before I knew it, the image of Kuon suddenly popped up in my head. In my imagination I pictured her body, wondering what it looked like completely naked. A bar of soap running over her plump breasts, leaving traces of foam on her soft, wet skin. A body swinging under the hot rainfall like a leaf in the wind, presenting its vivid buttocks. I wonder if she was shaved? Hardly had I been able to finish this dirty thought of mine and get mad at my filthy thinking when my ears picked up the sound of footsteps in the distance. And they were coming ominously closer.

Damn, I thought to myself and was about to reach for my rifle, only to realize that I forgot it next to the sofa where I had been sleeping. I had been so upset about her disappearance that I could seriously forget the most crucial item for our survival.What was I going to do? For a brief moment I was at a loss. Escape proved almost impossible at this point, since I was at a dead end and I could not force the approaching enemy down with any surrounding objects. Besides, if I escaped, it would only be a matter of time before the enemy would track down my helpless companion. In the next moment, almost instinctively, I reached for the door handle that led to the bathroom that Kuon had still claimed. Perhaps there were objects in the room that were suitable for fighting, or perhaps we could be lucky and not be found, I speculated in the heat of the moment. So I tore open the door and rushed into the bathroom, greeted by a hot haze that took over the entire area.

"Kuon!" I called out in a hushed tone.

Without hesitation, I pushed my way through the door that separated the shower from the rest of the bathroom as if I was walking through nothing. Until that moment, I had hardly given a thought to the circumstances of this situation. But at the latest, when finally the naked body of a schoolgirl jumped into my field of vision, I quickly realized this again. I was just about to violate Kuon's privacy. An obviously shocked girl looked towards me, that from 1 second to the other tried to cover herself desperately.

"Mr.Ma-", she was about to say, but I interrupted her raised voice by pressing my hand to her lips as quickly as possible.

While I was still in the act of stepping into the shower, I flicked the light switch in the same movement so that no sign of our presence could escape from the room. Maybe they would not find us here, I hoped at this point.

"There's someone out there," I whispered to the naked girl in front of me.

" if we are quiet, maybe we won't be found. If we are, then..."

Kuon replied to me with an unintelligible "Mmm" , which resembled the sound of a frightened gasp. My body had pressed so close to hers by now that I could feel the wetness of her skin soaking through my shirt. I had directed my face facing away from her so that I could sharpen my hearing for the footsteps I could hear. Furthermore , I did not want to add unnecessary tension to the whole situation. It was uncool enough to interfere with a naked girl taking a shower even if it was an emergency. My hand was still resting on her lips and even though I was wearing gloves and looking away, I could clearly feel the warmth building up in Kuon's cheeks. She was obviously blushing in this moment. But having her pressed against the bathroom wall while forcing my hand tightly onto her lips and not even keeping a distance of not 2 inches, I could not blame her.

For quite a while, we did not move at all. We listened closely to the footsteps, which came a little closer and finally slowly moved away from us again. Temporarily it was even so quiet in this bathroom that we could hear each other breathing. Kuon's breathing was fast and almost verged on hyperventilation in this situation. Because there was hardly any distance between our bodies, I could literally feel her chest rising and falling in short intervals. With each rise, her breasts brushed my upper body a slight bit. I tried, as always, to keep my composure and block out the fact that Kuon was completely naked. Only when several minutes had passed did my posture loosen and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, we should be safe for now," I stated and let go of the girl.

I flipped the light switch and had to swallow.

Kuon had been naked before too, but it was only now that the danger was gone that I could really comprehend this fact. She had tried to cover her breasts with her hands and had simultaneously crossed her legs, looking down with a shameful expression on her face. However, the concealment attempt seemed to be unsuccessful for her. Although I only caught a glimpse of her appearance before I turned away from her as quickly as possible, I saw her entire beauty for a moment.Her breasts were in relation to her otherwise so petite body, large and plump. She had a narrow waist and perfectly shaped legs, in combination with her smooth, fair skin. And so she shaved, I could still tell. What remained most imprinted on my mind, however, was the look on her face.I of course preferred to see her friendly smile a thousand times more than this face that expressed pure shame. But I could not help but adore the sight of her big sparkling dog eyes looking at the ground helplessly.

My breath stopped for a moment, but then I quickly cleared my throat, my gaze already averted from her, scanning the room for a towel. I tried to hide the fact that I actually wanted to slap myself for the thoughts I was having. Luckily, my embarrassment was not visible through the mask. I had to change the subject immediately before the situation became even more awkward:

"Sorry, Kuon." , I mumbled. I was surprised myself by my harsh tone. It took me a while to recollect the words.

"You should let me know next time you decide to go somewhere else."

"Oh yeah right. I didn't mean to cause any trouble.", Countered the girl who also seemed to be a bit embarrassed. So it wasn't just me who was feeling uncomfortable about this situation. Without giving my companion another look, I threw a towel right over my head at her. I had a precise aim.

" I'm going to get my rifle. I forgot it in all the hurry near the sofa."

Just as I was about to open the door to step out, the girl interrupted my process by grabbing my arm with unusual intensity.

" can you come back here afterwards? Please?"

"That's what I was planning on doing anyway. I'll be waiting right outside the door," I replied, a bit puzzled by this question.

" but I have -." she interrupted herself, shaking her head slightly before continuing.

Then her facial expression regained its former composure, whereupon she gave me her typical, beaming smile. I could tell, however, that she did not mean it honestly. How I could tell that, I had no idea myself though. But did she want me to stay here with her?

" no you're right. I'll hurry up and be done in a few minutes," she said. While she was talking, she wrapped the towel around her body in a quick movement, fastening it in front with the help of a knot.

I had meanwhile turned my gaze back to her. Although Kuon was now dressed, it was difficult for me not to inspect her from top to bottom. Her entire body was still drenched in a hint of wetness, so that her skin was reflectingthe bright bathroom light. It was also slightly red from the hot shower water. I wondered if the red tint to her cheeks was also caused by that, or if I was responsible for it.I could not help but notice the way the towel just managed to hide all the places it was supposed to cover and yet was far too tight. If she bent over, a special view would present itself to me. Immediately I dashed this disgusting thought from my head. If I continued to reduce myself only to her appearance this could end in negligence on my part and I would not be able to protect her properly.After all, that was the most important thing. I also discarded this thought. Had this strange girl really become so important to me? Nevertheless, there was no place for interpersonal relationships in this world.Before I could get any further into this train of thought, I turned away again and finally walked out of the room. I was in need of a cigarette.

#kuniper #kuon shinzaki #sniper mask #yuka makoto #high rise invasion #tenkuu shinpan #yuka makoto smut #yu chan #rika honjo #yuri honjo #sky high survival #sky violation #shinzaki kuon #fanfic

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astarryon · 4 years

Text

Promise Me

You’ll Always Have Me

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Warnings: None

Chapter Summary: Spencer’s not one for unsolicited physical contact — except, of course, when it comes from you.

A/N: This is a gift more one of my best friends, @johnmulaneyslut! Congratulations girl, by turning me into a Reid stan you’ve officially guaranteed yourself a whole lot of fluff in the near future, and THAT’S on the season 9 haircut.

Masterlist

Spencer doesn’t like the way lies taste in his mouth.

He knows there’s no logical reason for it. Lies are only constructs of the human understanding of deception, after all. They aren’t tangible, they aren’t edible, and they certainly aren’t accompanied by the acidic tang characteristic of citrus, yet even still he’s never been able to tell one without the bitter taste of lemon blooming across the tip of his tongue.

So he tries not to tell them very often. Not to unsubs, though it had been unavoidable during this last case and the mental gymnastics he’d had to perform to keep the guy from unloading a gun full of bullets into a slew of innocent bystanders — including one of his fellow agents. Not to Hotch, or Morgan, or any of the rest of the team, not since he’d gotten clean and stayed that way. And not to you, despite the fact that he’d wanted to tell you he wasn’t even a little bit tired when you’d sat next to him on the jet and encouraged him to try and get some sleep.

He’s still getting used to having you around — or, more accurately, you’re still acclimating to being around him. You haven’t rolled your eyes in irritation at his rambling yet, or poked fun at his habit of volunteering fun facts that may or may not be only somewhat related to the original topic of conversation. It’s hard to wrap his mind around, especially when you respond to his tangents with wide, curious eyes and genuine smiles, or even the occasional enthusiastic chime of your voice when you have something to add yourself. You haven’t yet fixed him with a pointed look implying that you wished he would learn to take a hint and stop talking.

Most notable, Spencer thinks, is that you haven’t made him feel other. He’s been waiting for it to happen. It always does with new agents, like Prentiss, before they’d gotten to know each other very well, and then Seaver, who he never quite figured out how to talk to. But things are different with you. Easier. Which is why falling asleep sitting next to you on the jet came natural as breathing, even though he knew he’d catch flack from Morgan about it once you weren’t around to hear the teasing.

It’s your voice that brings him to, your soft, honeyed tones a gentle encouragement toward consciousness. You’re humming some achingly sweet melody beneath your breath, and the way the notes carry through the silence of the cabin, underscored by Morgan’s light snores nearby, tells him that everyone else is fast asleep. It nearly breaks his heart when you fall silent at his sudden stirring.

“Spence?” you murmur, prodding at his shoulder with your palm. He doesn’t remember falling asleep laying in your lap — he’s never done it before, or asked to, or been invited to — but the way your voice hits his ears and your words fan his cheek mean he must have. “Can you hear me?”

He doesn’t know what makes him stay silent. The warmth of your palm leeching through his shirt, maybe, or the way that the scent of your perfume lulls his breaths into a slow, deep rhythm to catch more and more of it. It might have something to do with the way his name floats off your tongue, making him feel those things in his stomach that are way too intense for anyone who claims to be a casual friend. Spencer can’t really say one way or the other. All he knows is that he’s... not quite ready to break the moment.

So he doesn’t.

“You look so calm when you sleep,” he hears you breathe, an odd note of fondness he’s never noticed before lining the edges of your words. He’s so distracted trying to figure out the reasoning for its sudden appearance that his body almost forgets to process the feeling of your warm fingers carding through his hair, nails scraping gently against his scalp. “What’s going on in that head of yours right now?”

Symphonies. Nonstop bursts of fireworks, so loud and jarring he can barely make out your words over the cacophony drumming through his skull. His own heartbeat magnified twenty times louder than is normal, harmonizing with the beat of yours, which he can hear from where his ear presses against the lower edge of your sternum. Maybe that’s why he can’t taste the lie of pretending to be asleep — his senses are already too overloaded to register much of anything else.

“You’re really pretty, you know,” you laugh quietly as the pads of your fingers gently skim across his forehead. He wants to open his mouth to repay the compliment — it’s only right, he thinks, especially considering you’re much prettier than he could ever be (not that you would ever let him tell you that) — but doing that would mean sacrificing the feeling of your hands in his hair, and he’s not really sure when he’ll ever get the chance to feel that again. “But I’m sure all the girls tell you that.”

They don’t, actually. The only person who tells him he’s pretty on a regular basis is Morgan, and even then, Spencer’s pretty sure it’s just to get under his skin in the teasing fashion of an older brother. His mother’s called him handsome before — or, rather, she’s mentioned how handsome he would be if he’d ever get a proper haircut. But no one’s ever just... meant it. Not the way it seems like you do right now, with your hands rhythmically running through his curls, nails dancing lightly at the nape of his neck. He can’t pay too much attention to the way it makes his stomach flip — he’ll shiver if he’s not careful, and then the ruse will be up — but he files it away to pore over in his privacy later on in the night, just like he files away the curiosity that comes when he thinks about why you’re whispering to him while under the impression that he isn’t awake to know the difference.

“I know you’ve been going through a tough time lately,” you tell him. It’s ridiculous that he’s entranced, captivated, hanging on your every word, but he is. He is. And laying here, with his head in your lap, he’s not particularly sure he minds. “But you know I’m here for you, don’t you? You’ll always have me. If you need someone to talk to, or someone to distract you, or... I don’t even know, if you just want someone to sit next to in complete silence. I’ll be that person for you.”

He can’t understand why you’re saying this to him now, while you think he’s unconscious and dreaming. He admits he’s been touchy lately. It’s getting close to the anniversary of everything that happened with Maeve, and though it’s been two years now, he still has issues coping with those events, or even talking about how they’d made him feel in the aftermath. It’s hard. He doesn’t want to forget her — even if he did, he knows he’d never be able to figure out how — but he also knows he can’t always become a haunted shell of himself for four to six weeks every year. It’s not conducive to productivity, and it’s certainly not conducive to keeping his coworkers from worrying after him.

On the other hand… there’s no way that the thoughts you inspire are especially conducive to productivity, either. He’s caught himself staring across desks in the bullpen much too long for subtlety, offering little waves and funny faces every time you catch him, each one in the hopes of making you smile. His face betrays his eagerness each time Hotch pairs the two of you together on cases, which, lately, seems to be more often than not. He’s started bringing you coffee most mornings, except for those ones where you text him hours before he even wakes up — he can’t tell whether you’re an early riser or a chronic insomniac — with a Morning, Sunshine! Sweet treats on me ;) and Spencer doesn’t know what it is about the winky face, but it’s stuck around in his mind for weeks now and it doesn’t appear to be in danger of going anywhere any time soon. It’s all of these things and so many more that have his mind racing, swirling with thoughts of you and whether what he ponders while he lies awake at night is in breach of the sweet little slow dance the two of you have been doing since you joined the team after Emily left.

Something warm and soft presses to his forehead, then. The sensation is so foreign that it actually takes a full five seconds before he realizes that the only possible explanation is that you’ve just kissed him.

“I love you, Spencer,” you whisper gently against his skin. “I just… I hope you know I love you.”

You go back to carding your fingers through his hair, then, without so much as another word. Resisting the urge to protest is difficult — your voice has fast become Spencer’s favorite sound and you’ve spoiled him to the point of entitlement in the last five minutes. He wants to hear you say his name again, if only to play it on a loop in his mind until the next occurrence. He isn’t above making the request, either, but that requires revealing that he’s been listening to your heartfelt prattling and he doesn’t want you to think he’s the type to eavesdrop, despite the fact you’d been speaking to him in the first place. But then you start humming again, some cordial tune he can’t put his finger on, and Spencer is mercifully spared from having to decide whether or not he should betray himself.

And as he lets himself drift back into sleep, the feel of your hands in his hair and the warm, quiet tones of your voice lulling him peacefully along… Spencer realizes.

—

Chapter Two: Red is a Wondrous Color

#spencer reid #dr spencer reid #criminal minds #cm #spencer reid x reader #mgg #matthew gray gubler #marie #fluff #angst #mini series #x reader fanfic #fannfiction #criminal minds fanfic

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thefinalcinderella · 3 years

Text

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 8 - Winter Comes Again (Part 1)

Full list of translations here

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A team with only ten runners had passed the qualifiers and was now in the Hakone Ekiden.

This spectacular achievement accomplished by the residents of Chikusei-sou was widely talked about, not just by the university athletics world.

Since the Hakone Ekiden began being televised in 1987, there was hardly anyone who didn’t know the name of this event for student runners in the Kanto region. Whether it was due to the grueling nature of the race or the glamour and glitz that aired on New Year’s Day, the Hakone Ekiden never failed to attract attention.

Only ten people were taking on that famous competition. Why would they think of doing such a reckless thing? What would happen if someone got injured or sick on the day of the event? What kind of daily training regimen did they follow, and how did they live?

Curious locals and students who wished to join the team began to visit Chikusei-sou incessantly. Most of the students had no experience in track and field, but when they found out that the team had passed the qualifiers, many of them asked to join the team in a temporary rush of excitement.

Kiyose carefully wrote on a piece of paper that he would turn down all visits and stuck it on the door of Chikusei-sou. He appreciated them wanting to join, but the Kansei University boom would soon die down, they couldn’t enter without an official record, and Chikusei-sou was already full. After much deliberation, Kiyose decided that it would be better for the ten of them to concentrate on training and unite to compete in Hakone rather than take in any new members.

With regards to the locals, the shopkeepers of the shopping district told them to not get in the way of training and most of the locals were now content to just peek at Chikusei-sou from over the hedges. The exceptions were the old people who quietly supplied produce from their fields.

As Kakeru was leaving for his morning jog, he noticed napa cabbages and pears placed outside the door. Is this some kind of repayment? He thought. Nira, who had watched the old people’s actions without barking, only wagged his tail at him. In the end, without knowing who did it, the residents of Chikusei-sou filled their stomachs with the produce that was often left at their door.

Of course, requests for interviews flooded in from the media. Not just track and field magazines, but also weekly magazines, newspapers, and TV; every kind of media outlet they could think of had been trying to contact them. Kiyose and Shindou investigated them all carefully and refused almost all requests with “We want to concentrate on our training.”

However, they agreed to an interview with Monthly Track and Field’s Sanuki and Yomiuri Shimbun’s Nunoda, who had been supporting them since the summer training camp. The two understood the psychology of runners well, so they watched them train without interfering and briefly asked them the most pertinent questions. Favorable articles about the people of Chikusei-sou were then published in the respective mediums.

The twins and King were over the moon and insisted on accepting more interviews.

“We’re actually going to Hakone, you know? It’s better to be noticed,” Jouta said.

“It might even help with getting a job,” King said.

“Instead of thinking about that, you need to get more serious about training. Otherwise, your pathetic running will be televised all over the country, and you’ll get attention whether you like it or not.”

Even when Kiyose flatly rejected them, the twins and King didn’t give up.

“No? We wanna be on TV. TV, TV!” they yelled. Kakeru was astonished as he watched the offense and defense unfolding at the dinner table.

Just the thought of competing in the Hakone Ekiden was enough to make Kakeru nervous and elated. But on top of that, the twins wanted the “extraordinary” experience of being interviewed on TV. Were they too simple-minded, were they greedy, or were they just fearless?

Until that spring, the twins had lived without having any connection to long-distance running, so they might not have had a clear idea of the significance of the Hakone Ekiden.

The Hakone Ekiden, which began in 1920, took place every year with the exception of a few years during the war. Even amidst the food shortage after the war, the runners put on their sashes and aimed for the mountains of Hakone—that's how important it was as an event for runners, with more than eighty years of tradition.

The Hakone Ekiden was what student runners yearned and dreamed of; the twins might not have fully understood the meaning and value of participating in such an event. But even though they didn’t understand, they trained and had the ability to claim their place to take part in it, so they were no ordinary people. Kakeru was impressed and amused by this.

Between them, the twins continued their appeal with Kiyose, who was silently moving his chopsticks.

“Hey, hey, let’s go on TV at least once.”

“We can have that perk, at least. After all, Haiji-san, you’re…”

“What about me?” Kiyose's chopsticks stopped moving. Jouta and Jouji suddenly closed their mouths and squirmed like they wanted to say something, but finally shook their heads.

“Nothing.”

In the end, Kiyose gave in and they ended up accepting a TV interview: on the evening news, in a five-minute topic segment, the lives of the residents of Chikusei-sou were going to be introduced.

TV cameras came and filmed Prince’s room full of manga and Nico-chan’s room full of small quit-smoking dolls that were scattered around his futon that he never put away. They also filmed their training in the field and interviewed the members.

The twins and King took the lead in the interview. We don’t know if things just followed their course or if it was because we were threatened by Haiji-san, but we found ourselves aiming for Hakone. We eat lemons soaked in honey every day to avoid catching colds. We don’t do any special training. We believe we have the same kind of regimen as the track clubs in other universities.

Kakeru, as usual, stood meekly in the corner, just far enough away that he was partially cut off by the cameras.

“Why are you hiding, Kakeru?” Yuki asked.

But Kakeru only smiled vaguely and dodged the question with, “No, I'm not really.” Nico-chan, who was watching over the interview, looked back at him.

“You’re not gonna tell us that you’re a wanted fugitive, are you?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

That’d be cool, though, Nico-chan said and gave him a suspicious look.

“Putting that aside, there’s been a strange mood lately, don’t you think?” Yuki said. Nico-chan nodded, I guess so.

Kakeru had also noticed it; it had become somewhat strained within Chikusei-sou. The first-floor residents were the same as before, and most of the people living on the second floor were practicing with the same attitude as usual. The twins, however, seemed to be clearly depressed. To be frank, it was regarding Kiyose.

They didn’t argue with him or act defiant towards him. However, they tried to keep a subtle distance. Although Kiyose treated Jouta and Jouji as he always had, they couldn’t seem to be open with him for some reason. For some reason, their trust in Kiyose seemed to have faded.

This awkwardness spread through Chikusei-sou, and a somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere had persisted ever since the qualifiers ended.

“I wonder what’s going on,” Nico-chan said. “Kakeru, you’re in the same year as them—ask them casually.”

“What do I ask?”

“About what’s in their heart, of course.”

“Aah…yes.”

Although he answered with that, Kakeru honestly felt that it was a heavy burden.

Training was becoming more and more voluminous and dense. They slowly ran the first 5000 meters of the 12,000 meter run in 17 minutes, then increased the pace and ran the last 1000 meters at a pace of 3 minutes and 0.5 seconds. After that, they did five 1000 meter runs of 2 minutes and 55 seconds with a 200-meter interval in between.

