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rrasado · 2 years

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Hi hi! I really love your writing and I'd like to make a request! I'd really love to see something for Mammon x MC based on the song The Joker and the Queen by Ed Sheeran. Something like a fic or mini fic would be great but since I didn't see anything of that type mentioned in your rules, it could be whatever format you feel most comfortable with.

• Love's Royal Flush •

My first requested Fic it seems 👀, I wasn't aware this song existed and the lyrics have me folded they're so HNGG- Mammon we love you 😭. I'm taking a very big leap of faith for this by writing it in an Au setting? Think of it similarly as the Cardverse from Hetalia n.n, I assumed this was meant to be a romantic req since the song leans more on it? Do tell if it's a misunderstanding anon-san hhh-

Reader is referred as the Queen but is still Gender neutral!

They say a monarch of your standing must be admirable, some portray you as someone meant to be swayed over in hopes of swaying the power you possess. The vast majority look up to you in reverence with the hidden pity for your position. If there's one thing everyone can agree on, it's that you're unreachable in one sense or another. Even the joker of the court couldn't help but to agree every time his gaze lingers on your form across the checkered hall.

In the court, there's no such thing as names, all they need is your position and they'd know just how to treat you. The King and Queens of old remain on a glorified pedestal that leads every suit into a prosperous tomorrow, the Jacks will always be there to support the two leading monarchs whether out of their own admiration or desire to upvote their power. So on it went from nines to threes until it reached the Ace, a last resort of power deemed the hidden weapon of all four suits. Mammon had almost forgotten his own name bestowed by the wretched being who casted him and his brothers to divide, they all managed to settle as one courtier among the four suits, even if it meant almost losing ties with them...after all who'd believe him when he'd say that the king of Diamonds was his older brother? Or if he revealed how the Jack of Hearts was his younger 5th sibling? Of course not, especially when he was casted out of the four existing suits as a wild card… a joker never belonging to any faction whatsoever.

His position was both a blessing and a curse, a gathering was held where all were welcomed to attend no matter the suit etched on your skin, thus he dragged his miserable self onwards where he'd soon meet you for the first time. You weren't as eye-catching as the other monarchs present, one could say you were on the humble side of the spectrum. And yet you held an air of composed elegance he can compare to preserved raw gold, unpolished to the world's standard yet value higher than most would think.

As a joker he decided to approach you, facade that of an Ace utilizing his ability to temporarily fit into a position just to reach you without tainting your reputation. That night was unforgettable for both, the lonely queen you stood as was eased when the white haired man shared a lighthearted conversation dispersing your worries. You could faintly tell he wasn't what he was letting on, but you didn't have the heart to tell him not when he was doing more good than bad in shamelessly talking you up. His eyes never held the selfish intent of getting you, that's something you felt only he can give. That night was what began your finicky relationship.

The next was when business affairs among the factions became highly dense with work, day in and day out you went back and forth in the grand palace with no king to lead so everything laid in your hand. You were never one to simply accept affections from past monarchs who sent lavish gifts as if you were something to be bribed for. On a full moon night a tap on your window snapped you out your paperwork, had it been an assassin they would've took the opportunity to slice your nape when you opened the window to look down but instead you were met with a comforting pair of blue eyes that seemed to look more vibrant under the silver moonlight, faintly tinting your office with an ethereal glow. Mammon briskly jumped in ready to blurt out his excuse only to see your fatigued expression.

"Oi..they say you higher ups are supposed to be geniuses right?- the hell are you overworking then!"

You've heard that phrase from your advisers but when he said it, you felt a twinge of guilt most especially when he suddenly took half of the stack of documents off your ebony desk. With his speed- you thought he meant to steal them but then he turned on his heel to plop on the guest seat, dropping the papers on the miniature table soon hunching himself.

"If I didn't know any better the great Mammon would think you wanted to be indebted to me!"

His statement was just something to mask his sudden motivation to aid you, your expression in his peripheral vision before grunting and beginning to ease up the tax reports you were working on earlier. Your gratitude was kept in silence for now, settling down as you both wiped out your workload for the week. Just for tonight he'll act like those helpful Jacks who gave aid to the higher ups, like the pompous duchies who wanted to be in your favor for the sake of your position. He was successful in his mission, for his presence was what kept you going through the heavy work you were tasked with.

The morning after that, you awoke to a hastily written note on your bedside, desk pristine and carrying what looked to be a fading gold brooch attached with black and blue tassels. The piece of accessory not needing a tag for you to know just who it was from. From then on the joker of every court began to be more close to you ranging from sneaking in to "coincidentally" bumping into you whenever you're tasked to survey the countryside. Even your current court began to see the change in your moods, you were more bright than before as if the raw unpolished gold had begun to take form and smith into something more.

Yet despite the positive outcome your change of attitude became the powder keg for other court factions to try and whisk your hand with their kings. Someone of your talent and caliber could be singlehandedly be one of the greatest assets there is to claim and the kings that came sending their "sincere" regards agreed. Some wanted you, others wanted your abilities, and the twisted simply wish for an ornamental accessory to make themselves look better. At first this was all bearable thanks to the white haired Joker's company but overtime mammon's presence became less and less. For what reason you weren't sure- but the pessimistic part of you thought he's grown tired of interacting with you...and who wouldn't?

Overwhelmed with all this the Queen you stood as had become a tired mess behind closed doors, ordering for your personal garden to be closed off and not let a single person in. Whether you loved flora or just the solitary comfort that came with venturing on your own among the trimmed green hedges it didn't matter. Amidst your self dwelling muffled thuds could be heard from the other side of the hedge, worried it was an intruder you rushed to leave the garden with nothing but the setting sun giving you its final rays of light as guidance. The fear that ran through your heart when a hand grasped your wrist made it all the more urgent for you to rush along, but your panic finally dwindled away when you heard his voice.

"G-gAH- Hold it will you!- your lackeys wouldn't let me in at the entrance and I had t-"

Not thinking it through a tight embrace engulfed Mammon's visage. He lost his fragile composure after feeling your arms bring warmth to his admittedly cold skin, likely the effect of freshly fleeing from the territory of Diamond up north. With your face buried into the crook of his neck he let his chin rest on top of your head, shakily returning your warm hug before shuddering a sigh.

"You...ya miss the great Mammon huh.."

Miss him? Oh you did- but where had he been? You weren't sure whether to feel upset or sad that he was right and that he may have had a significant effect on you-

"Y-y'know you seem real lonely for someone who...just had a heck ton of goods gifted by that King down west…"

You didn't even want to remember it, the expensive gifts were just a reminder of your current problem and your sudden shift in expression led mammon to blunder out another topic to distract you. Amidst his broken ramble you had to stop him… your face entailing how done you were from everything, explaining your end which was met with an evident guilt on mammon's facial features.

"H...if I just had the damn sources I'd…" he'd what?

Mammon's spunky attitude finally broke down just as you did, gulping harshly before looking away as if the rosebuds were now much more interesting. He felt weak, you were his source of liveliness when he was purged as an ostracized courtier meant to only amuse and mask as other positions for the benefit of the people. You made him feel more alive with your past encounters, he may not admit it outloud but your presence alone made him feel...greedy, greedy for your touch, greedy for your attention and greedy for your affection that he subconsciously hoped to one day be romantic.

"I didn't.. look I was a moron for leaving you for too long an- when I saw those fancy bastards sendin' hoards of stuff for your hand I…"

Mammon didn't even realize his hand clenching tighter into a fist, balled into holding back any other outburst but he still trudged forward, he's already opened this scar so might as well let himself unravel before you...not like he can salvage himself at this rate.

"You didn't need me, you shouldn't need me even if I needed you- you ain't something I can whisk away not when ya have all this going on for you… and it's frustrating to know that I can only be a quick fix when ya deserve a long term aid, something I'm far from bein'. I'm a pathetic joke and you're—"

His face contorted into one of extreme conflict, fighting back the urge to cuss himself out after just...basically admitting what he's been keeping at bay for your sake. He shot back a look when you suddenly gripped the sides of his arms, head tilted downwards yet he can faintly tell the equally hurt expression you made.

"You blind fool why do you think I never lock my window, why do you think I never wear anything on my neck besides that brooch you left, why do you think I never gave an answer to those other kings even when they'd offer mines and empires for a new partner- you really don't get it?"

Breathing ragged and hitched for mammon he caught you before you could stumble forward. Not once did he let you go again, as the confession between you two ensued without the need to say those three words he's been yearning to proclaim to you and you alone.

"D-dammit you really have a way with this- only you could do this to me"

His voice cracked but he didn't care, Mammon bit down on his lip to stifle a dry chuckle after receiving your figure into his arms, this time a tighter embrace closed by his lips on yours, cupping your face with a calloused hand finally grasping the gold he's been waiting to call as his. It only deepened with your hand behind the back of his head making sure to savor and satiate the longing you two shared.

Mammon had always considered himself an unlucky man, but as much as he stayed down the ranks he finally felt victorious in your hold, the queen taking in the joker as their own...someone who managed to pull a royal flush with their desire, he may be a joker but you'd choose him over kings anyday, a higher regard for your heart to cherish.

A/N I've, never written Mammon fic wise so I honestly have no idea how to portray him without over doing the damned greedy bastard trope 😭.

#Moon Caffeine #Full Moon Foam #devildom delicacies #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me mammon #obey me fic #mammon x reader #om! mammon

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selenesheart · 3 years

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dazed // d.m.

word count: 2.9k

warnings: smut, rough sex, praising kink, titty fucking, single dad!draco, single mom!reader, tension, cursing, unprotected sex, a bit of wine, a bit of spit, post hogwarts, modern au

summary: the tension between your son’s best friend’s dad and you was unbearable.

—————

“they said they’d be here by ten!” draco heard little scorpius’ voice coming from downstairs as he made his way down. draco smiled at scorpius’ enthusiasm, remembering telling him that you and your son would be there at any moment.

draco remembered when you two agreed on you bringing your 9-year-old son to the malfoy manor to spend time with scorp a few days back.

your son had told you that he wanted to visit his best friend at the beginning of the week, who was none other than scorpius malfoy, draco malfoy’s son.

after making plans with the malfoys, you mentally prepared yourself for what was gonna come. prepare for that cocky smirk and that harsh personality that you haven’t seen in at least ten years.

as your son mentioned the name “malfoy”, your memories rushed back in, all the glances, and flirty looks. you had to admit, draco malfoy was attractive, but you knew he was nowhere near good. well at least back then.

a couple of minutes later, an expensive-looking car arrived at the manor’s entrance. you and your son were inside of this car, looking rather excited, or at least your son was.

“merlin” the slytherin whispered as soon as you stepped out of the car, draco’s eyes landing on your figure, a figure of a goddess. malfoy examined every inch of your body, he couldn’t take his eyes off you, like he was being hypnotized.

but draco wasn’t the only one being hypnotized at the moment. you, too, were admiring his tall figure, from his perfect features to his arms that appeared to be noticeably muscular. he had changed.

you took a deep breath as the children greeted each other. blinking repeatedly, your vision rose to the blonde in front of you, giving him a polite smile as if you two haven’t spent more time looking at each other than usual, taking each other in.

taking a few steps, you extended your hand to greet the older malfoy, he took your hand in his rather big one, shaking it. his tall body hovering over yours, making your mind foggy.

his eyes lingered on your small, slight shaky hands, smirking at the slight size difference. your body had changed over the past few years, as well as your gorgeous face, he noticed. his face didn’t move at all as he scanned your face, it was like he was blocking any emotion from showing.

after backing away, you greeted the younger malfoy, bending over to reach his eye level. it took all of malfoy’s self-control to not let out a strangled groan, he adjusted his collar, letting out a low breath as he tried not to let his eyes wander down, which he miserably failed to do, letting himself catch a glimpse of your covered backside.

you got back at your feet, as draco took an unsteady breath.

“why don’t we all come inside the manor?” the tall man suggested as he opened the big, black door. with one last eye contact, you made your way in, the boys coming right behind you.

your breath hitched as you entered the enormous manor, mesmerized by the elegant chandelier, you examined the room, the many floors, the ridiculously long table in the guest room.

you chuckled lowly when you heard the little “woah” that escaped your son’s lips. smiling slightly at the cheeky smirk of the two malfoys. like father, like son, you supposed.

“let’s go to outside, ‘wanna show something!” scorpius spoke to your son excitedly. after checking with you if he could go to the garden, your son ran behind scorpius. giggles were heard from outside, making you smile slightly. then, it hit you; you were in the manor with a very tall, attractive man behind you. alone.

turning around slowly, you let yourself explore him with your vision. his sleeves were rolled up to his forearm, a couple of buttons undone, veiny hands in his trouser pockets. he looked so handsome, you thought.

“so— would you fancy a cuppa?” he offered, his deep voice breaking your train of thoughts. you looked up to him feeling embarrassed, he was smiling politely down at you. you returned the smile as you responded with a soft “yes, please”.

walking down to the kitchen, you felt draco's hand brush against yours, suddenly feeling hot, even when the room was freezing. you also took notice of his kind and polite personality, he wasn’t that rude 17-year-old boy that treated everyone like garbage.

“can you help me get those glasses on the top of the drawer?” he said as the two of you arrived at the large kitchen. you hummed a response while approaching the drawer that he was referring to just a couple of seconds ago, draco leaving to get a bottle of red wine.

you placed a hand on top of the counter besides the dark drawer, lifting yourself a bit to reach the said cups. your fingertips could touch them but it was no use, you huffed, the glasses were unnecessarily high.

you jumped slightly as you felt one of malfoy’s big hands on your waist, his tall figure— once again— hovering over you, reaching his arm to the top of the drawer. your backside pressed against his front, making him close his eyes slightly, trying to remain calm.

he grabbed the cups like it was nothing, using the hand that was in your waist to turn you around. draco raised the glasses to your face with a lazy smirk spread on his face, making you roll your eyes playfully, although your self-control was slowly getting out of your reach as his long fingers were spread out, sending a shiver down your spine.

“I could’ve reached that” you joked as his long fingers slowly let go of your waist, making that spot feel empty. “it seemed like it was too high for you” he responded along with a chuckle as he made his way to the kitchen counter, where the expensive wine was located. the blonde opened the bottle easily, while you sat down in the kitchen’s chair.

draco placed the glass in front of you, pouring the red wine inside of it. your eyes betrayed you as they made their way to his long fingers full of rings, unconsciously you bit your bottom lip softly, you let your imagination wander.

imagining how his fingers would feel, so deep inside of you, stretching you. how it would feel to have them in your mouth, preventing you from making any sound as he entered you from—

“is that good?” he asked innocently, breaking you from your naughty thoughts. you took a deep breath as you mumbled a “yes” to his question. you were extremely embarrassed, all things you were thinking of the man you haven’t even seen since high school.

the two of you chatted for hours and hours, drinking, enjoying each other’s company. laughing and just chatting about each other’s life in general.

────

“mum! can i stay for the night, please?” your son asked with his big doe eyes after you told him that it was time to go home. a sigh left your mouth, “in that case, i’ll come pick you up first thing tomorrow, alright?” you responded to his question, he nodded, a big smile on display.

“why don’t you stay with him?” malfoy spoke taking you off guard, turning around you saw that he was already in his pyjama pants, your breath getting heavy as you caught the sight of his exposed chest. you were about to decline his kind offer until you heard your son’s voice “yes please! stay in the manor with me!”.

“well— if there’s any room, i could stay for the night,” you sighed, “but, where am i going to stay, and besides, i have nothing to wear for bed,” you said worriedly. you furrowed your brows as you saw draco playfully roll his eyes.

“you could sleep in my room, and i’ll give you one of my shirts for you to wear” malfoy spoke softly, mentally smirking, already forming a plan in his head. your hands felt sweaty at the idea of sleeping in the same room as draco malfoy, in his clothes.

after the older man and the kids tried to convince you, you finally agreed. giving both boys a good night kiss on their foreheads, you rushed to malfoy’s room. finding no one in the room, you quickly grabbed his big white shirt and his boxers, making your way to his luxurious bathroom. you used a spell to help you clean your undergarments.

once you were done, you exited the bathroom just to find draco waiting for you in the darkroom. malfoy was mesmerized by the sight of y/n l/n wearing his see-through shirt, making your bra to be shown, causing his thoughts to go wild. all he wanted to do was rip his shirt off you and roughly massage your breasts until— he took a steady breath, containing himself.

soon enough, you were washing your face in the sink, ready to call it a night. draco stepped behind you, he extended his arm to his toothbrush in front of you. the once big room suddenly felt small.

once he was done brushing, he placed the toothbrush where it was before, causing his growing cock to make contact with your backside. you gasped as he gulped slowly, making eye contact through the bathroom mirror. hard, lust-filled eyes looking back at you.

biting your lips slightly, you turned around slowly to get a better look at his face. your vision rose to his eyes, innocent eyes looking up at him. draco had lost control. he got ahold of your cheek, bringing you up to a heated kiss. you moaned against his mouth as your fingers travelled through his hair. it all felt right.

any respectful or friendly behaviour towards each other was gone as you held tightly onto his broad shoulders, digging your nails into his skin.

the next thing you knew, the two of you were kissing, biting, licking each other like desperate animals. one of his hands travelled from your face to the end of his shirt, desperately taking it off your body, along with his black boxers.

draco groaned at the sight of your perfect body in a black set of undergarments, the sight of you looking up at him oh so innocently, the constant brushing of his erect dick against your clothed cunt. it was all driving him insane.

you arched your back off the bed, taking off your bra eagerly, breasts flowing free. malfoy wasted no time on grabbing your soft mounds, playing with them, kissing them, almost worshiping them.

“merlin— ” he breathed against your chest, the vibrations adding to the pleasure “i can’t wait to see your tits bouncing up and down” his words alone made you even wetter if that was possible. you were dripping.

you cried out as he took one of your nipples in his mouth, biting it softly. your hands were once again located on top of his head, your fingers threaded through his silky hair.

“‘m gonna fuck your tits, alright?” he asked—more like demanded— as you moaned softly at the thought of malfoy in top of you fucking your breasts. your panties started feeling uncomfortable now, you couldn’t control your arousal. you should’ve pushed him away, and tell me to stop, but you couldn’t, you didn’t want him to stop.

and now, here you were, your son’s best friend’s dad on top of you, ready to gain an orgasm from your tits, it felt like you were in heaven. he looked divine. his sweaty hair going everywhere, his dark pupils, toned body. such a beautiful sight.

he positioned himself on top of your torso, his muscular legs on either side of you. you looked at his face, waiting for his next move. he spat between your breasts, as he placed his throbbing cock in between. you grabbed each one of your boobs, bringing them together to create friction.

“that feels so good, darling argh—” draco groaned as he started moving his hips, front to back, causing his dick to leak some pre-cum across your breasts. his breathing got heavier as you stuck out your tongue to lick his red tip.

he moved faster while you moved your tits up and down, following his rhythm. it felt like he had died and gone to heaven, the feeling was unmatchable. he couldn’t wait to have your aching pussy stuffed with his dick. plus, the look in your face had him almost cumming right there and then.

but he fought the urge to cum in your tits. malfoy suddenly stopped and lowered himself to play with your folds, teasing you with his twitching tip.

“i want you inside me, please” you don’t know what took over but you pleaded like your life depend upon it. the infamous smirk was back at his face, a low chuckle leaving his pink lips.

“what do you want inside, darling?” he rubbed your desperate clit with one of his fingers, making you cry out in desperation “do still want my fingers?” he asked, causing you to furrow your brows. what was he talking about? still?

“oh don’t play dumb on me now. just a few hours ago you were wishing my fingers were inside your panties, fingering you. did you forgot about the legilimency spell, already?” he scoffed leaving you dumbfounded, he read your mind while you were thinking about him having his finger deep inside of your cunt. you gulped loudly as you looked deep into his eyes, looking for some type of sign that would tell you that he was trying to embarrass you.

but there wasn’t any.

“don’t you worry princess. you’re gonna get something even better” draco whispered as he winked down at you. your excitement level growing by the minute.

draco sucked on your sensitive breast as his hand made its way to his erect cock, gripping it while he teased your tight entrance. his other hand coming down to your thigh to expand your legs more. one of his thumb traveled through your glistening folds, smirking at how wet you were.

“i’ve never wanted to fuck someone so bad, until now” he breathed against your collarbone, your hands gripping his muscular forearms tightly. his words made you let out a soft moan before you realized.

he entered you as his mouth filled with praises, praises that made you clench around him in the most delicious way possible. after years of not having sex, this was all you needed.

“fuck— you feel so good, princess” he moaned lowly, your moans getting louder as he thrust in and out of your tight hole. one of your hands was placed on top of your mouth, trying to be silent.

“these walls are pretty thick. which means we can be as loud as we want” he spoke to you as he took your hand off your mouth and started thrusting his hips even faster. his grunts were the most arousing things you would ever hear.

his thrusts got harsher, making your tits bounce up and down repeatedly. loud whines and moans were heard coming from you as you dug your nails into his soft skin. his balls slapping against your skin while he circled your clit rapidly.

“you look so pretty with my cock inside of you, sweetheart. see how i’m filling you up?” he said with a hoarse voice. you whined ‘yesyesyes’ as he lifted your leg to his waist, the new position making him hit your g-spot repeatedly.

