#I also finished my apron! and the apron pattern is very close to my new Nana nightgowns pattern 😂 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chrisevansredbelt · 2 years

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Sweet Things TEASER

a/n: i was gonna wait until more gifs of american gigolo came out for this series but i thought mmmmm a teaser won’t hurt 😈 and also found this gif and it was perfffff

pairing: mob!frank x reader

series warnings; SMUT, violence, mob violence. gangs and mob affiliation. drug trafficking. weapon and arms smuggling. corrupt police.

chapter warning: suggestive themes but only a smidge!

summary: you’re married to frank castle, both the consigliere and underboss to your father, tony stark. even though you’re a ray of sunshine, a rose among the thorns, totally born into the wrong life, with both your beloved father and husbands line of work, you find you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*･ﾟ☆

Sighing blissfully, you watch with hooded eyes as Franks comes up from in between your legs, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb and a satisfied grin on his face.

Cupping his face, you bring a hand up to fix his strands of hair that you had previously tugged on while he was down there, “As lovely as that was-“ You start, tucking his kind of long hair behind his ears and smoothing down his fly sways before resting both hands back on his soft cheeks, “You’re gonna be late.”

He scoffs, kissing the palm of your left hand where your wedding ring glimmered in the sunlight shining through from outside, “I’m the King of New York. I’ll be late if I want to.”

You subconsciously roll your eyes, “But it doesn’t set a very good example.” You warn him.

He gives you an unbelieving look, scoffing when he sees how serious you are, “‘Cause my reputation will be destroyed.”

“Exactly.” You nod, tapping the tip of his nose. Nudging Frank in his side with your leg, you playfully push him off of you, “Now go shower and get ready. Or I won’t make you breakfast.”

Obliging with a laugh, he gets off of you and heads for the shower, knowing perfectly well not to push your buttons any further this early in the morning, “Fine with me. Already ate.”

Wiping your forehead with your forearm, you lean back against the island counter in the middle of the kitchen, watching closely as the eggs and bacon and pancakes cook in the frying pan before you.

Satisfied with the look of everything, you turn off the heat of the stove and get the plates ready.

A door slams upstairs and you sigh heavily. You know it’s an accident and you don’t actually mind that much- but Franks going to slam a door off it’s hinges one day, you swear it.

Just as you finish plating up Franks portion of food, the doorbell chimes throughout the house. You outwardly groan, mouth literally watering at this point and just wanting to swallow the food whole.

Setting the pan down, you wipe your hands on your apron before pulling it off and setting it on the counter. The door bangs a few times now and you’re taken aback by the abruptness of a fist obviously colliding with your front door.

As you enter the foyer of your home, you look up in the direction of the staircase. Frank is nowhere to be seen but you assume he hadn’t heard the bell and is still getting dressed.

You would be lying if you said you weren’t a little worried. But you know that no one would’ve been let near your front yard if it wasn’t for the men at the gate who would’ve let them in. So they’re obviously safe, right? Right?

You see a couple moving silhouettes of people through the stained glass of your front door and you approach cautiously, squinting your eyes to try and decipher them against the pattern and glazing of the glass.

They must hear you coming from the way they don’t try and knock again.

Twisting the knob of the door, you pull it open quite slowly and as it inches wider and wider, you swallow thickly.

Your words get caught in your throat as you eye each man. You only recognise one of them, but it’s not like it gives you any comfort. If anything it makes this whole thing a hell of a lot worse.

Hiding your panic however, you muster a polite smile, “Hi-“

“We’ve got a warrant to enter the premises.” The first man, the one you recognise, shoves a white crinkled paper in your face, stepping into your home through the threshold of your front door.

You back up out of pure force, finding yourself almost trapped as the rest of them file in all around you.

You stare up at the man, all efforts to hide your nerves gone as you eye him rest his hand over his gun.

As you go to move to give yourself some space, stepping back from the man, a firm hand finds it way to your arm. You look up at the person it’s connected to and grimace at the officer who just smiles down wickedly at you.

Swinging your head back around to the main officer, you furrow your brows. What the fuck is going on? And where the fuck is Frank?

“Where’s your husband?” The officer asks you, almost smugly. And boy, you could ask him the same damn question.

In your peripheral, Frank hurriedly appears at the top of the staircase, phone in hand as he looks down at the scene before him.

The second he sees your concerned expression and the slimy hand slithered around your arm, he sees red.

“Hey, get your fucking hand off her!” The main officer pulls out his gun in a heart beat, aiming it at Frank and you almost scream. You don’t even care about the hand on your arm that grips you even tighter as you try and reach Frank who couldn’t care less about the gun pointed at him. As he descends the stairs, only getting closer and closer to the office, you feel your heart stop.

But he doesn’t shoot. Instead, he just opts to push Frank back a little while a second officer comes up behind Frank and immediately cuffs him.

The whole time you and Frank are both just looking at each other, silently communicating with your eyes.

You’re asking him what the fuck is going on but he’s saying nothing. Instead, he’s got eyes on the man behind you still clutching your arm.

“Let her go. She had nothing to do with it.” He manages to pull out of the officers grip with his arms behind his back, only to get thrown up against the wall.

Nothing to do with it? Nothing to do with what?

“Frank-“ You don’t even realise the grip on your other arm now as you fully try to help Frank, until both of your own arms are placed behind your back and held together by the click of a few metal locks.

You look behind you, then back up at the officer who just smiles smugly at you, “Take her in for questioning.”

You’re literally too stunned to speak. Move even. So as the officer goes to escort you, you find your feet are planted still on the floor. So that’s when the officer uses a much more brute force to get you to move, however, ends up colliding you with the edge of the front door in his efforts to throw you around.

You wince as the edge of the wood presses against your side. It’s obviously not going to do any drastic damage, but you can’t say it didn’t hurt and not something you’d willingly do on your own accord.

That gets Frank heated.

Frank struggles against the officers hold on him as he tries to make a beeline for the officer holding you. He’s not used to this. Any other day where someone would be touching you, he’d lay them out. He can’t do that now.

Looking back at the main officer, he has the same shit eating grin on his face- this time only wider as he stares at your belly. God, that fucking face is gonna give you nightmares.

“Better say your goodbyes.” He tells Frank mockingly and you furrow your brows, “She’s not pregnant, is she?” He then asks, and you look at him sickly. “Gonna be real lonely without you.” He tsks, nudging Franks chin who shakes the hand off his face. The officer laughs again, smacking on his gum before looking at you again, this time up and down. Your disgust is evident and this seems to trigger something in him as he looks to Frank once more, “She’ll be quick to move on though, right?”

You barely have time to properly process his question as Frank spits in his face and elbows the man who holds him against the wall.

It happens so fast you don’t even remember it, but Frank ends up held side by side now by two police officers while the other officer brings his gun up and hits Frank across the face with it.

You, again, try to wriggle out of the hold you’re in and wince in pain as the consequence of your actions has the skin of your arm twisted by the officer holding you.

You’re crying. You don’t know when you started crying but you are. For a moment, you’re scared Frank is dead- or knocked out, but as he slowly lifts his head up, a small gash on his cheekbone from where he was just hit, you sigh in a bit of relief to at least see him breathing still.

“The judge’ll love that.” The main officer laughs, tucking his gun back into his holster. At the sound of your soft whimper from your crying, it’s almost as if he gets off on it, eyes boring into your skin before he speaks authoritatively, “Put them in seperate cars.”

You’re pulled out of the house. In your driveway are two police cars, both of them with their hoods up and your heart sinks into your stomach. What the fuck is going on? How is any of this happening?

You can hardly spare one last glance over at Frank as you’re being shoved into the back of the police car.

The only last look you get of Frank is him being pulled out of the house and taunted with the baton of the main officer as they haul him into their car.

He searches for you in the windows of the car you’re in, but the tinted windows make it difficult to find you and Frank couldn’t feel anymore distraught.

What he would give to be able to tell you that everything’s going to be okay and that he’ll figure something out and to not say anything to them and to refuse questioning without your lawyer and to not worry about him… and that he’s sorry.

Because that would be the last time you’d be able to directly talk to Frank for a very long time.

#frank castle #frank castle x reader #frank castle smut #the punisher #frank castle x you #the punisher x reader #jon bernthal #the punisher smut

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ateezmakemeweep · 3 years

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lights out.

neighbor!yunho

word count: 7k

angst, fluff

you had three requirements when searching for your first apartment: a good location, an all pets allowed policy and access to the rooftop.

it seemed a little unusual, that you’d really find the perfect place, all the other check marks and lovely amenities secured, and just say no because you weren’t able to escape to the roof.

but it was a place you always found solace in.

cold nights overlooking the city or warm, spring days in the sun - and when you first moved in a few months ago, overjoyed to check out your new daily view, you saw one of your other neighbors also had an affinity for the rooftop.

he was softly humming to himself as he looked out over the roof, his tall, broad figure covered in a yellow hoodie. just the profile of his face alone had your cheeks warming, faded light blue hair peeking out from under his hood.

a peaceful look covered his face, all the light in eyes and softness of his features making him look boyish and sweet.

and then as if he sensed your presence, or more like your fascinated stare of admiration, he looked to you and his lips pulled into a bright smile.

“hi.”

you bit down on your lip at the realization you got caught, a slight blush on your cheeks as you shot the handsome stranger a shy smile.

“hi,” you said softly, your eyes moving from him to the view behind - all very picturesque and pretty, tall skyscrapers and a clear, blue summer sky. “i’m sorry if i interrupted you.”

“not at all,” he hummed, his arms crossed carelessly over the edge.

an awkward silence hung in the air, unsure if you should stay grounded in your place or make a move closer to him; you chose the former, in case the handsome stranger was weirded out by your closeness - but he seemed to take it another way.

“are you scared?”

your eyebrows pulled together at the teasing smirk on his face, an interesting contrast to the slightest hint of concern in his eyes.

“of what?” you ask in confusion, looking from the view to his cute, questioning face. “you?”

a smile crosses his face that has your heart jumping in your chest, the sun shining down on him and proving that he really is just as perfect as he seems even from afar.

“i was thinking more the heights or the view but i guess the fact that you’re on the roof with a stranger could be scary too.”

an awkward chuckle leaves your mouth, not so much because of his comment but because you don’t know how you’ve managed to develop a crush on this man in less than 60 seconds.

you hesitantly make your way over, your eyes shining with nerves and slight amusement.

“actually, i’ll have you know, access to the rooftop was one of my three requirements for getting a place.”

“oh yeah?” he asks, a smile on his face as he turns his body toward you. “did you just move in?”

he’s pressed up against the concrete without a care in the world, eyes roaming your face and not once dipping toward your dress-covered body.

“i did,” you smile, “about an hour ago.”

“no shit,” he smiles, the profanity leaving his mouth a stark contrast to the sweet smile on his face. he makes his way over to you, his large form towering over you making you swallow nervously - he’s far too handsome and big, two factors proving to be a major weakness for you.

“i’m yunho, apartment 304.”

“y/n,” you smile, the way it lights up your face making yunho’s heart jump in his chest - you’re even prettier looking this happy and excited. “apartment 305.”

you should’ve known then that the handsome man on the rooftop was gonna turn out to be the kindest neighbor you’ve ever had.

he welcomed you into the building with open arms, invited you to a dinner party with his friends mingi, wooyoung and san who also lived on the same floor as you two.

he was always quiet and considerate of the people around him, making sure his tv and music was low by the time 9:00 came around - and even when it wasn’t, you couldn’t help but mind because it was always sweet, soothing tones of comedic chatter or soft pop music.

he always lended you extra butter or milk when you needed, the first time he saw you in your messy ponytail and pastel pink apron the time he realized he might have a little crush on you.

that the times he got excited seeing you down in the lobby or in the elevator were more than just his heart having random palpitations.

the knock on his door that day was soft in a distinct pattern of two, opening up his embarrassingly messy apartment to see you standing there with flour in your hair and a sheepish smile on your face.

“hi neighbor,” you smiled sweetly, your small hand with chipped nail polish waving to him. “do you have an extra egg you can spare?”

“depends,” he smiles, leaning his head against the doorframe cooly. “what are you making with it?”

“pumpkin bread,” you inform him cheerfully, just about the only festive, fall food you’re able to make apart from sweet potato soup.

“ooh that sounds good,” he smiles, his large hand ushering you inside. “come on in. excuse the mess.”

it was your first time stepping inside his apartment, messy and properly lived in but a nice, clean scent in the air - like laundry, home and men’s cologne.

he had a large sectional to fit his crazy group of friends he told you about once in the hallway, a large tv perched on the wall and a small dining room table with rickety folding chairs.

you could tell immediately that it was an apartment that was like a home rather than a house, the same type of warmth in it that shines through the man taller than his own refrigerator.

“i wish i could say my apartment isn’t always this messy but that’d be a lie,” he says, one egg in hand as he makes his way over to you. he looks down at you with a smile, his eyes going back to the cute little apron adoring your body.

“that’s okay, so is mine,” you say, far too guilty of skipping your sunday cleaning day for the past three weeks.

you can’t help the way your eyes trail over his soft brown ones, everything about him and his aura only making you develop a stronger crush on him. he just seemed like such a sweet and genuine person, always looking out for you and going out of his way to send you a smile.

no one has ever made you feel so welcomed in a new place before nor have you ever seen someone with such a sweet, soft smile and kind eyes.

“so just one egg?” he finally asks, breaking the silence and the way your eyes roam over each other intensely.

“i.. oh- yes! yes, thank you, just one,” you stutter out, taking the cold egg from his large hand. you never noticed how nice his hands were either, veiny and large with long fingers and clean nails.

there doesn’t seem to be anything about this man that isn’t perfect, apart from maybe his disaster of an apartment.

“i’ll be sure to bring you a piece of bread when i’m finished,” you say sweetly, the man smiling down at you teasingly causing your heart to jump.

“and if you burn down the complex?”

a mock gasp leaves your mouth as you hit him lightly, his soft chuckle ringing through the air as he watches you turn to leave his apartment.

“forget it then!” you squeal jokingly, knowing right when it’s done, you’ll be rushing over to make sure it’s still nice and warm for him.

his eyes linger on the bounce of your hair and your messily tied apron as you disappear into the hall, letting out a small sigh when he feels the remaining hints of butterflies in his stomach.

“are you ever gonna tell her?” his best friend mingi asked, the two of them going down to san’s for thanksgiving dinner a few weeks later. “you’ve known her for three months now. that’s a reasonable amount of time to have a crush, she wouldn’t be weirded out.”

“i know but we haven’t really like... talked talked, you know,” the tall boy explains, a bowl of mashed potatoes in hand. “we have... neighborly chats in the hallway or in the elevator, sometimes even on the roof if we’re both there, but we really don’t know each other that way.”

“okay and that’s what a date is for, the fuck?” his younger friend spats, a small chuckle leaving his mouth; he wishes it really were that easy for him.

“do you just wanna give her eggs and sugar for the rest of your life?”

the tall boy lets out a sigh as he looks at his friend, the dramatic, playful flair of his body causing him to bite back a smile.

“and it’s obvious she doesn’t have a boyfriend, you would’ve seen him coming and going by now,” mingi continues, their loud footsteps stomping further and further down the hall. “you really have nothing to lose.”

but he kind of has everything to lose.

he likes being the friendly neighbor you can get eggs from or see on the rooftop.

he likes being the person who’s made you comfortable here, helping as you adjust to a new, intimidating setting.

he likes being a friend to you, one that genuinely cares for you and doesn’t have any ulterior motives because he may or may not have feelings for you.