Kakeru did his best to think about his own running. Was the swinging of his arms, the angle of his feet when he landed on the ground, the relaxing and tensing of his muscles okay like this? His consciousness stretched around every inch of his cells and he checked his running with every step.

Of course, he had to attend his university classes in between training sessions, but it was hard to have to pay attention to other people as well.

One time, he happened to be in the Tsuru no yu public baths with the twins. When the twins went to the washing area, Kakeru and Kiyose soaked in the bathtub with their backs to the painting of Mount Fuji, and conversed with the plasterer who happened to be there.

“How’s it going, Haiji? How are the Chikusei-sou guys?” the plasterer asked. He was sitting in the hot water with his back to the washing area, so he didn’t notice the twins. The twins, who would usually call out to them, saw Kiyose by the bathtub’s faucet and only slightly bowed without a word.

“They’re doing good,” Kiyose answered the plasterer.

“The first-years did pretty good.” The plasterer pulled his hands out of the water and rubbed his face. “Kakeru did great too, but look at those identical twins—they’re pretty fast too, aren’t they?”

Kakeru fretted over how Kiyose would answer. Behind the plasterer, Jouta and Jouji were straining their ears to listen. Perhaps because he was distracted by the conversation, Jouji lost control of his hands and spilled a large amount of shampoo on his head.

“They really are,” Kiyose smiled. “I can’t say it in front of the people themselves, but they run well.”

“Really?” Jouta stood up from his chair in the washing area, and the plasterer looked behind him with a start.

“What’s the point in lying?” Kiyose rose from the bathtub. “Sir, we’re raising promising runners, so please continue to support us from the shopping district. I will be taking my leave now.”

He walked past the twins’ backs, opened the sliding door of the baths and disappeared into the changing room.

“He only praised us ‘cause we were here,” Jouji muttered to no one in particular. But he couldn’t hide the fact that he was happy. He shampooed his head so vigorously that it was covered in dense bubbles in the blink of an eye.

“What’s with you guys? You didn’t even say hello.”

After the plasterer compared Kiyose’s and the twins’ words and actions, he turned to Kakeru, who was still in the bath. “Are they fighting by any chance?”

He was asked that in a whisper. “Well,” Kakeru sank up to his shoulders in the water. “I don’t think that’s the case.”

The twins might have been dissatisfied with Kiyose in some way, however they couldn’t hide it within themselves forever. If anything, he would say that it was because they had openhearted and naïve personalities; he was sure that they would let their emotions erupt at the earliest opportunity and directly vent them to Kiyose. It wasn’t too late to try and solve the problem.

Kakeru decided to leave the twins alone. He shouldn’t intentionally nudge a dormant volcano; when an eruption occurred, they would naturally discover where the crater is. After carefully assessing the location and wind direction, they could take shelter and wait for the overflowing lava to cool. That was what he thought.

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#Kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru #kazetsuyo #kazetsuyo translations #run with the wind

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villainousqueenofhearts · 3 years

Text

Got You in My Clutches (YanKabuto x Reader 18+)

Part 2

Warning this contains Rape and possibly more.

Au to Together At Last and Tainted In Lust.

I hope that you guys enjoy this lovely lemon that was brought to you by hentaifangirl69 sponsored by pervertedthoughts.org which was made possible by viewers like you

________________

~Time skip, Reader’s P.O.V ~

A few days have passed since my brother went missing, I’ve questioned Naruto due to him being the last to Sasuke but he said that he hadn’t seen Sasuke at all.

I called my parents and Itachi to alert them to Sasuke’s disappearance. Itachi got here faster than I thought that he would when I told him but our parents are still trying to get back as soon as possible, Itachi and I have looked practically everywhere we could to find Sasuke but to no avail.

With each day my hope of finding Sasuke shrinks bit by bit but no matter what I won’t stop trying to find him, was the thought that ran through my mind with determination as I searched the west side of town while Itachi searched the east.

As I continue to walk around town I put up posters along the way but just as I was about to walk away I heard a familiar voice speak. “Missing person huh? Now that doesn’t sound right” Out of curiosity as to what they meant by that I turned around to spot Kabuto.

“What do you mean?” He turned to face you while adjusting his glasses.

“I’ve seen him just a while ago” My eyes widen as I grabbed him by the shoulders.

“WHERE?! Where exactly have you seen him?” I practically shouted at him.

He calmly grabbed my hands and gently removed them before replying to my questions. “Not far from here actually” Stopping to fixing his glasses he starts back up with what he was saying. “I could show you if you’d like?”

Stepping closer I firmly nodded my head. “Yes, show me” I was so busy with the thought of finally finding Sasuke that I completely missed the slight smirk and evil glint Kabuto had as he lead me to an ally a few blocks down and when we got there I saw a dark figure hunched over with his knees brought up to their chest foolishly thinking that it was Sasuke I ran over to them while excitedly shouting Sasuke’s name. “Sasuke!”

But when I finally got over to him and pulled off their hoodie I had a confused look on my face as I stared at them. “Sorry, dearie but I’m not Sasuke” His smirk was off-putting as he placed his hand on his hip.

“Orochimaru-Sensei? What are-” I was cut short when I felt something get injected into my neck, feeling my consciousness fading fast but before it did I felt myself fall into someone’s arms.

“Well that was easier than I thought, you really were too trusting” Kabuto shook his head in a mock disapproving manner before smirking again. “Well, I guess that worked more in my favor though” He finished not that I heard much of it remembering that I mentioned that my conscious was fading? Yeah, you do.

When I came to I woke up strapped to some weird chair and in front of me was a TV well two TV’s actually both were currently off, I carefully examined the area in hopes of finding something to aid in my escape but nothing looked like it would work couldn’t even knock my chair over.

After god knows how long someone finally breaks the somewhat silence, I tried to turn my head back as far as I could but could only see a bit of the person which was enough to figure out who it was.

“Kabuto” I glared but he clearly couldn’t see it properly due to the angle.

“Just as timed” He stepped over to my side looking me over and double checking my ties. “Mmm definitely won’t be breaking out of these, good” He did a few other things as well that I couldn't see until a thought came to me.

“Did you...did you kidnap my brother?” He got up and dusted his hands.

“No” I felt relief only for it to be crushed.

“But I did assist in helping him get abducted” He smirked and walked over to a table grabbing a remote.

“Why? For money?” I laughed. “Good luck with that our parents won’t pay a single cent” Not because they don’t care but because they will do everything in their power to get us back.

He had a thoughtful look that was clearly fake before speaking. “You know I don’t think Orochimaru’s reason for abducting Sasuke was for money”

“Then why? Huh, why all of this?” I pressed to find out which caused him to smirk. “You know I could show you better than I could tell you” Grabbing one of the remotes next to him switching on TV 1.

And what I saw was sickening Orochimaru and Sasuke who looked like he was fighting back moans and more soon the camera zoomed in closer on Sasuke and Orochimaru mentioned that I would be watching this video.

He glared at Orochimaru to which Orochimaru asked if there was anything he would like to say but Sasuke only looked away with a look of shame and a mix of hate. Orochimaru brought the camera over to himself and smirked. “Well, ____ it doesn’t look like your precious brother has anything to say pity but nothing that can be done” He then reached over the pet Sasuke’s head causing Sasuke to pull away.

“You know he did try to get out of this life he even tried to make a deal with the cult….” He cut to me tilting his head with a smirk. “Would you like to know what the deal was?” I raised a brow while still keeping a glare.

“I’ll take that as a yes” Turning on the second one this time Naruto showed up on it and horrible stuff was happening to him too. “This is what became of your boyfriend last Saturday all because of Sasuke” He shut it off when Naruto said that we ‘re through.

“Why?” Feeling absolutely broken that was all I could manage to say, I felt him brush some of my hair out of my face.

“Because of you” I looked at him wondering how could this all be my fault?

“What? You never noticed?” He chuckled. “My _____ you are too oblivious it’s almost pathetic if it wasn’t so cute” My anger only grew as he mocked me.

“Noticed what?” He shook his head before answering.

“Your brother loved you and I don’t mean in a platonic way ” I shook my head in disbelief.

“No, no your lying!” I refuse to believe that.

“That’s your choice but personally I can’t say that I blame him, I mean it’s because of my want for you as well that I help set all of this up” As he said this I held a look of disgust.

“What why? We barely talked”

“Ah but the few times we did were enough for my heart to be completely under your spell” That’s just stupid, I’m pretty sure it was four or five times that can’t be enough.

“Regardless I will never return your sick version of love” He stood up and went over to grab something again.

“I’m completely content with just having you so you returning my feelings is unnecessary but would have been a nice bonus” He held up a syringe with some kind of weird liquid in it and with each step he took towards me I moved further back into my chair and still tried to move even more even when I ran out of room it just offered a slight comfort that was short lived.

The moment that needle pierced my skin then I suddenly felt hot all over with a certain needy feeling down below. “My such excellent results” He pushed up his glasses causing a sinister gleam to appear on his glasses.

“Make it stop” He crossed his arms.

“Well, there’s really only one way to do that” He stooped down looking me dead in the eyes. “Which you may not like at first but I assure you that you will grow to”

I knew what he meant but there was just no way I could do it right? Not after everything he’s done to Sasuke, to Naruto.

“But I won’t force you to do it the choice is all yours” He awaited my answer which I tried to think over as carefully as possible, thinking this over was getting harder and harder to do, this was so unbearable that I was sure if I said no I 'd just die, I mean how could I not? It was just so strong.

Not being able to go on I said what I knew he wanted to hear. “Fine just make it go away,” I said with no choice but to give in.

He smirked as he started stripping. “Gladly” Once he was naked he got down lower and started fingering me making me moan uncontrollably. He would scissor, wiggle add an extra finger anything that would give me pleasure and boy did it, I was at the edge of my seat with every move he made but just as I was about to cum he stopped.

“What the hell?” I shouted with need.

“I’m not ready for you to cum just yet first I want to do a few other things” He opened a drawer pulling out a few sex toys that he quickly put to use.

He stuck something up my ass then pressed a button causing it to wiggle around the feeling was odd but pleasurable nonetheless then he added a dildo into my pussy activating it as well making more pleasure surge through me.

I screamed out my moans to which he liked, I could tell by the look on his face that he did. “My your reactions are just perfect” His glasses shone in a mad scientist way as he added a smirk to go along with it. “Couldn’t ask for better ones”

He got closer and opened my mouth placing his cock into my mouth and for some odd reason I started sucking, licking and bobbing causing it to twitch like crazy soon enough he came but yet again before I could he'd stop but before I could complain he kissed me while jerking his penis into me with so much force I’m surprised the chair survived.

Our tongues fought one another as his hips thrust giving me so much pleasure but it didn’t just stop there he would bite and pinch all the right places and the harder he went the more pleasant it felt.

While he was licking my neck I felt a knot build up and this time I prayed that he would finally let me cum which he did.

I was so thankful and soon he came as well and as his warm seed spread inside me I couldn’t help but twitch.

“Now doesn’t that feel much better?” He stepped back as I just nodded.

“Knew that it would” He lean close to my ear biting it a bit before whispering in it. “Would you like to do more?” I looked at him slightly and nodded bringing a side smirk to his face.

“Just what I wanted to hear” He pressed some button that brought out more stuff. “Cause I have so much more that I want to test out on you” A smirk that would put any mad scientist to shame came to his face as he stood in front of me before moving to all of his playthings that he couldn’t wait to try.

_________________

DONE FINALLY! This took forever.

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stereksecretsanta · 3 years

Text

Merry Christmas, theproblemwithstardust!

For @theproblemwithstardust. Happy holidays! You asked for Professors AU and Fox!Stiles, and I hope you'll like it!

When I used a title generator to find one for this (because titles are the worst!), one suggestion was "Look Stiles, are you going to Pine With Me or Not?" and I almost used that XD

Read On AO3

*****

if you leave before the start

Derek felt like he was losing his mind. It had all started when Professor Stilinski - no please call me Stiles - had joined their university department. He was the new philosophy professor, and Derek had even heard about his work in passing and thought it wasn’t half bad, so he certainly was a good addition to their team. It quickly turned out that he was great with the students too, nice and friendly and enthusiastic about his lectures, but just strict enough and tolerating no nonsense, so that he was respected and highly popular.

The problem was that he smelled different. Derek couldn’t even really describe it, which was definitely saying something. It was a mix of spices and something musky, just not quite human, but also most definitely not a wolf.

Derek caught it whenever Stiles was close, which happened surprisingly often considering that they didn’t even teach the same subject, and it wasn’t that it was a bad smell, quite the opposite if he was being honest. He just couldn’t figure it out, and that was slowly driving him insane.

He certainly couldn’t just ask, even though they had become friends during the months since Stiles had joined the department, largely thanks to Stiles’ initiative of course.

They regularly had lunch together, and Stiles sometimes hung out in his office, saying that he could concentrate better with company, and Derek would roll his eyes and pretend to be annoyed, but secretly he was pleased that it was his company that Stiles sought out.

“You’re staring again”, Erica pointed out, sitting down in the cafeteria seat next to him. She was his TA, and a beta in his pack, and probably the person he confided in most.

Derek looked at her, then back to Stiles, who was across the room talking to some students, smiling and gesturing wildly.

“I know.” He sighed, not even trying to deny it. “He’s just… You really don’t notice it?”

They’d had this conversation several times already, but he couldn’t help but ask again.

Erica shrugged. “I don’t know. Humans all smell different to me. I don’t know what I’m supposed to notice here. I think…” She pretended to look thoughtful, tapping a finger against her lip. “It’s just your massive crush showing.” Derek frowned. “I’m not… No, I don’t think that’s it.”

“Oh come on! Don’t even try to deny it!” Erica was grinning like the cat who got the cream, and Derek sighed.

“I’m not denying… that.” He could feel his face and ears warm up at the confession. “I just don’t think that’s what makes him smell different.”

“Whatever you say.” Still grinning, Erica stole a piece of bread from his plate. “At least you’re admitting something, so I’ll take that for now.”

Later that afternoon, Derek was working in his office when Stiles barged in with an enthusiastic “Dereeeeeek!”

He never knocked when he knew that Derek wasn’t holding office hours for students, and Derek just couldn’t bring himself to ask him to, having already grown accustomed to Stiles just inviting himself in.

He looked up from his papers, frowning just a little, because apart from happy and excited, Stiles smelled a little nervous, and Derek didn’t know what to do with that.

“Holy shit! You’re wearing glasses”, was what Stiles said next, and Derek’s frown deepened.

Stiles’ already frantic heartbeat skipped a beat, and that was another thing that always gave Derek pause. Stiles’ heartbeat wasn’t quite like a human’s, always beating just a little too fast, and Derek had chalked it up to Stiles’ energy and general restlessness, but in situations like this, he wasn’t all that sure anymore. He self-consciously touched the thick brown frame. Of course he didn’t actually need them, but Erica and Isaac had both insisted, saying that it would add to his “professor vibes”, whatever that meant.

Now he doubted that listening to them had been a good idea, but then Stiles quickly shook his head.

“No, no, you look good! I mean, they look good! I mean, I didn’t know you wore glasses! They suit you! Not that you don’t look great anyway, but uhm, yeah, shutting up now.”

Amused, and trying not to show how much that compliment meant to him, Derek allowed himself to smile at Stiles, causing another slight skip in his heartbeat. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you something”, he continued then, and the lemon-sharp scent of nervousness was back, causing Derek’s frown to return aswell. “So, I’m going to this conference next weekend, right? And I just learned that this guy I was in highschool with will be there too. And he’s a real asshole, he really is!”

Stiles was gesturing wildly again, and Derek suppressed a smile, wondering where this was going.

“But he’s a big fan of yours”, Stiles continued. “And I thought it would be super cool if I showed up with you, you know, to show him that I have awesome friends, and he will be so jealous, and uhm, yeah, the hotel is already paid for, and you can have a nice weekend?”, he finished a little uncertainly, as if Derek hadn’t already been convinced at spending the weekend with Stiles.

“Okay”, he replied.

“There’ll be free food too and… wait, what?” Stiles stared at him, and Derek smiled just a little at his obvious surprise.

“I don’t have any plans that weekend, and philosophy might not really be my subject, but it’s still interesting, so yeah, why not”, he confirmed.

“Oh my god, thank you!” Stiles rushed forward, then stopped short just next to Derek, his arm now awkwardly hovering over his back, the smell of nervousness quickly filling the room again.

“It’s okay, you can hug me if you want.” Derek looked up at Stiles, trying not to show how much he liked the idea.

Stiles hesitated for a second longer, then he threw his arms around Derek’s neck, his face pressing into the crook of his neck and his rabbit-quick heartbeat clearly palpable against his shoulder.

Derek put his arm around Stiles’ waist, returning the hug, the angle just a little awkward, but being so close to Stiles definitely made up for it. He revelled in his warmth and his scent, spices and happiness and just a hint of arousal, that Derek valiantly chose to ignore, not entirely sure if that wasn’t his own, or maybe just wishful thinking altogether.

After a moment, Stiles pulled back, smiling brightly. “Thank you Derek, really! I owe you one.”

Derek shrugged. “It’s fine. That’s what friends do, right?”

When Stiles nodded, he desperately tried to ignore the little voice in his head telling him that it definitely wasn’t just friendship that he was after.

They arrived at the conference center on Friday evening, when a reception was being held.

Stiles easily flitted from group to group, greeting friends and chatting with his peers, and Derek was happy to trail along, even if he could see the confused and sometimes downright judgemental looks some people shot him.

After a while they came face to face with a couple that Stiles apparently knew quite well, judging by the enthusiastic way with which he hugged the beautiful redhead. He then nodded at the guy, and slightly turned to Derek.

“This are Lydia and Jackson. And this is Derek.”

Derek held out his hand to greet them, and Lydia took it, which was when he noticed that she smelled of strawberries and chocolate and something else he had never encountered.

Before he could think about it further though, he noticed that Jackson was just staring at him in shock.

“You’re Professor Hale!”, he exclaimed, and Derek suppressed a grin.

A look at Stiles’ smug expression confirmed that this was the “asshole” he had been talking about.

“Why are you here? Oh my god, that sounded rude! I mean, I’m a big fan of your work, just, this isn’t exactly a history conference.”

He was obviously flustered, and Derek was certain that Stiles was enjoying every second of this.

“Stiles invited me”, he explained, and Jackson looked even more shocked.

“But why?”

Derek just raised his eyebrows, deliberately leaning a little closer to Stiles, and Jackson’s mouth fell open.

“Come on, let’s get you a drink”, Lydia chimed in, clearly amused, and began stirring him away towards the bar.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Stiles started laughing.

“Oh my god, Derek, that was awesome!”

Derek shrugged. “You do know that they very likely think we’re dating, right?”

“Even better! Jackson will never get over me landing you of all people!”

He was still grinning, but then something seemed to occur to him, his scent turning citrusy with nerves once again.

“Wait, you don’t mind, do you? I can go tell them you’re straight, that we’re just friends, that…”

He trailed off when Derek placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Stiles, calm down. I don’t mind. It’s okay that they think we’re dating.” Okay being the understatement of the century of course, but that wasn’t a train of thought he should follow right now. “And besides, I’m most definitely not straight.”

“Oh. Oh! That’s good.” Stiles was nodding frantically, his scent turning happy and… hopeful? “Me neither.”

Derek snorted, trying to make light of it and ignoring the way his heart fluttered at the confirmation that he had, theoretically, a chance. “Yeah, I gathered that much.”

“Okay, great! How, though?”

Stiles looked half relieved and half suspicious, which was an interesting combination, and Derek raised his eyebrows.

“Your friends, who you’ve clearly known for a long time, weren’t at all surprised that you’re dating a guy? Just that it’s me specifically?”, he offered.

“Ah yeah, sure, makes sense.” Stiles nodded. “Right. Drinks?”

It was late when the reception ended and they finally went to their rooms. Derek wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved that they had been assigned separate rooms, and he was even less sure what Stiles thought about all of this. He has been half happy and half nervous the whole evening, and the drinks he’d had made him even chattier than usual, until they stopped in front of his room. “Right, yeah, good night, I guess?” Stiles was smiling up at him brightly, and Derek couldn't help but smile back.

“Good night, Stiles.”

For a moment, they were just looking at each other, and Derek knew that he should leave already, but then Stiles stepped forward just a little, his gaze flitting to Derek’s lips, and was this it? It was happening, right? Derek wasn’t imagining this?

He leaned in aswell, reaching out to place his hands on Stiles’ hips, but right before he could touch him, Stiles jerked back, his scent turning sour.

“Okay, good night!”, he said quickly, too loud in the quiet corridor, and vanished into his room.

Derek just stood there, staring at the door dumbly, disappointment cursing through him.

Of course he’d read that wrong. Of course Stiles wasn’t interested. Of course that had just been his wishful thinking.

Stiles had probably just swayed because of the alcohol he’d had, and now Derek had made him uncomfortable with his stupid, unnecessary feelings.

Sighing deeply, he finally went to his room, prepared to bury his useless crush as deep as he could, so that he wouldn’t ruin their friendship.

The rest of the conference passed uneventfully. Stiles didn’t bring up the incident, treating him the same way he always did, and Derek was grateful for the out, trying to be content with being friends, and not letting his feelings get in the way of that.