“you’re doing so good f'me baby— shit” the attractive man swore as he felt you clench around him. he fisted the bedsheets from the pleasure. his thrusts were getting rougher, balls slapping against your skin.

“are— ” malfoy breathed “are you clo—close?” he asked before he connected his lips to your overstimulated nipples once again. he roughly massaged the other breast, slapping it once in a while. his main goal is to make you cum before him.

“yes!” you gasped when draco’s big hands suddenly held your hips, lifting them to reach even further into you. he was going at an animalistic speed, you couldn’t even keep up.

“c’mon, come for me baby, show me how good you feel” he breathed against your lips, you grabbed the back of his head, pushing him down on you, kissing him roughly while you were thrown off the edge.

the two of you moaned against each other’s mouth as you squeezed malfoy’s cock tightly, milking him down. draco kept thrusting into you, his cum spilling out too, riding you out of your high. the blonde man disconnected his lips from yours as he pulled out.

the sensation of pulling out made you both moan softly, both cums dripping out of your hole and onto the bedsheets. draco was quick to collect the dripping cum and shove it inside of you with his fingers, causing you to arch your back off the bed and moan softly at the feeling of his fingers.

after catching your breath, you opened your eyes just to see the 27-year-old man that you just fucked beside the bed, who was already looking down at you with a sweaty face. and you would be lying if you said that his next words didn’t make you wet.

“i’m not done with you, yet. get in all four for me, darling”

—————

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy smut #draco malfoy fluff #draco malfoy angst #draco malfoy one shot #adult draco #dilf draco #draco smut #draco malfoy x reader #draco x reader #draco malfoy fic #draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy x slytherin!reader #harry potter series #boost

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barzzal · 3 years

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fucking Sid in his range rover, feeling his calloused and big hands under your dress, gripping your ass, his lips between your breasts while your hand is on his soft curls, the pace is not super fast but he is so deep in you like you can clearly see and feel his passion and love, the air is so thick of it🍬

warnings: nsfw (18+) fluff, (kind of wholesome) smut, car / sort-of-public shenanigans, raw sex (wrap it up will u), breeding kink, established relationship, oh and a lot of kissing

you and sidney have always been so formal and well behaved in front of everyone you knew. pda wasn’t really a thing and that meant having to wait till you get home most of the time. however, tonight was one of those times where neither of you just couldn’t resist.

it was about half an hour when you locked eyes with sidney after having one of the usual dinner dates you, anna, and cath agreed to host alternately on weekends. it was cathy’s turn to host so everyone was rather thrilled because anna (mostly you) loved alex and victoria.

the letangs make it a point to send the kids to bed so everyone could have some adult time but you and anna just couldn’t resist their kids. how can you not fall for them anyway? they’re the best kids you know.

you didn’t really find the same connection you have with them outside of sidney’s closest friends. you’ve grown to love them dearly and alex is clearly fond of stealing his dad’s spotlight ever since the day he was born, but victoria— oh sweet girl, victoria.

sidney was just coming back from the garden to get some more beers when he sees you with kris’ youngest, obviously starting to fall asleep on your shoulder whilst you held her safely by your waist. the room was quiet with just you and the girls catching up with the usual work rants and the ‘husband mocking’ sessions you indulge yourselves with for when the boys hit the outside to even realize that the captain was in the same room as you were.

victoria, among all the other kids, was a lot more close to you and she has never failed to welcome you at the door every time you come visit. you loved her instantly and the way she calls you her only ‘fun’ aunt just makes your heart swoon and grow ten fold that it should be. the two of you have forged this entire new bond that neither of her parents could even understand so having her safely cuddled in your arms was no longer an issue. not that it ever was.

sidney couldn’t help but stare at you and admire you from afar. you see, the thought of having kids has always been present with you and sidney. you’ve talked about it a handful of times but the timing isn’t just right. it was either sid chasing more cups or you finally having the courage to leave your job and do the thing you actually love. your husband isn’t one to voice out his selfish thoughts but he’s always had this mental image of you with a child that’s utterly– and undeniably his.

he’s always pictured you bouncing his newborn baby lovingly in your arms, for afternoon naps perhaps— or early mornings where you just couldn’t resist holding her close to your heart. he’s already thought of it countless times and you have no idea how badly he wanted to have it with you; well, as i’ve said earlier, not until he locked eyes with you.

“are you sure about this?” sidney pants, the build up in his abdomen thickening by the second.

your sunday dress flowed just above your thighs while your husband’s calloused yet capable hands take resort to take a handful of your behind as you ride him at the back of his car.

“i am... sure.” you moan, letting his lips latch onto your neck pressing love bites as a response.

you were all over the place just as much as he was but neither of you gave a damn. it was past everyone’s bedtime in kris’ neighborhood but sidney couldn’t care less if the captain ever got caught filling his wife with his child in the range rover everyone in pittsburgh probably recognizes.

“y/n,” sidney mutters in between kisses, fighting the urge to explode inside you. not yet. not until you get to come before him.

“i know, baby.” you whimper near his ear, your hands running wild through his already messed up hair.

“i’m coming too.” you tell him.

your left hand dig on his chest as the other helplessy hold on his nape. the two of you chased your own highs in each other’s skin. sidney’s lips was nowhere else other than your all too perfect lips whilst his hips did most of the work for the two of you. you were fighting for air, he knows it. but he knew you didn’t want to let go of his lips either.

once you feel your arousal break loose, your hips jerk uncontrollably, searching for all that sid has to give you. even if this was just a spontaneous, aimless shot in the night for a kid you both longed for and wanted, the two of you didn’t care. you both knew nothing could ever happen unless you try — so, here it was. a shot at bearing sidney’s child.

“i fucking love you.” sidney fails to stop himself as he finally fills your cunt with his cum, balls in deep— thrusting hard to get it all in.

“i fucking love you.” you repeat, letting your head fall on the crook of his neck, not wanting to hop off of him nor take his length out of your void despite your already spent up state.

“you came baby?” sidney breaks when he recovers, removing some of your wild hair and tucking it at the back of your ear.

you honestly nod, “yeah, i did.” you assure him, cleaning up some lipstick stain on the side of his lips.

“good.” he says with an all too familiar smile. he lets his head fall back on the seat, catching his breath.

“that’s period one, right?” he kids, already thinking about finishing the last two at home. you chuckle despite being tired yourself.

“i know it’s late, but it’s still too early for bad jokes.” you retort, dodging another one of his awful hockey references.

“it’s bad? i thought ‘twas pretty funny.” he whines with a pout just like the child that he is.

but y/n, if only sidney knew, with all his terrible dad-jokes and sport references he has on his sleeves, he’s already there.

it’s wet weekends!

#wet weekends #sidney crosby #sidney crosby imagine #sidney crosby smut #nhl smut #the way that this is so soft and hot at the same time 🥵

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Text

Spilled Pearls

- Chapter 27 - ao3 -

Matters settled, eventually, and just as eventually, it started getting better.

At first, Lan Qiren wasn’t sure if matters were actually better, or if he’d just grown numb and accustomed, but after the past year and more he thought that there was a serious possibility of it being the former rather than the latter.

Probably the biggest difference was the birth of little Lan Huan, who’d joined the world as a fat and squalling infant that Lan Qiren had loved at first sight and sleepless night – he was still too young to be separated from his mother, or at minimum his wetnurse, but Lan Qiren made a practice of visiting every few days to try to prepare himself for caring for him. The women were generally happy to shove the baby into his arms and let him play guqin or xiao for him until he fell asleep. Apparently Lan Huan was actually a very peaceable baby, an assertion which Lan Qiren had initially doubted on account of the circles under everyone’s eyes, but when he’d said so, the wetnurse had glared at him and pronounced that saying such things meant that the next child would be a true wild terror, and probably a biter to boot.

The frequency of Lan Qiren’s visits was actually less about Lan Huan, although he liked his nephew very much, and more about trying to establish a precedent for visitation. He hoped, eventually, to be able to bring Lan Huan to see his mother on such a frequent basis, once or even twice a week, knowing as he did that He Kexin lacked the temperament for seclusion. To his regret, she’d ended up spoiling that plan not long after she’d recovered from her pregnancy, misinterpreting his frequent visits as an interest in her, and he’d been forced to cut back for a while out of sheer disgust at the mere concept. He bitterly scolded her in his mind for being seemingly incapable of seeing any other reason that he would visit so often, especially during the times that Lan Huan was already asleep, although he suspected in his heart that the real reason was simply likely a longing for a connection with the only other person she regularly saw.

He still had hope of negotiating regular visits with his sect elders, eventually, but now he knew he’d probably be lucky if he managed to make it once every fortnight, when originally he’d hoped for twice a week.

Disturbing female disciples is prohibited, after all. Lan Qiren had a very good reputation, being widely known to be frigid as a stick of ice, using his brother’s terms, but there was only so much he could do when there was known to be an expressed interest on the other side, especially an interest of adulterous nature. And couple that with what had happened between them before…

At least she’d restrained herself to only making a verbal offer, this time.

Lan Qiren did not know how to explain to He Kexin in a way that she would understand that although he visited her regularly as a matter of duty, and although he was the only person other than his brother with whom she regularly conversed, he did not enjoy his time with her – that he blamed her in part for the destruction of his dreams, the shattering of his heart in a way that would likely never heal, even though he did not blame her for his brother’s obsession with her. It was not her fault that his brother had fallen in love with her, or that he had taken such extreme measures for her, and yet…

“She’s still a bitch,” Cangse Sanren announced, and her new husband smothered a snicker in his sleeve. “What? She is.”

Lan Qiren sighed, and Wei Changze, smiling, made an excuse to depart and let them talk between themselves. He was a good man, with an irrepressible sense of humor that regularly made Cangse Sanren laugh without any shame at all, howling and hooting like a monkey. He had courted her assiduously even after she’d departed the Lotus Pier, headed off to complete her education regarding the mortal world in the various Great Sects, and yet had been oblivious to the fact that she treated their liaison as a serious one – perhaps he had only truly believed that she would give herself to him when they actually married, their interminably long courtship finally ending the way any blind man would have guessed it would from the very beginning.

“I asked you to come here so that you could meet A-Huan,” Lan Qiren said. “Not to relitigate the matter of He Kexin, who at any rate is already suffering the punishment for her unwise actions.”

“Unwise is an understatement. She killed a man! On no basis, and without even a formal challenge! If she’d just kept her sword in her sheath and not jumped ahead three steps –”

“I’m aware.”

Cangse Sanren made a rude noise, but settled back, grumbling. “The baby’s cute, though,” she added begrudgingly. “Looks like you.”

Lan Qiren rolled his eyes. “Yes, thank you, he is my nephew. To the extent you can identify any traits whatsoever in a roly-poly puppy like A-Huan, they’re family features.”

“Of which you’re the finest representative!”

Lan Qiren gave her a look, and she grinned unrepentantly at him. “Heartbreaker,” she teased, but a moment later her smile faded. “Have you spoken with your brother?”

Lan Qiren’s gaze dropped to the table. “There’s no need,” he said. “He has always been torn between pride in his capability and the admiration of others on one hand, and a yearning to retreat from the world and its annoyances in order to focus fully on his cultivation on the other. Other than occasionally meeting with his wife, he is now able to wholly focus on the latter, and unlike He Kexin, his temperament is suited to the strictness of our seclusion practices.”

“There might not be a need,” Cangse Sanren agreed. “Did you speak with him anyway?”

“Once,” Lan Qiren said, voice short. After a few long moments, he added, a little painfully: “He said that our father had always seen seclusion as a means to reunite with his wife.”

Cangse Sanren hissed in a manner not unlike a very angry cat, or possibly an agitated snake, her eyes very nearly turning red from rage: naturally she knew about the whole awful background, the many years of age between Lan Qiren and his brother and the way his brother had always blamed Lan Qiren’s belated birth for the death of their mother, and by extension the shattering of their father’s heart when she left him behind, gone too early.

Lan Qiren’s brother had also said other things, mad things, things that Lan Qiren sought to forget as soon as he’d heard them but which he knew would likely haunt him in the dark of sleepless nights for the rest of his life. The worst of it was that Lan Qiren still loved his brother, who he’d idolized for so long: his brother who was the perfect gentleman when he wanted to be, capable of being kind and charming and generous, of excellent cultivation and who excelled in each talent, who was thoughtful and reserved and in his own way a very good sect leader – the Qingheng-jun that the rest of the world had seen, the one that Lao Nie had befriended, the one so much of his sect had pinned their hopes on.

Lan Qiren felt, as always, like an inferior substitute.

No one had made his brother fall in love, nor to take such terrible actions to protect his love from her own foolishness, and yet, if Lan Qiren could have found another way out that the sect would have accepted, he would have. It would have been better, in his view, to lash them both with the discipline whip until they lacked flesh if it meant that they would stay free. A human could live with pain, but he wasn’t so sure they could do without freedom or hope…

Aren’t you just the same as me, his brother had sneered at him through the door that would part them for the rest of their lives, lashing out like a rabid dog that sought to hurt others in order to ease its own hurt, or else would you snap yourself into a thousand pieces begging for a scrap of my approval, which you will never receive, or whoring your vaunted righteousness out for a smile from your ‘sworn brother’?

Lan Qiren hadn’t done that, and wouldn’t. Unbelievable as it seemed, his stubbornness had stood up against Wen Ruohan’s and won; it had been Wen Ruohan who had changed to match him, rather than the other way around. He had vowed that the Fire Palace remained useless, and Lan Qiren believed him, especially when even Lao Nie confirmed it to be true. They had taken to exchanging letters this past year, since Lan Qiren could not visit the Nightless City until he had stabilized the Cloud Recesses and – sworn brotherhood or no – a visit by Wen Ruohan to the Cloud Recesses would be taken as a formal exchange, sect leader visiting sect leader.

Perhaps now, after a year, when he had more fully settled into his role…

“Did the trash say anything else?”

For a moment Lan Qiren was unsure whether Cangse Sanren had somehow managed to follow his thoughts and was now referring to Wen Ruohan, against whom she still bore something of a grudge, but then he realized that she meant his brother.

“Anything of value, anyway,” she huffed, tossing her hair and baring her teeth in the way she used to do before she realized that human beings didn’t use threat displays in that manner.

“He picked a courtesy name for A-Huan,” Lan Qiren said. “As is his right, of course.”

That had been Lan Qiren’s true motive in going to see his brother, in fact. He had refused to go see his brother for months, even if etiquette suggested he should go to pay his respects; it was only after A-Huan was born that he had finally yielded. It was only upon seeing the round and innocent face of little A-Huan starting to smile that he felt compelled to bend his stubborn back and compromise himself to reach out – there was very little, he found, that he wouldn’t do for his little nephew, who had no one else in the world.

His brother had been largely disinterested, though, even when Lan Qiren had inappropriately brought the child over for him to see – it had been too early for propriety, before the first month ceremony which marked the moment when the child could be exhibited more broadly, but Lan Qiren’s heart had hurt at the idea of his brother not seeing his son before the rest of the world had had a chance. It was not a large distance between the seclusion house his brother had chosen for himself, the same one that their father had planned to use before his suicide, and the house set aside for He Kexin, which Lan Qiren had taken to privately calling the Gentian House on account of the flowers that crowded around it.

Everyone had turned a blind eye to Lan Qiren’s little excursion – but his brother hadn’t cared.

It was He Kexin that he loved, that he was mad for, and in his selfishness he could not see extending that love to anyone beyond her. Lan Qiren was resolved to teach A-Huan to do better, to think of others first, to care for other people and think not only of them but of the people beyond them, just as he looked at He Kexin and thought to teach him to make his own judgments of people, to listen to their side of the story and analyze it carefully based on what he knew.

He could only hope that it would help.

When his brother had told him to leave, that he didn’t care to see the child, Lan Qiren had left, returning Lan Huan to his mother’s care, and returned himself to his brother’s door, boiling over with rage, to give him a piece of his mind.

It had backfired on him, of course. He would have been better off not going back at all – the rules said Do not succumb to rage, and they were right. All he had managed to obtain was a sore throat from all the yelling and a fresh set of nightmares.

And a name.

At least he had gotten Lan Huan a name bestowed upon him by his father, as he deserved.

“He selected ‘Xichen’,” Lan Qiren said, drawing out the characters and passing it over for Cangse Sanren to see. “It’s a good name.”

“Lan Xichen,” Cangse Sanren said, sounding it out and thinking over the meaning of the characters. “Yes, that’s a good name. Full of ambition and well-wishes…I bet the rotten trash-heap sees A-Huan as another incarnation of himself.”

Lan Qiren didn’t exactly disagree. Still, it would be rude to say so; he coughed and shook his head. “What about you?” he asked instead. “Are you and Wei Changze planning on giving A-Huan a playmate?”

And himself a student, in a dozen years or so. He’d started accepting students from rogue cultivators and other sects, just the way he’d planned; it was still in the early stages. He was still writing to small sects with fewer resources and offering to take their problem children because he knew that that was all they’d be willing to send to him, an outsider – there had always been lectures offered by the Great Sects, but they were one-off things, often accompaniments to discussion conferences or else excuses for the sects’ adults to gather and socialize while the children learned a few days’ worth of material. Taking another sect’s child for a full season, the way he planned to, was a much bigger ask. Much less to teach them his Lan sect rules, which weren’t even seen as applicable by the rest of the world…

Still, Lan Qiren had hope that eventually he would be able to demonstrate his merit; if his teaching worked with this first set of children, he hoped that it would work in the future for more of them. He hoped he’d be able to help them learn something, but even if he didn’t, they would at least have the experience of traveling – of visiting another place all on their own – so that if something happened in their lives to rob them of their freedom, they would at least have that much to remember. And in return, he would have them, his students, the feathers to brighten and color his dull nest and let him experience a little of what the world was still available to him.

Cangse Sanren laughed. “Not for a few years yet,” she said, eyes dancing. “You’re still safe! We want to have some time for ourselves, first – we’re going to travel around as rogue cultivators. I’ll write to you from every city, and send you things!”

Lan Qiren smiled.

“But only,” she said primly, “only if you promise me you’re not actually going to go through with growing that awful beard of yours again –”

“I’m a teacher now. I’m entitled!”

“You’re too young! You have to wait until you’re at least thirty for a beard.”

“By what rule?”

“My rule! Also my aesthetics; you’re so pretty –”

“I explained to you my reasoning already,” Lan Qiren complained. “What do you have against it, other than an aesthetic preference which is completely irrelevant to me?”

“I’m a rogue cultivator from Baoshan Sanren’s immortal mountain,” she proclaimed. “I seek to improve the world wherever it may be, fight evil and promote good, and keeping you clean-shaven is such a clear and vast improvement to the beauty of the world that it must be fiercely fought for –”

“Cangse Sanren!”

She burst out laughing. “How about this?” she giggled. “You can grow it after you’re thirty, or else whenever I’m not here, so that you can have it when you’re teaching your classes.”

“Thank you for your generous permission,” he drawled.

“No, no, it’ll be good!” she beamed at him. “That means that when I’m gone for good, you’ll have something to remember me by.”

Lan Qiren’s smile disappeared. “Cangse Sanren –”

“I told you long ago that I was doomed,” she reminded him. “Anyway, I’ve kept a low profile, haven’t I? I’m not dead yet, and you never know what might happen. And anyway, like I always said, a short life in exchange for a good life is a bargain I’m willing to strike…anyway, enough about me. Tell me about your children! The students, I mean; are they really all terrible bear children, without a single good trait between them?”

“They’re fine,” Lan Qiren said, distracted by what was quickly proving to be a new favorite subject. “I don’t know what everyone complains about with them. So what if they’re mischievous at first? In the end they all learn, you just have to give them attention and figure out what it is that they like, what will work to give them a basis to use in the future…”

“Surely some of them have to be disasters.”

“Don’t worry, I’m certain that your future child will be a fiend in human flesh born for the sole purpose of wreaking havoc on the serenity of my classroom,” Lan Qiren said dryly. “To be matched only by the inevitable offspring of Lan Yueheng and Zhang Xin, should they ever choose to put aside their furnaces and chemicals long enough to have them.”

Cangse Sanren giggled. “Just you wait,” she warned. “They’ll have a whole host of children, just like the common folk do; none of this two-and-done that you noble scions of the Lan sect prefer. They’ll have an entire horde for the next generation, and just when you think that you’re finally done with them, they’ll have an ‘accident’ twenty years too late, a child of their old age, and you’ll have to teach them alongside children young enough to be A-Huan’s heirs…”

“Why must you curse me?” Lan Qiren complained. “What have I ever done to you?”

It had been a good visit.

Yes, Lan Qiren thought, he was starting to adjust, little by little. The life he had now was not what he wanted, not what he’d dreamed of, but he could live with it – he had to, of course, but he thought that he also could. He would play for his nephew instead of a nameless crowd in a distant city, he would teach students a generation too early, he would only leave the Cloud Recesses on short excursions – night-hunting, or discussion conferences, or visits to his friends, to play with little A-Jue over in the Unclean Realm or the slightly older A-Xu in the Nightless City, whose would-be sibling had not made it despite Wen Ruohan’s concubine’s best effort. Wen Ruohan had written in his letter that he had promised her another as compensation, but only in a few years, once her body had fully recovered and A-Xu was old enough that another child wouldn’t be seen as a threat, which seemed fair to Lan Qiren.