“i don’t know, maybe one day,” yunho says, knocking on san’s apartment door with his free hand. “but today is not that day. today is not the day i confess my tiny, small, minuscule crush to-”

the door opening causes his words to halt, potatoes nearly slipping from his grasp when he sees your smiling face and the light brown sweater dress clinging to your body.

“y/n,” he smiles, shocked but pleasantly surprised to see you here. “hi. i-i didn’t know you’d be here.”

san comes out from behind you less than a second later, throwing a friendly arm around your shoulder as he smiles at him connivingly - yunho knew he was gonna regret letting his little crush on you slip when he and san went out and got shit-faced at dinner together.

“i heard she made delicious pumpkin bread so she had to make the cut,” san said, bumping your arm teasingly when you turn to narrow your eyes at him.

“oh? you heard i made good pumpkin bread?” you question, remembering the events from a few weeks ago very differently. “or you demanded to be let into my house for a bite after you smelt it through the walls?”

“eh, tomato, tomahto,” he says quickly, ushering in mingi and yunho who are holding in their loud, contagious chuckles. “come in, we’re fucking starving waiting for your slow asses.”

you catch yunho’s soft gaze moving to you, smiling at him sweetly and heart fluttering rapidly when he smiles back.

“hi, neighbor. surprised to see you here.”

“yeah,” you chuckle out awkwardly, not wanting the man to think you’re intruding on him and his friends after your short time knowing them. “i hope it’s okay. once san smelt the bread and heard i wasn’t doing anything for the holidays, he kind of, basically, insisted that i-”

“oh, no, no, i’m... i’m happy you’re here,” he says, his words rushed out and awkward but full of sincerity. “i’m really happy to see you here.”

your heart jumps at the sentiment, a soft blush on your cheeks that you’re somehow ignorant to on his face as well. you bite down on your lip to control your smile, giving him a small nod before offering to take the potatoes from his hands.

when you turn to bring the bowl over to the dining room table, your back to the two giant boys watching your retreating form, you miss the way yunho’s blush becomes darker.

you miss mingi elbowing his friend obnoxiously and mimicking his cute, flustered “i- i’m really happy to see you,” resulting in yunho elbowing his friend back roughly.

he’s able (aka cuts off, both, wooyoung and san) to secure a seat next to you at dinner a few moments later.

he tries to ignore the way your elbows bump all night, the two of you awkwardly giggling and apologizing with soft smiles before finally allowing your arms to just... touch.

remain close to one another and find comfort in the way your skin is warm and soft on each other.

he tries to ignore the way your fingers graze as you wash the dishes and he dries them later that night, what feels like electric sparks shooting through your skin every time you touch.

“that was really good,” you tell yunho softly, your eyes observing the boys throwing left over remnants of food at each other or picking through the netflix movie selection. “you guys are good cooks.”

“like your bread wasn’t demolished in three minutes,” yunho huffs, pride and assurance in his tone that causes you to smile sheepishly; there’s a few beats of silence, embarrassed by the compliment, before he begins to speak again.

“our first thanksgiving together was also the first away from our families,” he shares quietly, ignoring the way his heart jumps as he takes a plate from you. “we didn’t know what the hell we were doing and completely fucked up the turkey.”

you let out a giggle as he recalls the disaster that was thanksgiving day two years ago, airing out the smokey apartment and waiting for their thanksgiving feat of chinese food.

“well you guys definitely redeemed yourself, it was all very good,” you compliment proudly, a pretty smile stretched across your face. “one of my best thanksgivings.”

“did your family not celebrate?” he asks absentmindedly, watching the way your face falls for a split second before masked by a small smile.

“not really,” is all you share, both of you quickly pulled away by wooyoung’s incessant demands to “hurry up so we can bust out the second desserts.”

you both try to ignore the slight tension in the air as you walk back to your apartments that night, arms bumping and soft giggles echoing through the walls.

it feels as if the night shouldn’t end yet, like you guys have been talking in this hallway for hours upon hours because neither of you wanna go inside and separate yet.

a couple of nosy onlookers can’t help but observe the scene, your back pressed against the wall as you talk animatedly about your journey for a pet.

“i wanted a cat but i also want a dog,” you tell him, the light in your eyes as you talk about the possibility of orange tabby cats and golden retrievers. “maybe i’ll get both one day.”

yunho’s smiling down at you with such a fond softness in his eyes, like he’s hanging onto each and every word you say no matter how small or casual.

“they’ll be dating by next,” san says, bumping his arm into mingi playfully.

“nah,” the taller boy says, knowing that while his friend definitely likes you, he’s slower and shyer when it comes to romantic feelings. “give it two months. and that’s if we’re lucky.”

you never considered yourself to be a lucky person, although luck seemed to be on your side when you found this apartment complex in the first place, so you can’t say you’ve been cursed with terrible luck.

but it’s certainly how you feeling right now, in the dead of a january snowstorm and one of the only apartments in the complex with absolutely no power.

“it could be a problem with your breaker in particular,” the maintenance man said over the phone, “someone could come look at it tomorrow.”

but no power meant no heat despite the negative temperatures outside, all of your freshly cooked food rotting spoiled and no means of communicating with your cell phone currently on 1%.

“tomorrow?” you squeak, understanding the horrific conditions outside are making their job difficult but also not wanting to freeze to death. “would it be possible if someone could come-”

your phone light shines on your face before it promptly fades to black and dies, the only source of illumination in your dark apartment now gone as well.

you let out a sigh as you resist the urge to scream, attempting to move around your apartment without impaling your body parts.

you’re able to light the three wick candle on your table with little to no problems, collecting all the blankets and fuzzy socks you can find and placing them on your couch.

you have a long, cold night ahead of you with nothing to do but an attempt at rereading some old books and forcing yourself to sleep.

but it’s then, right before you sit down, that you remember all of the food in your fridge.

you used every last bit of your ingredients for this week’s meal prep, knowing that if you it goes bad, you’re not gonna have that much around the house until next week’s trip to the grocery store.

you guess that’s on you, though, foolishly forgetting to not go to the food store before a massive winter storm.

you notice a faint stream of light coming from under your front door on your journey to the kitchen, lips pursing to the side before you open it up with a squeak.

you peek over at yunho’s door besides yours to see light coming from underneath his - so he didn’t lose power it seems, the lucky bastard.

it takes you just as long to convince yourself to go over and ask if you can store the food in his fridge as it does to pack it all up into two containers, not wanting to inconvenience yunho and his storage any further than you are by asking.

you reluctantly knock on his door with the two containers in hand, forgetting you already have on about three layers due to your freezing apartment.

a smile immediately lights up his face when he sees you standing outside his door, small and cute and bundled up like you’re ready to brave the snow storm outside.

“hi, y/n,” he smiles, noticing the two containers of food in your hand.

“hi, yunho i’m sorry for bothering you,” you begin apologetically, a slight grimace on your face as you prepare yourself to ask him for a favor.

“i lost power for the night and just meal prepped the rest of my food for the week yesterday so would you be able to keep this in your fridge for me?” you get out quickly, for some reason feeling panicked and grimy.

“someone’s gonna come fix it tomorrow but when i tried to ask someone to come tonight, my phone died and now i just don’t want this to go to waste because i stupidly forgot to-”

“hey, hey, relax,” yunho says calmingly, his voice all kinds of sweet and soft as he takes the food from your hands immediately. “of course, y/n, no problem.”

you smile at him gratefully, slightly embarrassed by the desperation in your tone.

“thank you, i promise i’ll be back tomorrow to pick it up. i just don’t want everything rotting overnight.”

the wind howling outside causes both your eyes to widen, a sinking suspicion coming over him after he hears the horribly stormy conditions outside.

“wait... does that mean you have no heat?”

“no, i found a lot of blankets and fuzzy socks though,” you chuckle out humorlessly, gesturing down to your ridiculously layered outfit and purple socks. “also found some candles so as long as my food is taken care of, i don’t think it’ll be that-”

“stay with me, are you crazy,” he says, his eyes looking at you in disbelief. “you can’t sit there in the dark and freezing cold all night!”

“it’s okay, yunho, really,” you quickly insist, about ready to take off and into your apartment because you know how overwhelmingly nice your neighbor is. “i just didn’t want my food for the week to go to-”

“y/n, please,” he begs, the soft, sympathetic look in his eyes tugging at your heart. “it’s too cold tonight. even with blankets, you’ll be freezing. and your phone died, that’s dangerous.”

a small, touched smile covers your face, heart warming at how kind and thoughtful this man is - how could you not have the biggest crush on him still?

you thought after a few weeks that you’d be over it but he just makes it harder and harder the more you get to know him.

“i don’t wanna intrude,” you weakly protest, the heat coming from his apartment far too tempting right now.

“you’re not, i’m inviting you,” he says, dragging you in by the sleeve of your sweater and leave no room for protest.

he places the food back in your hold before his large hand rests on the open front door, peeking his head into the hallway to see your door still open.

you watch as he walks into the hallway before quickly reappearing a few seconds later, the sound of your apartment door closing echoing through the hallway.

“don’t worry,” he hums, smiling at you as he walks back into his apartment and closes the door. “i blew out your candle.”

you let out a soft, amused giggle as you look at the boy, his sweet smile mirroring yours as he takes back the food and walks toward the fridge.

“got any 4s?”

“go fish.”

“got any 7s?”

“go fish.”

“got any aces?”

“go fish.”

“okay, one of us has to be lying!” you squeal from the other side of the coffee table, yunho throwing his head back in laughter at your competitive, feisty side.

he couldn’t help but smile at the way your eyes lit up when you saw the pack of cards on his table, leftover from poker night with the san, mingi and wooyoung that rid him of his last $50.

his smile only grew wider when you told him the one family tradition you had, at least before the age of ten, was to play go fish - especially on nights when the electricity was turned off, although you left that part out.

in all your experience of playing go fish, however, you’d never seen a game go on for this long.

“i’m not, i swear!”

“so you’re telling me the one four i need is in that deck?” you ask, not even realizing you outed yourself until he throws you a wide-eyed, playful look. there’s a silent stare-off, able to hear a pin drop in his apartment.

your eyes are roaming each other carefully before down to the deck in complete ignorance of who’s turn it is to go.

you let out a squeal when chaos erupts afterward, the two of you frantically grabbing at the cards. you make a mess over the table as everything goes flying off, a melodic giggle leaving your mouth nearly causing him to stop his futile attempts at grabbing the next card.

it should be considered unsportsmanlike, really, for you to unknowingly use your cute giggle and wide, happy eyes against him.

you just get even happier when you grab at the desired card, flipping it over and letting out a squeal when you’re lucky enough to flip over the last remaining four in the deck.

“i got it!” you squeal happily, yunho at a terrible loss as he sees all your matches lined up in front of you. he can’t even be sad about it though, accepting defeat as he throws down his cards.

“that was probably the longest game of go fish ever,” he says, stretching out his long arms; you guys had played several rounds but that one had to have lasted over forty five minutes.

probably because you two kept getting distracted, babbling about stories of friends and family or the real pet fish yunho won at a fair that lived for three and a half years.

“i know right,” you giggle, picking up the cards from the floor as you start to tidy up his house. you ignore his pleas to leave it alone and let him clean up instead, your head shaking as you continue to clean the mess you helped make.

you hand him the deck a card a few moments later, your fingers grazing as he takes them from his hand.

“thanks,” he smiles at you, his eyes roaming your slightly flushed face.

he’s never had you in his apartment for longer than ten minutes, never had you so close to him with your bright smile and cute giggle. it’s proving to be very trying for him already, trying to keep you entertained and himself distracted so he doesn’t do something, or say something, he regrets.

a silence hangs in the air as you look up at from your spot on the couch, about to make a comment about something, anything, when your stomach decides to do it for you in the form of a growl.

it’s embarrassing and makes an awkward giggle leave your mouth, a handsome smirk crossing his face as his eyebrow quirks up playfully.

“hungry?”

“just for a snack,” you mumble shyly, in disbelief you’re still hungry after your left over pizza. “i ate about four slices of pizza before.”

he lets out a low chuckle as he rises to his feet, sock-covered feet padding over to see kitchen where he holds up a big tub of chocolate chip cookie dough.

“wanna make cookies? i was prepared for the storm tonight, unlike some of us.”

you’re so excited at the prospect of making cookies that you ignore his snide, teasing comment, letting out a happy gasp as you rush over to him.

the two of you stand side-by-side as you prep the oven and cookies, rolling the cold dough between your hands. he makes the cookies a lot bigger than yours, an obvious difference in who made which ones on the baking sheet.

“they kind of look like us,” he remarks playfully, a loud giggle leaving your mouth as you poke his arm.

you two linger in the kitchen once the cookies are in the oven, sharing shy smiles and softly spoken words with the scent of chocolate and warmth in the air.

you thank him again for allowing you to stay in his warm house for the night, grateful for his ample food and running refrigerator.

“it’s kind of crazy since we’re literal neighbors,” you speak aloud, your hip leant against the cabinets. “i didn’t even know that could happen.”

“i know, right,” he chuckles, his smile and eyes getting softer as he looks down at you. “but i’m happy you decided to stay. i wouldn’t want you there alone in the dark and cold.”

and perhaps that’s the bare minimum. that someone wouldn’t want their neighbor, someone considered an acquaintance or even a friend, to be without heat or food in a snowstorm.

but to you, it’s something you’ve never had before.

you’d spent far too many nights cold and hungry where nobody cared if that was the case. it’s why you so often escaped to the rooftop, away from the loud voices and looming presences that made living there just a little too difficult.

it’s why you blurt out, “why?” not meaning to sound as brash and sudden as you do but it’s just something that gets to you sometimes. how kind and thoughtful and genuinely good jeong yunho is.

his eyebrows pull together but he’s still wearing a soft smile, his body inching just a little bit closer to you.

“what do you mean why?” he questions, cocking his head to the side like a confused puppy. “why didn’t i let you freeze to death?”

he tries to keep his tone light and teasing but feels like it falls flat when you give him a sad smile. he thinks it would’ve fooled anyone else, a person who basically hadn’t fallen in love with your smile in five months, but it doesn’t fool him.

he doesn’t know what or why something is bothering you, how your mood seemed to change after his reassurance, but he just wants to make sure, above all, that you’re okay and comfortable.

he doesn’t realize how close his body is to yours until you’re looking up at him, your head just meeting the top of his chest in a way that makes him wanna protect you even more.

his eyes roam every part of your face, wondering just how warm your skin is or if your hair is as soft as it looks.

this would probably be the perfect time to confess his feelings to you.

to tell you that he wanted you over tonight because he likes you. that he’s really, really come to like you over these past few months of getting to know you and he wants to know you more.

he wants to take you on a date and show you off to the world and maybe one day, if things go well, introduce you as his neighbor turned girlfriend.

he wants to make sure you’re never cold or alone in your apartment again, that you know you could always come to him for anything whether it be reassurance or an egg for pumpkin bread.

but instead, he gives a slightly less intense, cheesy version. for now.

“you’re my favorite neighbor,” he begins quietly, not quite the confession he wants to make right now but the one he settles on. there’s an aroma of cookies and heat around you as you stare up at him, eyes so wide and curious, he has to swallow down a second rushed out, bumbling confession.

“i didn’t want anything happening to you, especially when i’m right here to make sure you’re safe.”

safety is always what you craved. safety and security and warmth, even if just for a fleeting moment.

and your fleeting moment proved to be tonight.

the ding of the oven as you both got the cookies out silently, pulled from a moment you both felt forming but was quickly pulled away from. you ate the gooey chocolate with quiet hums of “mmms,” and “ahhs,” softly padding your way over to his couch when he suggested watching a movie.

he sat on one end and you sat on the other, before your bodies eventually inched closer and closer to share a light blue throw blanket in the middle of the movie.