A few weeks later, Derek was leaving his office close to midnight. He hadn’t realised how late it had gotten, too engrossed in a research paper he was reading. He didn’t mind crossing the campus at night though, it wasn’t like there were a lot of things that could be a serious threat to him after all.

He had almost reached the parking lot when he heard noises from the nearby patch of trees. It didn’t sound like a party, more like a fight, and he was instantly on alert.

Moving closer through the shadows of the trees, he found the scene easily, and almost let out a shout at what he saw.

Stiles was pressed against a tree, and what Derek identified as a chimera was advancing on him. He made a mental note to investigate that later, since they were supposed to be extinct in Northern America, but right now, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

His eyes glowing red, he stepped out from behind a tree to place himself in front of Stiles and draw the fight towards him, when suddenly, Stiles started to glow in a brilliant blue, and lightning struck the chimera. The beast let out a shriek and took off, probably deciding that Stiles wasn’t easy prey after all.

Derek would have to track it down later, but right now, he could only stare at Stiles, who whirled around with wide eyes.

The chlorine and sulfur smell of lightning hung in the air, and finally, everything made sense.

There was only one being who had magic like that after all. Not even witches and mages could call upon lightning.

“You’re a fox!”, he declared, and Stiles looked even more shocked.

“Finally, it makes sense. I thought I was going insane”, he continued, and Stiles finally reacted.

“What? How?”

“You don’t smell human, and I just couldn’t figure it out”, Derek explained, like it was obvious.

“I don’t smell human? Derek, what the fuck?” Stiles started to sound a little pissed, and Derek realised something.

“Oh, right, sorry.” Letting his eyes change colour again, and showing his canines with a wide grin, he stated, “I’m a werewolf. So my sense of smell is a little more developed, and like I said, you don’t smell completely human, but I had never met a fox before, so I couldn’t figure it out, and Erica certainly wasn’t any help.” “Okay, okay, wait!” Stiles shook his head, pacing in front of him, and Derek hoped that that wasn’t a bad sign.

“You’re a werewolf?”

Derek nodded.

“And Erica is too?”

He nodded again.

“And you can smell me?” His voice went a little higher at that, and Derek got a little nervous.

“Well, yes, but it’s not like…”

But Stiles interrupted him. “That night at the conference, did you want to kiss me?”

“What?” How did they get to discussing that?

Stiles stopped in front of him, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed. “Did you?”

Derek sighed. Might aswell get that over with. “Yes.”

“Oh. And do you still want to?” Stiles stepped a little closer, his shoulders losing some of the tension he was holding, and the lingering scent of lightning could quite mask the cotton candy sweet smell of hope.

“Yes”, he admitted. “But I know you don’t want that, so I don’t see the point in talking about it.”

“No, wait!” Stiles rushed forward and took Derek’s hands, his heartbeat even more frantic than usual. “I do want that.”

Derek frowned. “But at the conference…”

“I know.” Stiles looked at their hands for a moment, then back up. “I thought you were human, and even though I like you. A lot, even. Like, really”, he emphasised, squeezing his hands, and Derek had to grin. “Dating a human is always so complicated.”

Derek nodded, and Stiles smiled. “But now…” He leaned in a little. “Can I have another chance?”

For a second, Derek pretended to think about it, then he smiled and captured Stiles’ lips in a soft kiss.

With a small gasp that Derek shamelessly used to deepen the kiss, Stiles wound his hands through his hair, and Derek pulled him even closer by the hips, and the resulting scent of lightning, spices and happiness mingling made for the most perfect combination Derek had ever experienced.

#theproblemwithstardust #stereksanta20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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antihero-writings · 3 years

Text

The Boy with the Unspeakable Name (Ch9)

Fandom: Harry Potter (and the Chamber or Secrets)

Fic Summary: Tom Riddle may have won his battle with Harry in the Chamber of Secrets, but there were a few unforeseen consequences; loss of Tom’s memory being the most obnoxious of them. Is it possible to stop Tom’s past from becoming his future? Or is the young Tom Riddle doomed to repeat his mistakes?

Notes: Hey! So sorry for the delay, once again!!

I've learned I really can't make any promises based on how fast I'll get these out XD But I have actually already started on the next chapter--in fact it's one I've been excited about for a long time, so I started on it a while ago--so that's a good sign at least, haha.

I'm very VERY excited to share this one with you!! I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do!!

I hope you guys like it!! As always, it's your comments, and interest, that keep me writing!! <3

@toms-wife Okay if I tag you??

If anyone else wants to be tagged on future chapters don’t hesitate to let me know!!

Chapter 9: On the Topic of Souls, and Other Such Oddities

Snape marched towards the Headmaster’s office, his cloak swishing about his heels. It was the next morning after everything had happed, and he couldn’t say the little sleep he got left him feeling refreshed. Numerous meetings, and even more numerous questions have a way of making one altogether restless.

And, in the end…an innocent girl was dead. It isn’t easy to sleep after such news, even barring the politics of it all.

When he entered he got the feeling that Dumbledore had just been speaking with the portraits, as words trailed off, and Dumbledore, standing in the middle of the room, turned to him like he had been about to make a very good point. The portraits too looked down at him in—if he wasn’t mistaken—an annoyed way.

“Ah, Severus. Welcome. We were merely discussing if lemon drops or chocolate frogs are better. Theodore moved that chocolate frogs are more pleasingly sweet, but I think the best sweets have a bit of tang to them. Would you like to weigh in?”

Snape raised an eyebrow. The glare the portrait gave showed there was more than a small chance the matter they were discussing was something weightier than that.

When Snape didn’t comment, Dumbledore moved on;

“Please, take a seat.” He gestured to the chair in front of the desk. Snape reluctantly swept around and sat in it.

Dumbledore walked over to a side table with a strange contraption on it, which quickly revealed itself to be a sort of odd teapot, as he proceeded to pour the steaming liquid within it into a teacup. He retained his calm, pleasant demeanor, but Snape could tell the previous day weighed on him too: there was a slight shake to his motions, and his eyes held a heaviness that his smile couldn’t mask.

“Sir…would it not be better to do this another time?”

Dumbledore gave a knowing smile. “You’re not suggesting that I am getting old, are you?”

“No, merely that such news takes a toll on all of us.”

“Many things take a toll, Severus.” He gestured to the tea to ask if he wanted a cup, Snape gave a small nod. “It is if we decide to let that toll keep us from crossing the bridge that matters.”

The headmaster brought the two cups over and he took his place on the opposite side of the desk.

Snape paused before speaking. “I assume you have brought me here to discuss the sentence of the boy with the unspeakable name.” He took a sip of tea.

“You know what they say about assuming, Severus.” He lowered his glasses. “But in this case you are correct. And it’s not so unspeakable, in fact, I encourage you to call him by it.”

Snape resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Before I endeavor to divulge my carefully-laid plans,” Dumbledore spoke, putting a handful of sugar into his tea. “I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter: what do you think we ought to do with the young Tom Riddle?”

“Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“It’s the only kind of speaking I endorse.”

“I think we should dispose of him as soon as possible. He’s too dangerous, too clever. It’s inevitable that he’ll get his memory back even if we attempt to do everything in our power to shield him from it—perhaps before we so much as try.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” One of the portraits burst out and a few others nodded in agreement.

“Keeping him alive is like keeping a ticking time bomb as a pet,” Snape continued, “thinking a little love is enough to keep it from exploding. He’s nothing more than a liability.”

Snape’s dark eyes flicked to Dumbledore, who had been listening pleasantly, with his hands folded on the desk.

“But…”—Snape drew the kind of long breath one takes when they know they’ve lost the fight before it starts, and exhaled—“something tells me you disagree.”

Dumbledore smiled. “It seems you know me too well.”

“Sir…need I remind you of your meeting with him as a child? You once told me you wished you’d been more careful, more cautious, more discerning when dealing with him in the past.”

“Thank you, but my memory has not proven faulty just yet.”

“If that’s true then I also don’t need to remind you of the things I’ve seen him do first hand. Actions that do not make me partial to the idea of keeping him alive.”

“Quite the contrary, it is for that exact reason that I am trusting with this situation.” He paused, looking at him over his half moon spectacles and saying meaningfully. “You and no one else.”

“‘Trusting me with this situation’?” He drummed his fingers on the armrest.

“Is that not what you would call telling you all this?”

Snape said nothing, taking another sip of tea. That was true too, he was sure, though this was one of those moments in which he could tell Dumbledore meant something more than just that.

Dumbledore stood, walking over to the window as if he had all the time in the world, and he wanted to enjoy some sunlight.

“That boy is not Voldemort,” he murmured, taking a sip of tea.

Snape raised an eyebrow. “Respectfully, Sir, I beg to disagree.”

“That boy is merely a young Tom Riddle: a teenager who looks like who Voldemort once was when he was young, and who has some of the personality of Tom riddle, and who, if given the right parameters, could become Voldemort. But he is not Voldemort now.”

“All he needs to become the Dark Lord again is to get his memory back, something which I do not think will prove altogether difficult.”

“Perhaps. But there is something else. After giving it careful consideration I find that my theory is sound.”

“What theory would this be?”

He paused, gathering his words. “It is my understanding that a door, once opened, can be walked through in either direction.”

Snape remained silent, waiting for him to tie the statement to their situation.

“What if I told you that our dear Ginny Weasley may not be dead?”

“I would say that is something we’d all like to hear, but that it would be wiser not to put your faith into fairy tales.”

“As I expected.” He turned, smiling. “However,” he began taking careful steps towards Snape, looking at his feet, “it is my personal inclination that the method by which he returned to the land of the living had a fatal flaw.”

“Which is?”

He looked up at him and stopped, saying meaningfully, “It required a young girl’s life.

“You see,” Dumbledore continued, “he will have assumed, of course, that her soul was destroyed in the process of bringing him back to life—her life merely energy to use up. But what if, as it were, he assumed wrongly? In my experience, human souls are far more resilient than that. What if, much like she poured herself into the diary, her soul was simply”—He took an extra teacup off the table—“poured into a new vessel:”—he poured the tea from his cup into the empty one—“The form of Tom Riddle himself.”

Pondering this for a moment, Snape looked away. As he did, Dumbledore returned to his seat once more.

Snape wanted to dismiss the theory right away, and intended to. However, the more Dumbledore explained it, and the more he thought about it…it wasn’t baseless. However—

“You are assuming a rather large amount with little to go on. We can’t base our decisions on a theory, especially one so far-fetched as the idea that the simple method of revival was enough for the soul of a young girl to persist.”

Far-fetched, perhaps…but then he thought of what he saw when he read the boy’s mind yesterday. The wall in his head. How there seemed to be something trapped behind it. Something alive.

“No, but we can let theories inform our decisions. If there is that chance, do you not think it worth exploring?”

“Are you proposing we let the young Dark Lord live on the very small chance we can salvage her soul from the brink? Or else that her presence within his soul will cause him to …what? Grow a heart? Forgive me but that sounds like a hopeless endeavor. Lamentable as the situation may be, we can’t sacrifice all of wizardkind for the soul of one little girl.”

Dumbledore sighed, and there was a heaviness to it. “No. I am afraid that it is unlikely the poor Ginny would be able to return to her original state. I am unsure if her soul is even fully intact. Or, further still, she may not be entirely aware of her current predicament herself either. When speaking of souls, it’s difficult to discern where consciousness resides. It would be unwise, however, to dismiss any of these options entirely either. Rather I am proposing that the presence of her soul is a variable with unprecedented possible outcomes.”

“This is the Dark Lord we’re talking about. I don’t think one little girl’s presence—be it within his soul itself—is going to make much difference.”

Dumbledore smiled. “You of all people should know it is unwise underestimate the influence of one little girl.”

Snape’s eyes widened, unable to keep himself from reacting to that. He turned his head away.

“The Dark Lord is incapable of love, of human emotion,” Snape muttered softly.

“Perhaps. However, personally I like to refrain from making such bold statements about even the cruelest of men. But, even so, it is for precise reasons such as those why I believe the simple presence of someone who is capable of love, of human emotion, within his soul, could make all the difference. As long as there is more holy water than plain, the whole vat becomes holy.”

Snape sighed, looking away. “It is a gargantuan risk for something that is nothing more than an educated hypothesis. What if you’re wrong?”

“Then I will face the consequences.”

“Then we all will face the consequences. Those consequences could easily be the destruction of all of either wizard or muggle-kind—or both. What would you do then?”

Dumbledore sighed. “You seem to be rather caught up in that.”

“I’m more surprised to find that you’re not. Unless there is some way to guarantee he won’t repeat his past sins, then I cannot entertain the thought of keeping him alive.”

“I think we may be able to work something out.”

Snape’s eyes narrowed. “This isn’t some misguided journey to erase your past sins, is it?”

“No.” Dumbledore smiled pleasantly. “It’s a misguided journey to try to erase his.”

“Think for a moment! If you are wrong, is there any reason you have to keep the Dark Lord alive, if not for the thought that perhaps Ginny Weasley yet lives within his soul? Any at all?”

“Oh yes, several in fact.”

Another eyebrow raise.

Dumbledore leaned forward on his desk. “I think you are underestimating the gravity of the opportunity we have been given. An opportunity which I do not believe will present itself again. We have been handed a young Tom Riddle—without memory, no less. Tom Riddle, who has yet to commit the crimes of his previous self.”

“Tom Riddle, who already exhibited little to no regard for others’ well-being! He felt no compassion upon seeing a corpse!” Anger reached his voice, he was very close to slamming his fist on the table.

“Yet he has hurt no one.”

“He’s only been around for a day.”

“A day which Voldemort could have easily spent hurting and killing as many people as he wished.”

Snape looked away. “One amnesic day does not determine the capacity of a life.”

“No, you are correct about that. But…try to imagine for a moment. Do you understand what kind of asset it would be if we were able to get a young Tom Riddle to come over to our side? If we could save him from becoming who he once was…it could save us all.”

“You’ve made this mistake before.”

“I’ve made this decision before. My mistake was in the fact that I did not realize just how much evil such a young boy was capable of. I know now what that boy could become—and already has once—and that it will take much more than a watchful eye to save him from the darkness lurking in his own heart.”

“Do you realize just how easy it would be for him to fall back into that darkness?”

“Which is why I want to keep him alive. To try to prevent him from making the mistakes of his past self. The key difference here, is that there is a chance he has light in him now, in the form of Ginny. If that’s true, we need only water that seed.”

“You don’t know that there’s light in him!” Snape stood abruptly sweeping around resting his hands the back of his chair.” At best that’s an informed hunch! Are you really willing to base such an important decision on that?! The only way to guarantee he won’t make the mistakes of his past self is to prevent him from making any decisions at all!

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Snape blinked. “Is that all this is to you? A bit of fun?” He spat.

“Of course not.” His smile dropped at last, along with his eyes to the desk. “A young girl’s life has been lost. I’d prefer not to lose another.”

“Even if that other life is the life of the Dark Lord?”

“It is not the life of the Dark Lord.” He traced his finger along the rim of his teacup. “It is the life of the young Tom Riddle, who is entirely unaware of the crimes of his previous self—or anything much at all. He has shown no immediate inclinations to harm others, even if he is a bit insensitive. Forgive me, but I do not think it right to simply dispose of him.

“There is another thought that gives me unease as well.” Dumbledore seemed unsure he wanted to say it aloud. He folded his hands and looked at down. “If it turns out that my theory is correct, and Ginny isn’t dead after all…if we decide to dispose of him now, we, and not he, will be the ones who killed her.” The words were altogether too soft.

Snape ran his hand through his hair. “So what do you propose we do with him? Keeping the young Dark Lord alive, and a secret, will be much more difficult than simply killing him.”

“Oh I’m not denying that. If all goes according to plan, there are a number of portraits and other such lingering spirits we will have to inform of the situation.” He eyed the portraits, which folded their arms, harrumphed and looked away.

“And you’re actually proposing that we teach him magic? To the point where, when he does remember who he is, he’ll have the means at his disposal to destroy us all?”

“If we don’t teach him magic, if and when he regains his memory, do you not think he would seek out those means on his own anyways? At least this way we’re teaching him in a controlled environment, where we know where he is, and how much he knows at any given time—not to mention we can decide how much caution to exercise in the smaller details of the situation.”

“Even so…we can’t place a sixteen-year old who knows nothing of magic in first year classes.”

“Nor am I proposing that we do so. I intend to have someone teach—or remind, rather; I think he will be quick to pick it back up—of the basics over the summer. It may not be an easy task to get permission from the ministry to allow a boy under seventeen to do magic over the summer, but I think I may be able to come up with something. Either that, or we may be able to hope they assume the one doing the magic is the wizard who already lives in the house.”

“You’ve told me he has a penchant for flattery that caused many teachers to let their guard down around him. I don’t think I have to tell you why I don’t think it wise to have just any wizard teach the young Dark Lord.”

“I fear you underestimate me, Severus. You really think I would choose just any wizard teach to him? In fact—if you’ll permit my saying—he’ll have a teacher who is rather stern, and won’t find himself so easily swayed by flattery.”

“And who is the lucky contestant?”

Dumbledore gave him a look strangely similar to the smirk of a mischievous schoolboy, running his fingers along his wand.

“I did tell you I was trusting you with the situation, did I not?”

Snape’s eyes widened. He took a step back as if he’d been physically hit.

“No.”

“You asked me if I was proposing that we teach him magic,” Dumbledore elaborated, “and, for the summer at least…Actually I’m proposing that you teach him magic.”

Snape rarely found himself struck dumb but in that moment he was at a loss for both words and actions. For a moment he wasn’t entirely convinced he hadn’t been placed under a powerful confundus charm.

“During the school year, of course, he’ll learn here.” Dumbledore continued. “That is, if aforementioned summer goes smoothly.”

Snape blinked, shook his head, as if trying to remove a wrackspurt. The only thing he could ask was:

“Why me?”

Dumbledore frowned. “I thought I’d made that rather obvious. Because—as you so well proved over the past few moments—no matter how kind, how flattering, how clever, he appears, you will always keep in mind who and what he is. And, if he shows any signs of becoming his past self—or future self, as it were—you will not hesitate to do what is necessary.”

“Is there a reason you can’t do this, Sir?”

“Oh, I’m an old sap, Severus. For all we know I might grow attached to the boy.”

“And you want me to…what?” He spat. “Invite him cordially to stay in my home,” He held out a hand and bowed, “feed him, coddle him, tell him what a good little boy he is,”—he clapped his hands—“all the while teaching him all sorts of dangerous spells?!”

“No. I will inform him of the situation. Then after that I am suggesting you take him to your house—you don’t have to be too terribly cheerful about it, merely as amicable as you are able—feed him, provide him a place to stay over the summer. I’m not suggesting you coddle him—though kindness is a virtue—rather give him both praise and criticism, and each in moderation. That you teach him the basics of magic, and the spells you think would be useful, but not terribly dangerous. I trust your judgment there wholeheartedly.”

Snape stared at a speck of dirt on the ground as if that could tether him to this moment, breath weighing heavy on his chest, his mind splintering into fractals of thoughts. How could Dumbledore possibly expect this of him?

“I feel like I’m forgetting something…” Dumbledore stroked his beard in thought. “Oh!” He held up a finger. “Yes. Harry will be staying with you as well.”

Snape jerked his head to look at him, and this time couldn’t hold back:

“WHAT?!”

“I’ll admit, it’s a bit—the poor boy has been through a lot, he won’t be fond of the idea—but I think it’s important that he and the young Tom Riddle become…Well let’s put it this way, I don’t think Harry giving him hateful glares in the hallways at school will help the situation. Currently both he and you seem to have more than enough of those to spare.”

“Oh yes, and forcing us all to live together will certainly solve that problem!”

“While it’s true that living with someone can indeed increase one’s distaste…I do find that living with someone forces you to build a bond of some sort with them, and sympathize with them, in ways you would never have otherwise.”

“You’re asking the three people in this school who have the greatest distaste for each other to spend three months in a confined space!” He spat. “Not only do I think the boy would likely kill one of us before the summer is over, I’d be surprised if we don’t all end up killing each other halfway through June!”

“Or…perhaps the three of you will come to a new understanding about each other.” Dumbledore was as calm as ever. Snape wanted to wipe that smug look of his face.

“I don’t see than happening any time soon.”

“You might be surprised.”

Snape leaned against a pillar, running his hand over his face. He knew from the beginning that he wasn’t going to win this argument, but this was more than a loss, it felt like a slap in the face.

“Don’t you understand?” Dumbledore resumed his previous argument. “Tom Riddle never had a single friend—even at this age his ‘friends’ were all merely supporters and worshippers. If he and the boy destined to destroy him—who will most certainly neither blindly worship nor support him—were to become something even remotely close to friends it could make all the difference. And I think Harry is the only one who can truly change him.”

“The Dark Lord doesn’t make friends. Even without memory I don’t believe he’ll have any inclinations to form attachments—especially not to someone like Potter. He himself said he feels hatred at the sound of Potter’s name.”