He would live.

He might even enjoy it.

He only wondered a little, about Wen Ruohan – his sworn brother had, he thought, expressed some mangled version of feelings towards him, feelings that well exceeded the ordinary course for sworn brothers and which he thought he had made clear were not unwelcome, but amidst the hubbub that had later ensued Wen Ruohan had not spoken of it again. Lan Qiren could understand that he had been distracted, first by Lao Nie’s marriage – now ended, according to Lao Nie, who seemed as unperturbed by his announcement that his wife had disappeared permanently and would likely never be returning as he had by anything else about this mysterious woman that Lan Qiren had never had the chance to meet and now never would – and then by Lan Qiren’s brother’s situation.

And yet, he would have thought that there would be something…

Wen Ruohan has lived for generations, he reminded himself. He is an ancient monster of the old sort, unmatched by any other living being, excepting only perhaps those that long ago retreated into seclusion or the mountains. Waiting a year or even a few is for him little more than a brief pause. He may yet reach out again – and, of course, you could do the reaching out yourself, if you weren’t such a coward.

It wasn’t cowardice that stopped him, of course, no matter what names he called himself. It was uncertainty, and also, in his own way, a form of care – it was the Lan sect’s curse to love too strongly, to prioritize their hearts above all common sense. Lan Qiren did not want to burden Wen Ruohan with an offer that would not satisfy him, to hang around his neck an obligation of unwanted feelings the way his brother had done to He Kexin.

Lan Qiren could not see a way in which he could offer Wen Ruohan his heart and not his body, yet he knew himself well enough to know that he would be unhappy if he tried to offer both. He could exert himself if he really had to, force himself to go through the motions that seemed so dull and unpleasant, all squelching amidst bodily fluids and inelegant grunting and none of the attraction that other people had to compensate for it. But he couldn’t do so sincerely, and he wouldn’t be able to do it for very long without developing resentment at being forced to endure such a task routinely – and it did seem that regular people wanted it all the time.

Such a feeling, if ignored, would breed disorder between them, poisoning their hearts…no, Lan Qiren could not make the first move, to take the step that would breach the paper between them, change them from their current status as brothers and nothing more.

He had made his position clear.

The only question was – what would Wen Ruohan do about it?

#mdzs #lan qiren #cangse sanren #my fic #my fics #spilled pearls

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tillthelandslide · 4 years

Text

Age Gap

Hi everyone! I really hope everyone reading enjoys this. It’s my first ever Henry Cavill fan fic so I am a little apprehensive about posting it. I throughly enjoyed writing it so please be sure to give me feedback and any and all ideas for future Henry Cavill fan fics would be appreciated.

Thank you to @toomanystoriessolittletime for reading over this for me, you’re amazing.

Hope you enjoy - L

You and Henry had been dating for over a year now. Things were great, he was the kindest, most caring and loving person you had ever met. He was so inspiring and passionate about his work and those around him. He was genuinely interested in everyone's lives and he truly cared for the people in his life, including you. He was the most beautiful person both inside and out and you were so lucky to have him in your life.

Henry had just posted a very cute picture of the both of you on his Instagram.

henrycavill:

Liked by freyaallan, anyachalotra, joeybateyofficial and 1,122,800 others

henrycavill horse riding and training for The Witcher 2 @your_username never a dull moment with you by my side

View all 21,669 comments

your_username always my love ❤️ cant wait for everyone to see how amazing you were

↳ henrycavill i love you

↳ your_username i love you too. Kinda mad at you, making me look all unprofessional, kissing my clients 😂

↳ henrycavill hope I’m the only client you kiss

↳ joeybateyofficial I’m the only client you kiss @henrycavill 😂

anyachalotra was a pleasure working with you again @your_username. Does he always ride topless or?? 😂

↳ your_username it was so fun! cant wait for everyone to see you in action 🤷🏼‍♀️not complaining though 😂

fan1 omg this is so cute

fan2 wow Henry really loves her. Dont blame him 😍

fan3 wait she worked on the Witcher?? what did she even do, wtf??

↳ fan4 shock horror! 😳y/n acutally has a job! don’t be silly, she’s so hard working, leave her be 🙄

↳ your_username @fan4 thank you lovely 💜

The majority of his fans went wild, they were happy for him but very curious who you were, they knew you had been friends with Henry for ages and had always said how beautiful you were and had recently learnt that the two of you were dating after Henry had posted a cute video to his story of Kal kissing you before Henry said "I'm getting cheated on with my own dog" . Infact it was often joked that both you and Henry were the hottest nerds ever (you too were a massive gamer and a huge fan of the Witcher amongst many other fantasy games and films).

However, a few nasty people had to comment about the age gap between the two of you. You were 25 and Henry was 37. But the age gap didn't matter to you or to Henry and the horrible comments about it made you both annoyed and upset.

Today Henry had invited you to bring Kal, his beloved American Akita, along to an interview he had. You agreed because you knew it meant you could spend more of the day with Henry and you throughly enjoyed watching him work.

"Today we are joined by Henry Cavill, known for being Superman, August Walker, Geralt of Rivia and many more. How are you today Henry?" The interviewer said, introducing Henry and smiling at him.

Henry offered a nice smile back before saying "I'm very good thank you, how are you?"

"Good thank you, very excited for this interview. So the trailer for season 2 of the Witcher has just been released and we're all very excited" he said making Henry chuckle.

"I'm excited for everyone to see it" he said. Henry and the interviewer then spoke about the filming of season 2 for a long while. You sat petting Kal who had found comfort in between your legs resting his head on your thighs. You were admiring Henry when the interviewer asked a question about you.

"So we are joined by your lovely girlfriend who is a massive fan of the Witcher games and books, yes?"

"We are indeed" Henry said, winking at you before continuing "she's a even bigger nerd about it than me. She's played the Witcher 1 and 2 twice and has played Wild Hunt, 3 times now I think?" he said glancing at you for reassurance, in which you nodded, making him nod to the interviewer.

"Wow that's impressive" the interviewer said, genuinely impressed.

"Now we have to ask, do the constant criticism about your age gap affect the both of you, or do you just ignore it?" he said referring to you being quite a bit younger than Henry.

"Um, yes and no" he said the gravelly tone of Geralt peaking through a tad. "The age gap isn't a problem in our relationship, we're both adults and we're both fairly mature" he said trying to make light of the situation and making the interview laugh.

"No but seriously I am very happy with y/n. She is the most amazing woman in my life, sorry Mum, she is caring and loving and so talented and passionate. The thing that does get annoying about the comments are the ones saying y/n is using me for my money or for the fame. Because that couldn't be any farther from the truth " he said making you smile (and the interviewer). "Anyone who knows the first thing about y/n knows that she is the most career driven person in the world, just because she doesn't share what she does with the world in the same way I do, doesn't mean she doesn't have a job" he said addressing many rumors that said you don't have a job, which quite frankly made you chuckle.

"And its not as if y/n doesn't talk about her job at all, in fact it's something she loves talking about because she's so passionate about it and she's so good at it" he said.

"She owns her own stables, is that correct?" The interviewer asked reading from a card in his lap, making you smile at how he researched you before this interview (Henry was asked if he was comfortable talking about your relationship, in which he said of course because he often loves talking people's ears off about you).

"Yes she does. But she also works on film and TV sets" Henry said making the interviewer hum.

"Her horses have been used many times in films right?" the interviewer said making Henry nod proudly.

"Zeus who plays Roach in the Witcher is actually one of y/ns horses. She works on TV sets and films, training actors on horses. She helped train all of the actors in the Witcher on their horses, including me. Everyone on set, especially Freya, Anya and Joey, absolutely loved her" he said proudly.

"I'm even more impressed now. And hopefully that puts some of the rumors to bed. It is honestly so lovely to hear the way you speak about her" the interviewer said making Henry gush a little.

"She's lovely, I'm very proud of her" Henry said looking off camera at you, making you blush.

"And she's easy on the eyes too which is a bonus. Think my dog Kal loves her more than me though" he said making you and the interviewer chuckle and making Kal perk up, upon hearing his name.

They wrapped up the interview after talking about season 2 a little more, showing some teaser videos and playing a game of who's most likely to. Henry thanked the interviewer for being so kind, signing some stuff for him before walking to you, you filming him as he did so.

He pet Kal on the head before placing a quick kiss to your lips

"You're too sweet Hen" you said, placing your arms around his waist as his rested around your shoulders.

"Only speaking the truth love. The fans are going to go crazy when they see that interview" he said leaning down to place a proper kiss against your lips, making you sigh against him.

"Hmm, come home with me" he says in his Geralt voice making you chuckle against him and shoving his chest jokingly, making Kal buck his head in between you which made Henry grunt.

"Stop getting jealous" he said rubbing behind Kal's ears making him pant up at him.

"Now who's cheating with his dog?" you said making him chuckle and place his hand in yours.

"Let's go home" he says, placing Kals leash in his other hand, saying goodbye to the people along the way as you were leaving.

You both got into Henry’s car, Kal sitting inbetween you legs again then posted a video to your Instagram feed.

your_username:

Liked by henrycavill, freyaallan and 400,800 more

your_username thank you for letting me and Kal join you for your interview today and thank you for all the wonderful things you said. Your love and support means the world to me Hen ❤️@henrycavill

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henrycavill of course my love, love you more than life itself ❤️

↳ yourusername 🥰 love you too

fan4 soo cute I can’t deal

fan6 the way they are so cute and fluffy on each others posts makes my heart burst. soft henry is the best

↳ yourusername makes my heart burst too. can confirm that not soft henry is pretty good too

↳ fan6 omg you replied, what in the world? also get it sis

↳ henrycavill she does

↳ freyaallan gross. na jk love you both

#henry #henry cavill #henry cavill fluff #henry cavill smut #geralt #geralt smut #harry styles #augustwalker #superman #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill imagines

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darlingpetao3 · 3 years

Text

Thank You For Ruining My Life: An Homage to Tom Cavanagh

“You’ve ruined all my future expectations of men.”

The costume-clad woman had the courage of steel to say this to the then 53-year-old actor, Tom Cavanagh of The Flash, in front of a ballroom filled with a couple hundred people. This brave utterance was spoken during the 2016 Fan Expo Vancouver convention during a Flash question and answer period with actors Tom Cavanagh and Candice Patton. In its third season, the show was undoubtedly still hitting its stride in popularity, and the room was packed to hear these two speak.

The brave woman whose turn it was at the microphone was referring to Tom’s role as Ed Stevens on the NBC 2000 hit, Ed. I had not known of this show previously, but having now heard such a proclamation intrigued me. “You’ve ruined all my future expectations of men.” That was a tempting notion, and as I continued to listen to this disarmingly charming and wittingly funny man steal the stage, Tom intrigued me even more. I’d watched him play three different versions of Harrison Wells on The Flash since the show’s premiere date, yet I hadn’t truly noticed him in a “life-ruining” way before.

Little did I know that Tom Cavanagh would not only eventually ruin my expectations for men as well, but he would change my life in other ways, too.

After the Q&A, I had this urge to buy a S.T.A.R. Labs T-shirt from one of the vendors at the convention. In my head, I thought I would purchase something so that I could have an excuse to talk to Mr. Cavanagh at his signing booth. Again, he intrigued me, and I wanted to experience more of his incredibly likeable personality. So, I dragged my friend with me to wait for what was maybe ten minutes in a queue. Shortly, I was paying the assistant for my autograph I would soon acquire. They wrote my name on a sticky note so that Tom would know how to sign a personalized message to me. And then, it was my turn.

His eyes sparkled when he turned his attention to me. I instantly had a feeling this was just the way he was naturally. Oh yeah, and I swear to God I’d never seen eyes that blue in my entire life. It genuinely stunned me.

“Hi!” he greeted me.

“Hi!” I responded, equally as thrilled. Tom admired the T-shirt I had brought and took note of my name on the piece of paper. I remember us joking together about the extremely lax security in and around S.T.A.R. Labs on the show, which prompted his message to me on the heather-grey cotton. He wrote my name, [followed by a heart!] and a very welcoming, ‘Come on by, just walk right in!’

I had official clearance from Harrison Wells himself.

I thanked him very much, leaving with my treasure folded over my arms. My friend and I walked towards the hall’s exit, and I couldn’t shake this feeling inside me. It felt strange—I couldn’t name it for the life of me. It felt like an odd fluttering with a simultaneous yet contradictory slightness of breath. My head was confused and would continue to be so for the rest of that weekend.

As I waited at my gate in the airport on that Sunday evening to head home, all I knew was that the moments at the con featuring Tom were the highlights of the weekend for me.

And that I was going to begin watching more of the other films and television shows he’d been in. What was the show the brave cosplaying woman had said ruined her expectations of men? Oh yeah, Ed.

Maybe I’ll start there…

***

Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad…

In my house, it’s never really Christmastime until Michael Bublé croons through the speakers of the wooden stereo system in the living room. It felt especially festive as it was now Christmas Eve—a month and some change since the con. It was late, possibly ten o’clock. I was lying on the floor in front of the Christmas tree with my trusty laptop, a word document open. I was writing three holiday-song short stories featuring the new muse in my life, Harrison Wells. I wanted to be able to post them the next day, so my fingers were taptaptapping away.

I had written a handful of things before 2017, most of which had been Marvel-related, under my second, ‘rebirth’ pen name online. I was a little fish among all the grand and fabulous writers on Archive of Our Own, and in many ways, I still feel like that little fish. I was only just learning and feeling out the psyche of the Wells characters. Each one is so different. In my rewatch of the previous seasons of The Flash, I’d taken diligent notes, and as I’d later learn with each following rewatch, I would know them all—what they think, how they talk and behave—like the back of my hand. It was fun to suss out these guys, and I found that I was growing to love the act of writing even more.

One month later, in January, I would post all the stories I’d written thus far on Tumblr. I’d just created an account and, who knows? Maybe I’d get a wider range of readers on here, too.

Might as well give it a shot, right?

***

Wild horses couldn’t keep me from attending Fan Expo Vancouver 2017, especially when the big news dropped. Not only would Tom Cavanagh be attending again, but so would Carlos Valdes, Danielle Panabaker, Candice Patton, and the convention-elusive star of the show himself, Grant Gustin.

Before the moderator for the Flash cast’s Q&A panel could utter the final thanks to the actors at the end of the session, I bounded from my seat and sped down to the photo op booth where the cast would be taking “Team Up” photos with fans. ‘Sped down’ has to be the most appropriate couple of words because I indeed felt like a true Speedster dressed head to toe as the small screen’s adaptation of Jesse Quick, the angsty and brilliant daughter to Harrison Wells turned superhero.

After waiting in a queue that felt like ages, I was next to stand with Team Flash. As I took a step forward, all of the actors’ and actresses’ eyes—the people I spend time with every Tuesday evening—were on me. I heard a familiar voice approve of my costume. It was Danielle.

“Tremendous.”

Grant even joked that he thought for a second Violett Beane, the actress who plays Jesse Quick, had shown up to surprise them. “I was like, what’s Violett doing here?” he said.

I stood in the back row, happily sandwiched between Tom and Carlos. I dared to let my hands rest on their backs, and I couldn’t contain my joy. Shortly after, when I received my near-instant physical photograph of the moment, I saw Tom had pointed at me. In my mind, it felt as if in his gesture, he meant, hey, look at this cool person. Haha. I couldn’t be further from it.

I would go on to further be uncool in public as I later found myself virtually shaking and almost hyperventilating in line for a one-on-one photo op with Tom. The guy dressed as Kid Flash behind me gave me a few encouragements of the “it’ll be okay” variety. As my turn finally arrived, the lovely man of the hour greeted me with a bright smile in recognition of my Reverse Flash T-shirt (I had done a quick change before this photo op because I had worn a Flash T-shirt for a photo with Grant).

“Great shirt!”

The internet comes up with many hilarious and fitting words, but none such so than the term “Cavanarms.” One of the said Cavanarms found its way around my shoulder in such a casual way. My hand rested on his back, and I have told anyone who will listen about how soft his sweater was. What was approximately a five-second interaction will stay with me forever. And to this day, I will always regret how I’m standing beside him in the picture—there’s a distinguishable gap between us. I could have been closer—should have been!—but I like to use the fact that I felt as if I’d combust into flames if I were any closer to the man.

Maybe I’d have another chance to combust later again that day because, believe it or not, this fan hadn’t had enough of seeing Mr. Cavanagh in person. And since he was appearing at the con for this day only, there was no way I was going to squander any opportunities. Besides, there was still one final thing left on my convention docket: the autograph. In my mind, going to get his autograph was an excuse to get to talk to him and simply be in his presence for longer than five seconds. Here, take my money. I’m a sucker, and I’m proud of it. I saved all year for this kind of thing, and Fan Expo has always been my ultimate nerdy Treat Yoself Day.

Plus, this year I came equipped with a question for Tom (something for which I may have prepared a little too far in advance).

“Which of your characters would win in a lawyering battle: Ed or Miles?”

Miles was Tom’s latest character from his newly released project Darrow & Darrow, a fellow lawyer as Ed Stevens (remember, the man who ruins women’s expectations of men?), whom he portrayed almost two decades prior. What I loved about Tom when I got to ask him this was that he was silent for a moment following the question. He was genuinely putting thought into my question. As he pondered, Tom continued to autograph the photo of us together taken mere hours ago.

“Ed. He would wipe the floor with that other guy. Like, Miles is great, but Ed has a rapier-sharp mind, you know?”

I wholeheartedly agreed with his answer and felt relieved inside for some reason. We thanked each other (as politely as two Canadians can) before I left him to pay attention to the next lucky soul in line. I made the mistake of casting my eyes downward at the signed photo.

Tom had signed two little hearts over the I’s in my name. He really needed to stop adding hearts to my things, or I was just going to melt to the floor. In fact, I started to make these strange noises as I tried not to completely maul everyone in front of me while exiting. My friend ushered me as fast as physically possible on our way out of the main hall. One man took one look at me and asked, “Are you okay?”

No.

“Yep!”

The second I made it out of the herd, I broke out into open space. First came the minor hyperventilating. Then came the squealing followed by laughter. Top it off with various fangirlish comments of, “He’s so beautiful!”, “His eyes are so blue!” and “I love him!” and I was probably quite the sight to see (but at a convention, that’s considered normal!). My friend smiled on as she let me express everything that I had to keep inside until I had the right time to expel my emotions. I was on cloud nine. Ten, if at all possible.

The next day would be the con’s final day, which I would attend alone. My friend needed to catch the ferry in order to prepare for her courses the day after. I did a scan of the convention hall one final time in case there was something I missed purchasing. Afterwards, I sat on the cold hard flooring of the convention centre hallway for a bit of a break. I was wiped out. With my phone in hand, I smiled at the messages from this one Tumblr blogger who had been following my posted adventures at the con. I had seen and replied to many of her comments on my stories I’d written thus far, and I enjoyed her matching enthusiasm for Tom and The Flash in general. I felt her to be a kindred spirit. I had no idea then that I was chatting with one of my future best friends, L.

***

I spotted her.

She was wearing an identical shirt to the one I had on—a light grey T-shirt with a sequinned Spider-Man mask in the corner, which around it read, We met on the Web. A giddy me couldn’t wait for the short escalator ride to end. Her back was to me and facing the baggage claim, so here was my chance to surprise her instead.

I towered over my friend, E, and donned a low, authoritative voice.

“Excuse me, Miss, can you come with me?”

She squealed a greeting to me and I returned it as we hugged for the very first time after two and a half years of online friendship. We would still have about two hours to kill until our mutual Tumblr best friend, L, touched down at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport from across the Pond.

Something I noticed was that E and I carried on talking during our wait like it was second nature, that we hung out like this all the time. Whereas when I met L in person for the first time the year previously, our first meeting was that of quiet, delighted shock, unknowing how to react to one another’s physical presence. It almost felt like a fantasy. The closest thing we’d ever gotten to this was visiting over video chats! I’m not sure what each of these different reactions in these separate meetings meant, but what I do know is that I’ve never had such strong female friendships such as these—so full of uplifting support and love for one another. They are the greatest ladies I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

And as a searching L eventually turned the corner to meet us in the Arrivals terminal, I caught sight of her Tom & Grant bandana tied around the handle to her carry-on bag. It was an item she had received in return for helping fund the short film produced in 2018 (I’d bought the ringtone). Seeing the accessory jolted me to remember that the former of the titular short was the reason for this long-awaited get-together holiday in the Windy City in the first place. Tom Cavanagh, unbeknownst to him, had just officially united three online friends, each from a different country, to spend six full days of in-person bonding and a whole lot of fun.

***

I should have been shelving books.

I should have been doing a lot of library-related tasks, but my head was elsewhere. Anywhere other than the small-town public library where I work. Instead, I sat on the carpeted floor of the Junior/Young Adult section with my phone in hand and a dreadful article title staring back at me.

“The Flash: Carlos Valdes and Tom Cavanagh to Exit after 7 Seasons.”

My world felt like it was falling apart.

Tom was leaving? There had been rumours and wonderings spreading around the fandom regarding whether he was leaving the show. With a storyline ending with a monumental sacrifice and a time-travelling man saying his farewells, it all seemed to point to the fact. I should have known… I could have rivalled Supergirl as being the Paragon of Hope after all the optimism I doled out to my followers and friends who would come to me worried Tom would exit the show. I would always give reasons to deny such a thing could happen, claiming that I’d believe when I saw it.