“this is really nice,” you comment as you touched the fabric, observing the intricate stitching on the soft blanket.

“yeah? my mom made it for me actually,” he tells you, watching closely as you play with the blanket between your fingers. he wants to reach out and just hold your hand, feel your smaller one in his and see just how much they fit.

“when i first moved out, she was slightly distraught,” he chuckles out, remembering the dramatics that were his mom’s tears and demands to visit once a week. “i was the first one to move out and she didn’t know what to make of it. i swear she brought me over food every day for the first six months.”

your heart feels heavy as you hear him talk, not only because of the fond moments between parent and child but because of the love in his eyes as he talks about it.

how, even though he’s complaining about it, it’s obvious there’s a love and affection there that you, yourself, could never understand or reciprocate in your own life.

“that’s really sweet,” you comment, his gaze catching that sad smile once again.

it causes his heart to drop, a slight sinking feeling in his stomach as he tries to understand what made you that way. are you uncomfortable here with him, just a few inches away from each other under the shared blanket?

or is it something more, the topic of conversation regarding parents and living alone and all things deeper and more personal.

“me and my parents were never really closed,” you find yourself saying.

you don’t even mean to blurt out the words but it’s like one second it’s silent and then the next, it’s not.

the next you’re telling him about how you couldn’t wait to get out. how fighting and loneliness and the cold was a big part of your life growing up, how you got so used to it, it’s taken you a while to adjust to a normal life.

you’re still trying to adjust to a normal life, honestly.

“i don’t know why i just told you all of that,” you confess awkwardly, the blush on your cheeks causing his heart to soar in chest - he likes you, he really really likes you and now he won’t ever be able to let go of these feelings.

“but... i just wanna thank you,” you tell him, embarrassed that you somehow managed to make the conversation and vibe like this. “you and san and wooyoung and mingi made the adjustment a lot easier for me. but you, especially.”

“oh? with all my eggs and sugar?”

you let out a soft giggle as some of your anxiety eases, your eyes flicking toward his to see, despite his teasing, his eyes are 100% serious and locked on you.

“yes, definitely that,” you smile, biting down on your lip as you look back down on the blanket.

“but amongst other things too. it was funny meeting you on the rooftop, actually, because that’s always where i felt most comfortable. i’d always escape there but i’d be alone. it was nice... it’s been nice having someone, i guess.”

it feels like you could just about die from embarrassment, oversharing with the most handsome man you’ve developed a massive crush on about your tragic tales of a broken home and pretentious love for the roof.

but then he inches just a bit closer to you, placing his hand atop yours on his mother’s soft blanket, and just smiles at you. everything about him warm and soft and sweet, making you feel the safest and coziest you’ve ever felt in your life.

“if you’ll keep allowing me up there, i promise i’ll come every time,” he promises softly, the pounding in your chest and butterflies in your stomach overwhelming you to the severest degree.

your cheeks are burning and you’re positive he can feel the frantic beating in your chest but you try to keep it together. smile at him with a a breathy little giggle, tell him that while you love that he’s asking, you have no control over who does and doesn’t go on the roof.

he lets out a soft chuckle as he pinches your arm gently, the hand on your arm slowly falling down until your fingers are just grazing.

closer and closer and closer until they’re locked around one another, both of you eternally grateful for the lights being off because of the burning on your cheeks.

he wakes up around 2 a.m. to the bright tv blasting, a heavy ache in his bladder and your head on his shoulder.

it takes him a moment to remember where he is and what’s going on around him, the events of the night quickly swarming back when he peeks down at your sleeping face.

you look so peaceful and at ease in your sleep, eyelashes brushing against your cheeks and your lips pressed into a firm line.

he wanted to kiss you for half the night, every time you giggled or moved closer to him or asked him a question about the movie getting distracted by your lips or pink cheeks.

he felt an immense amount of happiness at the fact you allowed yourself to be vulnerable with him, that you were still here beside him and so comfortably sleeping against him.

told him things about your life and family that make him wanna be there for you even more now.

he doesn’t wanna move, he doesn’t think even the snowstorm crashing through his apartment could get him to tear himself away from you, but the embarrassment of pissing his pants right beside you on this couch outweighs everything.

his eyes roam your pretty, peaceful face on more time, moving a stray piece of hair with his long fingers and watching as you stir. press yourself further into his hand and let out the quietest of groans, he has to stop himself from proclaiming his undying love for you on the spot.

it only gets worse when he remembers he gave you his clothes to wear. noticing just before the movie ended, you were picking at your leggings that stuck to your skin uncomfortably.

“do you want a change of clothes?” he had asked, noticing your discomfort and only wanting a little bit to see how much his shirts engulfed you. “i have sweatpants and a clean t-shirt sitting in my dryer right now.”

you took up his offer for two reasons: your leggings were sticking to your ass and there was nothing you wanted more than to wear this man’s clothes. feel the soft material on your skin and have his manly, teakwood scent surround your very being.

but right now, as he stares down at you and attempts to keep you as comfortable as possible, it feels as if this might’ve been too much for him.

seeing you wrapped up in his clothes and on his couch so comfortably, moving your smaller body so you’re laid out on the cushions and resting your head on the pillow.

your eyes pop open, confused and in a daze, as you look around at the unfamiliar surroundings and sound of movement. you smile softly when you see yunho’s sleepy, pink face at face-level with you, his large body knelt down beside you on the couch.

“sorry for waking you,” he whispered into the dark, the tv and snow reflecting outside the only source of light. “i had to pee and wanted to make you comfortable.”

“it’s okay, thank you,” you mumble, stretching out your arms when you realize the sleeves are well past your hands. “forgot i changed into your clothes.”

“yeah,” he chuckles lightly, not being able to help the way his eyes roam over you.

even sleepy in the dark and the daze that you’re in, you’re able to see the slightest bit of hunger in his eyes. the way they trail over your body slowly and surely, taking in the way his shirt engulfs your figure and looks against your skin.

how if you stood up, he’d see the way the pants are baggy and making your smaller figure looking even more short and petite and cute.

it makes your stomach flip and swoop uncontrollably, your own eyes staring at his lips and picturing what they’d feel like on yours.

“i hope that’s okay. they’re a little big on you.”

you let out a soft, quiet giggle, adjusting your head on the pillow so you’re staring up at him even closer.

“it’s okay,” you assure, tongue peeking out to lick at your dry, hopefully not crusty lips. “i like it. i like them.”

it takes everything in him not to let out some sort of growl, throw all of his sweet and nice boy caution to the wind and confess to you how much he likes them too.

how much he likes seeing you in them and how much more (or less) he wants to see you in them.

but because the time isn’t right, because he knows for sure the time isn’t right and he wants something a lot more pure and honest with you, he doesn’t say anything.

he wishes you a goodnight after a nearly ten-minute bickering fest back and forth, yunho offering you his bed three times before you eventually flipped over and put your back to him.

he let out a deep chuckle as he ran his hand through your hair instinctively, smoothing out the parts that stuck up in your sleep, before bidding you one final goodnight.

it was around 10:00 when he woke to the smell of bacon, eggs and pumpkin bread. walking out of his bedroom to see you there still clad in his clothes and your hair in a messy bun.

you jumped when you noticed his presence perched against the doorframe, a wide smile on his face when you let out the softest but harshest of curses.

“what’s all this?”

“i made you breakfast. and your very own loaf of pumpkin bread.”

a soft smile covers his face when instead of looking over the food that looks and smells delicious, he looks at you. standing there smiley and sweet, in clothes that morph your body and make you smell like him.

he feels grateful for the extra bit of counter space he has when he places a hand on your waist, lifting you off your feet with ease and plopping you right down on the granite.

your eyes are wide and your heart is racing but you’re staring right at him, happiness and excitement swelling in your chest when you catch the look in his eyes - you thought you made it up last night in a dream-like daze but you’re still seeing it right now.

a certain kind of softness mixed with desire and fondness, the way his eyes take in every part of your face before finally landing on your lips. the very same way you dreamed of him last night, with his lips against yours and a sweet smile on his face.

“thank you, neighbor,” he mumbles with a smile, voice low and deep and making your stomach swoop dangerously. “did i mention you were my favorite?”

“you might’ve,” you respond breathlessly, all too aware of the way he’s leaning in closer and closer until you’re pushed flush against the cabinets.

his large body is covering yours but he doesn’t make any moves until you do, your bodies naturally drifting closer and closer together until, finally, you’re the one to do it.

press your lips against his so so hesitantly, scared and unfamiliar about making the first move but wanting him to know you wanted to kiss him - you needed to kiss him, or you would’ve gone crazy.

he smiles against your lips as he deepens the kiss, keeping you perched right on the counter as his hands rest on the sides of your legs. he doesn’t make any moves to touch you further or deepen the kiss, allowing it to be sweet and soft and as chaste as could be.

you both pull back and stare at each other with soft smiles and pink cheeks, silence lingering between the both of you before you let out soft chuckles at the same time.

“do you kiss all your neighbors?” you finally ask, fighting the smirk threatening to make it’s way on your face. “or just your favorite ones?”

“just one,” he says, tapping the tip of your nose gently and feeling his heart jump when you smile widely at him. “just you.”

it’s 2:00 on the snowy rooftop and bright summer sun when you hear the heavy metal door squeak open, turning around to see your handsome, smiley neighbor coming toward you with two mugs of hot chocolate in hand.

you take it from him with a soft “thank you,” pressing up on your toes to peck a sweet, soft kiss to his cheek.

it was only fitting that you had your first date where you two first met, shy smiles and nervous jitters turned soft pecks and loud giggles as you got to know the sweet, handsome neighbor you just knew you were gonna fall for.

tag list: @mochibabycakes @atinyarmyx1 @middle-of-a-wonshua-sandwich @baekhvuns @marksflvr @bunbaebae @markleeyeosang @inkigayeo @nlost21 @hyunjeansuniverse @cherryeonii

#happy bday mr yunho <3 #this was supposed to be 3k jdvkkvd #yunho #yunho fluff #ateez #ateez fluff #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #yunho scenarios #yunho imagines

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sevendeadlymorons · 3 years

Note

How about a request were Satan is stress out from cooking duty and Mc gives him a helping hand by fucking him on the counter to help him relive some stress from cooking.😺

I- IM SORRY I SAW THESE TWO REQUESTS AND WANTED TO PUT HIM IN A KITTY MAID DRESS AND FUCK HIM ON THE COUNTER SO BAD, IT JUST FELT EXTRA SAUCY I HOPE THATS OK, YOU TWO 😩

Oh and I presume this is meant for M!MC?? If not I’m sorry aha...

Also for the second anon, thank you, love. I’m happy you love my work x

M!MC Fucking Satan on the Counter in a Cat Maid Dress

WARNING: NSFW // Smut

———————————————

It was just you and Satan that night

The boys had decided to go out for dinner but you and Satan were busy that night so decided against it

Instead, you two planned to have a lovely dinner together, all alone

But since it was just the two of you that night, you thought you could switch it up a little

You’d recently been seeing cat maid outfits on Akuzon ever since Levi had asked to use your phone for ‘research’

So knowing how much Satan loves cats, you impulsively bought it; a big brown box appearing at your door the very night you two happened to be alone

You grinned and rushed into Satan’s room, bursting through the door with the dress over your arm

“You gotta wear this for our date!”

The word ‘date’ slipping out of your mouth made you blush a little so you’re thankful he skipped over it

“Why...?”

He stated at you, confused and baffled as in one arm was a black dress with an apron and in the other a pair of cat ears and a tail

You gave him puppy eyes as you tried your best to look disappointed

A small chuckle escaped his lips as he walked forward to grab the clothes off of you, examining them in front of him

He sighs and smiled, nodding in confirmation to your request, to which you smile happily and kiss his cheek then rush back out thd room to get ready for the dinner

A few hours pass and you’re sat in your room on your phone, hearing the pots and pans of Satan preparing the food

You wonder if he’s currently wearing the outfit you gave him

A smile creeps on your face as you imagine him admiring himself in the mirror with his little cat ears and tail on

You couldn’t stop the curiosity from arising as you wander downstairs into the kitchen to see Satan leaned against the counter, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose...

In a maid dress and cat ears

You feel the blush spread to your ears as you look over him, the dress coming slightly over his knees as the pink, knee high socks with cat patterns on it were on full show, the apron frilly and white and a little red bell collar around his neck

But he looked so stressed as he continued to pinch the bridge of his nose and massage his temples, leaning his head against the cupboards

You frown and walk up to him, watching the stress on his face practically disappear as he sees you

“Are you doing alright?”

You ask, still frowning as you press yourself up besides him on the counter

He chuckles and nods slowly

“Just slightly stressed is all”

He looks over and smiles, a light blush covering his cheeks, perhaps from being caught wearing this ridiculous dress

You smile back and reach for the ears of his costume, stroking his hair and petting the fake ears, watching him blush even harder at your delicate touch

You trail your hands down from his head to the bell on his neck, giving it a little flick and hearing it chime

You hadn’t even noticed it, but you’d gotten up from the spot besides him and is now standing right in front of him... Leaned in close with your knee between his legs

You look up at him, slightly shocked but at this point, just from the look of him was turning you on like crazy...

You bite your lip gently and lean in, catching his lips in a kiss as your hand finds its way back towards his hair, wrapping your fingers in it and twirling strands of his blond hair around your finger

You press yourself up to him, feeling his body against yours and hearing the slight ‘tink’ of his bell as you accidentally hit it

You suddenly lift him up and place him on the counter, hearing him gasp as you lean in to whisper in his ear

“Then how about... I help you de-stress?”

You purr and feel him shiver, his legs wrapping around your waist subconsciously as he leans in for more kisses, his legs squeezing you desperately

You feel yourself getting more aroused as his arms travel to your neck, wrapping around you to pull your head closer to deepen the kiss

You grab his face and caress his cheek, slipping your tongue in and subtly going to pull down his underwear from underneath the frilly black dress

You chuck it aside after he allows you to pull them off and you break the kiss, listening to him whine as you spread his legs and lift up the dress; his cock hard and on show for you to see

You smirk and look up at him as you jerk him off, palming yourself with the other hand as his eyes watch you whilst you do it

You slip your cock out of your jeans and let them fall to your ankles, stroking yourself so he can see; watching his own cock spring up in excitement

You pull him forwards so his ass is touching your crotch and you start to lick your fingers, salivating them so you could stretch him out before pounding into him

You slip one then two fingers into him, stretching out your fingers inside of his asshole until he’s moaning in your ear, the sensation wet and new to him

You take your fingers out after readying him and you position yourself over his hole, his face lewd and ready for you

You quickly kiss him as you slip easily inside, his ass smoothly taking you whole as you thrust in and out of him, a few moans escaping from both of your lips as you touch each other’s bodies

You gradually begin to pound in to him, the sound of the bell around his neck and his lustful cries the only things you could hear

He leans his head on your shoulder and pants as he feels your cock throb inside of him, the length of you filling him up and making him want to cum already

You mess with his ears and neck, sucking lightly on him as you grab his thighs to fuck into him harder, hearing loud slapping noises from your balls hitting his ass

He grabs his dick and starts jerking himself off, his head now hitting the cupboards behind him as you pound into him mercilessly, the grip of your fingernails leaving indents in his skin

His cries were ecstatic as he grabs a chunk of your hair and pulls you into a passionate kiss, exploring your mouth as you fuck him without a care in the world

You felt yourself getting closer; deciding to take longer strokes whilst you explore more of his body, feeling his inner thighs and pinching his nipples to make his orgasm more extreme

His body jolts and he starts to thrusts his hips into your strokes, feeling close already and desperately wanting to cum for you

You play with his tip as you take your last couple thrusts, emptying yourself inside of him and saying his name through your climax

You kept going until he soon after finishes, shooting his load onto his chest as parts of it dribbles onto the clean counter

You pull out and stroke his thigh one last time before kissing his cheeks and assisting him off the counter, his legs still shakey as he finds himself leaning back against the counter once more

“Feel better?”