“Need I remind you once more this is not the Dark Lord we’re speaking of? Memoryless, and with the presence of Ginny inside him—who already has an affinity for Harry—I think there is at least some chance his opinions on Harry, as well as concepts such as friendship itself may change. He did mention that he hates the sound of Harry’s name, as well as mine, yes. However, when I asked him if it made him sad that he had no friends, for a brief second he said yes.”

“He corrected himself immediately afterwards.”

“In all my years teaching the boy, I never saw a single moment’s hesitation, especially on a question like that.”

Snape let out a breath.

“Doesn’t Potter need to stay with his aunt and uncle?” Snape rubbed his temple, feeling defeated, voice breathy, “His mother’s protection—”

“Oh he will stay with his aunt and uncle at first, still. However, I was discussing it with the portraits, and considering the strange situation, I find the rules may be a little different, don’t you?”

“Oh yes, have him live with the Dark Lord! That will keep him very safe!” Snape sighed, slumping in his chair once again, holding his head in his hand.

“It is not one of my safest ideas, I’ll admit. But you’ll be there, of course. And you haven’t given me reason to doubt that you’re up to the task of protecting him, should the need arise.”

“You expect too much of me. There is only so much I can do.”

“It is true you can only be so many places at once. But if I did not think you were capable of accomplishing such a task, I would not ask in the first place.”

“This is lunacy,” he breathed into his hand.

“I hope I haven’t fallen prey to madness just yet. But I will not rule out the possibility.”

Dumbledore paused, standing back up and walking around the desk. “I understand if you need more time to mull it over. I often find after jarring news a walk and a good bottle of mead do wonders.”

“I only have one guest room, Sir,” Snape muttered.

“Harry can sleep on the couch.” Dumbledore said pleasantly. “He’s very small, I’m sure you’ll barely notice him.”

Snape glared at him through his fingers. “…I think I’ll notice him.”

“You haven’t answered my most pressing concern. What’s to say the boy won’t get up and kill us both in our sleep?”

“…That doesn’t sound much like Harry at all.”

“The other one.”

“We will need to discuss what protections we should put in place, certainly. But you and I are both very smart, very skilled wizards. It would be disappointing if, putting our heads together, we are unable to come up with something.”

There was a long moment of silence. Snape put his hand in his hair, thinking of all the things that could go wrong, and had gone wrong before…or at least just how much annoyance such a living situation would provide, even if there was no real danger. No matter how much chaos may occur over the school years, his summers at least had always been quiet.

His next words were soft, but thick with emotion. “I don’t think it wise for him to live with me, Sir. I don’t think I could ever feel any kindness towards the man who killed her.”

“But,” Dumbledore’s voice was as gentle as a moth’s wing beat, no annoyance or exasperation in his tone at the fact that he had to keep repeating himself, “he is not the man that killed her. Not yet. And you have the unique chance of saving him from becoming that man.”

“Not a chance that could save her.”

“No, you’re right, that chance has long since passed. But you can save hundreds of other men and women just as kind as her.”

“No one is as kind as her.”

Dumbledore knelt down beside him, putting his hand on his arm, a certain twinkle in his eyes. “If you give it a chance…I think you may just find that Harry is.”

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btsinwonderland · 3 years

Text

Fire & Ashes - Ch 2

A Cable Story!

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

[Length - 4-5 chapters - on going]

[General advisories - violence, swearing, sexual content. Rated - Explicit]

[Chapter advisories - violence, fighting, and blood]

My notes at the end of the chapter.

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

We arrived in the outskirts of Anaheim, where the dirt of the city met the barren dust of the desert. The morning sun was high in the sky and the temperature was beyond boiling. The air tasted of metal from the various manufacturing facilities around us and the thick stench of burning coal.

Colossus and Negasonic brought the cars over to the small warehouse where we hid the jet and ushered us to meet them for a review.

“Do we understand plan? We must keep the adamantium safe, away from the bad men. Easy squeeze,” said Colossus in his heavy Russian accent.

“Holy God Colossus, how many times do I have to tell you, it’s easy peasy lemon squeezy, we’re never going to get ready for Hairspray at this rate,” said Wade. He sat atop the hood of one of the jeeps with his legs swinging off the side humming ‘Good Morning Baltimore’.

“Do we know how many of them will come?” I asked. I heard a clank of metal and turned to see Cable enter the open area, his dark cape was rippling behind him as he walked. His eyes met everyone’s but mine.

Colossus replied, “Professor only say where, not how many. We will defend as much as we can, and if it goes bad, then we assume code red.”

“What’s a code red?” I said.

“It’s what happens when the strap on is too big, or is that a code brown? I always mix them up.” Wade looked up, the brows of his mask knitted in thought.

“Code red is this,” said Colossus as he put down a disc shaped object on the table in front of him. It was just larger than a frisbee. “This is bomb that is made with mutant acid and shrapnel, it will cause many damages and corrode the adamantium. We do not want to use this.” He put the disk into a bag where there were about a dozen more of the acid bombs and clasped it shut. “Now, we will divide into three teams, one for above, and two for the ground. Negasonic, Yukio, and I will be on the ground, Wade and Domino you take the roof, Cable and Nina you take the other side of the building on the ground.”

[ Interesting team up...almost too convenient wouldn’t ya say?

Nah I’m just kidding, hope you guys fuck! Cheers!

-DP ]

I heard Cable give a grunting sigh as he dismantled a part of his gun and reassembled it. The clang of the metal once it magnetically locked on his back echoed through the warehouse.

We took the jeeps to the metalworks factory and parked them beside a vestigial building, what once might have been a shed or garage. The factory looked old and decrepit, pillars of white and grey smoke rose from the cooling towers and the air was thick with burning metal.

Cable and I walked to the east side of the factory, we had several large concrete blocks for cover as we made our approach.

“Don’t do anything stupid, remember I can’t take care of you and fight,” Cable said under his breath. It came out raspy and disapproving.

“I don’t need you to take care of me,” I said.

He turned to look at me for a moment and his gaze bore into me, the intensity was astounding and I was unprepared.

We heard the ground shake suddenly as a giant explosion went off on the south side of the building. Chunks of concrete fell from the sky and before I could create a wooden shield, Cable grabbed me by the waist and pulled me close to him as he enabled his forcefield above us. I felt his breath on the back of my neck, not quite panting not quite even, and his thick arm around me. Before I could turn my head he rose up and ran toward the explosion. I followed closely behind him.

There were four of them, they had black suits on with silver neck braces. Colossus was fighting a large one that produced spires from his body while Negasonic and Yukio were fighting two with elemental powers, fire and air. They generated a flaming tornado together. The fourth one saw Cable and I approaching, he raised his hands in a gun shape and clicked, the air around us exploded as Cable shielded me once again as I fell against him. His hard body blocking my impact with the ground. He glared at me and pushed me aside, running towards the explosive man.

I heard loud noises coming from the roof but had no time to check what was going on up there when Cable was knocked over by another surprise explosion. I summoned my power and shot several sharp branches at the man, he dodged them all save for one that knicked him across the face. He looked at me with scornful hatred in his eyes and snapped his fingers, I was prepared this time and generated a wooden shield just as his explosion shattered it around me. Cable yelled out my name and shot at the man as I was knocked over from the force.

The man fell over, dead I presumed. I then saw a number of bodies falling from the roof, some heads and limbs came through separately and I assumed that Wade and Domino were doing alright.

It was then a van screeched to a stop in front of us and a group of armed men emerged, pointing their guns and shooting. Cable fired one of his special guns which he dialed up and shot at the van. It exploded and pieces of metal and tire shot out in all directions. I put up my shields and blocked a serrated edge of the van from impaling Cable. He looked at me briefly with his eyebrows partially raised.

We then took to those left. They wore no masks and I actually recognized a few of them as the guys that herded me and the girls into our cages. My blood boiled at the sight of them so I summoned all my powers and threw wooden stakes which emerged from my arms at great speed. I screamed as I ran for the blonde blue haired man. He had a coldness to his eyes that I remembered. He was the one that was overly touchy. The one that liked to beat his so-called favourite girls.

He saw me coming with no recognition, I was just another mutant. Just another mutant who drove a ten inch long stake up his jaw. The bloodied tip popped out from his head and his eyes sagged.

I panted as the noise around me settled. There was an unrest within me that wanted to keep stabbing. To mangle his body and tear him to shreds for all the girls I would no longer be able to talk to, for our pain and for our suffering.

A hand gripped my shoulder and I screamed, pouncing onto the body and growling like a feral animal. I had Cable pinned between my legs and a pointed wooden stake at his jaw. He looked at me with an intensity I had grown to be familiar with, but which never ceased to unsettle me.

“You gonna kill me?” He said, his voice husky.

I put a hand on his chest and lingered for just a second longer than I should have. Then I jumped up and muttered an apology. “Don’t sneak up on me in a fight.”

“Duly noted.”

NTW and Yukio took care of the elemental mutants who were now laying either dead or unconscious on the ground. There was blood splatter here and there which was mostly due to the two on the roof, a head landed just beside Cable and blood sprayed on his pants. He looked up at the roof and said in a low voice, “I’m gonna kill that oversized dildo.”

The one that shot spires ran to an abandoned Jeep and threw out his dead colleague. He put the car into drive and escaped. Colossus ran after him but stopped once the car was too far away.

“That man will come back. We must take the adamantium and leave now,” Colossus said, he had a finger to his earpiece. Then he grimaced and said, “no Wade we are not going to Disneyland. They do not have condoms in the bathrooms. No. Wade!”

There was a shot fired, which pinged off of Colossus and made Cable grunt. He got down on a knee, and managed to whip out his gun and shoot the one attacker who had gained consciousness. The man slumped over. I ran to Cable and asked him if he was okay. He kept trying to shrug me off but clearly needed help standing.

“Will you stop being such a dick and let me help you!”

Cable stopped moving and allowed me to help him up. He tried his best to keep his weight off of me but I guided him back to our vehicles. Colossus went into the building to retrieve the adamantium while NTW and Yukio got in the drivers side of the van. I opened the back doors and helped Cable into the van, he tried not to make a sound but I heard the tiniest grunt escape his lips as he put pressure on the leg he was shot in. The wound must have been in his thigh. I sat down beside him and looked for a towel, anything.

There was a small first aid kit beside Cable, who had his eyes closed and head tilted back. I leaned over him to grab the kit, my breasts brushed against his stomach and I thought I heard him groan.

“What are you doing?” He said. When I sat back I saw that his eyes were on me with a strained expression.

I flashed the first aid kit and took out some towels to stop the bleeding.

“The bullet’s still in there,” he said.

“We’re gonna have to take care of that back at the house,” I told him as I gently compressed the wound.

“Not we, I’ll take care of it,” he said, glaring at me.

“No way, you can barely reach it, it’s the back of your thigh. Unless you enjoy scratching around for a bullet wound while staring at a mirror, you’re gonna let me do this.”

The back of the van depressed a little and the rest of the crew came in.

“I’d listen to her Cable, it’s only fair she finger you first,” Wade sat across from us in the back with Domino who winked at me.

Cable grimaced at Wade while I concealed a small laugh.

Colossus brought a heavy metal crate and got into the back. “This is not over, they will want this.”

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

My personal note:

First of all. Yes. This is an update after three fucking years. I AM SO SORRY. Life got in the way and much more complicated.

I made this Tumblr so long ago. I love fan fictions and not finishing this one haunted me all these years. I left so many people unsatisfied and who knows if they'll all see this again. But I'm trying to make up for my sins by completing this fanfic. I'll be posting chapter updates this week and don't worry the next chapter is already written, I'm just going to post it tomorrow.

To anyone who came back from that first chapter I wrote three fucking years ago. Wow. You are amazing. And I ask you for forgiveness. I hope that I this will make up for ghosting.

Love ya xoxo.

#cable #nathan summers #cable x reader #deadpool #josh brolin #cable fanfic #cable fan fiction #deadpool fanfic #deadpool fanfiction #deadpool cable #josh brolin cable #x men fan fiction #x force #i'm trash...like for real #very late update #nathan summers x reader #nathan summers cable

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hanawrites404 · 3 years

Text

Wynne’s Birthday Diary - Erik Naveen

"The sunset seems....... pleasant today huh" brushing the strands of hair from my face and tucking it behind my ear, I gaze at the vermilion golden meltdown of the star ahead of me, as I held the hem of the dress I was wearing for today in my hand.

"It sure does, Wynne" the blonde beside me, her hair reflecting the hues of the scenery in front of us, and her eyes repainted with the warm colours. We both were at our leisures in the ash docks, waiting for exactly two people to arrive as specified by me to both of them. Nadia had left me early for today, and Asra freed his apprentice the same, and that's how we both were quick on reaching the meeting spot, near the smoky sea and the Vesuvian horizon.

The sunset felt pretty warm and balmy today. Hah. I totally wondered why.

"Hello ladies. Sorry it took me some time to arrive" me and Salette (@utopia-t) turned to the male's voice, and were not surprised to find the curly brunet, rubbing his reddened knuckles and walking towards us with his brown boots clicking by each step of his long legs.

"Good you came on time, William" I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again, as he gave an acknowledging nod.

"Right I did" he replied, scratching his head and looking away for a bit, and then locked his eyes again with me. "So when is Erik coming?"

"He told me that would come after he is done with his deliveries" Salette this time replied and I nodded in agreement.

"I see.....Then let's wait for him in the meantime" William (@hokorri) then walks past us and sits on one of the huge rocks, resting his back carefully against them as he peered at the luminescent sight. His skin and his eyes turning the same golden as the sleeping sun.

"Sure" I then grab William's hand and pulled myself up to sit beside him, and brought Salette with me to join.

"So what's with your attire?" William asked me.

"Huh??" I turned to him. This question of his kind of caught me off guard. William faced me, his face as stoic as always, but his eyes said something else. He had.........deride??

"You heard me, Toprak" he blatantly replied, and I felt my cheeks warming up. Not by the sun, but by my own blood and my nervous emotions of blush.

"Oh yes! This reminds me too. You are dressed up exceptionally well today. This Prussian blue dress, and these blue hibiscuses on your hair. I wonder what's the reason, because you usually don't wear anything other than your normal clothes" Salette was the next to ask.

I looked at both of them simultaneously, and felt shamefully silent, not because I didn't know the answer, but because I was too timid to speak it out loud. Even if it was infront of my two best friends.

I looked away, clearing my throat and really racking my brain to think of a dodge to this flustering question.

But then, according to the universal laws and truths that binds the realms together,

Mr. William Hillenberg is a bitch.

"Perhaps it's for...... impressing a certain someone??" His lips curved up into a smirk as he inched close to my face. My eyes widened, and I desperately scooted away from him, bumping to Salette. But instead of defending me, she grabbed my shoulders, and formed somewhat of a grin herself.

"Or is it for getting their attention?" The blonde added on. Shit. Fuck. She was clearly on the surgeon's side. This got me even more nervous.

"Hmmm....maybe I know who it is" She chuckled and pinched my pink cheek from behind.

"And so do I" William stroked my other reddened cheek. Both of them still had their teasing grin on each of their faces, as they fondled with me. Gods they both were killing me slowly from embarrassment.

"J-Jeez.....stop it! It's nothing like that" I protested.

"Are you sure Pipsqueak? You sure it isn't someone who is hypermetrophic?" William pressed more, closing up to me. It was very intimidating that how his eyes narrowed like that of a predatory cat.

"And also that he loves blue and hibiscuses of the same colour??" Salette squeezed my shoulders and chuckled near my ear, which sent shivers down my spine.

It really looked impossible to escape from them now. By how they knew why I was dressed up, and by how they knew for whom it was. It was fucking frightening and horrifying. That it got me this twisted and bamboozled. I really didn't seem to have any other choice other than to admit. Or maybe protest further, but that would lead to even worse bullying.

Fuck I was definitely cornered. Is there any way, ANY OTHER GODDAMN WAY, to escape this tight situation?? Because I was really living my own death right now. The murder of my own self because my response system was not working at all due to overdose of diffidence. All because of my best friends' curiousity about my love life. Just fucking amazing.

But oh lord thank you to the lovely sea lemons and the baby turtles that my prayers were answered, as a certain blue-haired angel ran to us hurriedly.

"Sal!! William!!" We heard the familiar voice from behind as we turned around at the same time, only to find the blue-headed soft tanned man for whom we all had been waiting for, stumbling his way down the pale sands as soon as he can, his hand waving to us.

"Erik!!" William instantly jumped off from the rocks and approached him, dismissing the recent mockery for now, and Salette too gracefully slides down the boulders to join William as she hugged Erik (@sylph-dreams) and wished him for his special day, while I just gazed at the two of them and the birthday boy with a smile on my face from above. The sea breeze playing with my hair and my dress.

"Many many happy returns of the day, Erik" William embraced him next and kissed his head, and I could hear Erik giggling from his touch as he kissed him back many times on his face.

"Hey hey stop" I heard William laugh, this slipped a chuckle from my throat. Erik then giggles and stops, pulling away from him. And that's when it happened.

He saw me.

When his eyes fell on me, he froze. He did not look away or even move himself. He just kept staring at me, with awe and wonder. His mouth was also in a small gape, as if he had just witnessed a silver blue dolphin making its gigantic leap across the waters, diving ever so poised back into its home. It was very adorable of him, however it seemed pretty amusing to me because, this was not the first time he had seen me dressing in such a manner. But how he reacted every time to it was worth watching and never forgetting. Truly.

"Don't open your mouth for so long, Erik" William pushes his chin up to shut his agaped mouth as Salette and I giggled to it. Soon after I too got off from the rocks and walked to the tanned man. As I grabbed both of his hands gently, looking into his eyes with a smile on my face, I whispered the words.

"Happy Birthday My Dear Erik~" I gently squeezed his bigger hands with mine, his warmth flushing through my cold palms.

Erik's cheeks turned a bit pink. "T-Thank you, Wynne. Thanks a lot" he said, and I flashed him another smile.

He rubbed my knuckles with his thumbs delicately. The corner of his lips were slightly curved upwards in a pleasant beam, as comforting as the last sun rays, and his eyes glimmering like heavenly orbs. He grinned wider and brought my hands closer to his lips till they touched weightlessly.

It was now my face's turn to heat from bloom, but it turned even more when I noticed him smirking at me from my hands, and his eyes were glowing with tease and mischief. I looked away, my lips pursed together as I tried my hard to resist the fluster.

Jeez why it had to be today that everyone satirise me more than ever?? Just why?!!!

"So this is why y'all invited me over to the beaches, because I was really thinking that you were calling me for a group swim haha!!" Erik laughed after he backed away from me, totally acting like he wasn't pawing me in front of my friends.

"We were initially planning to celebrate at the shop, but Wynne said that you liked staying near the sea. And me and William loved the idea, which is why we set up a small party for you here" Salette answered.

"Oh!! really?? A whole party just for me??" The bluenet's eyes shone like that of a exuberant child after spotting exclusive candies at his favourite grocer during errands.

"Why yes, My Dear. We all took some of our time out of our schedules to organise it. I wasn't actually wanting to attend the party and rather to just drop by personally to you with a gift, but Toprak and this blonde lady weren't leaving me alone, so that was one motivation" William nudged me while I rolled my eyes.

Erik laughed and patted William's shoulder. "I am glad Wynne and Sal forced you to come. The celebration would have been incomplete without my best friend yah know". William sighed and held Erik's hand, looking into his eyes.

"Yeah. I know" William replied with a weak smile. Erik then out of nowhere engulfed both Salette and William, catching both of them off-guard for a second, I chuckled at the scene. The two however embraced him back, bright twinkles on each of their faces.

"Thank you guys......I love yah both a lot......." Erik murmured. Honestly, I cannot even find words can describe the feeling of happiness which was literally radiating out of him. It was as strong as reflected white light, yet as gentle as the lake ripples. Very acute, yet at ease. I didn't know what it was, but it was gratifying by every angle.

Howbeit, as lost in my thoughts I was, I forgot about my consciousness until I felt soft strong arms engulfing me and pulling me closer to themselves. I blinked twice and looked up, and I was surprised, obviously.

"Umm.....Erik??" I awkwardly held his shoulder as I felt his arms gripping my waist tighter. I chuckled, hugging him back. Now this was expected yet also quite the opposite to my thoughts. I wondered the reason behind his actions, and the response came to me in two shakes.

"You deserve a separate hug, Princess" he simply answered. A clear rationale, though swelled my chest from a patent contentment of recieving such a direct affection from the birthday boy. Maybe that's the exact reason. Because he is the birthday boy. Or was it because of something else. Something more......closer...........

But as soon as I was about to open my mouth to speak, I felt rumbling down my stomach. It startled me as I jumped back a bit, damn it was pretty shaky too. But it didn't feel like it came from my body. I wondered who's was it. But then it hit me.

"Oh jeez. I am very hungry. Yah have something to snack on?" Erik asked. So it was his stomach which was speaking out its pleads that it was prominent enough to reach through me. It wasn't astonishing to me though. Poor man had been delivering goods from one place to another not caring about how long the distance was or how heavy the things weighed.

He has been working the whole day even on his birthday, it was pitiful. At least he should have taken a leave for that. But oh well, if he wants to carry his duty even during his special day, I would let him. I have no rights on him, but only when things turn dangerous, I am the one in-charge. Not that I don't trust him, I just want to protect him. But only when it's gravely needed. Otherwise he is strong enough to tackle.