Well, there it was, and I definitely saw it.

One could feel the ripple effect over the internet of the shards of broken and riled-up hearts around the world.

Tom’s exit was on his terms, having not felt challenged by his character’s plotlines, as mentioned in a recent Entertainment Weekly article. As a viewer—and I am a viewer (Mike and Tom Eat Snacks, anyone?), it has been increasingly difficult to look past the missed shots made by story editors and showrunner, so understandably, the actor would want to seek something more exciting and meatier. That said, Tom has always shone on-screen and taken what he’s been given in stride. He turns unearthed material into diamonds and indeed shines on screen. Steals it, even! Tom easily makes the episodes he’s in better, and when he’s missing, you feel the loss. The few episodes of Season 7 without him only give us a tiny hint at how the show will be without him going forward. It much resembles when you might bring out your favourite jigsaw puzzle, only to find that the one piece you need to complete it isn’t there.

***

On a personal note, as I write this, I am roughly 20 followers away from reaching a milestone of 2,000. I have written well over 200 stories for The Flash alone (whether they be short or long, one-shots or chaptered), and goodness knows how many words I’ve generated altogether over the course of these many years with inspiration from the show and my favourite character. I’ve written and co-written novel-length stories, one monumental Wellsian story of which was done alongside L and E (almost solely done through alternating text messaging in the app, Line) that reached over 108,000 words and consisted of 42 chapters. And when I’m not writing for my blog, I’m also working on trying to accomplish my dream of becoming a published author. Just as I thought before I launched my Tumblr blog, I think again now: Might as well give it a shot, right?

***

I have watched virtually everything Tom has been in that I could get my hands on, both physically and electronically. Sure, a few titles are out of my reach and probably lost to the very early 90's forever, but from what I've seen through Tom's filmography is enough to know that he can do anything. He can play the romantic leading man that will make you fall head over heels for him or a deranged killer that will have you genuinely scared of him. That is talent. Tom always brings something new to the table from each role to the next, and (when he's not playing those psycho killers) you can't help but admire his craft.

Not only is his acting stellar, but from what we as fans have gathered on the man, Tom has got to be one of the kindest men in the business. His humour and sheer ridiculousness could get anyone through a tough time (we’ve seen plenty of bloopers and behind-the-scenes videos to prove this!). He has clearly bottled and stored an endless supply of Fountain of Youth™ and each year continues to wow us with his handsomeness. Tom is charming, dedicated, and yes, arguably holds the world record for Bluest Eyes.

In my eyes, Tom Cavanagh gave me the two best friends I could have ever asked for, as well as plenty more lovely friends I’ve continued to make online. (One day, I hope to meet him again so that I can tell him in person how because of him, I’ve met such very important people in my life). Through Tom, I have truly found my passion for writing, and in doing so, segued me to dare to dream of becoming a published novelist. I wholeheartedly believe all of this would not have happened if it weren’t for those first series of events that led me to meet Tom and love and admire him immensely. He is indisputable proof that there are indeed men like him out there. Indeed, he did ruin all of my future expectations of men. He ruined my life in the absolute best way and I am eternally grateful.

I am very much looking forward to what Tom will do next. I think it’s rather needless to say that I will follow him in his career, as he has gained a devoted fan for life. He represents so much to me and so much of it I have gained since meeting him that fateful day, when I thought to myself, Maybe I should buy this T-shirt and get this guy to sign it. Wherever Tom goes in life, I’ll be here to cheer him on.

I have a pretty good feeling plenty of others will, too.

#i don't exactly want to tag this with his name #but this is a personal essay of sorts regarding tom cavanagh's effect on my life #if you decide to read I hope you enjoy it!

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hopelesslydevotedshipping · 3 years

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why ship a gay man and a straight man together ?

Hi Anon. Thanks for the ask and sorry for the delay in responding! I hope you weren’t holding your breath while waiting for this reply.

The simple reply to your question would be: I don’t know to what you are referring, since I don’t ship any gay men with any straight men.

I’ll be kind to you this time, anon. I’ll play along and indulge you with a further exploration on this topic. All I ask in return is for you to be kind to me too and indulge me by hearing what I say.

Let me take a wild guess to whom you are referring with your ask: Probably those two guys that this blog is about?

You said a gay man and a straight man though. I have a bit of an issue with these labels.

Yes, both of them have publicly expressed how they identify, and those public statements align with your wording. But, however much we want to see the Western world as being a good and just place where everyone can freely be and express who they truly are without fear or consequences, we must accept there are flaws in the system. We may not live under an oppressive regimes, but our freedoms are governed by money, for one. Thus, we must accept there are people who cannot express being anything except straight for the fear of severe financial impacts. Add to that, the negative social and emotional consequences too, which are at least equally complex issues to resolve. There are reasons for someone who is queer not to reveal this of themselves. And so, I take words of someone identifying as straight with more than a grain of salt, especially if they work in entertainment.

I don’t claim to know what would be the correct label for the man who you prefer to see as being straight. I’m only saying that he is most likely queer. Why? Because of the gazillion plot holes in the straight-and-in-special-togetherness narrative — plot holes that make much more sense when you are not hellbent on seeing him only as being straight.

Another thing that I have a slight issue with is your wording of shipping. At this conjunction of my life, I actually don’t ship anyone with anyone, regardless of gender or sexuality. I’m not sure that I ever did with this pairing, whether or not I have ever used the word myself. Shipping implies that I want those two individuals to be together. I don’t want them to be together, no more than I want them to be apart. It’s not a matter of want for me, but a matter of belief. I believe them to be together.

Looking at my blog, what you perhaps interpret as shipping is admiration. I admire love as I admire beauty or art. Love is truly a thing of joy and beauty, anon, when it’s real and true. Too often, we are sold false love, because some people think it’s what sells — and perhaps in some cases it sadly does sell. The glimpses of moments that I have seen between those two men are beautiful, and they appear much more real than anything we have been sold. Even if you don’t agree with that, I hope you agree with at least this: Love is beautiful, whether it is between two people of opposite sexes, two people of same sex or with people who are non-binary etc. Love is love is love. I hope you agree so that if ever that man who you wish to be straight comes publicly out as anything else, you’ll still stand by him, because you are admiring him as an individual and for who he is rather than his sexuality or who you wish him to be with. I know I support him either way.

I won’t bore you with more words, anon, but I had fun chatting with you. Let’s do this again some day. 😘

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stillbandofbrothersthirsty · 3 years

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Hi, love!! For your request game, I’d like to request Sofia by Claire O + Luz, Malarkey, or Liebgott (surprise me!) + Friends to lovers 🥰 the MC character’s name could be Sofia! Thank you!

Oh I am a sucker for all these boys but Malarkey had my heart on this one! Thank you for the request <3

Donald Malarkey folded the piece of paper for the thousandth time, and for the thousandth time slipped it back into the worn envelope that was beginning to come apart at the corners. He ran his fingers over the torn corners that were decorated with tiny hand-drawn daisies. The vision of them took him back to his first week in England. The daisies had been fresh, drawn in dark ink, when the letter had first arrived. It had been the first letter he received all those months ago and back then, he never would have guessed he would feel as confused as he did now.

Sofia was one of his oldest friends. He had watched her grow from a young girl to young woman and she had seen him stumble into manhood. She had written to him diligently since he enlisted. He wrote her back with equal devotion, taking great care to explain the details, politics, and frustrations he experienced. She validated him and reminded him to lead with grace. He always signed his letters with their inside joke: your best brother friend. That’s what she had referred to him ever since she had a crush on Mac Wilson in 9th grade and wanted it to be clear to everyone that Don was not her sweetheart.

A year into his time at Toccoa, Sofia had asked Don to stop referring to himself as her brother. Although confused, Donald obliged her request. He had to come up with new ways to sign his letters. He stuck to the innocent ‘friend’, ‘with love’, ‘your devoted friend’. But each time he signed the words seemed insufficient.

He returned to Oregon for Christmas where he and Sofia’s families celebrated together. Christmas day wrapped up with good food, handmade gifts, and parlor games. The sky was growing dark as Sofia’s parents insisted that they needed to get her exhausted siblings home and into bed.

“But-,” Sofia protested. She and Donald were in the middle of a cribbage game they weren’t even close to wrapping up.

“Oh, but I’m just heating up some milk!” Don’s mother said from the kitchen, “let Sofia stay at least! Donald can drive her home when they finish.”

Her parents were easily persuaded. How could they not be? The Malarkey family was an extension of theirs, and Don was nothing less than a cousin to their daughter.

Once they finished up their game, Sofia and Don bundled up and he drove her down the snow-packed road to her house.

“Don?” she asked.

  “Yes?”

“Can I ask a favor?”

“Sure,” he said without a second thought. He pulled his truck into the driveway of her house.

“Well, just hear it out first,” she said warningly, “you may not be up for it.”

“You know I would do anything for you,” Don said reflexively.

She smiled softly, “really? Anything?”

Her tone was light, but Don considered her question seriously. He thought about it; he had so many lines he wouldn’t cross. But he realized if he needed to, he would cross them for her. There truly was nothing he wouldn’t do to make her happy, to keep her safe. She waited patiently for him to respond. Her eyes were dark in the unlit cab of the parked car. “Really,” Don said resolutely, “anything.” He was suddenly aware of the space between them. It would only take the slightest of motions, a few inches forward and an outstretched arm, to pull her against him.

She was motionless but Don could feel the energy grow heavy between them, she was waiting - challenging - him to make a move. Instead, Don cleared his throat, “so what is it?”

Her chin dropped slightly, “Um, it’s about a job. I can explain more tomorrow, I’ll give you a ring.” Don nodded. Sofia swung the truck door open and the winter chill blew in, pinking his cheeks before she slammed the door shut again and disappeared into the house.

The next day, she asked him to keep an eye out for secretarial positions with the army. Although Don wasn’t eager for her to be involved with the military he admired her desire to work and contribute to the cause. He agreed to keep her in mind when she drove him to the train station for a ride back to Toccoa. Before he boarded, Sofia took his hand in her mitted one and said, “keep me in mind, in other ways too.” She slipped a black and white photo of herself into his palm. Don had been so surprised he didn’t know what to think or say.

That was the last time he saw Sofia before shipping off to England. But he had kept her in mind; the vision of her waving goodbye on the platform, the memory of her hair blowing as they drove down dirt roads with the windows down, her squeal of excitement when she beat him in cribbage or gin.

She continued to write to him and he continued to struggle with how to orient himself to her.

The letter with the daisies had been the last he received; he had never responded. She had stopped writing.

Don pulled the letter out one more time and re-read the words he had memorized. She understood he saw her as a sister. Did he? But he never left her thoughts. She never left his. She knew their families were intertwined, and that could be a good thing. It was! Because she saw a future with him. In what capacity? And, she loved him.

It was that line that Don had no response to. He had no idea what to think, he had no sense of his own emotions. And now, it had been weeks, and she had responded to his silence with silence. He could feel her regret and embarrassment from across the Atlantic and those were the very last things he wanted her to feel.

He had tried time and time again to draft her a response but the words were lost on him. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t see her as a sister and more than a friend. She was too beautiful, too captivating for that. He wanted to tell her how he loved her laugh and watching her pick wild berries along the river in the summer. He wanted her to be his, and he wanted to tell her that, God, he thought he was in love with her.

 But he couldn’t bring himself to write any of that down. Don ran his fingers over the worn envelope one more time, taking in the neat cursive letter of his name and address in Aldbourne. Finally, he pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. He poised his pen and wrote:

You're more than my sister, more than my friend. I want to give us a try.

#request game #band of brothers #don malarkey #donald malarkey #best friends to lovers #one shot #band of brothers fanfiction

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whitherliliesbloom · 3 years

Text

eyes fixed upon a shiny ray

[ ffxivwrite2021 ] ★ [ masterlist ] ★ [ prompt #24 - illustrious ]

[ alphinaud/wol ] ★ [ 2,858 words ] ★ [ aetherweave au ]

witch / wizard academy au i’ve never written for. features mintdrop’s totomi and windupdragoon’s kirishimi. mentions heirsofdiscord’s moth’ir, ancientecho’s laurelis, peachteaoni’s lily and windupnamazu’s lunya.

illustrious- famous, well respected, and admired

asking the star student of the most prestigious magic academy in eorzea out to the end of year prom is as daunting as it sounds

“Gods, sulk all you want, but can you at least stop pacing? You’re making me dizzy.” Alisaie sighs heavily, resisting the urge to yell only because she knew full well that her voice would echo through the halls at lightning speed, and she’s already been reprimanded for noise disruptions one too many times in the past now.

Where she sat atop the wooden desk, she glared down at her twin, who has been walking laps around the back of the classroom with his hands plastered upon his chin for the past 10 minutes now. Alisaie had hoped to spend her free period practicing Blitz Ball, but it would seem that her brother and practically the rest of the academy was far more hung up about the upcoming end of year promenade dance, and she’s close to getting sick of all the endless chatter about who everyone was going to ask out as their dance partner.

The young witch in training had about just the same amount of interest in her brother’s love life as she did history of the arcane arts, which is to say none at all. But family is family... and if Alphinaud failed in his endeavor to ask out the girl he’s had his eyes set on for the past year now, she will never hear the end of his relentless mutters.

“Just ask her directly. It’s not that hard is it?” Thancred thinks to chime in from two desks away, fiddling with his jet black wand.

And though Alisaie wholeheartedly agrees with Thancred’s assessment, she cannot bring herself to pass up the opportunity to call him out either.

“Hah, like you’re one to talk. How long again did it take for you to ask out Moth’ir? And you’ve known for what, almost your entire life now?”

Light banter and friendly, healthy amounts of spite is normal among their group, and Thancred seems to be unaffected by Alisaie’s words as he throws his hand up and shrugs with an unapologetic smile.

Alphinaud doesn’t stop pacing - not until he feels a light zap of lightning strike his bare hand and jolt him out of his focus, his head turned up to look at the wide chesire grin of the transfer student who twirled his leopard patterned wand between his index and middle finger playfully. Internally, Alisaie thanks the high heavens.

“Hien!” Alphinaud’s voice is a mixture of accusatory, confused and startled, and the raven haired student could only let out a hearty laugh before leaning himself back against the wall.

“Relax! A little jolt won’t kill you.” Hien begins waving his wand recklessly in the air, no doubt asking for reprimand if a teacher were present. “Anyways.. Who’s the lucky girl who’s caught the eye of our Alphinaud here? Must be someone quite special for him to be so nervous.”

Everyone’s eyes collectively widen, now fixed upon Hien as Thancred opts to answer on behalf of his friend.

“You don’t know? It’s Illya. It’s always been Illya.”

“Mm... Sorry, the name doesn’t ring any bells.”

The silence lingers a little longer now, as the other three exchange wide eyed glances of shock between them.

“Y-you.. you don’t know Illya?” Alphinaud sounds utterly taken aback, and Alisaie almost speaks up to remind him that not everyone would be as enamored with the star student of Aetherweave as he is.

“The little witch of a thousand miracles? Lady of the endless garden? The viola nebula? The star blossom? The tamer of the beasts? The one who pulls down the stars and wears them under her hat?” As he listed off the top of his head some of the most famous titles that had belonged to the object of his infatuations, Hien could only hum softly in thought as a response.

“I’ve heard of a few of those titles... I didn’t think they were all referring to the same person, however. Just how many names does she go by?”

Had it been anybody else, Alisaie would have probably accuse them for living under a rock - because anyone who has studied at Aetherweave academy would certainly not go long without hearing of Illya’s name. She didn’t know a single person in the academy who has not heard of at least one of the girl’s heroic exploits with her friends.

Hien however was a transfer student, one who came from a sister academy back in the Far East only a few months ago, and despite having settled into his new surroundings comfortably, is still not entirely aware of all the gossip and rumors that run rampant in the magical halls of Aetherweave.

“More like.. what name doesn’t she go by.” Alisaie’s shoulder rises and falls. “Have you heard of what happened just three months ago? About the Guardian Tree at Everschade?”

“That rings a bell. It was in the process of dying but somehow magically got rejuvenated and started to bloom purple flowers, didn’t it?”

“That was her doing.”

Now, Hien’s eyes are wide in surprise, letting out an elongated whistle as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“By the kami...”

“She was also one of the few students in the academy to have not only met but also tamed a wild wyrm. They say her new dragon friend, Midgardsormr is sitting right in her backyard.” Alphinaud adds, “Her friends and her were also the ones who were at the front of the charge in the winter of last year, defending the school when there was a surge of Sineaters coming from Lakeland.” His hand rises up to hold his chin. “Not to mention, she’s a top student. She’s consistently been in the top 5 of our year when it comes to grades. And her command over magic is praised even by grandfather himself.”

Praise coming from Archon Louisoix himself? That certainly is something worth prestige and recognition. Rightfully impressed now, Hien’s lips turn upwards into smirk as he turns to look back at the boy.

“Well, I can see why you’d like her. What’s the problem then, friend? Is she not easy to get along with?”

At Hien’s suggestion, Alphinaud quickly shakes his head.

“Oh, no, she’s not like that. She’s very approachable. Perhaps a bit...shy, and not very good at speaking to strangers at all, but she’s a wonderful person. Perhaps... a bit too nice, is all.”

With his response, Alphianud drops his head with a heavy sigh and casts his glance downwards onto the floor in exasperation, and it prompts Hien to hold back any further questions. He merely turns to look at Alisaie and Thancred, who can only frown and shrug respectively in silence.

It wasn’t that Alphinaud hasn’t tried to ask the girl out - he’s been trying to for months now, well before even the details of the promenade dance had been released and he saw it as a good opportunity to finally ask the girl out to be his dance partner.

He’s tried many times, and failed spectacularly an equal amount.

Perhaps as a result of her kindness, Illya has found herself surrounded by a group of other equally individualistic and unique friends who, in one way or another, has interrupted Alphinaud’s attempts to ask her out at least once.

He remembers Illya’s best friend, Laurelis, a joyful miqo’te girl who was well aware of his affections for her friend and is even the most enthused out of all of Illya’s circle about helping them get together... but has also unknowingly sabotaged his attempt to ask the girl out to movie date when she’d pulled Illya to town right after school for an impromptu shopping trip.

Lunya, a sharp-tongued girl who had been in a different class from Illya had been ecstatic to find that her friend, who she would not normally get much time to study with, had opted to take the same astrology and fortune telling electives as her. And for the three months that they had been together, she would always swiftly pull Illya away from him with a protective glare.

And Lily, who studied in the year above them and was close and dating Illya’s pseudo big-brother figure, had busied Illya with the task of tutoring her after class on how to become better at healing magicks, an endeavor that took up almost all of Illya’s spare time and he could not in good conscious ask her to abandon her close friend’s heartfelt request - especially after learning that her wish to become better at healing stemmed from an accident that Kaye had almost sustained a fatal wound for during last year’s battle against the Sineaters.

He can no longer keep track of the number of times he’d failed in his attempts, let alone take into account his own confidence beginning to waver... but the two golden foil tickets and a pressed lily in his pocket weighs heavy, and as Tataru and Krile had so eloquently egged him on and warned him, he might not get another chance ever again if he missed this one.

“OI! HIEN!” A loud, boisterous voice calls out, and a loud thud and an ‘oof’ from Hien sounds out, followed by a breathless chuckle as he shakes the woman who had tackled him against the wall off himself.

“Kiri, your greetings are enthusiastic as ever, but we’re in the middle of something now.”

“Huh?” Mismatched eyes finally turn to look at the twins and Thancred, and she lets out a nonchalant shrug. “Oh. Uh, sorry I guess. I can leave ya guys to it then.”

“No, it’s quite alright, Kirishimi.” Alphinaud smiles warmly at his senior, the tone of his voice amiable as ever. “We weren’t talking about anything important.”

“I didn’t know you considered you not being able to ask Illya out to prom as being unimportant.” His twin sister snickers, and Alphinaud bites back an aggrieved huff.

“Alisaie-”

“Illya?” Kirishimi’s expression lights up, ears perking as she places her hands upon her hips and gestures towards the direction of the front entrance of the school. “Speakin’ of her, I think she’s leavin’ to go on a date with someone. I saw them going down the stairs after I passed by her classroom and they were talking about uh... ‘desserts’ or something.”

“W-What? A date?” There’s panic evident in her voice, normally already fair complexion on the elezen boy rapidly paling now as he takes a step towards the taller woman. “Is...Isn’t it still in the middle of the school period?? They can’t possibly-”

“Town’s only a few minutes walk away though?” Kiri retorts with a shrug, “They’ll have plenty of time before the next module an hour later... and maybe they’ll even have time enough to work in a kiss or somethin’-”

“I-I... I have to-” Before even hearing the rest of Kirishimi’s sentence, Alphinaud finds himself bolting out of the classroom door and down the hallway towards winding flights of stairs and talking paintings, who chime out in surprise and ask a collective series of ‘where are you going?’ which goes unanswered.

Thancred turns to look at Kiri, a suspicious glint in his eye as he quirks an eyebrow out.

“She’s not really going on a date, is she?”

Kiri merely shrugs, a mischievious smirk plastered on her face as Hien wraps a proud arm around her shoulder, an equally triumphant grin upon his face.