You laugh as you face him, supporting him slightly so his legs don’t give out

All he could respond with was a sigh and a weak nod as he fixes up his dress and signals you to grab his boxers for him

He turns back to the counter after fully recovering and cleans up the mess he made with a towel, then finally starts to cook what he came down to make

You come up behind him and wrap your arms around his waist, playing with his tail and humming in his ear

He laughs and allows you to stay as he cooks the dinner you were sharing for your date

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me fanfiction #obey me fanfic #obey me satan #obey me mc #satan x reader #satan x mc #obey me satan smut #omnsfw #m!mc

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giftofwonder · 3 years

Text

Cirque de Yuuie - MHA Various x f!Reader

A/N: Hey guys! So this is going to be a multi-part series of one shots. Each part will be a different character. There might be smut, we’ll see what happens. This is the introduction to the plot and characters. Some characters might have multiple parts as well. Let me know if you want anyone specific and also if you’d like to be added to their tag list! Also, let me know what you think! Feedback is always appreciated.

Intro

Your eyes cracked open, taking in the deep midnight hues that were cast over your room. Pale moonlight bathed everything in a faint glow.

You shifted, rolling to look at the clock on your bedside table. You groaned, pushing yourself up to sit on the edge of your bed and turned toward your open window. You could hear the boisterous chatter from the streets below. A cool breeze swept in and danced along your heated skin, and you welcomed it with closed eyes and a soft sigh.

Each night you found yourself waking up restless and antsy, unsettled. You’d sit in the confines of your room, and then dress and make your way to the tavern across the road. Tonight was no different.

Your tired limbs trudged across the cobblestone, pushing through drunken bodies that reeked of liquor and sweat.

You grunted as you pushed open the heavy oak door, finding it just as congested as outside. Bodies littered the room heavily, the music and laughter so loud it left your ears ringing. You weaved through the empty spaces and took a seat on a stool by the bar.

“The usual?” You heard a voice called out.

You glanced up, locking eyes with the bar tender as you gave a faint smile and nod.

A glass was slid in your direction a few seconds later, and you wondered if he’d already had it ready for you. You figured that must be the case, it was routine at this point.

“No luck sleeping again, huh?” He said, leaning across the counter as you nursed your drink.

“Afraid not, seems like this is becoming my normal.” You gave a dry laugh, trying to offer up something lighthearted.

“Seems like it. Something troubling you?” His head cocked to the side.

“Just the usual, nothing too bad.” You said, shifting your glass around in your hand.

“Come on now, you waltz in here every night and drink, people with problems that aren’t too bad don’t find themselves perched on one of my stools this often.” He whispered, his gaze intense as he inched across the counter toward you. His hushed voice was lost in the roars of the crowd around you, but you could hear him clear as day.

He wasn’t wrong. You had to give him that. The cluster of people surrounding you dispersed as groups made their way to exit back to the street.

Mummers still resounded around the room, but in the now much quieter atmosphere, you felt yourself relaxing. You leaned forward, propping your elbows against the chipped counter and braced your cheek in your palm.

“I just feel...I don’t know...an overwhelming amount of disinterest in my life. I wake up, I work hard and long days, I come home, eat and bathe and sleep. It’s a never-ending cycle that I’m doomed to repeat each and every day. It all just feels so lackluster.” You said, your voice soft as your eyes gazed at nothing.

“Well, that is quite the conundrum. Might I ask, why don’t you just do something else?” He quipped back with a grin.

“If only it were that easy.” You sighed, eyes slowly drifting back to him.

“Isn’t it, though?” He asked, a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“Is it?” You asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

“Hear me out, I’m no stranger to a hard days work by any means, but I like what I do.” He shrugged.

“Making drinks?” You pressed.

“No, I watch people. Get to know them, help them sometimes. You work in a pub and you meet a lot of people, hear a lot of stories. People get a bit of alcohol in them and suddenly their lips become uncontrollably loose.” He chuckled.

“So you’re nosy, then?” You spat back, a smile turning the corners of your lips.

“I prefer curious, it sounds much more pleasant.” He offered.

He turned and grabbed an envelope from behind him and slid it across the counter to you. It was unmarked, other than the intricate wax seal holding it closed.

“What’s this?” You asked, taking it and inspecting the “CdY” ingrained in the seal.

“A chance to escape.” He shrugged, and then leaned back abruptly, hands grasping glassware and a towel to polish the crystals surface.

“What do I owe you?” You asked, standing and grabbing your coin purse.

“Nothing. This ones on me.” He waved his hand.

“Well, thank you. I appreciate it. By the way, what is your name?” You asked, tucking the envelope into your pocket.

“Shinso, now get out of here and go off to do whatever it is you do when you stumble out of here each night.” He called, waving his rag at you. You smiled at the mirth lighting his eyes, offering a wave as you turned and made your exit.

______________________________________

You plopped onto your small wicker chair, it’s grooves lining up with your back perfectly, molded to your body after the countless hours you had spent hunched over in this seat.

Calloused fingertips reached to caress a fine silk that you’d never be able to afford. You pulled it to you, laying it across the table ahead and dug the patterns for a dress from the chest beside you at your feet.

You were a seamstress, and a fairly popular one. Women and men from both high and low society sought you out to tailor and craft their garments.

You had stitched an amazing collection of clothing, from simple gowns to the most intricate of pieces. Your customers had often boasted about your work, that you were able to create anything.

Until recently, you had been doing fairly well for yourself. You had purchased a home of your own, a massive feat for an unwed woman, especially one in her early twenties.

In the last six months, that had changed though. There had been civil unrest, looting and fighting at the capital. The local government had pushed back, increasing taxes heavily. With that blow came another, a new tailoring business on the other side of town. It offered cheap labor, using children from the orphanage as virtually free hands. The turn around was quick, much faster than the length of time it took you to produce a garment. But the quality was terrible. They used cheap labor and cheaper materials.

The first time you had seen their work, you had laughed till tears brimmed your eyes. However, the quick production and cheap cost had ended up hitting you hard. While the wealthy had no issue having you fashion something for them, most everyone else had flocked to them. It wasn’t terribly hard to do a simple stitch. To take in a gown or a suit. Suddenly, you found yourself praying for work as the jobs got fewer and fewer.

Meanwhile the heightened taxes left your coin purse extremely light. You hadn’t struggled like this in a very long time.

You finished the silken garment, folding it delicately over your arm as you took it over to the rack to hang.

Once hung, you patted off your apron and felt the crinkling of the forgotten envelope tucked in your pocket. You pulled it out, fingers dipping into the paper to tear it open. The red of the invitation was so bright, a high quality velvet lined in gold trim. You then wondered the status of your friendly barkeep, but chalked it up to his large amount of connections. Surely, a drunken man could be persuaded into giving an invitation in exchange for a free round.

Your eyes scanned along the paper, reading the fancy script that outlined the details of the event. You scoffed as you made your way back to your chair, shaking your head as the invitation was tossed onto your table.

A few moments passed before you picked it back up and read over the card again.

______________________________________

Your heels clicked against the pavement as you approached the large gate before you. You were in a state of awe at the lights and music making the night feel alive.

You stopped at the ticket booth, met with a disgruntled employee who looked half asleep. His thick yellow quilt was pulled taunt around his body and his hollow eyes stared at you with something akin to annoyance.

“Welcome to “Cirque de Yuuie”, admission is ¥220.” His bored voice stated monotonously.

“Oh...I actually have an invitation.” You said, giving a weak smile.

He held your gaze for a moment before he quirked a brow, his eyes scanning over you before he gave a sigh and a shrug.

“Alright, give it here.” He held out his pale hand, and you gently placed the invite in his palm.

He quickly pressed a stamp to your hand and shooed you away, so you turned and entered in through the gate.

______________________________________

You had wandered around the grounds for a while, but saw no familiar faces. It was odd, not even children were present. The cost had been rather high to enter, perhaps it was an adults only event.

After you had completed your lap, you were not too far from the entrance to the large tent in the center of the area. Red and white fabrics were draped beautifully, tied off with an intricately woven gold banding.

As you went to step forward, a large wooden pole cut in front of you, you gasped, your head shooting up to find a cheerful looking clown above.

“Whoops! S’cues me miss! Almost stepped on ya there!” He laughed, his painted lips opening to reveal his bright smile.

“Oh, no I’m sorry! I was enthralled by everything and wasn’t paying attention.” You waved him off.

“Ah don’t worry about it, it’s a beautiful night, and the tent looks great! I’ve been distracted by it myself! The names Mirio, by the way.”

“Y/N, it’s nice to meet you.”

He nodded and stepped to make his way off back into the crowd.

“HEY WAIT!” You heard a loud voice call out, and not a moment later, two more clowns turned the corner. One with green hair raced along side a blonde with large sunglasses and a lightening-shaped black streak in his hair. They were tailed by a very awkward and scared looking mime who ran behind them silently looking like he was going to be sick.

“Come on, Amajiki! Hurry up!” The blonde clown yelled behind him, causing the mime to flinch and pick up the pace. You laughed at their antics, they were definitely a good source of entertainment.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THIS IS YOUR ANNOUNCER: PRESENT MIC, PLEASE GATHER TO THE MAIN TENT AS THE FESTIVITIES ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN.....YEAAAHHH!!!!” A loud voice blared through the speakers overhead.

You pushed through the gathering crowd, entering through the fabric doorway. The ceilings were vaulted, and you were amazed by how large it seemed inside.

Chatter broke out amongst those around you as you passed a sign that read “Yuuie’s Spectacular Freak Show!”

You followed the corridor, peering in the labeled rooms as you passed by.

“Strongest Men Alive! All Might and Red Riot!” Inside the room were two muscular men. The blonde man was tall, looming over the crowd as he smiled and flex. The redhead was laying on a bed of nails, and a crazed looking woman with pink hair walked across him while he looked on unfazed.

“One Body- Two Men! Twice!” A man sat, arguing with himself, the crowd would call out questions and he’d answer two opposing ways, often breaking out into an argument. The crowd giggled and taunted as he yelled seemingly to himself.

“The Vampire: Toga!” Your stomach twisted as you watch the girl give a cat-like grin and chug a vial of blood. Shackles held her to her spot but she called out to the audience, telling them to come closer and let her have a drink.

“Invisible Girl: Toru!” You blinked at the empty room, rolling your eyes as you pushed past to the next stall.

“Frog Woman: Tsuyu!” A girl in a green dress crouched in a pool, her long tongue falling from her mouth as her large hand gave a wave. You couldn’t help but notice her webbed fingers and the faint croaks.

“Worlds Largest Woman: Mt Lady!” An insanely large woman sat on her knees, smiling and chatting with the audience. She was beautiful, but had to be at least 9’ tall.

“World’s Largest Man: Fatgum!” A very large man sat in the center of the room smiling and waving as he let children drift into his stall and eat from the various sweets lining the table beside him. Though the adults around you spoke insults quietly, you couldn’t help but think the man looked very kind. You smiled softly at the sight of a child hugging him in thanks before returning to their mothers side.

“Bird-Man: Hawks!” A young man laughed loudly, his beautiful red wings flapping as he gave a slight show to those who watched. Many looked on in awe and wonder, and women swooned at his charm. His feathers seemed to almost sparkle and while you noticed something mischievous in his gaze, you were mesmerized nonetheless.

“Dabi the Dragon and the Indestructible Bakugou!” This room was larger, and smoke poured out. You were curious about this one, as there was no crowd gathered out front. You only saw one person, a rather attractive but angry looking man, growling as he noticed you. He rolled his eyes as he lit off explosives in his hands.

Your hands shot up to cover your eyes, before peering out to see the man looked fine, bored even.

“That was amazing!” You exclaimed.

“Course it was!” He sneered.

Suddenly, the curtain behind him rustled and another man emerged from the darkness. He was shirtless, his body scared in burns that wrapped around his torso, arms and face. His black hair spiked wildly, just like the blonde beside him. He smirked at you, sauntering toward you before lifting your chin with his index finger.

“Want me to put on a show for you, doll face?” He whispered. You nodded mutely, feeling much like the mime you had saw earlier that night. He chucked and stepped back. His hand grasped a bottle and he turned his back toward you, taking a large swig from the drink.

He abruptly turned back, and blue flames shot from his mouth and filled the room. You could immediately feel the immense heat and no longer wondered how his scars came to be.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, giving a small cough before grinning at you.

“Well, what’d ya think, princess?”

“It was amazing! Does it hurt?” You asked.

“Hmm? Nah, not really. Just burns a little.” He snickered at his joke while Bakugou rolled his eyes in the background.

“I also do a bit of sword swallowing.” He added, stepping in close to you.

“Oh, yeah? That’s a neat talent to have.” You spat back awkwardly.

“I could teach you, after the show that is. I’ve got a good one for you to practice on.” His deep voice said in a hushed tone, hot breath hitting you as his hand gripped the crotch of his pants.

You stumbled back quickly, mumbling about needing to find a seat, and then ran off to the main room of the tent.

Your heart was pounding as you took an empty seat in the front row that had your invitation number on it.

The lights around you dimmed and the seats behind began filling quickly. People chatted amongst themselves until the music changed and the curtains at the far side of the tent were drawn.

A pale looking man with light blue hair and red eyes slowly walked out, taking center stage.

“Welcome. I’m so glad all of you came to join us for the show.” His hoarse voice spoke out loudly. His eyes dragged along the audience, taking in those around him.

“My name is Shigaraki and I’ll be your host tonight. You’ll see things that you never imagined, acts of wonder put on display before you. Prepare to be in awe and amazed.” He cheered, giving and eerie grin.

______________________________________

Halfway through the show, they called for an intermission. The lights brightened as people stood and flocked outside to grab drinks and food.

You stayed put, reflecting on the show so far. There had been an amazing act with tightrope walking, acrobats and aerial silks. They had been called “Children of the Sky” by those sat around you. Aoyama, Mina, Uraraka and Nejire were their names.

Then there had been the father and son act of fire performance. Enji and Shouto Todoroki. They danced with fire and spun batons and hoops that were blazing. Their act would have been more enjoyable if the father had been quiet, but instead every few moments he’d call out to his son correcting his posture and moves. Mid performance, Dabi had joined them on stage. His blue flames shining brightly in contrast. He had quickly noticed you and his eyes lit up as your stomach filled with dread.

He marched over, pulling you from your seat as gasps and whispers of his damaged skin rang through the crowd. He didn’t seem to notice. Or didn’t care. He had spun you around, dancing as his azure fire lit his arms. You were worried you’d be burned, but the fire never touched your skin. He brushed his arms with his hands, extinguishing the flame, as the music had haunted. You watched the smoke rise from his skin as you frowned, but he simply took your hand and pressed a chaste kiss to the back of it before walking away.

You heard a voice rasp out “fucking show off” before seeing the angry blonde, Bakugou, take off after him.

Now you sat, watching a small man with balls on his head. He wore a jesters outfit and juggled before those left seated in the crowd. Slowly he made his way to you.

“Hey, how do you know Dabi?” He asked bluntly, wonder in his eyes.

“Oh, I don’t. Not really. I saw him in the freak show. That’s all.” You said, uncomfortable with the small mans leering.