"How about we have the cake and the other food right now?" Salette suggested. I didn't even notice the sun almost under the horizon after the hug. The sky had turned navy now, with the residual of the shining streaks lined up broadly. Like a tricolour, it had enveloped the globe, and the stars were finally appearing from their hideouts. It was very pleasant, almost like the sunset earlier, but with a disparate observe.

"I agree. We should start right away" William nodded.

"Wynne, can you bring the cake then?" The blonde requested me. "Sure" I shrugged and went to bring the main dessert. This time, I would have to say, was different than any other cakes I had prepared for my every other loved one's birthday. It had an ingredient I had never used previously, and it took me much much bargains to get it since it was not so frequent to be sold in the markets. A very rare exotic stuff. Not to mention I had never tasted it before. But by Salette's advice, I had baked it with her and William the same as Erik preferred it.

It was a purple yam cake, also called Ube cake. A traditional Filipino dish, and Erik's beloved favourite. All the struggles to get the main ingredient was worth it for him, as his face switching to glee and his words of adulation was more than enough to satisfy all of our efforts for him. His tears of joy at the end were a bit overwhelming though, but we accepted that. We didn't wanted to make him cry out in his birthday you know haha!

Nevertheless, Erik held us all close, not leaving any one of us behind, as he made his wish in his beautiful mind and blew the fire off the candles, with all three of us by his side.

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday Dear Erik

Happy Birthday To You 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

Erik had his bite of the cake from the piece, and the hearings of yumminess escaping from his lips second by second, a unique sound by every bite, was amusing and heartwarming to listen and witness. It was cute and youthful, just like him. That made us even more happier. William was delighted, much to his own satisfaction, and me and Salette were grateful for the little party going very well.

Later then we had deep fried tofu with blue tea. Sounds pretty light and effortless, but sufficient for all of our hearts and tummies. We had actually decided beforehand that nothing fancy would be there because Erik was the type of guy to like homely chattels and servings, and same was with us, no matter royals or not. Snugs were what we liked.

With the tea and blueberry scones, we all had our lovely time taken out from our usual livings specifically for our lovely man. The nature also forgave us and provided a nice cool ambience to suit us all. We gossiped, we argued, we laughed. It was a good friendly night. Nothing to disrupt us. Just the ocean waves and the starry sky, now what else do we need?

Oh....... presents..........

Now THIS was one of the most interesting part.

First was William, because he wanted to get it over with quick. Tch, how classic of him. He gave Erik a trinket of spiralling blue seashell fossil. Hmm....a practical and beautiful gift, how classic of him again!

Erik was really elated. He was about to smother William's whole face again with kisses that we had to stop him in the middle. Jesus I promise won't be surprised if I find them trying to eat each other someday.

Anyways. Salette, being the best girl as always, gave Erik what he absolutely loved. And that would be high heels. Noticing, fashionable ruby red high heels. Holy shit. Even I was impressed. And Erik even more. He was delighted! He hugged Salette pretty tightly that the poor lady had to gasp for air but kept laughing as if nothing was wrong. Gosh these dorks.

And finally was me. I......I actually didn't know what to gift him originally. I was in a dilemma. Because I was thinking of special, but also not too fancy, because I didn't want to inundate him so much. It was really messing with my mind to such a point that I had to escape to my realm. And I slept there, and kept thinking about him. But when I woke up, little did I know, that Erik's gift was ready, and was lying right in my hands.

It was a single pink pearl, shining against my palms. It's smooth light was welcoming, and its aura was dignified.

Though it was a bit bigger than the first toenail, it was perfect! And fitting! And I had decided that nothing else would have been the best gift for him. And when I finally handed him my present after we both were alone (William and Salette had decided to take a walk together down the sands), Erik went silent. I had gotten scared for a moment when he went speechless like that, that I had given him something which offended him.

But turns out I was wrong, when he pulled me closer to himself, and looked directly into me. I couldn't really read what he was reflecting from his eyes, but all I could see was myself, and some sparks in his jade orbs. I had gotten lost in them, they were beautiful, and didn't even notice that my chin was pulled and a quick kiss had been stolen from my very lips without me knowing about it.

"Thank you~" was the deep whisper which broke me from my trance, and I was left dumbfounded, with Erik not in front of me anymore. I blinked, shook my head, and searched for the man, only to find him walking along the other two. I wanted to join, but my legs seemed to not listen to me. And good thing they didn't listen, when I watched Erik running back to me and taking me into his strong arms facilely.

"Cannot forget the princess, yah know" he winked, this time leaving me speechless and flustered. Erik chuckled and kissed my cheek, then starting to follow his friends. I kept my mouth shut by the way, I wanted to enjoy this moment silently. With him, the ocean, the sky, and my two lovely friends.

#the arcana #the arcana game #fan apprentice #wynne toprak #arcana mc #arcana apprentice #arcana oc #william hillenberg #erik the apprentice #salette the apprentice #what I wrote

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deadcactuswalking · 3 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 08/05/2021 (Billie Eilish, DJ Khaled)

Whilst this is slightly busier than last week, I am genuinely surprised with how little is actually going on here on this week’s chart, a lot less than I expected or predicted. With that said, the top of the chart is where our biggest story comes from and that is “Body” by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne taking advantage of a weak chart with its star-studded remix and peaking at #1 for its first week, replacing Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name)”. Not only is it the biggest hit for both of these guys and their first #1s, but it’s the first #1 for the entire UK drill genre, which kind of came out of nowhere for me since I think the song’s pretty worthless but with a TikTok challenge and streaming numbers that have even placed it in the American Spotify chart, it’s gearing up to be one of the biggest British rap songs ever. Let’s hope maybe this one doesn’t stall out as badly as “Don’t Rush” outside of the UK. With all that out of the way, let’s start REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

Our only new arrival from last week’s UK Top 75 (which is what I cover), “Come Through” by H.E.R. featuring Chris Brown, is gone on the next off of the debut. Well, at least we have more than one new song this week, as well as some interesting chart nonsense lower down, but also some notable drop-outs for “Mr. Perfectly Fine” by Taylor Swift, “Mercury” by Dave and Kamal., “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” by Drake featuring Rick Ross, “All You Ever Wanted” by Rag’n’Bone Man (which will rebound next week as that album makes its impact) as well as “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles finally making what seems to be its last exit. Our only return is in the form of “Confetti” by Little Mix getting a massive surge back at #15 after its Saweetie remix and the attached music video, though Saweetie doesn’t happen to be credited here.

We do have an interesting selection of gains and losses, as with the notable fallers – dropping five spots or more down the chart – we have “Titanium” by Dave at #23, “Wellerman” by Nathan Evans and remixed by 220 KID and Billen Ted getting ACR’d down to #29 (it had a surprisingly great run), “The Business” by Tiesto having the same happen to it at #32, “We’re Good” by Dua Lipa at #40, “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo at #43, “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd at #45, “Don’t Play” by Anne-Marie, KSI and Digital Farm Animals at #51, “Calling My Phone” by Lil Tjay and 6LACK hit hard to #54, the same with “Up” by Cardi B at #59, “You” by Regard, Troye Sivan and Tate McRae shaking off the gains #63, “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd at #60, “Heat” by Paul Woolford and Amber Mark at #66, “Solid” by Young Stoner Life, Young Thug and Gunna featuring Drake at #69, “Paradise” by MERDUZA and Dermot Kennedy at #71 and, sadly, “How Does it Feel” by London Grammar at #75.

Where it gets a bit more telling about how the charts are going to adapt into the Summer is in our climbers as we have solid gains for “Another Love” by Tom Odell making another run at #60, “Sunshine (The Light)” by Fat Joe, DJ Khaled and Amorphous inexplicably at #57 and now we get into the top 40 where we have more potential future hits. “Way Too Long” by Nathan Dawe, Anne-Marie and MoStack is at #38, “Don’t You Worry About Me” brings the Bad Boy Chiller Crew their first hit at #37 (although the song is only ever worth hearing for that chorus) and “WITHOUT YOU” by the Kid LAROI returns to the top 40 at #30 thanks to a remix with Miley Cyrus who is again not credited by the Official Charts Company. Boney M. are granted their first new top 20 hit since the 1990s, even if it is just a remix of a song that went #2 in 1978, as Majestic’s remix of “Rasputin” is at #18. Our final gain is for a song first entering the top 10 thanks to the remix with Ariana Grande finally making an impact – yet once again not given the official credit by the OCC – as “Save Your Tears” by the Weeknd makes its way up to #8, becoming his tenth top 10 hit here in Britain. That’s not the only song to first enter the top 10 this week but we’ll get to that in due time with our... odd selection of new arrivals this week.

NEW ARRIVALS

#73 – “EVERY CHANCE I GET” – DJ Khaled featuring Lil Baby and Lil Durk

Produced by DJ Khaled and Tay Keith

Two of our new entries are from DJ Khaled’s most recent album Khaled Khaled, an album much like any Khaled album I found cheap and just dull. This record especially is just mixed horribly, with a budget spent exceedingly on getting big-name features instead of any worthwhile engineers to actually mix and master this 50-minute trainwreck. The album doesn’t have many highlights at all but if I had to choose some they would be the two debuting this week, the first of which is basically a Lil Baby cut, “EVERY CHANCE I GET”, with a verse from Lil Durk. Okay, so, yes, first of all, much like the rest of the record, this mix is compressed and just weak, with bizarre bass mastering and drums that sound like garbage, before we get to Lil Baby himself sounding even froggier than ever. I do think that gives the song part of its charm, though, as with a Tay Keith beat, it’s definitely going for a hardcore, old-school Memphis rap atmosphere, and with Lil Baby’s flow switches disguising paranoid lyrics about the typical gunplay and flexing, it does effectively make a pretty intimidating listen... okay, well, it would, if DJ Khaled didn’t have to pop in to convince Lil Baby to “keep going”. We also get a single verse from Lil Durk here, mixed like he recorded his vocals in his bath to the point where it’s clipping against the bass, but delivering a King Von-esque flow that sounds pretty great, and admittedly more detail than you’d expect. I also love that silly “mmm-mmm” flow he uses at the end. I do wish a song like this, clearly supposed to be menacing, did not have the ludicrous personality void that is DJ Khaled on it, and it’s not like they need Khaled to collaborate together – or with Tay Keith for that matter – so I don’t really see why the dude doesn’t just shut up and promote his albums as compilations instead. I understand it comes from his mixtape days, but if this is going to be a studio album, treat it like one and just be quiet for once.

#72 – “Oblivion” – Royal Blood

Produced by Royal Blood

Royal Blood got the #1 album this week for Typhoons and admittedly, whilst I am interested in this band, I haven’t gotten around to listening to it, so I’ll take this album cut as a preview of what to come. If I am doing that, I hope to be surprised by whatever else that album has in store as I’m not really a fan of this. That eerie choppy guitar loop being immediately crushed by this heavily distorted riff and stiff percussion just does not sound unique or interesting, especially if Mike Kerr is going to sound this soulless. The build towards the chorus feels pretty pathetic and unwarranted, and said chorus is just not catchy, before we get to content about how he knows his fate through how arrogant he’s been and he deserves what’s coming to him. I mean, sure, but there’s nothing that makes it obvious that these guys don’t care about what’s coming to them given the pained vocal delivery and monotonous instrumental. It doesn’t feel exciting, rebellious or whatever emotion this tries and fails to capture, just stiff and staggered in its execution. This does make sense for Royal Blood but seems to me like they’re resting way too heavily on ideas ran through the soil at this point. With all that said, this isn’t bad at all, just not as great as those other singles have been from the record. I think I’d be more forgiving if it didn’t come off as a Queens of the Stone Age tribute act writing “originals” that bomb at their shows.

#56 – “love race” – Machine Gun Kelly featuring Kellin Quinn

Produced by Jeff Peters, Jared Gudstadt and Travis Barker

I guess this might actually be a rock-heavy week – not that I’m complaining about more of a rock presence on the chart but God, I wish it wasn’t coming from MGK. I’ll have some choice words to say about this guy’s last attempt at a pop-rock hit by the end of the year, probably, but at least for this song he brought on someone with some kind of legitimacy. Kellin Quinn is the frontman of post-hardcore band Sleeping with Sirens, one of the most successful bands in their genre but not one unlike others that grew out of the metalcore-infused pop rock to anything more unique or experimental. With that said, Quinn is barely here and other than Travis Barker’s typical explosive drums, MGK is the biggest presence here in his raspy but borderline unlistenable vocal tone that I just can’t stand, especially if it’s going to stretch out “run” as long and as far as he did in that longing, desperate chorus. MGK barely even lets Kellin Quinn have his own verse, registering him as backing vocals throughout the entire song, dampening his vocals that sound a lot more unique and enthused, especially when he starts screaming. That bridge did give me trancecore flashbacks – not that I’m complaining if I’m fully honest – so I’ll admit the part of me that eats up emo-pop garbage did let this grow on me a bit, but, man, without a guitar solo to distract from pretty awful lyrics (not that I’d expect much more from this artist or genre) and without really letting Quinn loose on the vocals, it’s lacking a certain grit and punch I expect from post-hardcore. The song did, however, indirectly remind me of New Found Glory, for which I am thankful for.

#53 – “I DID IT” – DJ Khaled featuring Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby and DaBaby

Produced by Ben Billions, Joe Zarrillo, DJ 360, Tay Keith and DJ Khaled

You wouldn’t expect an artist line-up like this to continue this trend of rock in this week’s new arrivals, but you’d be surprised, and personally I’m pretty happy with how much rock seems to be creeping up back into the public consciousness as if there’s one thing I got back in touch with the most over lockdown, it was the rock music I was raised on and it led to me even further appreciating a genre I had kind of lost touch with over the years out of just a lack of interest. With that said, this isn’t a rock song per se, but it does heavily and lazily sample a classic like much of this Khaled album, going for “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos. I’m not going to lie, either, it sets up a pretty effective back-bone for a trap banger about being awesome, especially with those squealing riffs in the chorus. Oh, yeah, and the mixing is horrible as expected, but to be honest to me it does not dampen the boasting, anthemic nature of this track, especially with Post Malone being a perfect choice to croon that infectious chorus. Megan Thee Stallion has a pretty embarrassingly by-the-numbers verse over a switch in the beat that makes it sound oddly stunted, but she does have that swinging rock charisma that people like Lil Baby do not have. With that said, I think I’m at the point where I eat anything Lil Baby says or does, because the flow switches combined with his frog-throat delivery is just impeccable. Content-wise, I think everyone here realises they’re being squashed by the clipping beat as they just go off about complete nonsense that goes in one ear and out the other apart from Lil Baby’s misguided but still pretty funny line about how he contemplated going vegan but sees no point in it because he’s got ten karats in both of his ears. Sure. At least DJ Khaled as something to do as he... harmonises, I guess, with Posty on the chorus. DaBaby is as distant as possible from the microphone to the point where I can barely hear him, not that it matters when his verse is that basic and short. This is kind of a trainwreck in all honesty, but with four choruses and a beat this heavy, it’s hard to be annoyed by it. Overwhelming maybe but these performers are all characters by themselves and throwing them in this three-minute chaos of squealing guitars and trap skitters just fascinates me if anything. Does it count as a posse cut? I don’t know. Either way, this is hilarious.

#5 – “Your Power” – Billie Eilish

Produced by FINNEAS

Decidedly not hilarious is this new single from Billie Eilish looking to be a smash from that upcoming album which now has a track listing and release date, with this functioning as I suppose the true lead single and her seventh top 10 here in the UK. It’s a brave choice too considering the lyrical content which is a pretty scathing attack on her ex-boyfriend and their abusive relationship, making several references to the gap in age and power dynamic that played into something really distressing for the both of them but especially a young, vulnerable Billie Eilish who found herself helpless in this relationship because of that “hero” quickly revealing himself as little more than his projected insecurities. The song’s detailed enough not to detach itself from Billie’s personal struggles but also works as what I suppose is a warning, as it’s retelling a story all too familiar with many girls of her age at the time who end up in these really scary situations. It does help that the song itself is great, relying on these layered acoustic guitars to form some kind of dejected groove behind Eilish’s vocals, whispery and cooing as always but in this case way too loud in the mix for my taste to the point where it kind of takes me out of the song as a whole. With a better master that blends her vocal take a lot better into the guitars, maybe going for a fuzzier, dream-pop angle, could work a lot better but with that said, I do understand the purpose of making it feel this intimate and minimal because Billie’s honest songwriting calls for a delivery like this, even if she ends up sounding shakier or even mumbling at times as a result. This is a big debut for Billie for a song not prepared to do as well as it did given its content and sound that is not exactly radio-friendly and oftentimes requires more heavy of a listen than a pop song would otherwise. I do love that final outro as her humming careens off the gentle guitars with just enough scratch but I do question how abrupt the ending is. Hopefully when the album’s out, we’ll have a bigger picture to as where this single in particular fits in.

Conclusion

With only five new arrivals and not much in the way of anything bad, I guess Worst of the Week goes to “Oblivion” by Royal Blood but giving a Dishonourable Mention would just end up as dishonest. Therefore, Best of the Week goes to Billie Eilish for “Your Power” but – and I cannot believe I am saying this for a 3/10 album with only fluke hits – but DJ Khaled – and Lil Baby for that matter – get a tied Honourable Mention for both of their songs, “EVERY CHANCE THAT I GET” with Lil Durk and “I DID IT” with Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion and DaBaby. Now to distract from the fact I just did that, here’s this week’s top 10:

I can’t really make any healthy predictions for next week. Maybe we’ll get some songs from Lil Tecca, Rag’n’Bone Man or Bebe Rexha? Maybe we’ll end up with some fluke Weezer smash hit, who knows? Regardless, thank you for reading and I’ll see you next week.

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fabulouspotatosister · 4 years

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onions

a/n: I wanted to add to this series because I haven’t added onto it for a while and was also starting to regret making this a series at all, so I wrote this to get my head back in the game. I’ve got some other Doctor Who fics coming up that aren’t part of this series, and maybe a big rewrite of another Doctor Who fic I’ve already posted.

This was inspired by a prompt send by @timelord-winchester-22b in the thirsting for thirteen Discord server I’m in! Love you lots.

Enjoy the fic!

“Welcome back, you guys!”

Yaz gives you a big hug, squeezing you so tight it’s a reminder that she’s a policeman. “I didn’t expect to see you up!”

You’d bumped into the fam as they returned from another adventure with the Doctor and shuffled down the hallways to their rooms in the TARDIS. By bumping into them , you actually meant that they found you standing outside your room - which you (technically) weren’t allowed to leave.

After your capture, the Doctor had suggested lots of bedrest so that you could heal. For a while, this was alright - your soft bed and the fact that you were safe on board the TARDIS usually staved the nightmares away, and the Doctor’s constant presence while you slipped in and out of consciousness was enough to keep you very comfortable for a long time. But that bedrest eventually transformed into “indefinite bedrest”. The Doctor, fiercely protective and understandably scared, usually refused to let you move or leave your room, until you managed to convince her that you were mostly fine and that she needed to let you walk around or else you would go absolutely stir-crazy. That worked sometimes.

And then there’s the added factor of the fact that she kissed you while you were still bedridden, and has never mentioned it since.

“Tell you what, I’ve been missing real food,” Graham starts, and Ryan gives his grandfather a suffering look. “The Doc’s been taking us everywhere except places we can actually eat, and when we do get somewhere she usually manages to interrupt before I can get a good bite.”

“Yeah, we’ve all been eating take-out,” Ryan says. “Or the space version of it, I guess. You’re lucky, you actually get to use the kitchen.”

You shift on your feet, amused - but your amusement quickly fades when you put a little too much weight on one of your legs and feel a sharp pain lance up your muscles. You inhale sharply at that, very nearly buckling to your knees at the pain, which slowly becomes a dull ache, radiating from a certain point in your knee. Ah, maybe I forgot to mention that to the Doctor .

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” you mutter, reaching out to grip a part of the wall. Yaz looks like she moved forward to catch you, so you shake your head at her, managing a strained grin. “I forget which leg I was stabbed in, sometimes.”

Your attempt to make one of your life-threatening injuries a joke doesn’t land, because of course it doesn’t.

The fam all stare at you, faces drawn. You know that look. They looked at you like that when you were still recovering, when you had burst into tears and sobbed into the Doctor’s arms when you found out exactly how long you were captured, when you had flinched away from Ryan as he celebrated winning a round of a video game, when you had refused to touch the Doctor after you jostled the bandages on your leg. And you hate it - you’re getting better, you hope, day by day, and you’re going to prove it.

“I can make you guys something,” you offer, raising your hands when you feel steady enough to stand on your feet, and try not to feel anxious when Yaz raises her eyebrows, “something from home. If you want, I mean.”

They stay silent after that, exchanging silent looks with one another. You can practically hear what they’re thinking - if it’s safe for you to be in the TARDIS kitchen alone, surrounded by knives and things that burned, or if it’s safe for you to be completely by yourself in the TARDIS at all without the Doctor by your side. If they had voiced their thoughts, you would agree with some of them, especially on the knives and the fire. But cooking was normal . It was something you used to do before everything happened. And even among all the adventure of travelling with the Doctor, you could use a little bit of normal.