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

By the time Alphinaud’s found himself past a few feet in front of the building, and sees a familiar curtain of swaying white hair and a tall witch hat crowned upon it walking towards the fountain in the middle of the academy square and towards the front gates of Aetherweave, he’s already rapidly short of breath and found his legs aching, his lungs gasping and burning desperately for air.

But he doesn’t allow himself to stop- cannot allow himself to stop as he swallows back the lump in his throat and continues sprinting forwards, his voice calling out to her loudly from across the pathway.

“Illya! Illya wait!”

He thanks the twelve when he sees the lalafellin girl stop in her tracks and turn around with a bewildered expression, her companion beside her equally startled and stopping next to her as well - though he pays no mind to them... cannot bring himself to exert enough energy to focus on anyone other than Illya.

It isn’t until he gets closer to the pair, sweat trickling down his brow, his chest heaving as he pants for air heavily and his hands gripping onto his knees as he lurches forward does he finally recognize just who the mysterious student that Illya has decided to go on a ‘date’ with.

“W-wait.... wait a minute..” Alphinaud mutters in between huffs and sharp inhales, navy blue eyes staring down at a lalafellin with familiar straight cut bangs and ruby red eyes. “M-m.... Mint?!”

Mint.... is Illya’s date? The genki self-proclaimed witch idol peppermint?? Who also happens to be dating his friend Estinien??? She’s who Kirishimi tricked him into thinking was Illya’s date?!

“Whaddya want Alphinaud??” Peppermint lets out a huff and a pout, seemingly unconcerned at his haggard state as she crosses her arms over her chests. “Illya promised to get cream puffs with me during our break time. If you wanna have some, you’ll have to get in line!”

“W-what...? That’s not...”

Twelve forfend... He’s been deceived utterly and completely... He’d like to think he would be a bit more perceptive and intuitive enough to know when he’s being lied to or played but... it would seem like all sense of rationality of his flies out the window when it comes to Illya.

The girl in question merely gazes up at him with concern swirling in her lustrous violet eyes as she tightens her hold on the book she had been holding close to her chest.

“A-are you okay, Alphinaud?”

The worry in Illya’s voice urges Alphinaud to quickly swallow and give her a nod, a reassuring smile gracing his features despite his drained complexion.

“I’m... I’m quite alright. Thank you, Illya.”

His heart skips a beat when his smile is mirrored by her, and the radiance of her presence is almost enough to leave him dumb and speechless until she speaks up once more to question him.

“Did you need something from me? You seemed like you were in a hurry-”

Oh seven hells... how is he going to explain his way out of this now? He could make perfectly reasonable and well timed excuses for his other failed attempts... and he could just as easily lie to her and say that it was nothing now...

But he knows not only would that arouse suspicion, especially with someone as perceptive to people’s lies and intentions as Illya was... but it’d perhaps put her on edge around him in the future.

And though he’d have liked to invite Illya to prom in private and free of an audience member consisting of someone from her circle of friends, he’s already made a right fool of himself and caused a scene between them.... So to hide away or run from the situation would be...

With a defeated sigh, Alphinaud fishes out one of the tickets from his uniform pocket and holds it out to the girl with trembling fingers, watching in anticipation as her own starspangled eyes widen in shock.

“I-I.... I just wanted to ask... If you would perhaps like to go to prom with me?”

The normally talkative Mint is now completely silent, holding back impish cheers and laughter as she merely steps back to pump her fist in the air, leaving Illya on her lonesome as a heat quickly spreads across the girl’s fair cheeks and reddens the bridge of her nose.

It doesn’t take much thought at all for Illya to raise a hand up to take the ticket from him, gazing down thoughtfully at the reflective golden foil and the silver letterings etched into the shimmering surface until she finally remembers to nod in answer.

“Um... Y-yes... I would love to-”

---------

Illya is grateful that nobody else other than Mint had been around to bear witness to what happened, or she’d be certain that the whole school would be privvy to the gossip before sundown.

Mint’s teasing and chattering is enough on it’s own to deal with, as the girl cheerily munches into her cream puff and speaks in a hushed tone to the violet eyed girl on the other side of the table.

“I’m so glad for you, Illya! Now you don’t have to worry at all!”

“Y-yeah... I-I suppose so..” The heat from Illya’s cheeks hasn’t dissipated, and she stares into the reflection of the warm milk tea in her hands. “B-but.. what am I supposed to do with the love letter? I’ve been working on it for weeks and now-”

Mint pauses for a moment, cheeks puffed up and full of food as she continues to chew and darts her eyes up to the white ceiling in thought.

“Hm... Well you can still give it to him! Maybe during the prom or something? I’m sure he’ll appreciate it very much!”

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #ffxivwrite2021 #ffxivwrite #kiwisffxivwrite2021 #alphinaud leveilleur #alphinaud #illya skawi #peppermint #kirishimi #fanfic #mine #aetherweave academy au #OH LOOK A FILL FOR AN AU I'VE BARELY TALKED ABOUT AGAIN #we've come so far #the title is lyrics from shiny ray by yurika!#which is little witch academia's OP

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vanikolya · 3 years

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hi! if you guys still doing it, can i request the whole fluff alphabet for akutagawa? thank you!

A - activities: what do they like to do with their s/o? how do they spend their free time with them?

he really generally just enjoys any time he spends with his s/o, from just sitting comfortably with them and both doing their own thing, to something planned like going out together. he doesn’t mind either but he does prefer anything where it’s just the two of them there, as it’s more private.

B - beauty: what do they admire in an s/o? what type of person would they fit best with?

would prefer it if his s/o wasn’t in the mafia, it’s too easy to lose them from something so simple as a job gone wrong, even so he’d rather lose them than his s/o lose him. i think he would fit well with someone who isn’t too sensitive, as he can sometimes come off as blunt in the relationship and have trouble expressing how he feels about his s/o. something he would like best in an s/o is for them to understand how he feels, and be able to be patient with him, and know how to calm or comfort him if he needed it.

C - comfort: how would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

if panic/anxiety attacks are something his s/o has often, he reads up on how to help them deal with them. he follows the advice almost to the point, enough to calm you down and that's it. he's much better helping cheer you up after an attack or when you're just upset, often by putting on your favorite film or tv and trying to look after you (making food, grabbing things you need etc.)

D - dreams: how do they picture their future with their s/o?

he struggles to see a future that includes both the mafia job and his s/o. it goes unsaid that he would definetely rather drop the mafia than his s/o, though. however in the case that his s/o is still with him in the future, or he finds a compromise so that they can still be with him if he remains in the mafia, then he doesn't really see things like marriage and children a necessity; though that doesn't mean that he won't want those things one day, or agree with you if you do.

E - equal: are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

rather passive, especially if his s/o has dated before or has more experience in it. given his life so far, he’s new to relationships and being romantic and is learning about relationships and how they work, etc. from his s/o and occasional advice from chuuya people he trusts within the mafia.

F - fight: would they be easy to forgive their s/o? how are they fighting?

he holds grudges easily, but hardly ever for the wrong reasons. he doesn’t fight about small things often, especially with his s/o, unless he’s already annoyed with something else. even then, he apologizes and admits that was his fault, albeit a little awkwardly, as soon as he’s calmed down. however, one of the things he’s most likely to argue about is if his s/o ever does something, or wants to do something that would put them in danger.

G - gratitude: how grateful are they in general? are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

yes, but has a little trouble showing it in any other way other than just bluntly thanking them for what they do. he’s not exactly the best at expressing his feelings, especially through actions rather than words, but he still means well even if his thanks don’t sound genuine at times.

H - honesty: do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? or do they share everything?

yes and no; there’s certainly things he hasn’t told them, especially if they aren’t in the mafia like him, but most of those are things he would tell them if they asked the right questions or talked about the right topic. he doesn’t generally feel the need to keep secrets from his s/o, unless it’s to keep them safe.

I - inspiration: did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

for akutagawa, being with his s/o has really helped him with dealing with people. there’s a clear difference between things like his levels of patience or care for others from before the relationship to during/after it. he still only shows that to a few select people though, such as his s/o themselves.

J - jealousy: do they get jealous easily? how do they deal with it?

yes, but not to an obsessive point. he’s not the type to get jealous because of his s/o hanging out with close friends rather than him, nor to cut corners and assume there’s something going on between his s/o and any of their friends, but seeing someone else flirting with his s/o or being romantic with them is a different story. most likely gets angry with the other person and telling them to leave you alone because you’re with him, generally not even in a subtle way through calling you pet names and being affectionate, he just wants them gone and will be as blunt as possible about it.

K - kiss: are they a good kisser? what was the first kiss like?

his kisses are simple; he has no real prior experience with it, and shared his first kiss with his s/o.

L - love confession: how would they confess to their s/o?

by accident. he was trying to stage a way to confess to his s/o, only for them to overhear him nervously talking to himself to practice it and chime in to say that they would love to be with him. needless to say he was taken aback and flustered hearing them say it.

M - marriage: do they want to get married? how do they propose? what would the marriage be like?

he doesn’t want to get married for as long as he’s in the mafia. even if he loves his s/o enough to want to marry them somewhere along the line, their safety is one of the things that matters most to him and to marry them would be bringing them further into that life than he already had just by being together with them. he isn’t keen on the idea that being married would change anything about their relationship, other than hoping that by then he’d have learned how to express himself more and he could be more affectionate.

N - nicknames: what do they call their s/o?

likely a nickname or two that references something about them (like calling atsushi “jinko”, but in a more affectionate way) and/or something standard like “baby” and other romantic pet names. since he’s not particularly one for using them, he just defaults to some of the usual ones he’s heard other people use.

O - on cloud nine: what are they like when they are in love? is it obvious for others? how do they express their feelings?

it’s tragically obvious for others, almost everyone he works with who has heard him mention his s/o knows he’s in love. he talks highly of them to anyone he trusts, and goes soft if they’re ever mentioned. especially when he and his s/o interact, it’s so obvious with how he goes soft whenever his s/o holds his hand, gives him a kiss, or a hug, etc. he doesn’t express his feelings well physically, moreso in words and his reactions to physical affection from you compared to from anyone else.

P - pda: are they upfront about their relationship? do they brag with their s/o in front of others? or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

he’s rather shy about it around other people, and shows physical affection a lot less than usual whenever he and his s/o are around other people. however, he’s not going to complain if his s/o does something like hold his hand, he’ll just get a little flustered about it.

Q - quirk: some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

R - romance: how romantic are they? what would they do to make their s/o happy? cliché or rather creative?

something cliche, but he tries his best to make his s/o happy. he tries hard to make the smallest of things he does to surprise them special, and it’s quite endearing.

S - support: are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? do they believe in them?

contrary to how he shows affection, he’s better at helping his s/o practically rather than through verbal encouragement. he helps them practice, or study, or leaves them be and tries to help through giving them less to worry about, by trying to cook or tidy up himself so that his s/o doesn’t have to think about it. even so, when you reach the thing they’ve been learning, or practicing for, he does offer them a quick, bashful “good luck” before they go.

T - thrill: do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? or do they prefer a certain routine?

he’s completely fine with a simple, certain routine to things; he’s so taken by even the small things he does with his s/o, like eating together, cuddling, he still isn’t even completely over his s/o giving him kisses and hugs.

U - understanding: how good do they know their partner? are they empathetic?

he knows his s/o well, mostly from listening to them attentively each and every time they wanted to just talk, or vent to him about something. he isn’t very empathetic in general and struggles with it, and if his s/o is ever sad he still tries his best to cheer them up even though he can’t fully understand what they’re feeling.

V - value: how important is the relationship to them? what is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

as far as akutagawa is concerned, his relationship with his s/o is the best thing that’s ever happened. he sees it as worth much more than other things in his life, except for things like his sister and members of the mafia he has a close relationship with, but even then he holds his s/o at the same worth as those.

W - wild card: a random fluff headcanon.

X - xoxo: are they very affectionate? do they love to kiss and cuddle?

at the start no, he’s not particularly one for physical affection, but it ends up growing on him though. only in private, and only from/with his s/o; he’s better with receiving it than he is with giving it.

Y - yearning: how will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

“if i ignore it, the feeling will go away.” spoiler alert, it doesn’t, but he doesn’t know how else to cope with it, other than quietly putting up with it and perhaps telling his s/o that he missed them when he’s able to see them again. however throughout the time he’s missing them, he would think about them more than usual as expected, and perhaps worry about them a little as well.

Z - zeal: are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? if so, what kind of?

every so often, he attempts to make some kind of grand romantic gesture, or at least what he thinks is one anyway. he’s acutely aware of how much he takes rather than gives in the relationship, and doesn’t want his s/o to leave him because of it. things he attempts range from stepping out of his comfort zone to go somewhere or do something that would make them happy, attempting to make a romantic dinner despite not being able to cook that well.

#bsd #bungo stray dogs #akutagawa ryuunosu #akutagawa headcanons #akutagawa bungo #bungo stray dogs hcs #bungo stray dogs headcanons #alphabet headcanons

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krakenbait · 3 years

Text

kraken bait 3: the moment of truth

the moment is finally upon us! no, not the actual expansion draft, that’s in 10 days. i mean my last (but best) installment of the kraken bait expansion draft theories!

this has been a long, long work in progress, basically since i posted the last one. i’ve asked nearly every hockey fan i know, as well as randomly messaging several friends and cool people on hockeyblr, for their ideas and opinions on their favorite team’s expansion draft situation. and as with my previous lists, i had my friend and capfriendly consultant corwin (@chaos-hockey) collaborating with me to make this semi-reasonable (largely against their wishes). i’ll be including commentary from myself and my variety of sources with each pick.

for reference, this is a somewhat plausible look at who seattle might take in the expansion draft. it’s not a prediction, because even i don’t honestly think the kraken will take some of these players, but it’s a fun simulation. it does follow expansion draft rules, and even comes under the cap (which took some last-minute finagling by me and corwin).

without further ado, let’s get into it! this list got long, so it’s all under the cut.

Anaheim Ducks: Haydn Fleury

this one comes straight from resident danton heinen fan, ergo ducks fan @dantonheinens, so thanks for your help casey! they sent me a very detailed explanation of anaheim’s expansion draft situation basically explaining that there’s a whole lot of “ands, ifs, or buts” with the ducks, but if fleury is exposed, he’s a slam dunk (slam duck? i’m sorry)

Arizona Coyotes: Christian Fischer

the one thing i know about this dude is he got wrecked in a fight with nathan mackinnon in the 2020 playoffs. this is the first of several picks on this list i borrowed from The Athletic’s mock expansion drafts, which happens if i don’t know the team and i don’t know anyone else who does. corwin and i also considered taking adin hill from the yotes, but we decided on some other goalies instead (stay tuned).

Boston Bruins: Jeremy Lauzon

i have a lot of friends who are bruins fans, so credits are owed to: corwin, casey again, alex (@patron-saint-of-boston-hockey) & luna (@kureally) & any other bruins fans in the nwhl discord, and my irl bruins friends. i got a lot of opinions on the bruins pick, including jake debrusk, jakub zboril, connor clifton, and trent frederic. but the one name almost everyone could agree on was lauzon. therefore, i’ve decided he’s headed to seattle.

(it feels worth it to mention that at the prospect of having to take someone from the bruins, corwin said “curses be upon your name!” in an aggressively thick boston accent)

Buffalo Sabres: Rasmus Asplund

i could not tell you who this is, other than the fact that he’s one of buffalo’s three rasmuses (rasmi?). corwin and i had also talked about maybe putting anders bjork here, like i did in the last go-around, but i defaulted to The Athletic this time, and they thought asplund was a good pick, so here we are.

Calgary Flames: Mark Giordano

another pick borrowed from The Athletic, but i’ve seen predictions of giordano to the kraken a fair amount. it just seems right (and a whole lot better than corwin’s proposition of matthew tkachuk from last round).

Carolina Hurricanes: Brady Skjei

this one comes from the lovely @summerteukka, so thank you kinga! she gave me a very good rundown on the canes and the expansion draft, with the conclusion being the canes have so much defensive depth that it’s definitely going to be a defenseman, and especially if they resign dougie hamilton, skjei seems to be a likely choice. i’m all for it- we’ll have “an S and a K and a J all next to each other” on a kraken jersey.

Chicago: Adam Gaudette

similarly to the arizona pick, corwin and i considered a goalie here- in this case, it would have been malcolm subban. but he is not one of the goalies we ended up going for. instead, we opted on bringing micaela gaudette and her husband back to the pacific northwest.

Colorado Avalanche: Ryan Graves

this is really a no-brainer. gravy is a good defenseman, but the avs have such a strong defense between cale makar, devon toews, and sam girard (and you could add erik johnson when he’s healthy), plus up-and-comers like bo byram. gravy will almost definitely be exposed, and i think he’s a great pick for seattle. plus it’s relatively painless for avs fans who also will like seattle (like yours truly).

(corwin also wanted me to mention that they want gravy traded to the bruins so he can play with curtis hall, who is basically “color-swapped ryan graves”)

Columbus Blue Jackets: Dean Kukan

another pick taken right from The Athletic. i do not know who this is, but he’s a defenseman and the writers liked this pick so i went with it. for the record, corwin really wanted this pick to be boone jenner because he has a funky name, but i wanted another defenseman, so the fun name was sacrificed for function.

Dallas Stars: Jason Dickinson

i don’t really have an explanation for this one. corwin and i were talking about the stars options and picking dickinson just felt right.

Detroit Red Wings: Vladislav Namestnikov

thanks are owed here to joce (@doubleminor) for her red wings expertise! she gave me a few players who were likely kraken bait and i picked from there. it came down to evgeny svechnikov and vladislav namestnikov, but i went with namestnikov in the end. he was with the avs for a brief period and i liked him then, plus the vibes just seem right, so here we are.

Edmonton Oilers: Tyson Barrie

really, tyson barrie was the player who started the whole kraken bait thing. corwin made the drawing, i made the first list, and the rest is history. do i actually think tyson will be going to the kraken in a week? not really. do i still really like the idea of it? 100%. therefore, i will continue to engage in my “tyson barrie to seattle” nonsense.

Florida Panthers: Chris Driedger

oh look, our first goalie! florida had some interesting skater options, but when it came down to it, corwin and i thought the cats were a good place to take a goalie from. driedger did pretty well this season, plus the panthers’ goalie situation is locked up between $10 million man bobrovsky and future star spencer knight.

Los Angeles Kings: Viktor Arvidsson

corwin was feeling pretty strong about this one, so i’m trusting their judgement. according to them, seattle expressed interest in arvidsson, so nashville traded him to the kings instead of giving him up for nothing. now the kings get to give him up for nothing, which works out pretty well, considering i had absolutely no clue who to pick from the kings.

Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba

like some other picks, this just seems right. i like matt dumba a lot. he seems like a fun and wholesome guy, and his activism, both on his own and with the hockey diversity alliance, is admirable. i hope he gets to display his personality and keep working to better the sport of hockey with the kraken.

Montreal Canadiens: Jake Allen

goalie number two! picking a player from the habs was weird because i got attached to them during the playoffs, but i really don’t know many of their players? so corwin and i deliberated on this a little, and after looking at our goalie situation, decided that allen was the right pick from montreal.

Nashville Predators: Calle Jarnkrok

after doing art for and getting a featured article from the preds, corwin thinks they’re some kind of nashville expert. i originally had matt duchene here, but corwin said not him. their logic? they did art of duchene for their preds project, so they probably want to keep him around. fair point. so we went with calle jarnkrok. the logic behind that choice was simple: “calle jarn-kraken”

New Jersey Devils: Andreas Johnsson

i wish i kept a counter of how many times corwin told me “ron francis doesn’t care about your feelings!” when we were discussing the devils pick. they kept advocating for either nate bastian or mikey mcleod, but i would not stand for the superbuddies being separated. this is my kraken bait list, so my decisions. i asked a few of my devils friends for their input (props to sabs @jakejuentzel and h @bigmouthnatebastian), and in between the mild panic, andreas johnsson got tossed out. therefore, it’s mango getting shipped to seattle. does it further lower the average age of the devils? yeah, but it’ll be fine! the nhl could use some youthful chaos.

New York Islanders: Jordan Eberle

all of my kraken bait ideas for the isles came from the bardown breakdown podcast (a great listen if you like hockey and pop-punk/punk music!), since both hosts are isles fans. they had a few names tossed out, including josh bailey and casey cizikas, but corwin and i decided on eberle. like with a lot of these, right vibes.

New York Rangers: Kevin Rooney

i’ve seen two names pretty consistently for rangers kraken bait: colin blackwell and kevin rooney. is blackwell is better and therefore the more likely pick? yes. but kevin rooney is a former devil and also mocked tom wilson, so i voted he gets to go seattle.

Ottawa Senators: Chris Tierney

i don’t think i could name more than three, maybe four players on the sens, so i defaulted to The Athletic on this one. i have no idea who chris tierney is, but it works, so there we go.

Philadelphia Flyers: James Van Riemsdyk

@phillyjoel left some fantastic notes on the flyers kraken bait in the tags of my last list, giving me good evidence to tell corwin that for the last time, nolan patrick is not kraken bait. the argument i saw was that the flyers are probably going to trade patrick instead of giving him up for nothing and make cap space by giving away van riemsdyk or voracek. The Athletic liked the van riemsdyk pick, and corwin could live with it, so that’s where we settled.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Zach Aston-Reese

i honestly don’t have a whole lot of explanation for this one. another pick borrowed from The Athletic, corwin and i liked it, there we go. we considered going with kris letang, but the vibes weren’t right.