“You actually watched him?” He asked dumbfounded. “No wonder he’s all over you.”

“What do you mean?” You asked perplexed.

“Uh hello, he’s gross looking. Definitely not as attractive as someone like me.” He beamed at you. You stayed quiet, unsure of how to respond and afraid to break the poor guys dilution.

“Hey I also do puppet stuff, you wanna see?” He asked, tone chipper.

“Oh, no that’s okay-“

“Okay cool, watch this!” He cut you off, pulling a small puppet from his suit. He dropped it and it limply hit the ground, the string much too long for him. The puppet dragged around weirdly as the jester spoke in a high pitch, giving the wooden body a voice.

You blinked, watching the train wreck as the doll slid through the dirt, getting jerked around by the man before you. He picked up the puppet and threw it at you, it landing in your lap. Then he pulled the string and yanked it back to the ground. You abruptly stood and walked away, hearing him call after you, but you only quickened your pace.

Once outside in the fresh air, a loud bellowing laugh burst from your lips. That was the weirdest thing you’ve ever had to deal with and you had been holding in laughing in the strange boys face.

“Seems like you’re enjoying the show.” A voice cut in.

Your head quickly spun, meeting the red eyes of the ring leader.

“Yeah! It’s nice, you guys are doing an amazing job!” You scratched your neck, feeling the hairs on your arms standing at the sudden tension as the mans smile fell.

“You weren’t invited here.” He stated.

“I...well I was given an invitation.” You replied.

“It wasn’t yours though. It wasn’t meant for you.” He said, eyes blank as his head cocked to the side.

“No, it wasn’t. I don’t know who it belonged to. A bartender gave it to me.” You explained.

“Hmm, is that so? Well, do enjoy the show then. But do me a favor, sit in a different seat when you go back in.” He sneered, and then he was gone as quickly as he had appeared.

You headed back inside, choosing a different seat in the front row that had been unclaimed earlier.

The music roared again as the clowns, Midoriya, Kaminari and Mirio, put on a show. Kaminari was being shocked while Midoriya rode around on a unicycle. Mirio stayed on his stilts and walked around the stage dancing and doing tricks. The trio was truly fun to watch, and then the mime, Amajiki, was shoved forward. A spotlight hit him as he stood frozen in fear.

“Come on buddy, you can do it!” Mirio whispered loudly in support.

Amajiki took in a big breath and lifted his arms, hands shaking as he formed an invisible wall in front of himself when a box hit him in the head and a drunken man “booed”. Amajiki immediately rushed to the shadows, pressing his face into the wall of the tent as an air of dread surrounded him.

“Uhhh...look over here!” Midoriya yelled out, pulling the attention of the crowd as he gave a large shock to Kaminari. Kaminari then “beeped” and “booped” and drooled as he wobbled around. The audience cheered and laughed.

Finally it was time for the final act of the night, the mysterious and powerful Mr. Compress.

A spotlight roamed the stage, and in a cloud of smoke he appeared. He wore a mask, top hat and yellow overcoat. His cane tapped against the floor with each step he took.

“Tonight, I will make you question everything you know about the world. Everything you believe to be real!” He called, and the crowd went wild, hooting and hollering.

He started with a few jokes, one about how he wasn’t the type to pull a rabbit from his hat, but then his hat shifted and he took it off. He pulled out the first rabbit, and then another, and then two more. You laughed at his seeming confusion. Finally, he plopped his hat back on his head and called out Bakugou to the stage. Bakugou marched to him, stomping his feet and crossing his arms as he came to a stop beside the magician.

Mr. Compress draped a large piece of fabric over the man, and then quickly pulled the cloth back to reveal a confused looking Shouto.

“I was just over there.” Shouto said, pointing to the other side of the tent.

“Yes! And now you’re over here!” Compress smiled, giving a grand wave of his arm.

“Aren’t I the one doing the magic then?” Shouto said blandly while Compress laughed.

“Alright then, do another trick for us.” Mr. Compress said, his tone amused. Shouto stood there silently, expression blank.

“I’m-“

“YOUR FIRE! USE YOUR FIRE SHOUTO!” His father yelled from off stage. Shouto glanced behind him, annoyance radiating from him.

“No. Nevermind. Just put me back where i was.” He said to Compress. Not a second later, the cloth was thrown over him and pulled off to reveal what looked like 100 butterflies.

The crowed oohed and awed in response, and you felt your eyes widen in amazement as well. It was so quick, you were trying to understand the trick, but could hardly wrap your head around it. This guy was good.

He went through a few more tricks, each a little better than the last. Finally he called for a volunteer from the audience.

Many hands shot into the air, while yours meekly raised. You weren’t one who gravitated to the spotlight, in fact, you had no desire to go onto the stage and have everyone’s eyes on you. But, you had promised yourself you’d let go for tonight and do as the bartender recommended. Escape.

Perhaps he could sense your distress, or maybe it was just because you were the closest to him, but he slowly walked toward you and extended his hand.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love it if you could assist me madam.”

You smiled, cursing inwardly at yourself, as you took his hand and let him pull you to your feet and lead you to the stage.

Red Riot ran over holding a heavy wooden chair, one you might find used as a throne.

Compress lifted the bottom of his mask and pressed a kiss to the back of your hand, much like Dabi did, before directing you to take a seat. You did as you were asked, feeling the heat of the light on you, thankful that it’s blinding light prevented you from being able to see the crowd.

Mr. Compress started his speech about defying nature, and the use of powerful magic.

“Do not look away for a second, it is imperative you see your reality bent before you. With the help of my beautiful assistant, I will show you that the limitations we set for ourselves are often just an illusion. Anything you can think of is possible!”

He turned toward you, pulling the yellow coat from his body and leaving himself in his black vest and pants, the orange shirt beneath now visible. He pushed up his sleeves and held his hands outstretched toward you. You felt the chair jerk and sucked in a breath. It lurched again, and soon you were floating above the ground. You kicked your feet and smiled, trying your hardest not to shift in the chair.

Then the lights flickered, and a spotlight fell from the ceiling, crashing into the empty seat that had been assigned to your invitation.

In the moment of chaos, the chair dropped harshly, cracking against the ground as the impact tossed you to the side. You grunted, the wind knocked from your lungs and your eyes unfocused after smacking your head in the fall.

Screams were heard as the crowd panicked and scattered, the roars of animals following after them.

A harsh tug lifted you back onto your feet, and in the darkness you could see nothing, but allowed the person to drag you from the tent as your head spun.

Your mind was trying to process as you were pulled into a trailer, and as your body met the cot inside, you fell unconscious.

#dabi x reader #bakugou x reader #mr compress x reader #shigaraki x reader #mirio x reader #amajiki x reader #midoriya x reader #todoroki x reader #fatgum x reader #aizawa x reader #shinsou x reader #hawks x reader #kirishima x reader #all might x reader #endeavour x reader #kaminari x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader

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ifmywishescametrue · 3 years

Note

WAIT I DIDNT KNOW YOU SHIPPED SAMTONY TOO!!! another oneeee #13 "I saw you looking at it last time we were in the store together, so I got it for you." for samtony

samtony is a very pure ship 😌 thank you for sending a prompt, and I hope you like it!

It starts on a perfectly average Tuesday morning.

“Why do I do this to myself?” Sam pants out, folding himself in half with his hands on his knees. “Every damn time I say it's the last time, and every damn time here we are again.”

Bucky claps a hand on his back and almost knocks him over with one touch. “Maybe you're a masochist, Sammy.”

Sam feebly flips him off, walking off the elevator on jelly legs. “I told you not to call me that.”

“You let Tony call you that,” Bucky points out, following him towards the kitchen.

"I actually like him. We're friends."

“That's offensive. I'm literally your best friend. Your favorite person. The Abbott to your Costello. The Tom to your Jerry. The Lucy to your Ethel.”

Sam snorts, “You're not even my favorite hundred year old man in this building. Also, if anyone’s the Lucy here, it’s me.”

Bucky scoffs, but whatever retort he had coming cuts off when they enter the kitchen. “Oh, damn, are those banana pancakes?”

He reaches for one on the top of the stack, and Tony slaps his hand away with the spatula. “Where are your manners, Barnes?”

“You’ve got like ten there,” Bucky whines. “Why can’t I have one?”

“You can have one when it’s your turn.”

Bucky gives him a dramatic pout that has no effect, and Sam laughs at the scene as he collapses into the stool next to Nat at the peninsula. She gives him a raised eyebrow and a quirked lip at the complete lack of grace.

Tony flits through the kitchen, exchanging lighthearted quips with Bucky as he goes. He has on an apron that Clint gave him at Christmas last year, covered in snowflakes and purple hearts with arrows through them in a mimicry of an ugly Christmas sweater pattern. Underneath it is a t-shirt dotted with Captain America shields, and the sweatpants have a cartoon version of the War Machine suit on the thigh. As usual, all of the colors clash.

A mug of coffee is placed in front of Sam with a small smile before Tony returns to the stove, and Sam is still drinking the first sip when he comes back with a plate of pancakes for him, topped with just the right amount of syrup and a dollop of whipped cream. Tony’s gone again before he can even finish saying thank you.

“Why is it his turn before me?” Bucky complains, and Sam laughs again through his first mouthful at how petulant he sounds.

“I like him the best,” Tony says, sending a wink Sam’s way. “And they’re for him, anyway. Your favorite, right?”

Sam’s eyes widen a bit in surprise. He doesn’t remember telling him that. “Uh, yeah, they are. How’d you know that?”

Tony shrugs, “I pay attention.”

He hands Bucky a plate of pancakes with another jab at his lack of patience, and the moment passes as quickly as it came, but it keeps happening after that.

Tony pays attention to him.

Maybe it was happening all along, before that morning with the pancakes, but just too subtle for Sam to take notice at first. Now that he has, though, he sees it all the time.

The next is just a few days later, when Tony knocks on his door holding a small, nondescript black box.

“What’s this for?” Sam asks, taking it from Tony’s hand. He doesn’t get an answer before he opens the lid to a simple, leather-banded watch. It’s nothing overtly expensive, nothing that screams ‘gift from a billionaire,’ but it is exactly something Sam would have chosen for himself.

“I saw you looking at it last time we were in the store together, so I got it for you,” Tony says simply. “Figured it would go well with that suit Pepper picked for you for the gala tomorrow night.”

Later, Sam will realize that Pepper had nothing to do with the suit choice that fit him perfectly, but for now he runs a thumb over the dark brown leather and says, “Yeah, it will. Thanks, Tony.”

“No problem,” Tony replies, and he lingers in the doorway for a while longer, lower lip between his teeth. Sam is about to ask if there was something else he came here for when Tony claps his hands together and says, “Well, I should get going. Workshop things to do and all that. I’ll see you at dinner.”

He disappears quickly, and that becomes part of it, too. Never dwelling on it when he does something just for Sam. Fleeing if he can, but sometimes staying when that’s what Sam needs instead.

“You look exhausted,” Tony says, and Sam manages a grumble from where he’s slumped on the living room couch, rubbing a hand over his bruised abdomen.

The mission took longer than either him or Bucky expected, and the fights were more intense. It was supposed to be a quick in-and-out type of deal. Infiltrate the base, take out the lower level minions, and apprehend the leaders. But the intel wasn’t as accurate as they were hoping, and there were nearly double the number of enemies than predicted. No major injuries for either of them, but he’ll be sore for at least a few days. Bucky’s cuts and bruises healed on the way home.

Sam doesn’t notice that Tony left until he comes back with ice wrapped in a kitchen towel. He places the ice right on the worst spot over his ribs, holding it there until Sam replaces his hand with his own.

“It’s getting pretty late,” Tony remarks. “You should probably head up to bed. You’ll feel even worse if you fall asleep here, trust me on that one.”

It’s somewhere past midnight, Sam knows, but even with how tired his body is, his mind is still wide awake. The mission replays in his mind. Every faulty move, every chance to do better, every little detail both good and bad.

Sam shakes his head, “Not ready for bed yet.”

Tony takes the seat next to him, leaving an inch of space between them. “J, turn on the Saints game from yesterday.”

Sam smiles a little and asks, “Do you even like football?”

“It’s not the worst sport,” Tony replies vaguely. He settles back into the cushions and pulls the blanket off the back of the couch to cover them both.

“Yeah, what’s the best?”

Completely serious, Tony says, “Ping pong.”

Sam laughs, “That’s not a real sport. Pick something else.”

“Of course it’s real. It’s in the Olympics and everything,” Tony grins. “Give me one good reason it’s not a sport.”

“Alright, fine, maybe it’s real, but there’s no way it’s your favorite.”

Tony shrugs, “It’s entertaining sometimes. The professionals get really into it. There’s an awful lot of grunting involved.”

They stay up for a while longer, talking about nothing of importance, and Tony slowly shifts closer to him until that bit of distance is gone. His arm presses up against him, and Sam starts to have a hard time keeping his eyes open, it seems only natural to rest his head against Tony’s shoulder.

“You can go to bed,” Sam murmurs. “You don’t have to stay here with me.”

“I don’t mind,” Tony whispers back.

Sam does regret it a bit when he wakes up on the couch in the morning with a sore back, but there’s a fresh mug of coffee already waiting for him on the table, still warm and exactly how he likes it, and he smiles to himself anyway. That night is a shift to something different, and he knows it right away.

He starts to pay more attention to Tony’s interactions with everyone else, just in case he’s part of the rule and not the exception. Generosity is one of Tony’s best traits, but even so it tends to extend even further to him. More personal and frequent.

“So there’s this place in Brooklyn that claims to have the most authentic cajun cuisine outside of New Orleans. Want to come with me? Tell me if it’s true?”

It isn’t true, and Tony comes to him the next day with another one, until they’re on a quest together to find one that doesn’t make Sam miss home after just one bite. It takes them all over the city and into Jersey once or twice, and Sam doesn’t point out that Tony doesn’t even seem to like crawfish, no matter where it comes from. He doesn’t want it to be over if he does.

“This is pretty close,” Sam says. He thinks it might be place number eleven, but he lost count a while back. “Could use a little more spice, but at least they didn’t try to add their own spin to it.”

Tony’s watery eyes widen. “This isn’t spicy enough for you?”

Sam grins and shakes his head. “Remind me to bring you with me the next time I go home. You won’t know what hit you.”

Tony’s face does something complicated at that, before it settles on a soft smile. “Yeah, that would be fun.”

Sam fully gets it then, what exactly it all means, but he doesn’t quite know what he wants to do about it yet. Tony has taken up residence in a place in his heart that he wasn’t sure was capable of opening up anymore. He did it so easily, sneaking in like a thief in the night and catching Sam unaware.

Now the sound of Tony’s laugh makes his stomach flip. He seeks it out, telling him stupid stories and jokes to make it happen more. He stares a little too much to catch glimpses of his smile, and now he can see just how often Tony looks back.

It isn’t subtle anymore, this thing between them. Lingering looks, too long touches, and every quiet gesture all build up. Bucky teases him and Natasha gives him knowing looks. Steve tells him that he hopes they make each other happy, and Sam doesn’t tell him that nothing has happened between them like that. They’re still just friends, and they don’t talk about what any of it means.

“Do you want to see a movie with me tonight? There’s that weird one with the killer robots playing downtown,” Sam suggests, and neither of them say anything when Tony slips his hand into his in the darkness of the theater. It goes unmentioned, too, when Sam holds tight after Tony almost lets go when they reach the sidewalk afterwards.

It’s another late night when the last piece finally falls into place.