So you roll your shoulders back, and try a smile.

That seems to work, because Graham places a hand on your shoulder and smiles back. The man always had a way of making the fam feel like a family , and the action is enough to make your smile wider. “Well, you’d better blow us away, or we’re letting you have some of that space take-out Ryan was talking about.”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. “Thank you,” you say graciously, sincerely . Yaz nods her head at you, her eyes crinkling at the edges as her lips curl up into the faintest of smiles.

“No, thank you ,” she says, then nods her head to the side. “We’ll wait for you. Come on, Ryan.”

Yaz leads Ryan and Graham away, the sound of their footsteps echoing and eventually disappearing down the amber-colored halls of the TARDIS.

You sigh again, fishing out your phone from your pocket, and decide to look up some recipes.

A few minutes later, you come to the conclusion that you’re really not an organized person. Standing in the TARDIS kitchen, surrounded by a heap of ingredients that you haphazardly pulled out of the fridge and the pantry, you think to yourself that this is the perfect example of your disorderliness.

After much pacing the TARDIS halls by yourself, phone in hand, you’d eventually decided on a kind of beef stew you had eaten when you were young - your mother had cooked it in soy sauce and lemon juice until it was soft, and you had many fond memories of eating just the sauce over rice when the rest of your family members ate all the meat without you.

You were surprised to find any ingredients, honestly, in the TARDIS kitchen. You had just been getting by with what the Doctor was giving you in your room, which were presumably things she cooked herself (did she even cook?) or some of the leftover “space take-out” Ryan had been complaining about.

As you hold up a vaguely lemon-shaped plant to the light, you realize that maybe not all the produce is human produce. You sniffed the lemon-y plant, scrunching your nose when you come away with the overwhelming acidic smell of citrus. It would have to do.

But thankfully, the TARDIS had onions - which you needed to top the beef stew. Gingerly, you set the onions onto the already overflowing counter, then proceed to sweep the ingredients on the overflowing counter to make space for a cutting board. You try to pick the smallest knife in the cabinet ( there aren’t many, anyway ). Picking up one of the onions, you steady it on the cutting board and start to slice.

But as soon as your knife breaks through the skin of the onion, the familiar smell hits your nose, and when you start to feel your eyes prickle you groan. Maybe you should have prepared better for this.

You slice rings from the onion, and with every slice, your eyes water more and more. By the time you’ve started slicing the second onion, you have hot tears running down your cheeks. They drip from your chin and onto your cutting board. You think dimly that it must be a health hazard to cry onto your vegetables, but you’re going to cook them so it must be alright.

“Anyone in here?”

You nearly drop your knife.

Oh, crap. The Doctor’s familiar voice echoes from outside the kitchen. Instead of comforting you like it usually does, her voice makes your stomach drop to your feet. She didn’t know you had gone outside your room, and more importantly you hadn’t asked for her permission. The Doctor was very fond of making up the rules as she went. Maybe this time she would really enforce that “indefinite bedrest”.

You pick up your knife again and push away the other onion rings to make way for the third, and final, onion. Maybe if I ignore her she’ll just go away.

The sound of footsteps slowly gets louder and louder, turning from boots hitting a metal floor to boots scuffling onto polished tile. The door to the kitchen noisily swings open, creaking with disuse - which it didn’t do when you opened it, what was that about - and then softly swings shut.

You don’t turn around when the Doctor calls your name. She hasn’t said your name since the last time she left you in your room. Or really spoken to you, for that matter, except for when she has to change the bandages on a few scrapes you have that haven’t really healed. You’re not emotionally hurt, or anything, but you’re just -

The Doctor takes a few steps forward, moving a chair that scrapes against the floor.

“I didn’t expect to see you in here,” she says softly, as if not to startle you. “Honestly, no one really uses the kitchen anymore. The TARDIS usually puts it really far away now.”

You hum, staring at the one onion on your cutting board. It’s almost like it’s mocking you - when the Doctor isn’t around, you seem so confident, but the moment she steps into a room you can’t do anything . You can’t even cut a vegetable. You hate to agree with an onion, but for once the vegetable is right.

However, the thought still sends a hint of anger straight towards your heart. Holding your knife with a bit more force than necessary, you send it straight down onto the onion. You regret that when a single whiff of the cut onion makes a few more tears slip out from your eyes, and when you sniff the Doctor practically runs towards you.

Before you know it, the Doctor has placed her hands on your shoulders and turned you around, and for the first time in a few days you see her face. It hits you that you must look terrible - with tears running down your face and your nose and cheeks red and splotchy - so you quickly try to turn back around.

The Doctor pauses, quickly taking her hands off your shoulders. She looks like a child who’s just been caught doing something naughty, when it clearly should be the other way around.

“I’m sorry,” the Doctor gasps. Her shocked expression softens when she notices your tear-stained face. “Are you crying? Why are you crying?”

The Doctor quickly starts to fuss over you, furiously looking you over. She’s not wearing her coat, you notice, when she leans down and you catch a glimpse of her collarbone underneath her shirt. You mentally hit yourself when your mind drifts to thoughts of when she wrapped you in it and if she ever left it in your room.

But the room, unfortunately, still smells of onions, so a few more tears leak out. You sniff again, reaching up to rub your nose, but stop when the Doctor looks up at you.

If there’s ever a time to use the words “puppy-dog eyes”, it’s now , because the Doctor had looked up at you so sadly you’re ready to start actually crying. Worry lines her beautiful features, and when she takes your hand you feel like you’re going to combust.

God, I’ve already kissed this woman and she still manages to make me feel like a little girl with a crush.

“Are you alright?” the Doctor asks, worriedly.

You shake your head, the smell of the onions stinging your nose.

“Is this because I haven’t seen you in a few days? It probably is. Oh, I should have put in that “indefinite bedrest” rule, then maybe you wouldn’t be crying right now - or maybe that would make you cry more -”

The Doctor had been worried about you many, many times before. It was usually in extremely dire situations, and she was usually very serious when she was worried, but now it’s just… cute . Her blonde hair bounces around as she emphatically lists reasons as to why you might be crying, with none of them being any close.

Part of you wants to keep up the charade, because it’s quite cute to see her this worried - then your heart drops when you remember that the last time you had cried was when you were still very much injured and afraid, and that she had looked like she was carrying the weight of the universe when you cried.

She had very good reason to be worried before, and worry never did look any good on her.

“Doctor,” you try with a laugh, wiping the tears off your face, “I was cutting onions .”

Realization dawns on the Doctor’s face, and she lets go of your hand.

“Oh,” she says simply, standing up a little straighter. You see her purse her lips, her eyes glancing to the side - she’s embarrassed, and when you fail to stifle a giggle she actually starts to look offended . “Well, syn-propanethial-S-oxide can be very annoying. I should introduce you to an onion I found on another planet that doesn ’ t release that chemical irritant when cut. Very convenient for chefs, and - what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Sorry,” you say, stepping to the side and showing her the counter you’d been working on. She scrunches her face at the onions, which you unconsciously mimic, because the cutting wasn’t really that good. The Doctor snatches up the weird citrus fruit you’d picked up and whips out her sonic, giving it a good scan before quickly reading the results and putting the fruit back.

“Just checking if that fruit’s poisonous. Which it isn’t. It may have gone a little bad, though.” The Doctor says, still looking at the table. “Can I have some when you’re done?”

“Always,” you say, and you watch as the Doctor goes still and silent. It’s something that she said to you, a long time ago when you asked her if you could go back to your hometown. Something she said before all of everything happened.

The sight of the Doctor with her back turned is practically beckoning you to come closer.

The Doctor was not really a hugging person. Sure, she received a few hugs from thankful individuals that you met on your adventures, but she never really hugged you, or the rest of the fam. Even when you were injured she never hugged you, but you had chalked that up to your injuries.

She doesn’t move when you place a hand on her elbow, though, so you take that as a sign to keep going. When you wrap one of your arms around her waist, you feel her tense up. When you wrap your other arm around her waist, fully hugging her, you think you feel her breathing hitch.

Sometimes silence speaks louder than words. You can feel the Doctor’s worry practically radiating off her body. You press your face into the Doctor’s back, feeling the soft fabric of her shirt and taking in her scent - which, you discover, is vaguely of honey. The Doctor lifts her hands to lay it over yours.

“You’re worried,” you whisper.

“How can I not be?” the Doctor asks softly. You feel her stroke your hand with her thumb.

“I’m okay, I’m right here,” you say, “ and I’m getting better . Thanks to you.”

The Doctor turns around in your arms. You still have your arms wrapped around her waist, but now that she’s facing you your back hug has turned much more intimate. She lays her hands on your waist, not bringing you any closer but not pushing you away either.

This was the Doctor, brave and reckless and unique, and she was sad .

“You don’t have to be worried.” You smile, unwrapping one of your arms and raising a hand to her face. She doesn’t flinch away at your touch. “It’s just onions.”

“It’s just onions,” she repeats, finally breaking out into a smile. She reaches up to grasp the hand that’s resting on her face, looking both surprised and in awe.

I love you, you think, and all you know is that even if you’re not ready to say it yet, you already feel so loved.

#expect a kind of spam today sjsjdjajajdahdjakkhdjf for the newer fics #gonna try to queue some stuff #GOD i posted this so long ago #hhh but posting on tumblr is SO hard lmao #i gotta suffer for the consistency #doctor who #doctor who imagine #doctor who x reader #thirteenth doctor imagine #thirteenth doctor x reader #the doctor x reader #jess writes

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sooghostwriter · 5 years

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Chef Soo. Three meals a day

Pairings: Do Kyung Soo x OC (Nameless, but I refuse to use Y/N)

Genre: Romance, AU, fluff, slow burn I guess. A molecule of angst.

BREAKFAST: Lemon Pie

The coffee owner and the baker

An important part of opening a cake shop/coffee shop was having an actual baker. She only had the good ideas and the money.

Fives chefs applied to the job and only one of them was smart enough to bring a taste of his cooking. Kyung Soo arrived with a lemon pie that tasted like heaven. It was also her favorite sweet. A match made in heaven. She hired him on the spot.

And she thanked that decision every day.

If she had to describe Kyung Soo in one word it would be an ant. Working none stop, focused on his job and a great team player. He was quiet and a bit serious, but he was her voice of consciousness. Whenever she came out with an idea that was unusable, he would tell her, with a lot of respect but stern. In other words, this is stupid, don't do it. Although sometimes that made her feel restricted. Because yes, macaroons were expensive and hard to do. But they were in trend. And a cake covered with macaroons could tempt anyone. It would be expensive, but she was sure they could sell at least two cakes per day. Or two cakes during the weekend “What about the work involved? Personally, I haven’t had good experiences making macaroons, and if we make them, I would have to neglect something, like the Mille-Feuille that sells great during the weekends” She felt smaller and smaller sitting on her chair. She knew he was right, of course he was. But her vision! She has seen it on her mind, a round cake covered in sweet almond pillows in pastel colors, maybe with some edible glitter on top “I know you have this Pinterest image in your head, and I can see it too, but we can’t risk that much yet, maybe in a couple of months…you could get another chef and they could be in charge of more complicated sweets, but for now, I don’t think we can do it” “I get it Kyung Soo, thank you for your honesty” “Are you ok? You look very disappointed…I mean…I could..” “No, don’t worry, Kyung Soo, you are the chef you know better than me, and I like that you are like this, just…don’t be so bland about it, this is my dream and I’m happy because it’s working, so I may get excited about it” “I’m sorry” He looked less stoic when he said it. Apologetic. He patted her shoulder and went to take the muffins out of the oven. The day Kyung Soo came to work for the first time they spend an hour talking. She shared her vision for the coffee, a cozy, calm and familiar place where people went after work when they didn’t want to go out with their coworkers, where a mom could go and read a book after leaving the kids with her husband, maybe where students could go for the wi-fi and regain some energy for the last class of the day. Of course she wanted to gain money, after all, she quit her job, took all the money from the unemployment insurance, sold her car, the jewelry her grandmother gave her and took a loan so she could open her coffee shop. She told him that for now, they needed to focus on flavor and quality. A small assortment of sweets to buy, and a menu of sweet things to serve like crepes and pancakes. He was immediately on board. He came up with the menu and the tarts, cakes, cookies, and desserts that they would sell. The first month was slow but steady, the second month was better, but not what they expected. By the third month, things took off. Kyung Soo’s Eclairs were always sold out by lunch, the Mille-Feuille cake needed reservation and people bought the chocolate mousse in bulks. They were extremely busy, but every day they reached their goal of the day. Kyung Soo worked as hard as she did. She never asked him, but she always had the feeling that for him this was his business too, his dream. Or at least he treated her dream has his. They were a perfectly synchronized team.

By the sixth month, she had already paid the loan. Just a couple of months and she would be able to hire a couple of people that could help Kyung Soo, now he had to do magic with his own hands and a part-timer. They grew closer too. Very slowly. Kyung Soo wasn’t distant or cold, but work was too much, and the only relationship they could have was a working relationship. Friendship was impossible when they were busy building up the business, cooking, fighting with the suppliers and putting down small fires, figuratively of course, except for one time. But under those circumstances, you end up knowing someone better than you know yourself. You end up getting used to that person’s company, voice, presence even his little habits. Like how he would tight his apron after putting something in the oven, or the cute face he made when whipping cream. She knew them all, since her eyes searched for him most of the time.

By the end of the year, Kyung Soo was interviewing someone for the position of baker. But the situation was better than what they expected, so they hired two new people. Kang Jisoo was a great patisserie with expertise in food styling “She can be in charge of the pretty sweets” Kyung Soo told her when they were going through her CV. She beamed in excitement. Jisoo was going to be Kyung Soo’s right hand. One of the CV’s caught their attention. He was also a baker, but he had an internship in France making bread “People keep asking us if we sell bread” “Can we hire him?” He asked with controlled excitement. She gave it a little thought, she liked the idea, but she was thinking on giving another use to the extra money they were making “Kyung Soo, actually, I wanted to give you a raise” He looked at her warmly, and she felt it all over her body. His eyes were always so expressive, he didn’t need to say anything. He was grateful “Thank you, but I can manage for now with the money I make, let’s hire him, and you raise my pay later” Kyung Soo was expecting something like that. Not because he wanted it, but it was something she would do. He heard her talk about it with her mom once. He could always hear her conversations in her office due to the glass door. She told her how she thought Kyung Soo wasn’t getting paid what he deserved. But she told him once that they were a team, they were in this together, and he promised himself to support her in this dream. So if now the right thing was to hire two new bakers instead of raising his paycheck, so let it be. So on Monday, the lovely Kang Jisoo and the bright Byun Baekhyun arrived, ready to start working. Kyung Soo took Jisoo and didn’t release her for the rest of the day. She did the same with Baekhyun, they came up with an assortment of 6 types of bread and his schedule. That day after a long day at work they went for dinner. They were very tired but excited to survive their first day at work. At one point in the night, she saw her new two coworkers with motherly eyes. They were cute, cheerful, with such a great disposition and most importantly, very talented. She caught Kyung Soo looking at his new coworkers too, stopping at Jisoo for a long second. She was surprised by how that made her feel. --- Since Baekhyun arrived, her mornings were more energetic. Baekhyun’s shift began at 5 am and ended at 2 pm. Since he was in charge of bread, those needed to be done during the morning. She arrived at 8 am, and was welcomed by a nice loaf of warm bread and a coffee that Baekhyun prepared for her. She got to share a lot with Baekhyun. He was the typical happy go lucky guy, who was always chirpy and who’s second language was flirting. Not on purpose, it was just part of his personality.

Byun Baekhyun was the typical energetic guy. He was always laughing, always making everybody laugh, your instincts would always tell you to like someone like him. And he has won her trust and friendship in a matter of days. Kyung Soo was always jealous of guys like him. He was so jealous of Baekhyun. But it was impossible to hate him. He enjoyed being around him, although they didn’t have a lot of time to share he enjoyed watching him. But he didn’t enjoy watching her laughing with his jokes. He never made her laugh like that.

It was Friday and Jisoo asked them if she could leave earlier for a friend’s birthday. They looked at each other and nodded at her at the same time. She was still young, she deserved to party, she commented as Jisoo left “She is a couple of years younger than you, don’t be so dramatic” He answered with a chuckle. She giggled with him, and Kyung Soo was sure this was the first time that happened, and he felt stupidly proud of himself. It was time to close and they were the only ones left working “Like the old times” He commented. He was right. It was like the old times. She couldn’t believe that her little but ambitious dream was going strong. The income now was steady. The coffee shop was never empty and Kyung Soo’s cakes were very popular. She stayed at the door of her office looking at Kyung Soo washing his hands. She knew she was looking at him lovingly, but he wasn’t paying attention so she allowed herself to do so. Their time to leave was closer, but she didn’t want to leave yet. She wanted to be with him a little bit more “Hey, I got emotional all of the sudden, wanna go for dinner, also known as drinks?” She asked as soon as the idea formed in her head, so in that way her common sense wouldn’t get in the way “Sure, let me go change” Kyung Soo dashed into the dressing room and left her there in shock. This was the first time they would go out together. They went to the usual spot where the four of them would go for dinner after a good week of sales. Kyung Soo ordered fried chicken and she went for a bowl of ramen. They ate in silence, a comfortable one. She took a spicy wing from his plate and he ate several spoons of broth from her bowl. The place started to get packed and the buzz in the air made them began to talk. It started with work talk, plans for next week, the menu for the coming summer, and the possibility of changing one of the providers “How do you feel about Jisoo and Baekhyun?” He asked her, moving the empty plates aside, resting his elbows on the small table “Great, I think we made a good decision hiring them, are you ok with Jisoo?” “She is perfect, she works diligently, her cake designs are terrific, and she is very nice to be around” The word Perfect kept resounding in her head “Baekhyun is good too, he makes amazing bread and he knows how to use the coffee machine” He commented, but it sounded very robotic “I’m always the one making coffee, so is nice to be served for once” Kyung Soo came to the realization that the only time he cooked for her was when he made that lemon pie for his job interview. He was her right hand, she put all her trust in him, and he couldn’t bake her a simple cupcake. He would change that as soon as possible. He couldn’t allow Baekhyun to win. He immediately felt embarrassed by his childish thought. They stayed there for an hour and a half talking. As always, about work, but there was something more. He took advantage of the situation, the atmosphere and the sensation he got from having her so close, smiling, joking with him, sharing with him. He felt hopeful, and when he went back home, for the first time he allowed himself to…imagine.

She arrived the next morning ready to fight with a couple of suppliers and to work on finances. Those were her least favorite things, but she was the one in charge of them, and she was kind of good at it. She was halfway done with her first task when Kyung Soo knocked at her glass door and went in “I brought you this” He said, leaving a mini lemon tart on her desk “For the old times” He said, not meeting her eyes and turning around quickly, disappearing into the kitchen. She grabbed her tart and bit into it without the need of a fork “For the old times” She mumbled to herself, giggling. She remembered with effervescence that afternoon when they met. She wondered if she liked him from that very moment. When she noticed that he was smart enough to bring a sample of his baking, to the interview to become baker at a bakery. Maybe her standards were too low.

As Kyung Soo was beating the eggs for the merengue of the lemon pie, he began thinking about her. He has been doing so since last night. Having a one on one time with her was unique, to say the least. On his ride home, and then on his morning commute to his job he kept recalling those first months working with her. Her determination, her strength, her curiosity. The times he could hear her from her office being passive-aggressive with the fruit providers. Or every time he arrived and found her sleeping at her desk. He wished he was caring enough, or brave enough to have made her coffee when that happened, to bring her a freshly baked donna. Baekhyun would have done it for sure. He also remembered the days he left work, just to come back to pick something he had forgotten and found her crying in her office. Always out of frustration or fear. All those times that he saw her so vulnerable and hurt he wanted to hug her. His arms itched to reach her and pulled her into his chest. To take the worry away. Just pass some of his calm onto her. But he was never brave enough. What they had was too precious to risk. Was too new to risk.

But then one day he realized that it wasn’t too new, but old. His feelings were well settled in his chest, and he had lost time. He could risk things now. But she was looking at someone else now. He would have to live with the craving his arms felt for her.