San Jose Sharks: Ryan Donato

shoutout to my sharks friend and amazing artist K (@18minutemajor) for their help! i originally had brent burns in this slot, on K’s suggestion (we had a fantastic exchange about brent burns befriending bigfoot). however, i ran into last-minute cap trouble and had to switch the pick. ryan donato came from The Athletic, but i think it’s kind of a fun pick. he’s been passed between a few teams recently, but most of what i know of ryan donato comes from the 2018 olympics (aka the first time i really watched hockey!), when he was apparently doing pretty well for team usa.

St. Louis Blues: Vince Dunn

thank you @powerblais (and the blues fans group chat) for your input on this one! vince dunn was one of the names on the list erin sent me, and The Athletic also had him listed, so we went with it.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Blake Coleman

thanks @heddy for responding to my out-of-the-blue message with some good input on the bolts! ana gave me some good suggestions like tyler johnson plus something else so they take on the contract, alex killorn, and ondrej palat. in the end, this devils fan defaulted to pickles. this pick is in the same category as tyson barrie- do i actually think coleman is going to the kraken? not really. do i still like the idea? absolutely.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Travis Dermott

borrowed from The Athletic and some other kraken bait predictions, because everyone has something to say about the leafs. corwin and i waffled between dermott and alexander kerfoot for this pick, but we eventually settled on dermott to seattle.

Vancouver Canucks: Madison Bowey

this pick changed so much in just one day. we originally had braden holtby here because original kraken bait, but then i ran into cap trouble. so i switched it to zack macewen, following a pick by The Athletic. but then i wanted one or two more defensemen, so i switched to madison bowey, who was the other pick from The Athletic. after all that, it seems like the right pick.

Washington Capitals: Vitek Vanecek

our third and final goalie! corwin and i had our eyes on vanecek as kraken bait for a while- a young goalie with promise and room to improve seemed like the right pick for seattle. we briefly considered tj oshie--he’s from washington state, and corwin wanted to upset caps fans (we were talking during the first round of the playoffs)--but ended up back with vanecek as our pick.

Winnipeg Jets: Mason Appleton

last pick of the list! not much to say here, though. it’s a pick borrowed from The Athletic, but we went with him over the other option from the jets because he has a fun name. to quote corwin, mason appleton sounds like “an apple pie in a mason jar on skates.”

and there you have it folks, the final kraken bait list! if you want to know the specifics, we’ve got 3 goalies, 16 forwards, and 11 defensemen, and the total cap hit is 76.4M. i’m pretty doubtful that this will be the actual expansion draft lineup, but we’ll have to see how many, if any, picks corwin and i got right.

thanks again to everyone who helped me out, and i hope you enjoyed the chaos and commentary of the kraken bait lists!

#seattle kraken #kraken bait #expansion draft

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joongtreasure · 4 years

Text

Hello Stranger || Street racer!Hyunjin + Car mechanic!Hyunjin

Hyunjin street racing au + car mechanic au

Genre: Fluff Pairing/s: Hyunjin x Reader

Warning/s: illegal street racing, slight making out

Word count: 4.9k

I was listening to Hello Stranger while writing this

Jisung blankly stared at the last card on the discarded pile. The red color seemed to glare at him in return. Changbin, Felix, and Jeongin waited for his move, wishing for the suspense to be over. They followed Jisung’s gaze as he looked alternately between the discarded pile and the last card that he was holding.

Felix grumbled. “We don’t have all day.”

Jisung scoffed before putting his last card down, revealing a wild draw four card. “I win!” Jisung threw his fist in the air before breaking into a mini dance.

“That’s not how you win in Uno!” Felix retorted.

The four got into a heated discussion about the rules of Uno. It was a typical Saturday in Chris Bang’s Garage. While some of Chan’s friends work for him, others would just laze around on the second-floor lounge. Almost every day they would hang out there, which Chan didn’t mind.

A voice interrupted their petty banter. “Hey, this is a garage, not a living room,” Hyunjin called from the work area. He gave them a pointed look before referring to the customer at the cash register. The customer was waiting awkwardly by the counter to pay for the repairs he requested in Chan’s garage. Felix scrambled from the couch to attend to him.

Hyunjin shook his head before laying on the car creeper. He rolled himself under the car that he was tending earlier. It also became part of his job to reprimand Felix to focus on his work rather than getting distracted by their friends. Chan's business was booming and they need all the help that they can get.

For Hyunjin, the garage is basically his home. It all started when he kept losing in his first few races. He needed the money so their family could get by. When Chan found out, he offered Hyunjin to work for him in the garage. He even offered to train him to be a better racer. Hyunjin readily agreed. He poured great efforts in working efficiently for Chan. In the end, not only did he become one of the greatest racers in the streets, but he also became Chan's right-hand man in the garage. He loved what he was doing. Now, he couldn’t imagine a life not surrounded by engines and the like.

“Ya ya ya,” Changbin called out from the lounge area. “If a nerdy-looking girl comes looking for me, call for me, alright?” He said.

“Define nerdy-looking,” Hyunjin said.

“Wears glasses, band shirts or cartoon shirts, and sneakers,” Changbin said before plopping back to the couch, not waiting for the crew to reply.

You looked at the address your brother sent you, then at the place in front of you. Chris Bang's Garage—your brother wanted to meet you here. You got into the same university as your brother, and you couldn’t wait to see him and his friends. Unfortunately, your brother had a prior commitment today, so you opted to take the bus instead and agreed to meet him in his friend’s garage.

You entered the already-open commercial garage doors. You were greeted with the sight of different flashy-colored cars. Some were hoisted on car lifts while others were being fixed on the ground. What got your attention was the debate between two guys about Uno.

“Didn’t Uno have a point system in the first place?” A boy with white hair argued.

“No!” A guy who oddly reminded her of a squirrel said. “The first person to discard all of their cards wins the game.”

You giggled at the sight before turning to the nearest person to ask for your brother, which was someone under a broken car. You hesitated, unsure if you should disturb him in his work.

Hyunjin wanted to block out their noise. He was really considering hitting them with a wrench to shut up. It wasn’t helping him concentrate on his work; the rest of the crew probably had the same thoughts. A pair of sneakers caught his attention. No one else seemed to notice someone standing by the entrance so he rolled out of the car to check who it was.

You were greeted by the sight of a blonde guy with a bandana. He was wearing a muscle tee that showcases his toned arms and work pants that had different tools in its pockets. His skin was glistening with sweat, probably from working in the garage. You suddenly became flustered as he was a sight to behold. He stared at you curiously.

Hyunjin was dumbstruck. The sunlight blinded him at first, then his eyes focused on your figure staring down at him. You looked utterly beautiful, ethereal even. You were probably a customer, seeing as the description Changbin gave didn’t fit you.

Hyunjin stood up and wiped his hands with a clean rag, wanting to look presentable in front of you. He suddenly became conscious that he was covered in sweat. He licked his lips, suddenly feeling his whole mouth go dry. He felt like he was undeserving of your presence. Why? He doesn't know.

“Can I help you with something?” Hyunjin asked, mustering a smile.

“I’m looking for my brother…” You replied, still dazed at the handsome guy.

“Brother?” Hyunjin pondered. “Who’s your brother?”

As if to answer his question, a voice yelled from the lounge. “Y/N!”

Changbin came running down the stairs, almost slipping (being the clumsy friend that he is). “It’s been so long!” He greeted you with a bear hug, swinging you around.

“Oppa, we saw each other during Christmas break.” You laughed but returned the hug.

Everyone in the garage was probably thinking the same thing: Changbin’s your brother? Hyunjin’s gaze switched alternately between you and Changbin, noting the vast contrast of your qualities. Changbin is like a demon summoned to make their life miserable. On the other hand, you look like an angel from heaven. What the hell? He thought.

Hyunjin looked at the others if they had the same thoughts. His question was answered at the sight of Jisung, Felix, and Jeongin openly staring at you. After pulling themselves together, they came down all at once, eager to meet you. Hyunjin rolled his eyes.

It’s been two weeks since your arrival, and what an excruciating two weeks it has been for Hyunjin. He can’t seem to focus whenever you’re around. One time, you just passed by and he was distracted momentarily that he didn’t notice that he stepped on a car creeper. He ended up slipping, his back landing perfectly on the ground. You were instantly beside him, but he refused to accept any help from you, choosing to trudge away in pain. Another was when you simply said hi to him. He waved back at you, but somehow the tire that he was fixing got loose and landed on his foot. He spent the rest of that day limping. So, he did the most logical solution, he avoided you.

You noticed this, of course. You find Hyunjin interesting. When you first met, you had a really good feeling about him. You felt like you could be close to him, so you tried to initiate interactions with him. But, lately, you have noticed that he’s been avoiding you. You didn’t see him anymore whenever you visited the garage, or whenever Changbin’s friends were hanging out at your place. You figured he didn’t like you so you stopped trying.

You knew Changbin was street racing ever since high school. You were the only one he trusted in the family to keep his illegal activities secret. Though at first, you didn’t like it, you knew there was no stopping Changbin. So you simply supported him, coming to his races from time to time.

You were doing your homework in Chan’s lounge while the boys were preparing for a race. You were supposed to leave in a while, but you got curious as you watched the boys doing last-minute fixes on their cars. You have no knowledge on cars, but, for you, they look really cool.

Hyunjin went up to the lounge to rest for a bit. This day was extra tiring. Felix’s job of delivering car parts to customers was thrust upon him; the younger boy apparently took a day off. Then, he helped his friends prepare for the race tonight. He was eager to get a power nap before going to the venue. Of course, that was before he noticed you on the couch. He immediately froze. ‘Would you notice him if he left all of a sudden? The stairs would be noisy.’ He thought.

You noticed Hyunjin, frozen at the topmost step. He probably didn't want to see you, you thought, so you started packing your stuff. “I’m sorry, you can use the couch,” you offered. "I was about to leave."

“No,” he said. “You don’t have to leave.”

“Really?” You chuckled. “I thought you didn't like me.”

“No, I like you.” Hyunjin winced at his own words but explained further. “I mean, I don’t NOT like you. I'm just… I'm just not used to new people.” A big lie.

“Ahh, I get it.” You nodded understandingly.

Plucking up the courage, he walked towards the couch and sat hesitantly beside you. You both were silent for a moment, the only noise you hear are the conversations among the boys in the work area and their engines. “Are you gonna watch the race?” Hyunjin asked, breaking the silence.

“Nope, I still have to study. I might leave in a few minutes though.” You turned to him. “How about you? You racing tonight?”

“I'm not sure yet.” He replied.

Another moment of silence. It wasn’t awkward. You both were comfortably watching your friends work. Though, you took the chance to admit something to Hyunjin. “I really admire you, Hyunjin.” You said. “You seem to love everything about cars.”

“What’s there to admire?”

“Well, you always seem to have your own bubble whenever you work. You’re really good at what you do.” You said.

"It's not that big of a deal." He said, rubbing the nape of his neck stiffly.

"To you, maybe," you said. "But still, I admire you."

Thank god to Chan for forgetting to change the bulb in the lounge, because he was blushing as hell at your words. He was speechless, to be honest. He never had anyone straight up tell him that, especially from the girl that he likes.

You giggled. “Let me guess, you’re also not used to getting compliments.”

Hyunjin shrugged. “You got that one right.”

You laughed. “You’re cute.” You said before standing up and getting your bag. “I should go, it’s getting late.” “You got a ride?”

You shook your head. “I’m taking the bus.”

He stood up too. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

“But aren’t you going to the race?” You asked.

Hyunjin scoffed. “Nevermind, they’re gonna win anyway. Besides, it’s been a long day. I want to rest early.”

“Okay then.” You both went downstairs, shouting a quick goodbye to everyone before following Hyunjin to his car. Unbeknownst to both of you, your friends were smiling among themselves. Changbin, on the other hand, had a scowl, not sure if he likes the idea of you with Hyunjin.

Hyunjin’s car was a black and white Mazda RX7. “Sweet ride,” you said, looking at his car from top to bottom. Hyunjin opened the passenger side for you. What a gentleman, you thought. You said your thanks before hopping in. When you both were buckled up, he drove out of the area.

Hyunjin sped up as he got into the highway. “Are you comfortable?” He asked.

“Yes, thank you.” You mumbled. “You know I always wanted to see you race.”

“You do?” He chuckled. “You’d be bored.” You asked why, to which he replied while smirking, “No one would stand a chance.”

“I have never pegged you to be arrogant, Hyunjin.” You laughed. “Now I really want to see you race.”

“I’m just stating facts.”

You rolled your eyes. “Sure you are."

Hyunjin drove the car into the suburb on the hillside. There were perks of having Changbin as your brother: a home that has a great view of the city, an awesome circle of friends, and, the best one of all, him as your chauffeur in a cool car.

The hill was quiet. Only a few houses lived on this side of the city. The road was basically dead, so you thought of something that could be fun for both of you. "Is it difficult to race uphill?" You asked.

"No," Hyunjin smirked. "Why?"

"Oh nothing," you said, acting nonchalant. "I just feel like this car is too slow or something."

Hyunjin shook his head in amusement. "Are you sure about that?" He shifted the gear and the car accelerated gradually until your surroundings became blurry. You held on to your seatbelt, anticipating the rush. You were in awe as trees blurred past you. "This is so cool." You muttered.

Hyunjin shifted gears, going faster. Normally, he wouldn't put someone in danger like that, but the way you initiated the challenge made him think that you also liked the rush. He wasn't even sure if it was okay with Changbin, but he still continued as he saw you actually enjoying the ride.

Reaching a curve, Hyunjin drifted the car smoothly until the road became straight again. The road towards your home consisted of a few more curves. Plus, it was uphill. One wrong maneuver and you might take a tumble down the hill. You eyed Hyunjin. “You can do it, right?”

Hyunjin just smirked. He drifted the car again as you reached another curve. Your worry vanished as he managed to drift through a few more curves with precision. You looked at him. Despite his cocky attitude earlier, he looked carefree at the moment. You figured that he likes racing for the thrill; that he was in it for the ride and not for the money. It really showed right at this moment. Soon, you felt the car slowing down until Hyunjin parked his car in front of your house.

You grinned. "Well, that was fun."

"Really?" Hyunjin laughed. "Are you okay?"

“Are you kidding? I can't remember the last time I've felt so much thrill in my life."

"Not even when Changbin's driving?"

"Changbin would drive like a mom when I'm with him." You retorted. "He never drives like that with me. Like ever."

Hyunjin hung his head in disappointment. "He's gonna kill me then."

"Don't worry." You giggled. "It'll be our little secret."

Hyunjin smiled, looking at your elated expression. He would do anything to see you happy again. Seeing you like this made him warm inside. That night, he changed his mind about avoiding you.

Ever since that night, you and Hyunjin grew closer. Your bond was natural; always annoying each other, always challenging each other. You started hanging out in Chan's garage more often than usual; from catching up with him in the lounge to helping him work. You actually became familiar with the different tools that he used. He would do the heavy work while you just handed him whatever he needed.

The other guys find it amusing that you were hanging out with Hyunjin rather than your brother. Changbin was quite bitter, but, in a way, relieved. Seeing you bloom in college made him happy, proud even. But, he was nervous that you would start dating guys who probably don't deserve you. When he noticed that you and Hyunjin seemed to be fond of each other, he was relieved. He trusts Hyunjin. He wanted nothing more than seeing you both happy with each other.

That's why Changbin approached Hyunjin because he trusts him when it comes to you. He'll start his internship soon. From then on, he would be too busy to pick you up and drop you at school. He knew Hyunjin’s work schedule in the garage is flexible. He’s doing this because 1) he hoped that through this, you two would finally realize you both like each other, 2) he thought that it would be good for Hyunjin to get out of the garage from time to time, and 3) again, he trusts Hyunjin when it comes to you.

"Hyunjin," he said, leaning against the car that Hyunjin was fixing. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Hyunjin rolled out of the car with a curious look. He stood up, cleaning his hand with a rag. "What's up?"

"As you know, I'll be starting my internship soon and I won't be around much to take care of Y/N," Changbin said. "I was hoping that you could drive her around to school."

"Sure," Hyunjin said without much thought.

"Well, that was easy." Changbin chuckled. "If I tell you to confess to her, would you?"

Hyunjin blushed, muttering 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

"Ya, you're so obvious." Changbin shook his head. "Just know that I'll come for you if something goes wrong, yeah?" He rubbed Hyunjin's hair teasingly before leaving the boy in a blushing mess.

Changbin told you about Hyunjin, and you were honestly happy with the setup. You would see Hyunjin more often now, even outside of the comforts of Chan's garage.

You just finished your last class for the day, and you were looking forward to seeing Hyunjin. You brushed your way past the hoard of students in the hallway. Arriving at your school's parking lot, you immediately spot Hyunjin. However, you frowned at the sight that greeted you.

Hyunjin was leaning against his car, looking annoyed as ever as a couple of students crowded him. A few guys were admiring his car while some girls were trying to make small talk with Hyunjin. Though he made it clear that he wasn't interested, they wouldn't leave him alone.

"I really like your car." One of them said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You must be really rich." Her posse giggled.

Hyunjin scoffed. 'Pretentious,' he thought. He ignored her despite her approaching figure; his sneakers more interesting than them.

The girl touched his arm and that’s when he finally had it. He moved away instantly. "Can you leave now while I'm being nice?"

You approached them, worried about Hyunjin. "Hey," you greeted.

Hyunjin visibly brightened when he saw you. He moved to the passenger side, opening the door for you to get in. You did so hesitantly, wary of the glaring eyes in front of you. Hyunjin got to his side and drove the car out of the school premises.

"How was school, princess?" He asked, smiling. His mood changed, you thought.

"It was okay, I guess." You said dryly.

Hyunjin frowned. "Is there something wrong?"

You shook your head. Maybe you were tired. Discouraged, maybe. You didn't know. You just didn't have the energy to talk at the moment.

Hyunjin was restless inside though. He couldn't stand the thought of you being down for some reason. But he respected your space, knowing you, you would eventually tell him if something's up. You both rode in silence as he drove you to your home.

Hyunjin parked in front of your driveway. He immediately got out of the car, moving to your side and opening the door for you. You chuckled. "You don't have to do this every time, Jinnie."

"I was just making sure you won't scratch my car." He scoffed.

"Right, of course, you are."

Hyunjin stared at you, and you feel yourself deflate under his intense gaze. "Did something happen at school?" He asked.

You didn't want to admit that what happened earlier bothered you. The thought of Hyunjin with another girl made your skin crawl. Your brain kept telling you to acknowledge your feelings towards Hyunjin, but you just can't, knowing he probably doesn't feel the same. And, of course, you’re worried that you were already burdening Hyunjin. He looked uncomfortable at school earlier.

You shook your head. "How about you?" You asked. "I kinda saw what happened earlier."

Hyunjin groaned. “They were annoying."

“Aigoo~” You chuckled, pulling the headband and letting it go with a snap. "No one seemed to be good enough for you, Jinnie."

Hyunjin rubbed his forehead comfortingly. You. He thought. You'd be more than enough.

"It's getting late." You said, walking away from the car. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jinnie."

"See you, princess." He mumbled, leaning against his car as he watched your figure enter your home.

You stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the wave of skimpy and lavish clothing. You had just finished your classes when Hyunjin picked you up and told you that he was going to race tonight. You instantly agreed when he asked you if you wanted to come and watch. So, there you were, leaning against Hyunjin's car as he met one of the organizers of the race.

Changbin approached you with a playful glint. "Wah, it's been so long since I've seen you in the streets."

"Someone has to be the mature one if anyone of you decided to do something stupid." You teased. "Especially you."

"Especially you~" He mocked, which made you laugh. "But now, you did not only come for me, did you? You came to support Hyunjin."

You hit Changbin in the arm. "Ya, I support all of you."

"Sure you do."

Hyunjin came back after handing his pot money. Changbin man-hugged Hyunjin, wishing him luck before leaving you two alone. "You gonna wish me luck, princess?"

"I didn't know you needed luck." You giggled. "But, do be careful."

"Always am." Hyunjin smiled. He removed his jacket, leaving him in his usual tee that exposes his toned arms. You looked away, trying to hide the flustered look on your face. You were surprised when he draped it around your shoulders. "Wear it for me?"

"Why? You'd get cold." You said.

"Just wear it for me, princess."

You sighed before putting your arms inside the sleeves. "I'll be going now," he said. "Stay with Changbin and the others, yeah?"

You nodded, watching him hop into the driver's seat. You bit your lip when you thought of something that can potentially ruin your friendship with Hyunjin. Would it? You thought. Plucking up the courage, you tapped on Hyunjin's window. He rolled down his window, confused. "What's wrong, princess?"

You gestured for him to come closer. As he did so, you kissed him quickly on the cheek. He stared at you, surprised. A kiss could be platonic, right? You thought of things that could save your friendship. Hyunjin had other thoughts though. Before you could explain, he planted a quick kiss on your lips. This time, you were surprised. Hyunjin simply grinned. "I'll catch you later." He said before driving to the starting line.