Sam is nursing bruised ribs again after another mission that turned a little sideways through no one’s fault. He’s still sweaty, dirt under his fingernails and dried blood caked around a shallow cut on his cheek, but Sam still asks JARVIS in the elevator to take him to wherever Tony is. It isn’t as surprising as it should be that Tony is waiting for him on the edge of Sam’s bed.

He stands there patiently while Tony looks him over, and he looks his fill in return. It’s strange how days away from him feel longer now. His balance is off center until Tony is around to set him right again.

“I missed you,” Sam murmurs, and Tony smiles softly.

“You were only gone a couple of days,” he points out, but Sam knows now that it’s his way of saying that he missed him just as much.

Normally, Sam would let it move on from here. Tony would lead him into the bathroom, gently clean up his scrapes, and click his tongue at every bruise. It would end with them on the couch, Sam’s head in Tony’s lap or vice versa, depending on what mood it takes. Sometimes he wants to hold Tony and remember that he survived another fight so he could come home to this, and sometimes he needs to be held to forget about everything else that was lost along the way.

But tonight he reaches out to grasp Tony’s hip, and he draws him in a little closer. The room is dimly lit, and each shadow on Tony’s face is accentuated. Sam can’t remember quite the first time he looked at him and thought the word ‘beautiful,’ but it’s all he’s thinking now.

“You love me,” Sam says. “For a long time now, right?”

Tony nods, and he wraps his arms around Sam’s waist, careful not to hold too tight. “You caught up eventually. Didn’t take as long as I thought it would.”

Sam smiles, cupping Tony’s face in one palm and stroking his thumb across his cheekbone. “How long were you expecting?”

“Maybe never,” Tony admits. “I would’ve kept trying, though.”

“Stay with me tonight?” Sam asks, because nothing more needs to be said for now. They both already know.

“How about every night?”

Sam leans in slowly, murmuring against his lips, “Sounds like a plan.”

#samtony #ironfalcon #ironfalcon fic #my writing #my fic #prompt fill #tony stark #sam wilson #warmachinesocks

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keanureevesisbae · 4 years

Text

Mister Cavill, your dog is kinda fat - Chapter 10

Summary: Veterinarian Olivia Tran has zero time for bullshit. After becoming a mom at age twenty three, the one thing she wants is a good life for her daughter Vanessa. Her ex didn’t want anything to do with her nor the baby and she decided that man are officially banned out of her life. But then she meets Henry Cavill at her clinic and her ban slowly starts to crumble apart. Henry on the other hand is looking for one thing: a family. And when he meets Olivia Tran, he finds just that.

Henry Cavill x Olivia Tran (ofc)

Warnings: None

Wordcount: 3.5k

A/N: soooo, I have 174 followers and that is un-fucking-believable, since I had around 90 about a week/week and a half ago. Like... What is happening? I’m really confused, but also thanks?

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A little more than a month has passed since Vanessa’s birthday. Henry isn’t even thinking about eventual acting jobs again. The only thing he that is on his mind, is spending his time with Olivia and Vanessa. Since Vanessa is in school and Olivia has to work, he spends his time in the gym, in the stores, reading a bit and cuddling up with Kal. People might’ve think it would be boring, but he is actually enjoying his time like this. For someone who thought acting would be everything in life, he sure doesn’t miss it at all.

Olivia is home earlier from her work, because he is straddled when he hears the front door shut. He is standing in her kitchen, trying out a new recipe. ‘Is that my apron?’ she asks him when she walks into the kitchen. She leans against the doorway and Kal whimpers, almost as he answers for his owner, causing her to chuckle. ‘Looking good, Cavill. Pink roses are definitely your go to pattern.’

He smiles, seeing the beautiful woman also smiling at him. ‘You’re home early,’ he says, walking up to her, to scoop her off her feet.

She lets out a squeal and says: ‘There were too many people in the clinic so I happily volunteered to go home.’ Olivia wraps her arms around his neck. ‘I sure missed you a lot.’

‘I missed you too, love.’

He places her gently on the table in the kitchen, gives her a kiss before he goes back to the counter. He lets her talk about her day, because it’s one of his favorite things to listen to. After she told him about the multiple anal glands, shots she had to give and the broken paws, she clears her throat. ‘I think you and I need to talk,’ Olivia says and he nearly cuts off his own finger.

‘What?’ he asks, turning around, panic rushing through his veins. What does she want to talk about? She sounds so serious. Is she not happy with him anymore? They are going too fast as a couple, that must be it. He doesn’t have any issues with that, but maybe she does. He should’ve stepped back a few times. God, this is such a—

‘But please take off that apron, I can’t take you seriously like that,’ she chuckles and now Henry is really confused. This can’t be a break up right? He does take off the apron and wipes his palms dry on his jeans. ‘We need to talk about your job,’ she says.

Henry is visibly relieved. ‘Oh thank God.’

She frowns. ‘What did you think we needed to talk about?’

‘I thought you wanted to break up or wanted to take at least a break.’

Olivia shakes her head, while she chuckles. ‘Oh honey,’ she says, holding out her hand. He hesitantly takes it and she pulls him to stand between her legs. ‘I’m sorry I scared you, but I can guarantee that I don’t want either of those things.’ She gives him a kiss and he relaxes against her body.

‘But why do you want to talk about my job?’

‘Because I just need to be sure that Vanessa and I aren’t holding you back. When I met you, you were actor Henry Cavill, but you seem to make zero efforts to continue in that line of work. I discussed it with your dad the other day and he said that he barely heard you about job offers anymore. I was just wondering if you don’t get job offers or if you don’t accept them because of us.’

Henry lets out a sigh. Though he doesn’t want to have this conversation with her, he does appreciate that she brings it up. She is not afraid to bring up conversation pieces that he has been trying to avoid and that quality alone shows she is an excellent mother and a partner. ‘I’m just taking a break.’

‘Why?’ she asks. ‘You have been taking one for more than a year now. You love acting, don’t you?’

‘I do,’ he says, ‘but… I’m scared I guess.’

‘Why?’ she asks. Her fingers are toying with the hem of his sweater, before she slips her hand underneath the sweater to touch his skin. He loves it when she innocently touches him like that. ‘Please, Henry, I’m only trying to understand you a bit better. That’s all. I’m not blaming you, trying to make you feel stupid or guilty, please don’t let your mind wander to those kinds of things.’

And without him even knowing it, he was doing exactly that. Those mother instincts sure do work. ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispers.

She shakes her head. ‘Wait,’ she says. She jumps off the table, turns off the stove, pushes everything to the back of the counter so Kal can’t secretly eat stuff and pulls him with her to the living room. She lays down on the couch, spreads her arms and says: ‘Come here.’

Henry can’t help but chuckle a little bit, thinking back to the time she was stressed out because of an operation that was very demanding and life threatening if she did something wrong. He simply laid down on the couch, spread his arms and held her.

He sits on the couch, before he lays down between her legs, placing his head on her soft chest. She wraps her arms tightly around him and he lets out a content sigh, feeling stress slowly leaving his body already. ‘Talk to me, Henry,’ she whispers. ‘Please.’

His hands pushes up her thick shirt and he touches her waist. Feeling her skin against his palms, helps him relax even more. ‘I’m scared of making another movie again,’ he admits. ‘What if that is a fail again?’

‘But would it be that bad?’ she asks. ‘Don’t you learn from failures?’

‘You do, but I don’t like making mistakes.’

‘My little perfectionist,’ Olivia whispers, pressing a kiss on top of his head. ‘Listen, it’s not that I don’t like you here. I love it when you are around and Vanessa thinks it’s great when you pick her up from school when I can’t. I mean, we don’t want you gone, don’t think like that, but I don’t want you to regret in a few years that you didn’t take a certain job.’

Henry places his chin on her chest, so he can look at the love of his life. ‘I won’t regret it. I like being here with you and Vanessa. It’s just that I need to feel in the right headspace again to think about starring in movies again and right now I only feel shame.’

‘Why? The movie wasn’t that bad,’ Olivia says and he cocks an eyebrow. ‘Okay, okay, the movie pretty bad, but… Lots of actors and actresses play in bad movies and that isn’t necessarily the end of their career, is it now?’

Henry sighs deeply. ‘I know, sweetheart.’

‘Look, again, I’m not forcing you out of my house. On the contrary, I want to force you to stay here and never leave, but please, for me, think about your choices, okay?’

‘Of course, my love. Thank you for bringing this up and I must admit: I really like laying down like this,’ he admits. He once found Vanessa and Olivia on the couch like this and it made his heart flutter. ‘I understand why Vanessa likes to be here.’

‘Shut up,’ she chuckles. ‘I can push you off, you know.’

‘But you won’t do that.’ He pushes himself up a bit, so he has better access to her neck. He presses open kisses against her skin and he feels her fingers run through his hair. ‘Thank you for looking out for me.’

‘You do the same for me,’ she says. She wraps her legs around his hips. ‘God, I love you like crazy, you know that?’

‘I love you too, love. How much time do we have left before we have to pick up Vanessa?’

She looks at the clock behind him and whispers: ‘Four hours.’

‘What can we do in four hours?’ he asks. ‘Multiple times?’

Olivia shrugs. ‘Finish that recipe that you were trying out?’

‘Minx.’

≫≫≪≪

The three of them (Kal is staying at home, since he isn’t allowed on the Christmas market) walk through the Christmas trees. Olivia told him that for years they only had a tiny tree, since she couldn’t afford a bigger tree and more decoration. Since she works shorter shifts, lives in a house, she has save money on certain fun activities, like buying a Christmas tree. To make sure this Christmas is unforgettable, he wants Vanesa and Olivia to pick out the tree they want.

‘Mommy,’ Vanessa says, ‘can we really pick out any tree we want?’

Olivia nods. ‘Just one, though, we’re not going to have a house filled with trees, okay?’

The little girl nods and she rushes through the trees, checking them all out.

Henry wraps his fingers around Olivia’s, as he stretches out his neck to see where Vanessa is. Before Olivia can say something, he raises his voice and says: ‘Vanessa, sunshine, stay close now.’

He feels Olivia looking up at him and he hears her laugh.

‘What?’ he asks, frowning a bit as Vanessa waves at them, a sign that she did hear him.

‘That was such a dad move,’ Olivia says. ‘You are actually such a dad, you know that?’

He doesn’t know what to say. This is the first time she mentioned that to him, though he has made some pretty dad like moves the past few weeks, ever since Vanessa told him that she loved him a lot.

She has been trying to push his boundaries a few times, but she knew when she needed to back off most of the time. He figured it was only normal, but the first time she pushed the buttons, he didn’t know what to do. Thankfully Olivia was there to tell Vanessa that stuff like that isn’t funny or nice, causing the young girl to listen.

But he had to be tough with her a few times. Telling her not to jump on top of him, knees first right in his stomach and she started to pout. Having to tell her that she can’t watch tv now, because they were going to eat and she kept sitting on the couch, sitting on top of the remote control. Helping her through a breakdown when she had a little bit of homework, since Olivia had to prepare a surgery.

Olivia would stand in the doorway, arms crossed in front of her chest and would watch the little debacle, not interfering, unless she thought it was necessary. Almost like she was evaluating him and he actually understood. If he was going to be a important part of their lives, become the dad figure he so desperately wants to be, he needs to show both of them that he is serious.

The other day, Vanessa kept screaming in the car and he said something to her about how she shouldn’t do that. ‘Why would I listen to you?’ she asked him, looking in the rearview mirror at him with a daring look on her face. He had never heard her speak like that, but then he realized: Olivia and her know each other like the back of their hands and only one look of Olivia, would make Vanessa listen immediately.

But Henry is new, he hasn’t been there since the beginnings. Of course Vanessa was the sweetest young girl when he met her, but now he is becoming a more frequent and stable part of their lives, she needs to push the limits a bit.

‘Because it’s my car and your screams make my eardrums tear,’ he retorted.

‘I don’t like you,’ she told him and that broke his heart.

‘Vanessa,’ Olivia said, without even looking over her shoulder. ‘Why don’t you like him?’

‘Because he is being mean,’ Vanessa said, crossing his arms.

He could see Olivia looking to the side at him and maybe the heartbreak was written all over his face. ‘Tell me exactly why you think he is being mean to you.’ Henry didn’t understand what she was going for, because did he want to hear the list of things that Vanessa maybe was going to make?

Vanessa opened her mouth and said: ‘Because he doesn’t let me scream.’

‘Do I ever let you scream?’

‘No.’

‘You think I’m mean then?’

The little girl sighed. ‘No.’

‘Why is Henry mean and I’m not when we say the exact same thing?’

Now Vanessa didn’t know what she had to say, so she didn’t say anything at all. Olivia let it slide, knowing well enough that she had made Vanessa think about her behavior. When the two of them got out of the car, she said to him that he should help the little girl out of the carseat.

Henry was scared, honest to God scared. He didn’t want to ruin their relationship, but certainly not force her into liking him. He opened the door, because he felt like being scared was not the thing he should do. He should get over it.

Vanessa looked up and when he unbuckled her seatbelt, she placed her hand on his arm. ‘I’m sorry, Henry,’ she said. ‘I should’ve listened to you.’

‘It’s okay, sunshine,’ he said.

‘Are you still mad at me?’

He frowned. ‘I wasn’t mad at you.’

‘What then?’

‘A little disappointed, that’s all.’

Vanessa sighed and pouted. He spotted tears in her eyes and that broke his heart even more. ‘I’m really sorry,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why I did it.’

‘It’s all okay,’ he told her. ‘I’m not mad and not disappointed anymore.’

‘You won’t leave?’

That was her biggest fear—him leaving. Maybe that’s why she was testing out the waters with her behavior. Maybe she was figuring out what she could do for him to leave and never come back. But that wasn’t Henry. He knew he was in it for the long run. ‘If I would leave because of this, I would be a big idiot, wouldn’t I be?’

Vanessa nodded. ‘Yeah, you would.’

He helped her out of the car, but she hugged his leg tightly and Olivia, who had witnessed it all, chuckled and mouthed: ‘See?’

The role of a dad, wasn’t something he feared, but sometimes he felt stress building up inside of him. Was he doing it right? What would Olivia think about how he handled it?

‘I’m a dad?’ Henry asks Olivia, as Vanessa is ushering them over, because she found the perfect tree.

‘You are,’ she says. ‘I mean, you are still figuring it all out and I totally understand, but remember: you’ll never do it perfectly. Parenting is something terrifying, but you’ve been holding up well.’

‘It will get worse?’ he says.

‘Well,’ Olivia chuckles, ‘Vanessa has yet to become a teenager and I can tell you that I was a pretty tough teen to handle. Maybe she is too, I don’t know, but they say the teen years are hard.’

Henry squeezes her hand. ‘Well, as long as I’m with you, I’m ready for it.’

‘Mommy, I like this one,’ Vanessa says and Olivia goes to stand behind her daughter, placing her hands on the tiny shoulders of Vanessa, as they look at the tree.

It’s moments like these where the two of them look so much alike and he still can’t believe that the idiot Wesley left her, before Vanessa was born. It might’ve been for the best, but Henry can’t seem to wrap his mind around the fact that that breathing moron walked away from the two greatest ladies in the world.

‘Why do you like this one?’ Olivia asks.

‘Because that branch looks heart shaped.’

Olivia looks over her shoulder. ‘Now I think that is a legit enough reason, but since Henry is going to pay for it, he needs to agree to it.’

Vanessa looks up, a hopeful look on her face and she folds her hands together. ‘Henry, please, can we have this tree?’

He pretends to think hard about it. ‘I don’t know,’ he says.

‘Please,’ Vanessa begs. ‘I really want this tree. It has a heart shaped branch.’

He lets out a chuckle, not wanting to put her in fear of not buying this tree any longer. ‘I think it’s perfect for us.’