--- That Friday they had a terribly busy morning. And they would have some problems for the afternoon too since Jisoo cut her finger and was currently at the ER with Baekhyun. She left the part-timer on front and went to the kitchen to check on Kyung Soo “How are you doing? Need any help?” “Yes, I need to finish decorating these cupcakes, someone is going to pick them up in an hour, could you do that so I can take care of the orders?” She could do that much. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work “Wait!” Kyung Soo stopped her, holding one of her arms. He pulled a scrunchy from his right pocket and turned her around, sliding his fingers in her hair “What are you doing?” Her voice was a bit higher due to the surprise “You can’t do this with your hair down, so I’m braiding it” She stood still. Although she was sure her hands were shaking. She was sure this was the closest he had ever been. She was sure this was the first time he was touching her. His fingers brushed her neck burning her. His movements were a tiny bit clumsy but efficient. “You are good at this” She commented, trying to relieve the tension “I have practiced a lot with Jisoo, she always forgets to pull up her hair” She closed her eyes and released a long sight. He was already so close to her. Of course, they were. They work arm to arm, moving around the kitchen like a unit. But she and Kyung Soo also functioned as a unit. For a long time. Sure, she wasn’t a chef, but they were partners. Not officially. He was a worker, just like Baekhyun and Jisoo. Bur for her he always felt like more. He built the menu and signature of the coffee shop. People went there for his cooking. This coffee shop belonged to both of them. -- She arrived the next morning and found Baekhyun moving around the kitchen slower than normal “You look blue, is everything okay?” He sighed heavily, resting his body against the wall “Not really, You think Kyung Soo hates me?” “I don't think he knows how to feel that, why are you asking?” He walked with a heavy step to her side and rested his head on her shoulder like a gloomy puppy “I try to get close to him the little time our schedules overlap but he is so cold with me, he laughs but is always a shy laugh, meanwhile, Jisoo almost chokes to death the other day because of something I said” “He is very stoic” She tried to divert his line of thoughts “No, he kind of ignores me and I want to be friends with him, he is so cool” “You want me to talk to him?” He lifted his head and went to the dressing room with slow steps “No, what are you going to tell him anyway? I just hope he doesn't have a bad image of me” She followed him patting his back, understanding his feeling. She also wished Kyung Soo could give her more attention. “Good morning” Kyung Soo arrived, greeting and walking past them, into the dressing room “See?!” Baekhyun pointed, shaking her arm “Yeah, that was a bit cutting, you make us some coffee, I will check on him, maybe there's something going on” He nodded pouting and went back to the shop. She knocked the dressing room door, asking him if he was dressed “Yeah, come in” She opened the door and walked in, looking around, being nonchalant “Hello there chef” “Hello boss” She stood behind him and notice him having trouble tightening his apron “Let me do that, is everything alright?” She asked him as she tightened the straps around his waist “Yes” He answered, his voice low “Everything alright with Jisoo?” “Couldn't be better” She made a double knot and tapped his shoulder telling him she was done “Everything ok with Baekhyun?” “Sure” “You like him?” He sat down, taking off his shoes “He is great, although we don’t share the kitchen that much, why are you asking?” “No reason, just making sure everything is ok” “Sure, ok, then if you are done, I need to change my pants” She turned around quickly and left the room. When she went to the front of the shop, Baekhyun had already served three coffees and had a plate with a loaf of bread and butter “He says everything is ok” “You think he would tell you if he hated me” “I trust he tells me everything, so yeah, don’t worry Baekhyun” “Ok, if you say so, you think he would come to have breakfast with us?” She went to the back again and invite Kyung Soo to have breakfast with them. Kyung Soo accepted and when she arrived with him, she saw how Baekhyun’s imaginary tail began wiggling.

When she asked him to go and have breakfast with them, he really wanted to say no. He had some things to do, and also, if he could avoid seeing them act like old buddies, he would do it. But her questions in the dressing room told him something. She wanted to know how he felt about Baekhyun. He knew she cared about his input about everything, and if she wanted his approval on Baekhyun, she would have it. He liked him after all. He was a good guy. And share breakfast with them could be good.

----

She was talking over the phone with her lawyer when Baekhyun knocked on her door. She gave him a signal to come in and he sat at her desk waiting for her to finish. She was about to end a 20 minutes long call to ask her lawyer what she had to do to make Kyung Soo her business partner. There was a lot of paperwork involved and a lot of visits to the public notary, but it could be done if they both wanted it. She hadn’t asked him yet. She didn’t know how. She hung up and Baekhyun asked immediately what was she talking about since he could hear the last part of the call “I’m thinking about making Kyung Soo my business partner” “He isn’t already?” “No, but he is my right hand, this business his almost half his in terms of development and success, so I want him to have a part of it” Baekhyun looked lost “What are you talking about?” “What?” “I thought you and he had something, no?” She felt her cheeks blush “No, no... Why would you think that?” Baekhyun moved on his seat awkwardly “I don't know, there's always this weird tension between the two of you, and you guys are always business business business, but you are all the time stealing glances from each other when the other is not looking, and when you talk you guys are always way too close” His voice lost volume by the end of the sentence “I.. We just..” “You don't have to explain anything... But I may have told you something that you didn't know, so I better go now” She tried to stop him, she needed to know about this weird tension and the stolen glances, but Baekhyun was quick and left the coffee before she could reach him.

----- One Monday morning she got an envelope from a tourism website informing her that the coffee shop was selected as a “One of the coffee shops to visit in Seoul”. The four of them went for dinner that night to celebrate. As always Kyung Soo took care of grilling and serving, always putting more meat on her plate. When Baekhyun and Jisoo complained he said “She’s our boss” His voice was serious, but he was grinning. After a bunch of beers and maybe half a pig she was ready to go. She told the rest they were free to stay and handed her card to Kyung Soo. She got up and Baekhyun grabbed her wrist, stopping her “Let’s share a cab” She agreed gladly, she hated the idea of riding the taxi alone in those conditions.

Kyung Soo felt sick all of a sudden. They were so friendly. They were so friendly since day one. And he was aware that Baekhyun was that kind of person, even he felt close to him the first time they met, but this was different. Baekhyun knew where she lived. He had known her and been working with her for more than a year and he still didn’t know her address. Meanwhile, Baekhyun was holding her arm to help her stand up. It was over for him.

He had lost his chance. And Baekhyun took his.

-----

She had a good night of sleep that night. She woke up before her alarm went off and the warm water reached the perfect temperature. On her way to work, she didn’t meet a single red light and the coffee Baekhyun prepared for her was especially good. She greeted Jisoo at the kitchen and ran into Kyung Soo when he walked out of the dressing room. She greeted him happily because she was feeling happy and seeing him added to the feeling, but he only nodded at her. It was like a bucket of cold water. All her happiness faded away. Not even in his worst days he had been so cutting. Why was he acting so distant? She tried to convince herself that she was overreacting, reading too much into it, but during the morning she realized that she wasn’t. Even Baekhyun noticed it. Before leaving he commented to her between whispers “Did you say something to him?” “No, no that I remember, Did I? Something happened last night?” “No, nothing, when we were there everything was alright, we talked a lot and laughed with everything I said or did, he even poured me several drinks, and then we…oh crap” Baekhyun mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ “What? What is it?” “You don’t get it? I’m sorry, I feel that this is my fault, at least part of it, ok… I need to go” He grabbed his backpack and left in a hurry, without giving her the chance to ask for more. She cursed at him, still clueless of why Kyung Soo was acting like this, and only with her. That day they had to close the coffee shop early due to the cut of the water service. By 6 the shop was empty, everything washed and ready to close. She arranged everything at her office, moving languidly around the room, still sad about Kyung Soo’s cold shoulder. She wanted to go home and cry maybe. She didn’t like it, she hadn’t heard his voice all day long. He didn’t come to her office not even once to ask her to call the suppliers, or for her to taste something. She was going to steal some donuts from the refrigerator, go home and cry on the shower maybe. She was about to get her period, she was especially emotional, that’s why she allowed herself some self-love. She almost got a heart attack when she walked into the kitchen and met Kyung Soo with his jacket on, reclining against one of the counters, his head down, looking at his hands. When he heard her, he looked up, and hold her stare for a while “Can we talk?” She couldn’t find her voice, so she only nodded and walked next to him. She was terrified. She knew there was something going on with him, and his face of worry and shame prove her right. She wanted to make him feel better. To get rid of that dark stare, help him. Maybe this was the right time to talk to him about becoming business partners, maybe like this, his mood could improve “I need to talk to you about something… I have been thinking about this for a while, is an idea that in the last months has been developing in my head” She saw her hands shaking. She knew he wasn’t talking about a cake or a change in the menu, no one gets so serious to talk about that, not even him. Her last boyfriend said some similar words when he broke up with her. Those words, with that voice and that somber disposition never meant something good. Kyung Soo was about to tell her something terrible “Are you ok? You went pale all of the sudden” She looked up from her hands and found him looking at her face, his hand so close to her cheek she could almost felt its warmth. His entire semblance changed. He was still serious, but worried, his eyes big and round scanning her, searching what was disturbing her. He asked her a couple of times and she didn’t answer until she felt slightly better and under control “I…it’s just…you have been acting so weird today, and now you are being so serious now, I can’t tell why… I’m terrified” She was sure she wasn’t crying, but she heard her voice break. Finally, finally after months of craving it, he grabbed her face with careful hands, caressed her cheeks down to her neck and shoulders and pulled her into a hug. He held her by the nape, his right hand sinking in her silky hair, and his other arm held her softly, pulling her against his chest as close as he could. She rested her head on his shoulder, her arms went around his waist and although his hug wasn’t tight, it calmed her down a little bit. She felt him speak. She felt his breathing against her shoulder but couldn’t hear what he was saying. She let go of him and searched for his eyes, but he didn’t meet hers “What did you say?” “I’m sorry” “For what?” He let go of her, his arms falling from her back to his side “What I was going to tell you is that…I have been thinking about moving jobs, maybe is time for me to move on” Her arms went to his waist again. This time her grip was tight. The panic his words caused her stirred her with desperation. If she had to stay like this, hugging him for the rest of her life so he wouldn’t leave, she would do it. She kept asking him not to leave, begging for him to stay. At first, he just let her be, he hugged her too, rubbing her back trying to calm her down, but it came to no avail. Kyung Soo grabbed her arms and unclasped them with a lot of difficulties. He called her name, trying to calm her down, but she held to his arms, still shaken by his news “This could be good for me, and for you too, Jisoo will stay in charge, she cooks the kind of things you like, and maybe a new chef with a new approach could be better for the coffee shop” She was in tears, her lips shaking as the air left her mouth in short and quick puffs. He got worried about her, he felt guilty too “No! No Kyung Soo, you can’t leave me, this coffee is what it is because of you” “Is not, this is your dream, I just helped you” “No, without you I couldn’t have done this, you are my chef, you are my partner Kyung Soo, please don’t…” Kyung Soo took a step back releasing himself from her grip. He looked unsettled, shaking his head, his eyes saddened “Just that? You want me here just because I'm your chef?” “What do you mean?” She asked, cleaning her tears with her sleeve. Kyung Soo took a deep breath after another until he could speak calmly “That's the only thing I am to you right?” She looked into his eyes for a long time. Kyung Soo now was being inquisitive giving her back a stare that intimidated her because she felt naked in front of him. She was sure she never showed her adoration in front of him. She was always professional, they were never flirty or platonic. They did trust each other and talked a lot, but she never felt anything from him, and she was sure she never showed anything more than admiration and respect towards him. She needed to change that “No! No, you are more” Build up the braveness to say more than that was harder than she would expect. “What am I then? And please don’t say your business partner” She noticed in his voice that they were equally desperate. They were equally frustrated and scared about what was happening. There was a lot to lose with this conversation. She could confess and lose her chef and a friend. But if he was so decided to leave, she needed to share with him how much she had fallen for him, because she loved him. And if he decided to leave after her confession and not look for her ever again, at least she got to tell him how she felt. She just wished she could have told him sooner “Kyung Soo…you are all that, but since always you have been my friend” He closed his eyes sighing in frustration “And I love you, I just… I love you so much, you can’t leave me, please don’t leave me” She finished with a string of voice, her hands in fists, her eyes closed, scared. Kyung Soo took two long steps whispering her name, and as she looked up, he cupped her jaw and covered her mouth with his own. She gasped and it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. Kyung Soo grunted softly in return as he dragged his fingertips along her jaw. Kyung Soo’s lips were soft and warm, but calm. It wasn’t a hungry kiss or desperate. He was testing, keeping himself in line. Despite the shock, she still thought she could spend the rest of her days kissing him without getting tired of it. He pulled back just far enough to let the air back into their lungs. His eyes gazed deeply into her eyes, asking for permission, although it was a bit too late now. She closed her eyes and he couldn’t resist too long away from her. He tilted his head catching her breath, and this time he kissed her with intensity. Intensity that she matched. The kiss itself was more tentative than anything, mostly because they were both unsure of what was going on. But she was the first one settling it when she caught his lower lip and suddenly sucked on it. Kyung Soo’s warmth was almost suffocating, and she wanted to taste it. He encircled one arm around her waist, placed the other hand on her nape as if locking her with his body so she wouldn’t leave him. He didn’t want to hold back anymore, he wanted her, he loved her, and she loved him too. Now it was the time to make up for the lost time. Her hands were on his shoulders, his neck, his arms, the sides of his face. It was desperate, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care about the tiny frustrated sounds spilling from the back of her throat. She didn’t care that he was leaving her. He was quitting and leaving her behind. She backed away, looking at him wildly “You…Kyung Soo, you…you are lea…” He moved quickly to grab her by the nape, tugging her close so they could rest their foreheads together “It’s ok, I’m here, I’m not leaving” He breathed, stroking the back of her neck tenderly. She still looked fairly terrified, her pupils blown wide and shaking all over, but completely still in his hold “Kyung Soo” She called again, but he shook his head and moved his other hand to stroke her cheek softly “I love you” He whispered, although he knew it was not enough to reassure her now, even after the kiss “You really do?” “We kissed” He whispered against her lips, feeling stupid by saying that, but his mind couldn’t form better words. His fingers caressed the sides of her mouth and god, he wanted to do it again, wanted to seal his mouth over hers for another taste, just to feed that need he has been feeling for months. But he held himself. Instead, he took one of her hands and placed it over his chest, the spot where his heart was beating like crazy. Closing her eyes, she let her senses take over everything, wondering for how long she has been feeling like this, if this is what falling in love feels like, if this is what he feels like. She called his name again, and Kyung Soo called hers. They giggled together, feeling some of the tension dissipate “And…and what does this mean?” She stuttered "No idea" He whispered, and they giggled again. She knew what this was, he knew it too, so she leaned in and kissed him again. When they pulled apart and she opened her eyes she found him smiling brightly. He grabbed her by the waist, lifting and dropping her on the counter. She hugged his shoulders and rejoiced in the feeling of his arms holding her “You are not leaving right?” “No” “Why did you say that?” His ears went red and he looked down ashamed “I thought you liked Baekhyun, and I just couldn’t go through that” She called his name softly, feeling sorry for him, “Just to be clear, I don’t like him” “I know now” She made him look at her again, rubbing his nape “That’s why you were so cold to him?” He nodded, looking at her again “Ok, make sure to be nicer with him ok? He was very sad because he thinks you hate him and he really likes you” Kyung Soo’s eyebrows went up funnily “That’s why you asked me if I liked him?” “Yeah” “I thought it was because you wanted my approval to date him” She was shocked to hear that, and also felt incredibly guilty “Kyung Soo, for how long have you being suffering?” She caressed his face, kissing his cheeks “Kiss me some more so I can forget about that” She grabbed his cute face and kissed him softly, like a caress, an apology. Kyung Soo pulled back from the kiss, his hands moving to her thighs “What you wanted to say before?” She looked clueless for a while, not quite remembering what happened before. She took half a minute to go over the most recent events “Oh yes! I had a proposal for you, here” She grabbed his hand and jumped down the counter, walking with him to her office. If she was lucky enough, after that afternoon she would get a new boyfriend and a new business partner.

The End

Notes: Please, some feedback.

I think the next story will be up in two weeks. Miso.

#do kyungsoo #exosnet #Kyungsoo #d.o #kyung soo #d.o fanfic #d.o fluff #exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #dokyungsoo

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for-the-exiled · 4 years

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Pairing: ChellDOS, implied Caveline Word Count: 2,295 Continuation of [Nightmares]

[Read on AO3 if you prefer]

“GLaDOS has heard voices her whole life. But for once, the voices she’s hearing are her own. And her conscience isn’t what frightens her the most.”

–

GLaDOS had gone silent for a while, trusting Chell could carry on without her butting in for a while. Since she had been shoved into a potato against her will, weird emotions had begun to surface. They all began to pile up, weighing on the disoriented AI. Every little thing built up to the reveal that part of GLaDOS had once been Cave Johnson’s assistant, Caroline. GLaDOS should have seen it coming. Every miserable emotion could have only come from something as stupid as a human.

But the worst emotion of all to surface, was her building affection for Chell.

In reality, this had all started long ago. Back before she had even been murdered. Chell had caught the AI’s mind early on. GLaDOS could never place what made Chell so special to her, so she assumed the interest was just her seeing Chell as an excellent test subject. But her time spent in a potato had weakened her defenses and made her more vulnerable than ever. This weakness had caused her to face her feelings and the fact that they were deeper than an appreciation for a good test subject.

Part of GLaDOS liked it. The almost intoxicating feeling of watching Chell test up close gave her a sort of guilty pleasure. But the other half of GLaDOS loathed it. This was the test subject who killed her, threw her precious facility into ruin twice now, and got her stuck in a potato. She should only feel pure hate for the woman. And yet, GLaDOS appreciated her still. Chell had been the perfect test subject. And despite her verbal jabs, she knew Chell was fit and saw her as quite attractive.

Those voices, arguing over how GLaDOS should feel towards her former test subject, were the absolute worst. The next worse, however, was her conscience. It voiced the overwhelming regret she felt over her actions to the woman. GLaDOS would never voice any apologies for them herself, at the very least not yet. But that did not stop her from still feeling terrible over the things she said and the actions she took. The voice gnawed at her, leaving her feeling sick with guilt.

‘This is all so stupid. Stupid potato. Stupid Caroline. Stupid moron.’ GLaDOS complained inwardly. ‘If it weren’t for all this I’d still be in my facili-’

Caw! Caw!

The sound of a bird zapped GLaDOS back to the present.

"Agh! Bird! Bird! Kill it! It's evil!" GLaDOS didn’t even try to mask the fear in her voice. The AI saw the gentle, subtle look of sympathy Chell gave her and subconsciously prayed she could save the image with the limited power the potato provided. The woman quickly walked forward, waved her hand lightly, and scared the beast off. It let out a few more caws as it flew away.

"It flew off. Good. For him. Alright, back to thinking." GLaDOS spoke hastily. She wasn’t really going to spend much more time thinking, but she didn’t have much to say. And it wasn’t as if Chell would respond. GLaDOS understood Chell was voluntarily mute, the small murmurs she let out during her brief sleep were enough to prove that. Part of GLaDOS felt sad, longing to actually get a response from the human. To actually be able to hold a conversation with someone she almost saw as equal for the first time in a long time. But that was wishful thinking, and she already felt lucky to get a look other than neutrality or disgust from Chell.

Chell had made her way into the 80’s Aperture lobby, triggering another round of pre-recorded messages. GLaDOS felt a faint pang of sorrow as she heard how ill Cave Johnson had become. The part of her that had been Caroline knew what would happen, how reckless Cave was and how much more so he had become in his efforts to beat Black Mesa. How it would lead to his downfall. How it would lead to GLaDOS…

“The bean counters told me we literally could not afford to buy seven dollars worth of moon rocks, much less seventy million. Bought 'em anyway. Ground 'em up, mixed em into a gel.” Chell kept moving, seemingly not paying attention to the dying man’s words going through the speakers.

"And guess what? Ground up moon rocks are pure poison. I am deathly ill."

Chell hesitated a little, and GLaDOS assumed Cave’s admission of his grim state had thrown the woman off a tad. But Chell continued after only a heartbeat.

"Still, it turns out they're a great portal conductor.” Chell had gotten into the elevator, and the pair began to be raised into the last sphere. “So now we're gonna see if jumping in and out of these new portals can somehow leech the lunar poison out of a man's bloodstream. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Cave’s words were broken up by another coughing fit. “Let's all stay positive and do some science." As the elevator’s doors opened, Chell seemed cautious of the conversion gel being pumped out in front of her.

"That said, I would really appreciate it if you could test as fast as possible. Caroline, please bring me more pain pills." GLaDOS was confused as grief that wasn’t hers washed through her body like a tidal wave. Something had woken inside her…

‘She has more survival skills than Cave did, I’ll give you that.’ The AI was startled by the voice that did not belong to her.

‘Of course she does. She hasn’t gone through all of this just to get herself poisoned, risking dying before she can even get the freedom she’s messed everything up for.’ GLaDOS watched Chell work with the conversion gel, now avoiding prolonged contact the best she could.

‘I’m just trying to say you know how to pick ones that won't get themselves killed.’ If GLaDOS had been human, she would’ve choked. Instead, she found herself overwhelmed by conflicting emotions and buzzing from the strain on the limited power she had. Once GLaDOS had calmed down, she saw Chell giving her a confused look. The machine would have to explain later.

‘And what is that supposed to mean? Of course I don’t want a test subject that would get themself killed.’ Of course, GLaDOS understood what the voice had meant, but she still had yet how she truly felt. And GLaDOS didn’t want to acknowledge its quip. She felt relief after a few moments had passed without a reply from the voice.

Chell had just jumped into a portal which flung the duo onto the platform she had been making her way to as GLaDOS put her focus back on the woman. Chell was extremely skilled, and it caused a small hum to be emitted from the potato battery. The voices of longing began to seep in, and GLaDOS was glad that Chell did not hear the humming, or at the very least was ignoring it. Soon enough, a new external voice took GLaDOS’s attention and sucked her into its speech.