You patted your cheeks, trying to shake off the giddy feeling. You weaved through the crowd until you found your friends and your brother near the starting line. You stayed with them until the race is over.

Hyunjin felt restless behind the wheel. He already felt the adrenaline kicking in as he waited for the flagger to start the race. Not only that, the other drivers taunted him earlier, saying they'd ask your friend—you—out after the race. That didn't just make him subtly claim you by making you wear his jacket, it also made him more determined to win the race. However, after the kiss, he already felt like a winner. You meant that romantically, right? Thinking about it excited him. Feeling giddy, he hit the steering wheel repeatedly in excitement.

The flagger raised his arms and the crowd hollered. "Drivers, are you ready?" He yelled. When the drivers gave him an affirmation, he swiped his arms down, signaling the cars to go. The cars zoomed instantly through the night.

You stood between Changbin and Jisung, nervous to the death. It's been so long since you came to events like this. It's like seeing Changbin race for the first time again.

Jisung was cheering Hyunjin's name beside you. Upon seeing your face, he softened. "Hey, relax. Hyunjin's good. One of the best in these streets."

"I know," You said. "I just can't help it."

Changbin chuckled. "You should date him after this."

You hit Changbin again for the second time that night. "Shut up."

"Aigoo, is my sister flustered? Aigoo." He teased.

Slap!

Changbin rubbed his arm in annoyance, finally feeling the burn after a series of your slaps that night.

The crowd went wild as the sound of engines returned. You all saw the cars speeding towards the finish line, Hyunjin's car and a different car leading the race. You all watched in suspense as the two cars alternately surpassed each other by mere inches.

"Oh, I can't look." You said, turning around.

Jisung pulled you. "Ya look!"

You saw Hyunjin's car overtake the other car in a burst, probably using his NOS. The crowd celebrated as Hyunjin sped past the finish line first. You jumped in excitement, hugging Changbin in a tight grip. The crowd surrounded Hyunjin as he went out of his car to receive his win. Your friends bombarded him with whoops and man hugs, while you and Changbin opt to just wait for him behind the buzzing crowd. Hyunjin searched the crowd for your face. You waved from the back, hoping he'd see you. When he did, he waved back, looking euphoric.

Changbin nudged you. "Just go to him." You nodded bashfully. "Don't stay out too late, okay?" He said before leaving, probably going to Chan's to celebrate.

The crowd was already dissipating when you approached him. You were almost at Hyunjin's when you were stopped by a guy you've never met before.

"Hey, I'm Kim." He said. "Have I seen you before? You look really familiar."

"Sorry I don't know you." You replied.

"Well, I think you're really cute. Can I ask for your number?"

"I'm not interested." You turned him down immediately. You sidestepped to get past him but he grabbed your wrist.

"I mean no harm, babe," Kim said. "I just want your number."

"I said no, okay?" You said, trying to pull away from him. "I'm not interested."

Kim was about to reply when a gentle hand touched the part where Kim's hand is gripping yours. It was Hyunjin. "She said no, Kim. Please remove your hand and let her go."

Kim did so but took a taunting step towards Hyunjin. "How about we race for it huh, Hyunjin? You were just lucky tonight."

"She's not a prize." Hyunjin glared. He placed his hand behind your back and ushered you to his car.

You looked at Hyunjin briefly. His mood definitely turned sour despite his win. You slipped your hand in his, hoping to lighten up the mood. "Hey, you dropped your crown, princess. Keep your chin up." You teased.

Hyunjin laughed then smiled at your hands, intertwining them. "Trust me, I'm more than happy tonight."

"Congrats, by the way." You said. “Although, you already knew you were gonna win.“

"Let's celebrate." He said.

"Sure, I think they're at Chan's right now."

He shook his head. "I want it to be just us."

You pondered. "What do you have in mind?"

"You pick, princess." He kissed your hand. "Anything, anywhere, I don't mind."

You blushed at the action. "How about dinner at my place?"

"Sounds great." He said, leading you to his car.

At your place, you cooked ramen. Though you offered to cook something else, Hyunjin wanted something easy and instant. He reasoned that he didn't want to bother you too much, but, actually, he just can't wait to spend more time with you. After eating, you both chose to watch a movie. Although a few minutes in, the movie was already forgotten as Hyunjin won't stop hugging you. You were basically on his lap and he kept nuzzling his nose on your neck.

"Hyunjin," you chuckled. "You're not watching the movie."

Hyunjin mumbled, "Let's just stay like this for a while."

"Okay, but can we clear something between us first?" You said. You grinned as his cute head peeked at you.

You slid off his lap and sat beside him. He faced you with an amused expression. "I just need to know... where our relationship is heading." You mustered.

Hyunjin smiled. "I really want to date you, Y/N. I want you to be my girlfriend." He tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. Beautiful, he thought.

"Okay then." You said.

"Is that a yes?" Hyunjin came closer, gently touching your cheek, staring at your eyes. "You'd be my girlfriend?"

You nodded meekly and muttered a yes. He held your cheeks before kissing you repeatedly on the forehead. You giggled. Then, you both gazed into each other's eyes, briefly looking at each other's lips.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked gingerly.

To answer his question, you placed your hands on his shoulders and kissed him. He responded almost immediately, his hands resting on your waist and on your cheek. You sighed as your lips slowly molded against each other. You put your hand to the side of his face, momentarily brushing against the headband on his forehead.

You pulled away, giggling to yourself when Hyunjin tried to chase your lips. He rested his forehead against yours, staring intensely at your eyes. Feeling courageous, you pushed Hyunjin until his back was against the couch and you straddled him. He caressed your face, taking in every detail. "Beautiful," he muttered, leaning closer for another kiss.

You kissed again with much more fervor this time. Your bodies were firmly pressed against each other. His hands were clutching your waist, rubbing it up and down. You delicately traced his biceps until finally resting them against his chest. You felt one of his hands slide gently down to your thighs.

It would have been an interesting night if you didn't hear Changbin's car park in the driveway. You pulled away from each other, smiling. He tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. You giggled, doing the same thing to his hair.

The front door opened, revealing a sleepy Changbin. When he noticed your position, all traces of fatigue vanished. "Ya!" He yelped.

You didn't want to move, but Hyunjin gently placed you beside him, probably trying to get on your brother's good graces.

Changbin rubbed his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He shrugged. "Keep it PG when I'm here, okay?" He glared at Hyunjin, pointing his finger as if he's saying 'I'll be watching you' before disappearing to his room.

You and Hyunjin just laughed at each other before cuddling on the couch, finally paying attention to the movie.

#hyunjin #hyunjin scenarios #hyunjin x reader #stray kids scenarios #stray kids #car mechanic au #street racer au #changbin #jisung #chris bang #hyunjin street racing au #hyunjin imagines #hwang hyunjin #skz scenarios #seo changbin #han jisung #bang chan

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shiberpostshere · 4 years

Text

The Kiss Thief - Park Seonghwa Social Media AU

20. Chapter Sixteen: Happy Realisation✨ (Meant as a sarcastic remark to the Reader, wishing her Happy Realisation like Happy Birthday)

Previous Part✨ Next Part✨

Masterlist of the AU✨

Word Count: 2.2K (😳)

🌸

The Special Weekly Segment, Weekly Flower Delivery had thoroughly infiltrated your mind with admiration of love and swooning until you remembered that you decided to justify your feelings about Seonghwa, with Seonghwa by talking to Seonghwa.

Oh, Park Seonghwa.

What are you going to say? For starters, you had few options you considered:

1) 'Hey! Crazy story. Remember when I liked you in high school but I think it was childish, so I'd like to know what are your present thoughts about it?'

Fairly normal but quite formal.

2) 'Hello there kind sir. Would you like discussing our past embarassing affairs, mostly the mortifying felony committed by me over a glass of liquor?'

It feels like you're asking for great lord's hand in marriage, one who owns expansive estates in the 1740s.

3) 'Hey, Seonghwa, so you know how we've been spending some time together and I have been thinking about us, together, as in a dating, you know what I mean?'

'You know what I mean?' What are you about to do? Transcend into a rap battle?

At the end, you considered it's best to say what feels appropriate at the given situation.

Hopefully, it's appropriate.

The Dazzling Night group is buzzing excitement of accomplishment after the special segment.

The atmosphere shifting from a rather intimate confession to a declaration of never fading love has successfully set a mood for the team to celebrate the well executed show with chicken and beer by the riverside at midnight.

Yeosang and Mingi leave before the rest and decide to get the food on the way to arrange a seating area for comfortable dinner.

The remaining ride in Seonghwa's car after he frantically arrived at the studio looking fresh and clean.

After a short ten minute ride, you breathe in the gusts of winds, carrying a gentle scent of the river.

The location is a little crowded for the night but might disperse as the clock ticks by.

It isn't difficult to spot the waving figures of Yeosang and Mingi in a quiet corner, keeping a safe distance from other groups for private, mostly chaotic conversations of the group.

Jongho collapses on the mattress within a second of spotting it.

"This is the life of a successful segment planner." He states with a deep inhale.

"Okay bragger, save this for later. I'm hungry." Mingi pushes the boy out of the mattress, rolling him onto the grass but Jongho has no plans of sitting straight.

Yeosang twists open a bottle with fizzle. "We need to make a toast."

The rest of you begin arranging your dinner in front of the widespread, breathtaking view of the river and the brightly lit bridge.

Seonghwa and you begin unpacking the boxes of variety of chicken while Hongjoong pours out drinks for everyone.

"A toast? Why? Are we already done with Dazzling Night for this semester?" Hongjoong comments without looking up.

Yeosang gives him a look. "C'mon, read the mood." He falls back beside Mingi. "Seonghwa loves giving speeches anyway. We love a sentimental mood setter."

You nudge the mentioned boy. "Oh? Then I'm looking forward to it too!"

He plops down and rolls his eyes. "For once can you guys stop ganging up on me?"

Your best friend props up his body lazily, supporting his weight on his arms. "Make a toast, make a toast, make a toast."

You snicker and shake your head at the lack of enthusiasm. "Wow, you surely want him to make a toast."

Hongjoong offers you a small cup of beer. "Okay then, would you like to make a toast instead?"

Taken aback, you study the amount of twinkling eyes settled on you. "Oh, hell no." You thrust the cup at the suggested person.

Seonghwa looks at you with dramatic betrayal written all over his features. "My knight in--" His eyes study your frame, "My knight in jeans and flannel, I thought you'd surely save me."

The entire group bursts out in laughter.

Placing a hand on your hip, you gulp down the contents of the small cup. "Why did the ganging up shift from him" You jab a thumb at innocent looking Seonghwa, "To me?"

Jongho simply shrugs. There's an evident satisfaction displayed in his slackened movements.

You feel comfortable as well.

You're used to, no, you are loving the playful bantering but god forbid, you'll never admit this out loud, especially in front of the teasing devil himself.

"Alright, alright" Seonghwa refills your empty cup and lifts up his big one. "Here's a toast to not even a week into Dazzling Night yet to the most talented group of people making everyone's night, especially each other's by working together and supporting each other. How's that for a sentimental toast?"

All of you raise your plastic cups in unison with a gentle 'cheers' and down the booze in one shot.

Mingi wipes his non existent tears. "Fantastic. I'd like to thank my mother, my father and mostly importantly the baby account I followed on instagram two weeks ago which gives me joy---"

He is unable to finish his speech of 'gratitude' as Yeosang shoves him away with a quick push, making the tall boy almost land sideways on top of sauce pouches.

🌸

Throughout dinner, you simply cannot stop smiling or almost rolling over the grass.

It is truly a wild dinner.

One moment Hongjoong slaps away Yeosang's hand from stealing his well deserved chicken wing and another Jongho suddenly belts out a song to honour the evening, earning loud claps from the people seated nearby.

The conversations begin with Seonghwa and Hongjoong reminiscing their first meeting together, makes it's way through the emotional valley but eventually returns to the clowning station.

Time passes by quickly as you munch over different kinds of delicious chickens melting on your tongue with new flavours everytime you grab one from a different box.

Yeosang takes all the credit for the ten out of ten dinner and all the guys agree with the chicken maniac, as addressed by his friends.

As the night gets darker, people start disappearing slowly and you begin to notice the questionable amount of empty beer bottles lying around.

"I think I'm drunk." Hongjoong presses his temple with a wince.

Yeosang grabs the elder's arm and leans into his shoulder with a pout. "Yeosang wants to eat more chicken."

Jongho breaks into a fit of coughs while Mingi throws back his head, booming with laughter.

"Did he just refer to himself in third person?" Eyes wide, you turn to Seonghwa for an answer.

"Yeosang transforms into a cute little kid when he's drunk, he has a low alcohol tolerance." His cheeks are slightly tinted with the pink colour. You don't know if you should be trusting his tolerance either.

"Oh my god, I should totally make a video." Mingi pulls out his phone but Jongho is quick enough to snatch it.

"You don't want to see tomorrow's sunrise?"

Out of everyone, maybe even you, Jongho appears the most sober, as if he hasn't drank at all.

Hongjoong's hand gently pats the drunk one's back. "C'mon, it's getting late, let's go to the restroom and sober up so we can leave."

Jongho leaves his place with a sigh. "I'm going with those three, I think they need some supervision."

Seonghwa places down his refilled cup. "Good idea. I'll stay back with (y/n) and clean up."

You nod. It is indeed getting late.

The three drunk ones trudge towards the washrooms with a normal walking Jongho following behind.

"Let's clean this up, shall we?" You eye the mess scattered around.

As you try to lift your body with much difficulty, a hand wraps around your wrist and pulls you down causing you to yelp.

"But you wanted to talk." You breath hitches for a moment as he turns sideways to place his forehead on your shoulder.

Oh, how you had hoped for him to magically forget about it.

You lift up his head with the support of one finger. "Are you sure you aren't drunk?"

His hands pat his cheeks a few times. "Definitely not drunk." He inches a little closer. "So, tell me."

A chuckle leaves your lips at his attempts to appear sober. "Oh, well, I don't know how to bring this up and I'd rather talk if you will remember this tomorrow as much as I want you to forget."

His shoulders slump. "Oh, (Y/N), is this about our cute little history that you find embarassing."

"What? How did you know that? Wait, who told you---" You blabber out surprised and to deepen the surprise he places a finger on your lips.

"Hey, hey, calm down." His eyes land on the finger and he quickly retrieves it. He clears his throat. "I mean, it is a little obvious. I think it is obvious to everyone but you."

Your cheeks heat up a little at his statement. "Obvious? Okay, since it is that obvious. Yes, yes I am a little embarassed, maybe more than a little embarassed."

Seonghwa tilts his head to the side, an intense look in his eyes. "That's not what I meant (Y/N) but tell me what are you embarassed about?"

Gathering your legs closer to your chest, you place your chin in between the knees. "Well, you know" You let your words trail but draw in a deep breath. "I was fifteen and what happened was silly and ever since we started hanging out together, I feel really comfortable with you and you're really nice. Oh my god, I'm getting nowhere with this." Your feet begin moving in a continous motion.

Seonghwa fixes his posture and sits up straight. "(Y/N)?"

"Yeah?" You look up.

"I liked fifteen year old you. A girl who liked me, often encouraged me even though she didn't understand 11th grade struggles but it's not something that I look back at and make fun of but it's a fond memory that there was a cute girl who liked me back when I was young and too tense for a 17 year old boy." His precise answer tugs a string of your heart.

"Yeah, you were too tense for a 17 year old boy. Remember how you often lectured me like you understand all concepts of the world at such an young age." You comment with an playful smile.

A picture of a young Seonghwa passionately explaining time management like a professor pops up in your mind with a young you listening as if he's reciting a romantic poem. Oh, how smitten you were.

Funnily enough, you still are.

Seonghwa pushes his fingers through his hair with a shy smile, eyes focused on the night sky. "Oh my god. I can't believe you remember that."

You bump your shoulder with his. "How can I forget, you were adorable."

A stange energy is brewing within you. This comfort is unmatched.

He turns to you, fingers suddenly grab your cheeks. "Don't get cheeky with me now." He says in an extremely soft voice.

"Hey, this is not fair. What are you doing?" You get a hold on both of his hand to remove them but fail.

He pulls them a little before letting them go, you rub the sore spots. "You're as much as a troublemaker as you were back then, you just hide it now. Don't you?"

Maybe it's the courage supplied by the little alcohol in your system or maybe it's just him, you grab his face with your hands.

His eyes widen at your actions. "What are you doing?"

You gently bump your forehead onto his. "I'm trying to be bold and knocking some sense into you."

The shocked expression subdues into a serious one. One you hadn't expected to see. "I wouldn't suggest that. What if I really end up forgetting what you're about to do next?"

As soon as he speaks those words, you let go of his face and create a safe distance between you two. "What do you mean? I wasn't going to do anything but bump my forehead with yours! What are you thinking!"

He begins stuffing the empty chicken boxes into each other pretending as if you weren't just inches apart a second ago.

"What if I end up bumping my forehead even harder than you did?" He asks with the most false concern present on his face.

You grab the nearest bottle cap and aim it right at his forehead but he's too quick to catch it. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

"YOU stop being cheeky, can't you tell I was trying to flirt with you!" You let both of your hands rest on your hips.

His mouth forms an "O". "I mean, I should definitely do that, I have the right to. It's not like you know that I've been flirting with you all this time."

You freeze for a moment, eyes blinking twice. "You've been flirting with me?"

He throws up his hands in an exasperated gesture.

"Wait, you've been flirting with me? You weren't just having fun making me suffer by being extremely kind and nice yet teasing and--" The long list of conversations run in your mind and then it pings. "Oh."

Seonghwa begins clapping. "Thank you so much for finally noticing."

Your fall down on the support of your knees.

"Oh my god, Park Seonghwa has been flirting with me all this time"

You realise you've said it out loud and wish to sink further into your hands.

"Yes, I have been." His fingers gently ruffle your hair. "Now, clean this up before Jongho comes back and grumbles about it."

You slowly lift up your head and look at him casually collecting the mess, unphased.

"You're not going to let this one die. Are you?" Hesitant, you await an answer.

He chuckles. "Of course not."

"Fantastic." You stand up, unable to shake off the realisation.

🌸

Pairing: College Student! Seonghwa x College Student! Female Reader

Genre: Fluff, A teeny tiny bit of smut with a pinch of angst

Synopsis: High school crushes are often silly and forgotten. However, you cannot forget the one senior, you "borrowed" once a kiss from. Years have passed and it's a memory you laugh at but what will happen if you're to encounter the same senior in a much different setting and situation? Especially during your first year of college.

🌸

A/N: This user is about to lose her sanity because Tumblr does not save her drafts and likes messing with her already remaining braincells. (I edited this once, I'll edit it again tomorrow)

BUT! THOUGHTS? what do we think after reading this chapter?

After writing this I low-key wanna start a written fic he-he.

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! 💫

🌸Tags:

@enigmaticsal @stardusthyuck @preets-kpop-world @missiopk @rae-woo @sanisms @retrofuture-ism @jiyeons-closet @hongjoongsnoona @seong-hwa1998 @veeeenus4 @mochibabycakes @vhschs @kokoboxp @choisaniskillingme @vantclavs @f-iyan @staywritten @cobbiebaexqueen @uppiespuppy @mingiflower

🌸Unable to tag: @mingiibabieee @dreamie-deonghwa

🌸

Do not repost, modify or claim the writing or images.

#ateez #ateez social media au #ateezsmau #ateez sm au #ateez text au #ateez imagines #ateez fluff #ateez scenarios #ateez fake texts #ateez au #park seonghwa #kim hongjoong #jung yunho #kang yeosang #choi san #jung wooyoung #song mingi #choi jongho

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dindjarindiaries · 4 years

Text

Thunder - Chapter 8: Hail

summary: Time winds down until Frankie has to leave Luciana, and suspicions start to grow as to what’s going on between them.

warnings: anxiety attack, angst, fluff, mentions of death, references to sex

rating: R

word count: 4.82k

masterlist

chapter 8: hail

Waking up the next morning, Frankie’s almost certain he’s ascended to heaven. The warm glow of sunlight’s peeking in through the window of the guesthouse bedroom, bathing the woman who lays asleep on his chest in an angelic light. Frankie feels more at peace than he has in a long time, even with the prospect of what’s to come nagging at the back of his mind. He knows he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else than where he is in this very moment—even in the air.

But then, it all sinks in: he’s still here, with Luciana, in the guesthouse, in the morning—and not with everyone else.

Frankie curses under his breath and gently starts to sit up, stirring Luciana from her sleep. She looks up at him through her lashes, eyes half-lidded in a way that Frankie thinks is adorable but can’t dwell on right now. “It’s the morning, Luce,” Frankie informs her, his voice soft yet panicked. “The guys could be up, and they might be looking for—.”

He’s cut off by Luciana leaning in swiftly to kiss him, her hand brushing over his cheek in a way that makes him forget everything else he’d been worrying about. When she pulls away, she stays close, her nose brushing against Frankie’s as she looks him deep in his eyes. “Relájate.” Luciana adds a gentle kiss on the tip of his nose. “It’ll be fine. We’ll just say we woke up early and decided to go for a walk—and we brought the umbrella in case it rained again.”