Vanessa claps her hands. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’

When they are back at Olivia’s place, they set up the tree and he helps them decorate it. Vanessa sits on his shoulders, as she puts the pick on top. ‘What do you think, sunshine?’ he asks, stepping back, to admire the tree.

He feels her hands tugging his curls. ‘I love it,’ she says.

‘Well, we have to say thank you to Henry,’ Olivia says.

‘But I already said thank you for buying the tree, mommy.’

She nods. ‘I know you did, but did you thank him for buying the decorations?’

Vanessa audibly gasps. ‘Oh no, I didn’t.’

‘Well, hurry up then,’ Olivia jokingly says.

He lifts her off his shoulders, but lets her rest on his hip. ‘Thanks daddy, for buying the Christmas decorations.’

Henry freezes. Did she just call him daddy? She thinks of him as a dad? He looks over at Olivia, whose eyes have widened as well. ‘What did you say?’ he asks her.

Vanessa curls in her lips. ‘I’m sorry,’ she says. ‘You’re not my daddy. Thanks Henry.’ She wiggles herself out of his arms and mumbles something along the lines of going to her room.

‘Did she just…?’ he asks Olivia.

She simply nods. ‘Vanessa, baby, wait up.’ She rushes past him, up the stairs following Vanessa.

Okay, he needs to think about this. He wants to be her dad. That drawing she made for him, still hangs in his living room. He spends so much time with both Olivia and Vanessa… He is part of their little family, just like they are part of his. He sees Olivia as the mother of eventual future children and Vanessa as the big sister of them.

Then why is he still here and not upstairs comforting her?

He walks up the stairs and hears little sniffles coming from Vanessa’s room. ‘I’m so sorry, mommy,’ he hears Vanessa cry.

‘Don’t be.’

‘Is he mad at me?’

‘Why? Because you called him daddy?’

He doesn’t hear Vanessa say anything, but he figures she is nodding.

‘No, he was just surprised, baby.’

‘I don’t want him to leave, because I said that.’

He opens the door and says: ‘Vanessa, sunshine, I’m not leaving. Your mom is right, I was just a little surprised.’ Henry walks over to the bed, where Vanessa is sitting on Olivia’s lap, tears running over her red cheeks.

‘Why were you surprised?’ Olivia asks for her daughter and maybe a bit for herself.

‘Because I didn’t expect you to call me daddy. I… I figured you would always call me Superman or Henry.’ Henry places his hand on Vanessa’s back and he feels she is trembling and that makes him feel even worse than he was already. ‘I’m sorry,’ he says to her.

‘Why are you apologizing?’ Vanessa asks.

‘Because I made you sad,’ he says. ‘Listen: I love you a lot, Vanessa and I’m not leaving because of this. I would be a big idiot if I did that.’

She nods in agreement. ‘But do you want to be my dad?’ she asks. ‘I always wanted one.’

‘I would love to be your dad,’ Henry tells her. ‘I would be honored.’

‘See?’ Olivia says with a smile, kissing Vanessa.

The little girl takes a deep breath. ‘Really?’

‘Really, sweetheart.’ He wraps his arms around the two of them and he gives them both a kiss on top of their heads. ‘How about I make some hot chocolate for us?’ he suggests. ‘To celebrate this?’

Olivia chuckles and Vanessa starts to nod. ‘I would love that,’ Vanessa says and she has a telling smile on her face. ‘I love you, daddy,’ she whispers.

‘I love you too, sunshine,’ he tells her.

She rubs her nose against his and asks: ‘You like having me as a daughter?’

He blinks faster with his eyes, but a tear does escape. ‘I love having as my daughter.’

She wipes away his tear and says: ‘Good, because I like being your daughter.’

≫≫≪≪

Henry: Mom, I have great news!

Mom: Olivia is pregnant?

Henry: NO! Olivia is not pregnant!

Mom: Would’ve been great news though, another grandchild into our family.

Mom: Your father and I are not getting any younger.

Henry: I see what you are doing there. You can’t guilt trip me in knocking Olivia up. Where are your manners?

Mom: Well, if that wasn’t the great news, what is it then?

Henry: Vanessa wants me as her dad

Mom: That is wonderful news too, honey! Oh, I’m so happy for you!!

Mom: So, when are you going to make it official?

Henry: Make what official?

Mom: As in officially making her your daughter. As in adopting her?

#henry cavill #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x oc #mister cavill your dog is kinda fat #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x Olivia Tran

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mommymooze · 3 years

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Blacksmith

So I had my first ask from @sloth-and-gluttony-are-my-sins, so the absolute first thing I had to do is mess it up. Tumbler, you are mean when they ask a question and then I ask a question and it doesn’t leave the original dohickey in my mail here so I can use it to respond and then I got all confused but...the important part was someone asked and I wrote and here it is. Enjoy. Especially Sloth&allthat.

You first meet the students at Garreg Mach in the summer of the last classes ever held there. Your friend Anna requests your services because the regular blacksmith fell ill. You feel the need to expand your horizons. Working for your father for years, perhaps it was time to start setting up a shop of your own. What better chance than to take this job. Everything is here already except for a smith. They have plenty of horses that need shoes, weapons that need repair and new weapons to be forged.

Getting up with the sun, you load wood and coal into the forge, regularly working the bellows to get the heat high enough to soften the hardest metals. Each blacksmith has their own tried and true methods of working and molding the metal into their desired shapes, resulting in weapons and tools to sell in markets. Your family has a history of great craftmanship, you must carry the torch.

Today you are working on fine pieces of steel that slowly will become beautiful custom daggers. The blades requested by the handsome gentleman were specifically ordered to be perfectly balanced, incredibly sharp, shiny and deadly.

Pumping the bellows a few more times, you check the glow of the metal, it is glowing brighter, soon you will be able to work on flattening the steel into shape. You pull the strap of your thick leather apron over your head, tying it behind you. Thick leather pants also protect your legs, your heavy leather boots protecting your feet from metals shards that constantly fall and cover the ground, a hazard of working with metal. Your naked hands grabbing the metal long handled tongs, reaching into the superheated forge and grabbing the brightly glowing hot steel, placing it on the anvil. You reach for your twenty pound hammer with a muscular arm that few, if any, in the monastery could compare to. Your shirt is sleeveless to allow the 100% freedom of movement necessary for your work, your arms forever glistening with sweat from the heat of the forge and materials you work with. You spend an average of 12-14 hours per day working with the metal, molding it under your power, shaping it into beautiful deadly tools.

You begin hammering the metal in a rhythmic pattern, giving a heartbeat to the marketplace. You switch hands every so often, glad that you are ambidextrous, developing the thick strong muscles on both arms evenly. It makes you chuckle-some smiths you know who have a single heavily muscled arm, the other tiny compared to the first. Not that the rest of you is underdeveloped. Your legs, stomach, back, even your neck is muscular having to constantly lift heavy pieces of metal, armor, logs, you name it. You pick up the glowing metal with your clamps, it stretches well under your will, nice and evenly drawn out and ready to be fired again for its next hammering.

You look up in time to see a young blonde haired man. Dimitri as you recall, standing watching you work. Tossing the steel back into the forge, you turn to speak with him.

“Good morning, what can I assist you with?” You greet him as you wipe your hands on your apron, black bits of carbon staining the front.

“I was hoping you could help me with this?” The blue eyed man blushes as he produces a steel lance with the spearhead bent at a very incorrect angle.

You take the lance turning it around and look into his handsome young face. “Were you using it as a lever? Trying to get rocks out of the ground? How many of you were pushing on the handle?” You smile at him.

“Oh no, I was just sparring and, well, I guess I hit the wall and well, here we are.” His blush has crept down his cheeks and into his neck.

Turning the spear again, you find the point where the metal has given way. You move to the right, standing with your legs and knee holding the handle of the spear against your anvil, using both hands you are able to bend the spearhead back towards its original position, then toss the end into the center of your forge. Pumping the bellows a few times you turn to the owner.

The prince’s eyes are as wide as saucers, he had tried to straighten it back out himself and it would not give at all. You simply grabbed it and straightened it back in the blink of an eye.

“Well, Dimitri, what would you like me to do? Just straighten it back out? Reinforce it to make it harder to bend?” You ask as you pull out another piece of the dagger steel and begin hammering it.

“Yes! That would be wonderful if you can reinforce it some. If it would be of no trouble to you.” He looks away shyly.

“That’s what I am here for. I don’t have the fire built for it today, but I do have some welding set for tomorrow. Should be ready in the afternoon.” You answer, not missing a beat with your pounding the metal, drawing out the furthest end into the point of the blade.

Dimitri stands mesmerized as you continually strike the metal, the sweat rolling down your arm muscles then suddenly drops of sweat are flung into the air with the next strike of your hammer. Suddenly he realizes that he’s been staring at you.

“Just how heavy is that hammer?” He asks.

You hold the hammer out to him, your arm straight, the metal head close to his chest. “grab the handle just under the large metal end. It may be a bit hot if you grab the end itself. “

Dimitri takes the hammer in one hand, not expecting it to be that heavy, quickly he gets a second hand on it before he drops it completely. He grabs the handle with two hands, raising it above his head before bringing it down to waist height, then handing it back to you. “It is quite impressive that you can swing it over your head all day long.”

“You could do it too, just need practice. You are incredibly strong to be able to bend your weapons like you do.” You smile, turning back to your work. You wave to him saying his spear will be ready tomorrow afternoon.

After a nice lunch break you are back at work on the daggers. Fine tuning the edges calls for a smaller hammer and more finesse work. Clangity-clang! The higher pitch of the five pound hammer working the metal to a fine sharp edge.

“Hail good Blacksmith! If I may have a moment!” A cheerful voice pulls you from your concentration. You grab your tongs and place the blade in the forge for reheating.

You turn to see a Noble Gentleman whose hair color could rival the center of the forge, glowing as orange as the coals in the middle. His wide smile beckons for your attention. “Good day to you sir. How may I assist you?”

“Lady Blacksmith, if I may inquire.” Ferdinand begins, a look of awe is upon his face. He had no idea the muscles that he was admiring belonged to a woman, a very healthy, muscular woman. He coughs into his fist briefly. “In my last battle I incurred damage to my left gauntlet. As you can see the plates on the outer fingers have been bent, making it difficult to grasp my lance properly. I would pay anything if you are able to assist me with this problematic situation.”

You hold yourself back from laughing in the face of this apparently naive noble asking a woman for assistance with the grasping of his lance. You kick the anvil to keep yourself from smiling as you answer. “I would be happy to assist you with the repair of your gauntlet.” You hold the metal glove in your hands turning it and getting a gauge of the metal that was used for the plates.

“You have excellent maintenance skills. A well oiled and maintained piece such as this will last you many years. If you could give me 3 days to complete the work, I can have it back to you then, good sir.”

“Excellent. My name is Ferdinand Von Aegir. I am most pleased to make your acquaintance.” He proudly announces as he holds out his hand so that you may place yours within it for a kiss.

You shyly back away, hands behind you. “You wouldn’t want to kiss these hands right now. They’re covered in coal and oil and smell like steel and grease.”

“Another time, perhaps.” He bows. “It would be an honor to kiss the hand that makes the finest steel bend to its will.” The smile he gives outshines the sun as he bows, heading off to merge in with the crowds, long strides taking him halfway through the marketplace in a scant moment.

The rest of the day is spent finishing the daggers, straightening the lance, and pounding the steel to the correct thickness to replace the bent portions of the damaged gauntlet. Bending the metal around rods of the correct thickness, matching that of the removed parts then finally hammering the punch to make the hole in each side, allowing the piece to be fastened to the glove and inner plate.

The next morning is cool and the heat from the forge is most welcome. Today mostly coal is in, the fire needs to be hot hot hot to work on welding the additional metal to the spear. Tempering the daggers and gauntlet bits. Twelve new spearheads requested.

You begin with the weld, everything pristinely clean the fire exceptionally hot as you heat the spear and steel to be welded. Placing the first piece of steel on the spearhead and removing them both from the heat. Placing them on the anvil quickly and lining them up with shorter clamps, you immediately hammer the two pieces of metal together, joining them into a single piece. Now you must reheat the spear to weld more steel on the other side.

While waiting you grab the first of the three new dagger blades that are on the outer edge of the forge. The metal is heated to orange, not nearly as hot as the welded pieces. The oil in the metal tub close to the forge is warmed sufficiently and you quickly dunk the blade into the oil, swirling it in figure 8s to cool it quickly, tempering the metal and strengthening it. The flames on the oil dies down as the metal cools. You place it back in the forge, tempering the other two blades.

Now the spearhead is hot enough to weld the other side. You hammer the pieces together tossing them into the firey forge to heat to tempering.

Grabbing your waterskin you take a long drink. For being so chilly this morning, it’s gotten quite hot in the shop. You swear the pink haired girl standing close to the side of the front is just there to warm herself. Dimitri begins to walk past and notices you taking a break.

“Your lance is coming right along. I’m well on track to have it done around lunch.” You lean with an elbow on a huge log standing on end at the front of the shop.

“Wonderful. I was hoping to get in some sparring this afternoon. Not that we always practice with regular weapons, but it’s good to keep the muscles toned.” Dimitri smiles at you. He can feel the heat radiating from you even a few feet away. His eyes watch the drops of sweat dancing down between the muscles in your arms. He jolts when you speak.

“I can tell you work hard. Be proud of yourself. I’ll be here to make sure you’re well equipped.” You give him a big smile and wave as he heads off to his friends.

The daggers are ready for the next tempering, followed by the spear and gauntlet pieces. Now you pull out your files, working the edges of the metal on the spear so there are no sharp bits, making it smooth and shiny. Only a few files are needed for the spear. The daggers however need much more work, fine tuning the angle of the blade, then having to switch to stones, finely oiled and the edges drawn out until they can cut a hair. You almost have one dagger complete when Dimitri returns for his weapon.

You’ve polished it up, removed any burrs, smoothed the handle and sharpened the edge.

“Thank you so much, your work is magnificent.” The prince starts off well, placing his payment on the anvil, then reaching for his lance. However once his fingers brush yours, his shyness gets in the way. “Such a beautiful spear completed by a sharp...Uh..no..Sorry. I brought you a muffin.” He says grabbing the lance and stuffing a bag with a large blueberry muffin contained inside into your hands before he turns beet red and runs off.

You laugh, realizing you had not stopped for lunch yourself. Grabbing a bite to eat you finish your tasks for the day.

The next morning you finish the gauntlet for the red haired noble, polishing the whole thing until it glows. You decide you’ll make the deliveries during lunch. The schedule is light for today and you’ve always wanted to see the students in their ‘natural environment’. You spend entirely too much time trying to knock the smithy smell off of you. Now you smell like coal, oil, iron, steel and lavender. At least your skin is more pink than black on your arms and face. Your hair is pulled back, you’re wearing a fluffy gray blouse and dark gray tight pants with leather shoes.

Most of the students are gathered in the dining hall. It isn’t hard to spot the tall young man with his glowing red hair that is just brushing his shoulders. Of course, for some reason, he has announced his own name, confirming you have found the gauntlet owner.

“Such an unexpected surprise!” Ferdinand says as he stands and bows to you. “It looks magnificent! Do you mind if I try it?”

You nod, smiling at him.

He stuffs his hand into the gauntlet, the fingers wiggling and grasping at his other hand. He looks into the gloved portion, slipping it off. “It is perfect!” the redhead announces loud enough for everyone to hear. “There is something different, there was a spot inside that somehow does not bother me at all.”

“I attached a bit of moleskin to some places that were rubbing at the base of your fingers.” You point to the area.