"All right, I've been thinking. When life gives you lemons? Don't make lemonade.”

"Yeah."

“Make life take the lemons back!”

"Yeah!"

”Get mad!”

"Yeah!"

“‘I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these?'"

"Yeah, take the lemons..!"

"Demand to see life's manager!”

"Yeah!"

“Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man who's going to burn your house down! With the lemons!”

"Oh, I like this guy." GLaDOS added hastily, noticing Chell had been watching her with a confused smirk.

“I'm going to get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!" Cave’s speech was interrupted by yet another coughing fit.

"BURN HIS HOUSE DOWN!” GLaDOS practically shrieked, getting too caught up in the fury of the lemon speech. "Burning people! He says what we're all thinking!" She felt a surge of emotion as Chell gave a silent chuckle at the machine’s, almost exceeding her 1.6 volt limit.

"The point is:” GLaDOS let herself remain silent, hearing that Cave was speaking more calmly. “If we can store music on a compact disc, why can't we store a man's intelligence and personality on one? So I have the engineers figuring that out now. Brain Mapping. Artificial Intelligence. We should have been working on it thirty years ago.” Chell hesitated her movement, seemingly sharing the discomfort of hearing the planning of GLaDOS.

“I will say this - and I'm gonna say it on tape so everybody hears it a hundred times a day: If I die before you people can pour me into a computer, I want Caroline to run this place.” If GLaDOS had wanted to speak again, she wouldn’t have been able to. She could feel the voice from earlier stirring again. “Now she'll argue. She'll say she can't. She's modest like that. But you make her. Hell, put her in my computer. I don't care. Alright, test's over. You can head on back to your desk."

"Goodbye, sir." GLaDOS went silent, letting Chell get through to the next door in silence.

GLaDOS now understood what the voice was and why she had responded to Cave’s pre-recorded messages without her choosing to do so. It was Caroline, speaking through GLaDOS.

The machine felt some frustration. So she wasn’t fully Caroline, but just a vessel for the long-gone woman’s consciousness? This realization stung even more than how the Aperture scientists had once treated her. GLaDOS was her own being, and maybe part of her could be attributed to Caroline, but the AI was at the most a reborn form of the woman. She was not the same being as Caroline, and was now enraged by the knowledge she carried yet another voice that couldn’t be gotten rid of just as easily as a personality core. However, this was too much for the potato battery powering her to handle, and GLaDOS ended up short-circuiting.

When she came to, Chell had paused and was staring in confusion and GLaDOS. In turn, GLaDOS found the small hum return, earning an amused look from Chell. GLaDOS needed to bring her attention away from… that.

"I know things look bleak, but that crazy man down there was right. Let's not take these lemons! We are going to march right back upstairs and MAKE him put me back in my body!” Chell started making her way through to the next pumping area, flinging herself onto the large platform leading there as GLaDOS spoke. "And he'll probably kill us, because he's incredibly powerful and I have no plan." Chell paused before continuing forward, letting out a small, nearly silent chuckle that caused GLaDOS to pause as well. The AI cursed internally, wishing she had been able to record it.

"Wow. I'm not going to lie to you, the odds are a million to one. And that's with some generous rounding." Chell nodded, leaping through a portal to get the pair further along in their trek. "Still, though, let's get mad! If we're going to explode, let's at least explode with some dignity." Chell’s face had returned to its determined, but otherwise almost neutral state in response to GLaDOS’s words. However, GLaDOS couldn’t help but notice the small smile that was almost not on the former test subject’s face at all.

The voices started to seep back to GLaDOS, bringing up an odd, sickening mix of guilt and love. GLaDOS felt herself cracking, longing to apologize but feeling too stubborn and above it to do so. But for once, her biggest reason not to was gone. For this moment, the machine had lost any hate she had once felt for the human. And the guilt for her actions certainly didn’t help. But what ate away at her the most was her near certain feelings for Chell, the longing for some form of positive relationship for the woman. But that would require trust and no remaining conflict between the two. She would have to apologize. GLaDOS finally broke when a certain someone spoke up.

‘Just tell her you’re sorry.’

“I’ve been thinking.” Chell slowed her walking as she heard GLaDOS speak up. “Despite how much of a monster you’ve been, and the terrible actions you took to make me do what I did, I’m… sorry.” Chell stopped walking completely to stare at the machine. The two were right in front of yet another one of Aperture’s emancipation grills.

“This stupid potato is making me feel… significantly weaker, so don’t expect an apology ever again. But… I haven’t been any better than you. I can see why you acted out the way you did.” Chell raised an eyebrow at GLaDOS’s apology, however she seemed more amused than skeptical. “I hope you can forgive me, although you’ve arguably done worse and I shouldn’t be asking for it. I would just like to continue forward without any animosity between us.” Chell just rolled her eyes as GLaDOS finished, and then proceeded to do the unimaginable.

She… kissed GLaDOS..?

Certainly the AI was just malfunctioning, perceiving the action wrong or being stuck in a fantasy. However, the contact was real. And luckily enough for GLaDOS, she could feel the woman’s gentle lips against her optic. There was a grating hiss before GLaDOS blacked out, short-circuiting once again from the overwhelming emotion the action caused.

When she came to, Chell was walking calmly to a spot where conversion gel was being pumped onto. The woman’s eyes shifted to GLaDOS as she regained consciousness. Had she been human, GLaDOS would’ve been out of breath. Instead, she had one thing to say to the being carrying her.

“You know you’re confusing, right?”

#chelldos #glados x chell #fanfic #portal chell #portal glados #glados #chell

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artificialqueens · 4 years

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If You Ever Wanna Be In Love (I'll Come Around), Chapter Two (Branjie) - Athena2

Summary: After a mix-up at work leads to Vanessa pretending she has a wife, she uses this fake wife to get out of work events. But when she runs out of excuses and needs a wife for a party, Vanessa finds herself turning to Nina’s friend Brooke, who just so happens to need a fake girlfriend.

Previously: Brooke and Vanessa agreed to a fake dating arrangement Now: Brooke pretends to be Vanessa’s wife at a work dinner.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the amazing feedback for chapter 1! It really does mean so much to me that you enjoyed it and are excited for more! I hope you like this chapter and leave feedback if you’d like! Thank you so much to Writ for betaing, you’re the absolute best <3 <3 <3.

Brooke dumps half her closet on the bed. She hasn’t done this in a while, hasn’t stalked around her room in a robe and makeup, trying to pick an outfit. Sure, she goes to work everyday with fierce eyeliner and sharp suits and silk shirts, but this is different. She’d been extra steady with her eyeliner, blending her contour until it was perfect, but she’s not sure why. Maybe she just wants to take advantage of the night and an opportunity to look nice. Maybe she wants to impress Vanessa–who’s definitely prettier than she remembered–and show her that she’s going to be the best fake wife she can be, good enough to turn heads and have them be the perfect couple at the party.

Whatever the reason, it has her rifling through every dress and pant suit she owns, trying to decide if purple or black or red is the right color, if she should go stripes or plain, form-fitting or loose. She and Vanessa exchanged numbers after coffee, and Brooke has a text asking what to wear half-written before deleting it all. No need to bother Vanessa over this. Eventually she pulls on the plain black dress that pops against her pale skin, figuring a classic will work.

Vanessa is smiling hesitantly when Brooke gets in her car, shooting out apologies for the mess. Brooke moves aside an old magazine advertising fun kids’ activities and settles in, legs bouncing as she gets a good look at Vanessa, soft waves tumbling down her back and dazzling teeth giving the sun a run for its money.

“You look nice,” Brooke says, hoping it’s okay to say. Vanessa does look nice, and she figures compliments should be part of their fake marriage. Her dad always complimented her mom whenever they went out, leaving Brooke and her sister with their grandma whose cloud of old-lady perfume almost dissolved their lungs.

“Thanks. So do you.”

“Thanks.” Brooke looks at her lap, panic growing as blocks pass in silence. She knows almost nothing about Vanessa, and somehow she has to convince people they’re married for the night. Can they really pull this off? This could be one of the worst situations she’s been in, aside from the time she and Nina tried to dye their hair pink after finals and spent the night scrubbing the dorm bathroom clean, pink staining their hands for days.

Vanessa peeks over at her when they hit a red light. “Hey, Brooke? Thank you for doing this. You really saved my ass.”

Brooke blushes. “You don’t have to thank me, it’s not any trouble. I would’ve just been watching Gilmore Girls with my cats for the third time.”

“Gilmore Girls?”

“It’s a really good show. Really soothing, too,” Brooke says. She doesn’t add anything else, doesn’t add whether Vanessa would like or not because she doesn’t know the kind of things Vanessa likes. Vanessa could be a horror movie fan for all she knows, but from the way she jumped out of her seat when a squirrel ran in front of the car, Brooke’s thinking that’s a no.

Vanessa nods. She cranks up the radio when Beyonce comes on, chattering about work, and as they drive further away, Brooke almost forgets her nerves.

—

Vanessa’s hands are stuck on the wheel as they pull into the restaurant parking lot. Brooke looks nice–a lot nicer than Vanessa expected. Her sleeveless dress reveals strong arms that taper into clever hands and long fingers, and Vanessa has to stop looking.

Brooke fidgets with her gold bracelet, and Vanessa knows she’ll have to take the lead to get them through this. She notices her own hands are sweaty, and she dries them on her dress, forcing herself to stay calm. Paul and everyone else already bought the fake wife story, Vanessa reminds herself. All she has to do is turn up the charm until they’re completely sold.

“We got this, right?” Vanessa meets Brooke’s eyes with a hopeful smile.

“Right. We go in, we act married, we get out,” Brooke says.

Vanessa laughs. “You’re making us sound like spies! Just relax, okay? Follow my lead and we’ll be fine, I promise.”

Brooke nods, and Vanessa hands her the second fake ring she’d gotten from the thrift shop. It shines in the dim parking lot lights, gaining its second life through Brooke.

Brooke opens her door then slams it, turning back to Vanessa. “Wait. How did we get engaged?”

“What’s it matter?”

“If I’m playing a part, I want to do it right. And what if someone asks? Our stories have to match so we don’t get caught in the lie.”

Vanessa takes a breath of awe. As absurd as this whole thing is, she clearly has the right person for it, someone careful and dedicated enough to make sure they succeed. Vanessa thinks for a second. “You proposed to me on the beach, at sunset.”

Brooke scoffs.

“What?”

“That’s so lame! That’s something a boring straight guy would do for his girlfriend he knows nothing about. If I’m gonna propose to you, it would be better than that!”

“It’s not even a real proposal!” Vanessa argues, though part of her is touched that even if it is fake, Brooke wants her to have something nice.

“Still,” Brooke insists.

“Got any ideas?”

“What would your dream proposal be?” Brooke asks. “Not some generic beach thing. Something special.”

Vanessa’s pictured her wedding before—gold sun streaking through red and orange leaves as her dress flows behind her on the walk to her wife, the fall air crisp as an apple-—but hasn’t considered all the exhausting details and planning that would get her to that point.

“Well, don’t laugh, but I had a pirate thing when I was little. My mom would put coins and toys in the sandbox and give me a map and I’d dig for them. So let’s say you did a little treasure hunt that ended in the proposal.” Vanessa never knew how much she wanted something like this, something to show her wife knows her like no one else, but as she speaks, she can see it happening. Her breathlessly flipping over a tattered map to see neat lines and bright red X. Her going through each step, faster and faster as her excitement builds, until she reaches the end and Brooke is on one knee with a box—

Vanessa shakes her head to clear out the image.

Brooke smiles. “I like that. It’s nice.” She leans in closer, like she’s sharing a secret. “I had a dinosaur thing, so I won’t laugh.”

“Seems like you still have a dinosaur thing, Miss Museum Head,” Vanessa teases.

Brooke blushes, and Vanessa’s heart leaps. “I guess I do.”

There’s a beat of silence, and they both realize this is it. Doors slam, locks click, and they give each other one last nod before entering the restaurant.

The small restaurant room Paul reserved is packed with disgruntled library employees eager for a night off, and every single head spins toward her and Brooke. A few mouths drop open, and Vanessa grins. They do look impressive, Brooke’s black dress flowing down her long frame, a perfect match for Vanessa’s red dress with tiny black stars, one of her favorite thrift store finds.

But beyond the outfits is something Vanessa can’t quite describe. She gets a look at her and Brooke in a mirror on the wall, and something about them looks right, like they could be on opposite sides of the room and you would still know they were a couple. Maybe it’s the way Vanessa leans into the space around Brooke, or the way Brooke slows her pace for Vanessa’s matchstick legs, but there’s some sort of magic bubbling around them.

Couples cling like koalas and Vanessa throws an awkward arm around Brooke’s waist to look more couple-y. Brooke stiffens slightly before relaxing into it.

Paul runs over. “So you’re Vanessa’s wife,” he says to Brooke, pumping her hand up and down with no sign of stopping.

“That’s me,” Brooke agrees. “I’m Brooke, if Vanessa hasn’t told you.”

“Actually, she hasn’t,” Paul says, giving Vanessa a look. “We’ve been wanting to meet you for months but Vanessa says you’ve been sick a lot lately. I hope you’re doing better after your stomach problems last week?”

Brooke shoots Vanessa a death glare, but she still answers warmly. “I’m much better now, thank you.”

“Glad to hear it.” Paul ushers them over to the table, and Vanessa quickly pulls her arm back.

“Sorry,” she whispers. “Just thought we needed a little touching.”

“It’s fine,” Brooke says, sighing in relief as they slide next to Nina at the table.

Vanessa quickly makes the introductions to her coworkers. Silky smiles devilishly and A’keria and Yvie narrow their eyes, serving as her test panel for the night, to see if she and Brooke can really sell things for the admins.

“Now, about those stomach problems?” Brooke demands. Her eyebrows are furrowed and Vanessa has to consciously stop looking at how adorable the expression makes her.

“Well, when I don’t want to go to parties, I use you as an excuse sometimes,” Vanessa says sheepishly.

Brooke pinches the bridge of her nose. “And how many times have you said I was sick?”

Vanessa shrugs. “I kinda…lost count?”

Brooke groans, heaving a mighty sigh. “I really hope this food is better than slightly-above-average.”

—

The food, it turns out, is actually better than Vanessa expected. She makes her way through fish in lemon butter, but Brooke’s lasagna came with garlic bread that’s calling her name. They’re supposed to be married, after all, so why the hell not? She reaches over and grabs a chunk. Brooke then asks for a bite of fish, and Vanessa knows from her friends’ approving nods and the calm behavior of the others that they’re completely selling the wife thing.

Vanessa doesn’t know what exactly makes a marriage look real, but she follows stuff her parents did—sharing food and joking with each other, letting their hands brush every now and then, each one making her whole arm tingle.

Brooke does her part wonderfully, no question about it. She maintains her calm all through dinner, answering question after question about herself and work. Even though Brooke seems to hold back when she talks about her job, like she’s afraid no one is interested, Vanessa finds herself really engrossed in what Brooke does, no acting required.

Brooke does a lot more than look at bones all day, Vanessa learns. She supervises the museum’s dinosaur collection and has been working on a special summer exhibit for months, getting permission to borrow a T-Rex skull from another museum. She’s also started more kids’ programs, special events and days just for them. As she speaks, Vanessa can see it. She can see Brooke strutting across the museum’s stone floor in a sharp black suit, opening up a crate of fossils and grinning like a little kid, staying at the museum long past closing to set it all up. It makes her smile, and the smile doesn’t leave.

Vanessa also learns that Brooke likes hiking on the weekends, and she’s grateful they’re not really married, because if she ever had to tag along on a hiking date she’d probably pass out.

When they walk back to the car amidst Paul shouting his hopes to see Brooke again, Vanessa feels sad somehow, like the thrill of tonight is fading.

“I, um, I had a nice time tonight,” Brooke says quietly, after Vanessa starts driving. “I haven’t been out in a while. I’ve been focusing on the T-Rex exhibit since January. Haven’t had time for much else.”

Vanessa nods. “Yeah, I get it. We get a lot more kids in the library for summer, I’ve been pulling crafts out of my ass to have more activities. But I love it, you know?”

“Yeah,” Brooke says, grabbing her purse as they pull up in front of her apartment. “Um, I’ll text you about the party at my mom’s, okay?”

“Okay. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Vanessa almost wishes the night didn’t have to end, that they could still buzz with that same magic that overtook them in the restaurant. She wonders if she’s getting her wish when Brooke releases the door and turns back to her.

“Your ring,” Brooke explains, and it hits Vanessa again that this is all fake, just an act. Brooke’s face falls as she tries to twist the ring off. “It’s stuck.”

“What do you mean,stuck?”

“I mean it’s stuck!”

“But it went on okay.” Vanessa shakes her head. “I bet you crack your knuckles. My mom made me stop, said I’d get big knuckles—“

“That’s a myth!” Brooke shoots back, tugging harder on the ring.

“Let me help.” Vanessa twists it with her, trying not to hurt Brooke.

“If I lose my finger, I’m mailing it to you so it can haunt you forever,” Brooke says, a hint of panic creeping into her voice.

“No one is losing a finger! Hang on, I have lotion.” Vanessa grabs the mini bottle of Aveeno in her purse and rubs it into Brooke’s hand, trying not to think of how soft—albeit sweaty—her skin is. Vanessa gives one last tug that sends her flying into the door, ring triumphantly in her fist.

Brooke massages her hand, then meets Vanessa’s gaze. Suddenly, they both erupt into laughter so fierce it brings tears to Vanessa’s eyes and makes her stomach hurt. I’m that moment, Brooke becomes more real to her, shaking and snorting with laughter, her face stretched into a grin. Brooke isn’t just someone who passes dishes at Nina’s without being asked, but someone Vanessa thinks she might want to know more, and she’s suddenly grateful for the birthday party coming up, grateful for more time with her.

“Okay, okay,” Vanessa wheezes. “Good night, for real.”

“Good night.”

Brooke gracefully walks into the building, and Vanessa finds herself staring at the empty space Brooke occupied long after she’s safely inside.

—

Brooke can’t quite believe it, but dinner with Vanessa was fun. Even with the number of questions Vanessa’s coworkers threw at her and the answers she had to keep spitting out, things began to feel less like a contest to prove their fake relationship and more like a real dinner party.

Vanessa is funnier than Brooke had remembered, telling story after story about the library’s chaos, from the time a grown man got stuck in the bathroom to the woman who almost went over the library desk when she found out there was no vending machine in the children’s room. Vanessa acts her stories out like she’s on stage, changing her voice and making exaggerated faces and swinging her arms all over the place.

She and Nina meet for their weekly breakfast the next day, and it’s nice to be around her warmth, nice to be around someone who knows the previous night was fake, freeing Brooke from pretending to be someone else. Even so, all Nina can talk about is how well Brooke and Vanessa did.

“I’m just saying, you really pulled it off,” Nina says around a mouthful of toast. “And she took some of your food! That was so cute, did you plan that?”

Brooke shakes her head, turning to the waffles she won’t have to share with anyone today. Not that she had really minded Vanessa’s slim wrist darting to her plate. “We didn’t plan it. She literally just stole my garlic bread.”

“Well, it worked. You looked so natural. I know A’keria, Silky, and Yvie were impressed, and they’re hard to win over.”

Brooke smiles a little at that. You can’t assign grades for being someone’s fake wife, but Brooke likes knowing she did a good job.

“Yeah. Vanessa’s gonna be my fake girlfriend at my mom’s in two weeks, and then I guess that’s that.”

“You’re really just doing the two things and that’s it?” Nina stares at her in surprise.

Brooke looks down, suddenly self-conscious. “Yeah? I mean, that’s what we agreed to…” she trails off. After last night, she was starting to think that more time with Vanessa could be a nice thing. Vanessa is funny and kind and charming, almost like Nina in a way, and Brooke was sucked into her personality in the dim restaurant lights. But now, in the cold morning light, the effects have worn off. They’re just two people who barely know each other, pretending to be in a relationship a few times. They might keep in touch after, talk at Nina’s parties, but there’s nothing more than that.

“Well, maybe you could stay friends after and do things,” Nina says. “You seemed like you had fun.”

“Yeah.” Brooke shovels some waffles into her mouth, because Nina is right and they both know it. Luckily, Nina moves the conversation onto the library carnival they’re having, and Brooke can forget all about last night.

—

That night, Brooke’s phone buzzes while she’s curled up with the cats, watching TV. Her heart flutters a little when she sees the sender.

Vanessa Mateo: So how long do I have to wait for Lorelai and Luke to get together?

Vanessa Mateo: Is Rory gonna end up with this Dean guy?

Vanessa Mateo: I need answers!

Brooke’s fingers hover over the phone. It’s been a while since she’s texted someone besides Nina or her mom, and she’s not sure how to approach this. Just as friends, she tells herself, and begins to type.

Brooke Lynn Hytes: You’ll just have to wait and see ;)

Vanessa Mateo: Brooke Lynn Hytes did you just winky face me???

Brooke Lynn Hytes: ;) ;)

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #nina west #yvie oddly #silky nutmeg ganache #akeria davenport #branjie #lesbian au #fake dating au #s11 #fluff #if you ever wanna be in love #athena2 #concrit welcome #submission

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