Frankie takes a deep breath and nods to agree, earning a smile from Luciana in praise as she kisses him one more time. “You always think on your feet,” he tells her, earning a soft chuckle as she moves off of him. She frees herself from the sheets and stands, and Frankie can’t help the way his gaze admires her body once again. In this light, where it’s brighter and even more angelic, he can see more of the outline he’d tried to burn into memory last night, and he can’t help his heart from beating faster at her sheer beauty.

“Now, don’t relax too much, Morales,” Luciana warns Frankie, pulling him from his trance. “I don’t think we have time for another round before things start to look more… suspicious.”

Frankie ignores the blush on his cheeks as he shrugs, starting to untangle himself from the sheets. “Are you sure ‘bout that?”

Luciana raises an eyebrow at him as she starts getting her clothes from the night before back on. “Don’t insult yourself like that, babe. I’m sure you could last much longer than what we’re being given.”

Frankie scoffs and shakes his head, trying to hide his smile of amusement as he also dresses himself back up. Once they make the room neat to the way it’d been before—including new sheets as provided in the closet of the room—they walk out hand-in-hand to the main part of the guesthouse. Frankie reaches for the umbrella and, before he can reach for the door, Luciana pulls him into another kiss. It’s deep and full of the desperation of not knowing when they can share another, lips parted and tongues dancing like their bodies had during the later hours of the night. Frankie’s hand cups her cheek as they pull away, a thumb brushing over the skin there as he watches the light dance in her brown eyes. “I love you,” Franke confesses in a voice that’s hushed yet honest, “and one day, the whole world will know it.”

“All in time,” Luciana assures him, a phrase that he knows he needs to hear because the guilt of not being more public with their relationship has started to eat away at him. She gives his hand a squeeze and presses a kiss to his knuckles. “I love you, too.”

They share a gaze for a few lingering moments and then they open the door of the guesthouse, making sure none of the guys are around before they pretend to return from a morning spent walking through the trails of the surrounding wood. Thanks to their chemistry not only as lovers but also as friends, it’s easy for them to begin making light and casual conversation, making things look natural as they walk back up to the main house. Once they walk inside, they’re met with surprised exclamations from the guys who sit around the kitchen table, except for Santiago who works some eggs in a pan on the stove.

“We all thought you were both asleep, gonna be honest,” Benny admits, drawing a sip from his water with a raised brow.

“Us? Up later than you?” Luciana lets out a playful scoff as she teases him. “You should’ve known better. We were up early and decided to go for a walk. It’s beautiful around here.”

It’s true, Frankie thinks to himself, wishing he could say it to Luciana. My view this morning was really beautiful.

“I’d say that surprises me, but it doesn’t,” Tom mumbles, a small smile growing on his lips as he looks between the two of them. “One day, we’ll switch it up on you.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Luciana demurs with a chuckle. “Maybe after you’re done with bootcamp.”

And, as much as that’s meant to be a joke, those are the words that make Luciana’s mind take a darker route the rest of the day.

It continues just like the day before, the majority of it spent down at the dock—swimming, boating, kayaking, whatever else to have fun and cool off in the midst of the summer heat. She’s allowed herself a few extra drinks, which she realizes now likely wasn’t the best choice. Luciana sits here in one of the Adirondack chairs, taking a moment to bathe in the sun as she watches the boys toss a football around in the shallower part of the lake, and lets herself think too much.

She’s the only one being left behind. Luciana will have to stay here while her brothers—including one by blood—go off to serve, losing any kind of the contact she’s had with them ever since they all met and gelled together. This includes the love of her life, a man she’s known for longer than the rest aside from Santiago, someone she’s not sure how to live without anymore. Even before the love bloomed, he was the crutch she didn’t realize she was leaning on, the other half that kept her in check and balanced and excited to grow in life. Luciana knows she’s been the same thing for him. She doesn’t often think about what could happen to him while she’s away—not just in the line of duty, but in his mind and his heart. She knows there’s darkness there that even she hasn’t gotten to fully explore, hurt from the things that’s happened to him that he shouldn’t have to deal with on his own. Now, he has to be alone.

Her gaze jumps from person-to-person as they jump and move around in the water—from “grumpy” ol’ Tom, to young, wild, and free Benny, to less-wild-but-still-kinda-crazy Will, to her dearest and fiercely protective Santi, and finally to her entire heart, the caring and kind Frankie—and she can’t help picturing what would happen if this was the last time they were all together. If something happened and she lost one of them, or even all of them. If this little family of theirs that’s dysfunctional yet beautiful in its own unique way was harmed in any way, shape, or form. Luciana’s not sure how she’d be able to carry on. Picturing a life without them, one without Tom or Benny or Will or Santi or Frankie, is enough to knock the breath right from her lungs.

And that’s exactly what it does. Suddenly, Luciana—the one who’s been revered as never being afraid of anything—feels more fear than she’s ever experienced before in her life, and now she can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe.

Luciana tries to take a deep breath but it stalls. The place where she’s supposed to feel the soft rise and fall of her chest is instead engulfed in burning flames, feeling as if they’re full of sand as she tries to get the air in. A cold sweat breaks out on her forehead as she blinks a few times, trying to compose herself because she doesn’t want to break down like this, to show that she’s weaker than everyone thinks she is. But then she tries to breathe again and she still can’t.

She moves to sit on the very edge of her seat, hoping that’ll help somehow as she tries to expand her lungs. It does nothing. Instead, the heaving of her chest becomes more obvious, the cold sweat providing a glare of the sun’s rays, and she realizes she’s drawing attention.

“Luci?” her brother’s voice calls to her, but it feels far away, much further than the few feet he stands in the lake away from her. “You okay?” Santiago comes closer, stepping out of the water as his brow furrows in concern. Luciana looks at him and sees his eyes widen upon viewing the horror in her eyes and the evidence of struggles that go deeper than he was anticipating.

She shakes her head.

Santiago runs over, now, kneeling in front of Luciana and taking one of her hands in his. “What is it, hermanita?” he panics, his free hand touching her cheek and grimacing at how flushed it is. “How can I help?”

“I can’t breathe,” Luciana manages, the image of her brother blurring before her thanks to the tears of fear, shame, and stress that cloud her eyes, now. “I—Santi, I can’t breathe.”

Luciana sees Santiago bristle with more panic as he turns and addresses something to the boys that Luciana can’t take the time to listen to now, fully capturing their attention.

And when Frankie sees what’s happening, he just about feels his heart drop out into the water. It takes everything in him not to sprint over full-speed and take Luciana in his arms right then and there, instead rushing out of the water with the guys to better see what’s going on. Frankie instantly recognizes the behavior because it’s something he’s not unfamiliar with: an anxiety attack.

“Don’t crowd,” Frankie instructs the guys, shooing them to somewhere further off on the dock. He kneels beside Santiago in front of Luciana, placing a hand on her knee as he looks up at her calmly. “You’re having an anxiety attack, Luce. You just need to breathe in time with me, okay?” He earns a struggled nod at that, and he gives her a smile of praise. Santiago looks nervously between his brother and sister. “Breathe in real deep with me, like this.” Frankie takes a deep breath in, and he watches as Luciana shakily does the same. He holds it for a few seconds before going on. “And now let it out.” He exhales as Luciana repeats his motion. He smiles again. “Good. Keep it up.”

Frankie breathes with Luciana until her heaving diminishes and she’s able to get the air in on her own. A few beads of cold sweat still cascade down her head, though Frankie can only see her gaze looking into his—one that’s full of horror and longing, a longing to be comforted by him. But he can’t.

“You’re alright, hermanita,” Santiago assures his sister, hands reaching for the sides of her face as he brushes his thumbs over them. “Feel a little better?” Luciana just nods at him, eyes flickering between her brother and her lover. Frankie tries to ignore the heavy ache in his chest. “I’ll take you to the house and we’ll get you some peace and quiet.”

Luciana nods again to agree, letting Santiago help her to stand up as they start to walk up to the house. Her gaze lingers for just another moment on Frankie when Santiago stops to place a grateful hand on Frankie’s shoulder, and he feels helpless as he begins to stand up slowly from where he’d been kneeling, wishing more than anything that he could be the one going with her—and needing to know what was going through her mind and heart in this moment. Though, he’s pretty sure it has to do with the words she’d cried to him last night, and that thought alone breaks him into pieces.

Once Santiago and Luciana are further out of sight, Frankie walks himself to the edge of the dock, sitting with his legs in the water as he rips his hat from his head. He kneads the material in his hands, his gaze looking endlessly into the rippling water ahead of him. It’s at times like these when he thinks that she’s worth the sacrifice of losing flying. That maybe he can find another skill, another passion, so that she doesn’t have to be alone here and suffer like this. He’d be more than willing to try for her. But she’d never let him.

This is just the first time of many where Luciana will have to suffer without him—and Frankie knows he has to get used to this feeling of pain.

Frankie’s slightly startled when the dock rocks next to him, his gaze looking up to its source as he watches Will sit gingerly beside him. He lets out a heavy breath before he meets Frankie’s gaze, his brow lifting. “You okay, Fish?” Will asks, his voice full of genuine concern as he folds his hands in his lap.

Frankie offers a nod. “Yeah,” he tries his best to assure him, smoothing a hand over his hair before placing his hat back on his head. “I’m just glad that she’s alright. Anxiety attacks are terrifying.”

“Yeah, me too,” Will agrees, his gaze shifting out to the water. “It was scary for me to see her like that. I can’t imagine what it must’ve felt like for you.”

Frankie furrows his brow, his heart starting to beat a bit faster as he looks over at his brother. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Will looks back at Frankie, his expression of nonchalance never changing. “Well, you’re both really close, wouldn’t you say?”

Frankie looks between the water and Will’s gaze. “Uh—yeah, we are, I guess.”

Will remains stoic for one moment but crashes into soft laughter in the next one. He shoulders Frankie in a playful manner. “Fish, you’re a fuckin’ terrible liar.” Frankie can feel his eyes widening as Will raises an eyebrow at him. “You’re in love.”

Frankie’s mouth goes dry as he seeks some kind of response but can’t find one just yet. When he does, it’s incoherent. “I’m, I-I’m in—what?”

Will laughs again. “Don’t worry. She loves you, too. And that’s why you’re together. As you should be.” Will then offers a smile, one that isn’t cynical or threatening. It’s genuinely friendly and warm, as if Will’s been waiting for this to happen as long as Frankie has. Thinking about it, he probably has.

Frankie’s in such shock that he truly can’t speak, now. His lips are parted, but he can’t even begin to think of what he can say. He thought he and Luciana had been doing a good job at keeping things under wraps, but they must’ve slipped somehow. He guesses it was this morning. He wonders if Will’s the only one who knows.

But, just as any good brother would, Will practically reads Frankie’s mind as he continues on. “We all know—everyone except Pope, and I’m pretty sure that’s only ‘cause he’s in such denial of it happening that he refuses to see it.” When Frankie’s eyes only widen more, Will chuckles again. “It’s alright, Frankie. We saw this coming for years. It’s about damn time.”

Frankie finally thinks of something to say, swallowing hard as he tips his hat on his head. “How did you find out?”

Will looks out at the water, pretending to ponder greatly for an answer. “Let’s see.” He hums, and Frankie can tell it’s all an act as he chuckles under his breath. “Leaving all the parties together? Well, that’s just how you two are. No, it was probably when I saw you two dancing at the bar.”

Frankie nearly chokes on air and he feels his cheeks and neck burn red as he runs a hand over the skin there. “You, uh… you saw that?”

Will looks back over at Frankie. “Don’t worry, Frankie, I didn’t stop and stare. And I was mostly drunk. But how could I forget it? My long-time dream couple finally taking their first step together?”

Frankie shakes his head slightly, trying to hold back a smile that’s growing on his lips. “And you didn’t say anything?”

Will shrugs. “I thought you two would be all lovey-dovey after that, but you seemed… normal. So, yeah, I didn’t.”

Now, Frankie’s too curious for his own good. He furrows his brow as he faces his brother. “What else did you see?”

Will’s gaze drifts up to the sky as he thinks again. “I saw your looks at each other on the semi-formal night. I saw you dancing together there. I think that’s when I really, really knew.”

“And the guys did, too?”

“Oh, yeah. We all talked about it when you and Santi and Luci weren’t around. We wanted to help make it happen.”

Frankie feels a realization hit him as he sits up taller towards his friend. “You purposely made sure Luci was left alone in the house the day of my mom’s anniversary, and threw the party the night before graduation at Benny’s frat house so we could be alone, and covered our asses for Pope whenever we snuck away after that.”

Will nods once to agree. “Yep.” He pops the “p.” “And don’t forget the guesthouse.” He gestures towards the path in the woods with his finger, and Frankie can already feel his face turning more red than the color of Will’s swim shorts. “Going for a walk so early in the morning, huh? On the same trail as the guesthouse? What a coincidence.”

Frankie laughs a bit and sighs in defeat, nodding as he looks at Will seriously. “Yeah. We’re together.”

Will slaps a hand on Frankie’s shoulder. “It’s been a long time comin’, brother.” He then wrinkles his brow in concern. “But why’re you trying to be so secretive about it?”

Frankie lowers his voice, gaze falling to his hands as they play with the hem of his t-shirt. “Pope.”

“I figured. But… why?”

Frankie takes a deep breath, looking back up to meet Will’s gaze. “A little while before that night at the bar, Santi, he uh, talked to us. Luci and I. Separately, of course. But he told us that he doesn’t think we should be together because it’s too risky for the dynamic—you know, our family thing we got going on. He’s afraid that if something goes bad between Luci and I, it’ll tear us apart from him. So he made us promise not to get together.”

“And now, you’re together.” Will finishes the idea for Frankie and he nods. Will curses under his breath. “Shit. That’s a dick move on Santiago’s part.”

Frankie shrugs. “He’s just protective of his loved ones.”

“But that doesn’t mean you should have to hide your relationship in the fuckin’ shadows, Frankie. You two are made for each other. We’ve all known it since day fuckin’ one.”

“Then why do you think he made us promise that?”

Will shakes his head, looking at the lake. “Like you said. He’s probably afraid that the closer you two become to each other, the more you’ll drift away from him.” He looks back to Frankie. “He’s afraid of being alone, Frankie.”

Frankie understands that fear. He’s lived that life, experienced that feeling of being so utterly alone and abandoned in this world by everyone he’s loved. That’s why he can’t bring himself to be mad at Santiago, and that’s why he keeps bending to his will and keeping his love hidden.

“You gotta tell him eventually, Fish. He deserves to know. She’s his twin sister for God’s sake, and you’re the closest brother he has out of all of us.”

“I know.” Frankie feels the guilt from earlier resting heavily on his shoulders, now, a hand wiping down his face as he watches his feet kick in the semi-clear lakewater. “I just… now isn’t the time. We’re about to go to basic training and he doesn’t need this shit in his head while we’re doing all that.”

Will nods understandingly. “I get it, Frankie, I really do. But the longer you wait, the worse his reaction will be—especially when it comes to the guesthouse.”

Frankie’s eyes double in size. “He will not be told about the guesthouse.”

Will laughs at Frankie’s panic. “An unnecessary detail. Your secret’s safe with us.” Will places his hand on Frankie’s shoulder yet again, giving his brother another warm smile. “I’m real happy for you both, Frankie.” Frankie returns his brother’s smile. “Just make sure we’re in the wedding. Alright?”

Frankie burns red yet laughs, standing up along with Will as they walk back towards where Benny and Tom are seated in two of the Adirondack chairs. Benny tilts his sunglasses down his nose upon their arrival. “What were you two ladies gossiping about?” Benny jokes, causing Will to snort. “The fact that we know this man’s fuckin’?” He gestures to Frankie who just about adapts red as the permanent color of his face at this point.

“Now Benny, what did I tell you about reducing the state of their relationship to sexual intimacy?” Will retorts, raising his brow at his brother.

Benny blinks a few times at his brother. “Was that English?” he finally asks.

The guys laugh, and Will nudges Frankie’s shoulder again. He points up to the house. “You should go check up on her,” he says lowly. Frankie nods to agree, the ache for his lover still prominent in his chest as he starts off towards the pathway that leads to the house. “Tell Pope we’re ready for another round of tossin’ if he’s up to it.”

Frankie holds up a thumb in acknowledgement, refusing to do anything to slow his movements towards Luciana as he heads up to the house. Once he’s made his way inside through the sliding glass door, he sees Santiago standing by the fridge in the kitchen, pouring a glass of water that’s no doubt for Luciana. He doesn’t see her around, though, and he wonders where she’s gone.

“Hey,” Frankie greets gently, not wanting to startle his brother. Santiago looks at Frankie with eyes still panicked for his sister, but they relax a bit upon seeing Frankie. “How’s she doing? How’re you doing?”

Santiago shrugs as he closes the fridge door, resting the glass of water on the counter as he crosses his arms over his chest. “She’s alright, I think,” Santiago informs him. “Good enough to not want her twin brother fussing over her anymore.” Frankie chuckles softly at that, as does Santiago. He then grimaces, though, a sigh falling from his lips. “But she said it was because she’s worried for us, Frankie—all of us. That makes me feel like shit. I don’t want to have to leave her behind.”

Frankie’s own heart breaks apart at his words. “Me neither, Santi. None of us do. But she’s strong, and a moment like this doesn’t change that. I’m sure that once everything falls into place, we’ll all be a little more at ease.”

Santiago nods to agree. Frankie hates the way his brother seems so down and guilty still, so he walks towards him and holds out his arms, accepting him in a tight hug as he pats his back a few times for reassurance. No words are spoken as the two brothers share a moment of strength, trying to comfort each other over the same woman—to one a dear sister, and to the other a passionate lover. Frankie has a feeling everything will be okay even as he pulls away from the embrace, smiling at Santiago.

“Will said they’re ready for another round if you are,” Frankie informs him. “I can keep an eye on her if you want me to.”

Santiago returns his smile. “That’d be great, Frankie. She’s sick enough of me already.”

Frankie chuckles again, shaking his head as he takes the glass of water off the counter. Santiago steps outside and heads back down to the dock, and Frankie tries to compose himself for what’s to come as he looks around for Luciana. He assumes she’s upstairs, now, and so he heads in that direction with the water in hand. When he comes around the corner of her room, he gently raps his knuckles against the doorframe.

“Santi, for fuck’s sake, I already told you that I’m fin—.” Luciana cuts herself off when she sees Frankie’s image appear in her doorway. She’s since slid on a sweatshirt following the incident, her arms hugging over her stomach as she sits with her legs criss-crossed on the bed. Her brown eyes twinkle at his presence. “Frankie?”

He doesn’t speak just yet as he walks closer to her, setting the glass on the bedside table as he seats himself on the edge of her bed. He reaches a delicate hand to brush away a loose piece of hair from her face, and she leans into his touch without ever breaking his gaze. Frankie can feel his eyes softening at her. “You alright, baby girl?” he finally says, his voice so soft that he wonders if she’s even heard it.

But she must, since she offers a light smile in return. “I’m fine,” Luciana assures him, one of her hands covering the one he still has on her cheek. “I just… got a little too lost in my thoughts.”

Frankie shakes his head at her. “You don’t have to keep it all in here, Luce.” He takes his free hand to gently tap his finger against her temple, earning a larger smile from her. “You have me, too. And Santi. And your other brothers.”

Luciana sighs. “I know. I just don’t want to look…”

“… weak to them?” Luciana nods, and Frankie shakes his head again as he holds her face between his hands. “Luci, having anxiety like that and thoughts like those doesn’t make you ‘weak.’ It just proves how caring and protective you are over all of us. We’re all feeling the same things you are even if we’re not vocalizing them. You being able to say them aloud would prove that you’re actually much stronger than all of us.”

Luciana grabs one of Frankie’s hands to press a kiss to his palm upon hearing that. “Thank you.” Her voice is quiet but never falters, her mesmerizing gaze settling in Frankie’s as she continues smiling at him. “I love you, baby.”

Frankie beams and his heart warms at her endearment. He leans forward to press a gentle kiss against her lips, one so soft that it can barely be felt. He pulls away and rests his forehead against hers. “I love you way more.”

With those words, he wraps his arms around her and shifts his position on the bed, encouraging her to lean into him as he strokes her hair softly. Frankie hopes it can bring her even more peace that she so desperately needs right now—as does he. Yet, he also knows he needs to get his recent conversation off his chest and inform Luciana of what’s been said.

“By the way, Luce… the guys know.”

Luciana lifts her head momentarily from Frankie’s chest, her brow furrowed. “About what?”

Frankie’s eyebrow lifts. “Us.”

Luciana doesn’t even look surprised as she lets her head rest against his chest again. “Oh. Yeah, I figured.”

“You did?”

“We’re not very good at being secretive, Francisco.”

Frankie chuckles at that. “I guess you’re right, Luciana.” Luciana wrinkles her nose upon hearing her full name. “But… your brother deserves to know. Soon.”

“Like I said this morning, babe… all in time.”

Frankie nods to agree with that, planting a kiss in her hair before resting his chin against her head. He continues to stroke her hair as he closes his eyes, absorbing the touch and close intimacy while he still can. The future’s unclear as of now, between his flying and her working and whatever the hell Santiago’s gonna do when he finds out about this, but he knows one thing for certain: Luciana will always be there. “All in time.”

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#i Do Not want to see them Hurt #i Refuse #but it's coming i know y'all can sense it #help me #frankie morales #catfish morales #frankie morales x reader #thunder fic #dindjarindiaries

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