“Simply magnificent! Your work is perfection with every effort! Thank you! Thank you!” He says graciously as he hands a bag heavy with coins.

You look at him curiously, this was far more than you were expecting, a whole new gauntlet would have been cheaper. “Are you certain?”

“Ahh yes! It fits me like a glove!” He smiles, holding his hand out, waiting for yours.

You cautiously take his hand and he gently brings his lips to your knuckles. You find this cute and can’t help but giggle.

He laughs cheerfully as he turns and heads back to his room to retrieve the missing match for his review.

You head out towards the classrooms, looking for Professor Byleth. As you’re walking you hear a voice approaching from the right.

“Ooooh. Looks like a lovely, gorgeous lady is about to find out this is her lucky day” A male voice schmoozes as his footsteps come closer, suddenly a deeper voice chimes in “That’s the blacksmith, idiot. She will break you like a toothpick.”

Alone again, you enter the classroom. Byleth looks up from the desk where she was grading papers.

“Almost have your order complete for the lances. Have you seen Yuri?” You ask, holding out a box.

“He just left, I bet you can catch him if you hurry, just head towards my room, right by the sauna.” Byleth answers, giving you a wave.

You run out heading towards the entrance to Abyss. You hope you can catch him before he heads down. Something about being underground just gives you the creeps. Like at any time the roof is going to collapse on you. You’re running and thrilled to spy him just around the next corner.

“Hey!” you call out, gasping for breath. Your job doesn’t normally call for you to run.

“Hello there, friend.” He sweetly calls back. “What brings you all the way out here?”

“Needed a change of scenery, so I thought I would make a few deliveries, here.” You say as you hand him the box.

“Oh, these are nice. I knew you would come through.” He says as he takes one of the daggers out, twirling it in his fingers. “Sharp as an eagle’s eye too.”

“It’s buy two get one free day.” You nudge his shoulder, fortunately he catches himself before you knock him completely to the ground.

“I pay fair a price. I don’t like owing anyone for anything.” Yuri frowns deeply.

“Well I heard there’s someone you know that makes a wicked fruit tart, one of those would be payment plenty.” You grin.

“That can be arranged.” Yuri smiles and winks.

#fe3h #Fire Emblem Three Houses #feth #fe3h x reader #dimitri x reader

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dinomight · 2 years

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Tagged by the lovely @foxofninetales to do this Last Lines challenge! on mobile finishing this so not gonna copy the rules over but basically it’s the last lines of my most recent fics. (included two sticks and stones ficlets to buffer it out so they’re all dmbj) thanks for tagging me! ❤️❤️❤️

1. enter this place in peace

“Follow,” he says, and turns on his heel.

Flowers cannot help but reach for the sun. Water cannot help but flow. Liu Sang cannot help but listen.

awww okay so this is honestly one of my favorite last lines I’ve written! I mean, objectively it’s not the best, but it just came so naturally when I was writing, and I love the idea of Liu Sang being just as devoted to Xiaoge in an entirely different universe, yknow? and the last bit—I loved the listen part because it felt like a little wink at his hearing in canon lol

2. always the light falls

Xiaoge closes his eyes, the warm glow of the lights still imprinted on the backs of his eyelids, and he lets himself be held.

warmth!!! warmth!!! that’s all this little fic was trying to be and that’s why this felt right as a last line <333 also I’m a whore for ending on a hug

3. sticks and stones chapter eight

“Good.” Tianzhen curls a hand around the back of Pangzi’s neck and brings their foreheads to rest against one another’s. “Good. You did good. We’ll get Xiaoge fixed up, and then we’ll go home.”

“Home,” Pangzi agrees, even as their breaths intermingle, even as that hand grounds him, even as he knows, truly, simply, that wherever these two are is already home.

yeah ngl this one fucked and it fucked unexpectedly. is this platonic is it romantic does it matter no. iron triangle forever <3

4. sticks and stones chapter five

Finally, he gives up, irritated out of his sleepiness, and opens both eyes. Pangzi looks down at him with a triumphant, shit-eating grin that slowly fades into something softer the longer they look at each other, until he taps again, so carefully that Liu Sang only hears it, rather than feeling it.

Okay. No question mark added, but it’s not a declaration, either. It’s a promise.

Liu Sang nods, knowing it’s one that won’t be broken.

okay I’m not sure if this was clear to the readers or not but I do love this as my own little exploration of what the tapping language is? bc a lot of people write like whole conversations in it and that’s cool! love that but I imagine realistically a language of only tapping patterns wouldn’t be very expansive in vocab—more like a way to communicate distances, simple call and responses, and actions if they need to. so what Pangzi is really trying to say here is “you’re gonna be okay, they’ll come for us, we’re gonna be fine” but all he has is the pattern for okay, and yet—Liu Sang gets it anyways, bc he trusts him. sobs

5. percolate

When he comes out, though, the shop is empty. Confused, Liu Sang almost calls out, but then he sees the to-go cup sitting on the counter by a bright pink post-it note.

Work emergency, the hastily scrawled characters read. Text me! And right below that, a phone number.

He glances at the coffee cup. There’s doodles on it, little patterns and flowers, all surrounding two figures: a raccoon with sunglasses, and a fox wearing what he’s pretty sure is a barista apron.

With a huffy laugh, Liu Sang pulls out his phone and opens a new contact.

looking at this now idk how I feel about the word huffy lmao but the image of the cup doodles is worth it. I knew right when this fic came swinging into my head (and it came SWINGING like it may have taken me awhile to get around to writing it bc I was focused on writing my gift but have no doubts that one second I was looking at fox’s prompts and laughing and the next I was looking up the most heinous coffee orders to write hxz’s regular) that I wanted it to be pre-ship and end on Liu Sang begrudgingly adding hxz to his phone and it happened 😭 the prickly bitch gets raccoon-ed

6. every word in every tune

Jiang Zisuan smiles, that small, precious thing, and starts toward the exit, pulling Liu Sang by the hand alongside him.

man if I had a shot for every time I ended with a character smiling I’d be dead of alcohol poisoning but god I love doing it. and it felt right here bc his smile was mentioned in Liu Sang’s flashbacks when he hit the water, so it was like a nice little circling around

7. clear water to the bottom

Tomorrow, Wu Erbai will call all of them into his tent to explain themselves. Tomorrow, before Liu Sang gets a chance to speak, Pangzi will blame the whole thing on Ma Gang, and Wu Xie will back him up, and Wu Erbai will point out that Wu Xie wasn’t even there, and then Zhang Qiling will say it’s true and end the whole discussion there. Tomorrow, Ma Gang will turn on Liu Sang, red in the face, only to be met with Pangzi standing in his way. Tomorrow, Liu Sang will lead the expedition into the tomb, and the Iron Triangle will follow, and everything will be okay.

Today, Liu Sang takes the first step to allowing that, by rolling his eyes and putting his hand in Pangzi’s.

ah yes another one of my go-to ending strategies, the “I’m sliding the resolution to this in here real quick so I don’t have to write it as an actual scene oop” XD I think it worked pretty well here tho! I liked ending on him taking Pangzi’s hand as a callback to the tent when he refused Pangzi’s hand

8. pacrim au chapter two

And as the two run, and shout, and eventually start flinging sand at one another, the ocean keeps to her soft routine, washing away their footprints, settling every speck of sand and stone back into place.

this is probably overly soft for an au fic combining pacific rim with tomb raiders (every time I remember what I’m writing I have to stare at the wall for a second bc hello. how am I supposed to explain that to literally anyone) but damn I love the little ocean bit. idk I just wanted their ridiculous bickering laid over with some softness bc this scene marks them getting closer (even if Liu Sang won’t admit it, Pangzi has officially pack bonded so this is the point of no return)

9. pacrim au chapter one

For a good minute, Liu Sang stares after him, mouth still hanging open. Then, with a rough shake of his head, he shoves the interaction to the back of his mind to deal with when he’s not swaying on his feet, goes back to his room, and falls asleep before he even hits the mattress.

yeah okay ngl I got to their little exchange post-fight and I was like. this chapter needs to end. so I knocked him out. simple, perhaps a bit blunt but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it

10. things that scream and shout

Liu Sang ducks his head, and quietly says, “Okay. Friends,” and this time, he’s beginning to believe it.

another callback to an earlier line in the fic! this one was about beginning to accept that the iron triangle are more to him than just coworkers and that they see him the same way, so it felt right to end it on this. also again I didn’t want to write another scene so 🤷

I think what I’ve learned from this is that my actual strategies for end lines are a smidge more varied than I previously thought (though you’d certainly see more repeats if you look at my other fandoms lmao) but the feeling is absolutely almost always the same. even if it’s not perfect it’s hopeful. usually with some softness in there. what can I say. I claim to be a cold hearted bastard for gender purposes but I am in fact quite squishy

tbh idk who’s been tagged for this already so I’m not gonna risk repeats but if you see this and want to do it consider yourself tagged! (yes you. I mean you. even if we’re not mutuals do it)

#dinomight writes #tag games

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underfell-crystal · 3 years

Text

This is a swapped story based on @1-800-roflmao 's short story where instead of Chaos in the chair, it's Shuffle. You can find it here. I'm also a sucker for Spuffle, so I added some to this suggestive mess.

After the photoshoot (Shuffle and Chaos centric)

Shuffle was awoken from their slumber by a tapping on their head and a familiar voice whispering 'bro. bro. get up'. They opened their eyes blearily and squinted at the perpetrator of the annoying tapping. ".... What, KQ?"

KQ was sitting at the edge of Shuffle's most recent cuddle puddle, which included Spidey, Glass, Wisp, Dino, and Nurse, all draped over various parts of Shuffle's body. KQ grinned. "I need a favor."

Shuffle grumbled, shifting their gaze to the smaller anons nestled against their body, then back to KQ. "I'm kind of busy right now."

"Oh, not like now now. In, like, a few hours."

Shuffle heaved a sigh. "... What is it?"

KQ grinned. "I need you to model for me."

Shuffle squinted at KQ suspiciously. "..... What's the catch?"

"Weeeellll...... you're gonna model some lingerie."

"....... What."

KQ held up their hands in a placating motion. "It's not gonna be bad, I promise!"

"Why would I be the one modeling? Why not someone more... I dunno, average sized?"

"I'm just doing what I'm told."

"No."

"Bro!! Come on, please?"

"You're abusing your status as my bro to make me wear lingerie. Also, keep your voice down, you'll wake them up."

Shuffle used one of their hands to stroke the top of Nurse's head, who had begun to stir. They quickly settled down again, sighing softly.

KQ leaned forward, resting their elbows on their knees. "What if I give you some new facts after the shoot?"

Shuffle hesitated. KQ knew better than most of the anons how much they loved learning, and what they'd do to find new information to add to their collection of knowledge. ".... I want 5 new facts. And if I know even one of them, I'm not carrying you anywhere until you do find a fact I don't know yet."

KQ's mouth fell open. "Bro!! You can't be serious!!"

Shuffle smirked. "I am very serious. Now shoo and let me finish my nap in peace."

"Can't I join the cuddle puddle?"

"You're asking me to wear skimpy lingerie, so no."

KQ pouted. "Fiiiiiiine.... Is it cheating if I ask Spidey for some facts?"

Shuffle glowered at the grinning anon. "Yes. Now shoo."

KQ laughed. "Thanks, Shuff."

They stood up and left, their footsteps fading away. In Shuffle's right arm, Spidey stirred slightly, opening her eyes sleepily. "Mmmn..... Love.... who was that?...."

Shuffle gently tapped their head against Spidey's, nuzzling the top of her head. "Just KQ asking for a favor.. don't worry."

Spidey nodded a little and adjusted her position slightly before laying down again, head resting on Shuffle's chest again. She closed her eyes again. "What'd they ask for?"

"... I'll tell you when we wake up.. I have to leave with them right after.."

"Mmh... alright....."

The next few hours passed by too quickly. In a blink, practically all the anons who had joined the cuddle puddle had woken up and wandered off. Everyone except for Spidey, who was awake and still nestled against her spouse. She gently ran her fingers over Shuffle's head, giggling as they sighed and leaned into her hand. "Love... it's almost time to get up.."

Shuffle grumbled, one of their large hands cupping Spidey's hands against their cheek. "Can't we just.... stay here a while....?"

She smiled. "Didn't you say you wanted to tell me something?"

Shuffle huffed in annoyance. "KQ wants me to..... do some modeling."

Spidey blinked. "Oh.... Do you not want to?"

Shuffle sighed, turning their head and kissing Spidey's palm. "I don't know... plus... it's gonna be....... revealing."

Spidey's eyes widened slightly in realization. "Ohhh...."

Shuffle sighed. "Yeah."

Spidey giggled. "To be fair, I think you'd look lovely in whatever they have picked out."

Shuffle flushed, averting their eyes from hers. "Mmhh....."

Spidey smiled, rubbing Shuffle's cheek with her thumb. "Are you asking if I'm okay with that?"

"Kinda...."

Spidey leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Shuffle's forehead. "You can do whatever you want, love. You don't need my permission. But thank you for letting me know."

Shuffle gave her a goofy smile. "You're the best."

"So are you."

{Shuffle's lingerie!! Rof gave me some options, so go thank her.}

Okay. This was a bit much. Shuffle tugged on the little apron they had on, giving their reflection another once over. The lingerie barely covered anything! Thankfully, KQ had some mercy and had given them something to cover up their lower parts, but it was still much more revealing than Shuffle was used to. And it had a tail. Shuffle rubbed their forearms. This.... was going to be embarrassing.....

A knock on the dressing room door startled Shuffle from their thoughts. "Yo, bro, we're ready!"

Shuffle gave their reflection an apologetic look before unlocking the dressing room door and stepping out. KQ flashed them a grin and a thumbs up before turning and leading them to the room where they'd be taking pictures. Chaos and Birdie were already there. Chaos' gaze landed on Shuffle and they gave an appreciative clap. "Oh my... that's a view I could get used to~"

Shuffle blushed, tugging the apron lower, ducking their head and murmuring a reply as Birdie and Chaos giggled together. KQ took pity on the flustered giant. "Alright guys, don't embarrass them too much."

Chaos gestured at the chair in the middle of the room, and Shuffle moved toward it, sitting down. Birdie approached with a camera and began instructing Shuffle on how to pose.

The longer the shoot went on, the more flustered Shuffle became. It was kind of fun, but at the same time, they were practically naked! For what felt like the millionth time, Shuffle adjusted the apron. They glanced over at Chaos, who was sitting on a table in the corner. They caught Shuffle's gaze and smirked, grabbing a piece of paper beside them and holding it up for Shuffle to see. On it, in thick black ink, was a 10. Shuffle flushed an even darker shade of red, averting their gaze from the flirty anon. Birdie giggled. "Oooh, that was a nice one!! Don't worry Shuff, we're almost done!"

Shuffle sighed. "Okay..."

Birdie perked up suddenly. "I have the best idea for a photo!! Okay, KQ, get rid of the chair."

Shuffle, confused, got off the chair so KQ could remove it. Birdie left their camera on the table and approached Shuffle with a rope. "Okay, kneel down."

Shuffle did not like where this was going. But they knelt in front of the smaller anon anyway. "What's that for?"

"For the photo, of course~"

Birdie set to work tying Shuffle's wrists together in an intricate pattern, then took the long end of the rope and flapped up to the ceiling, hooking the rope onto a metal hook, pulling Shuffle's wrists over their head. Chaos whistled quietly as Shuffle's blush darkened. Birdie landed on the ground and grinned. "Okay, spread your knees a little!"

Shuffle sighed and did as they were told, glancing away from the camera as it clicked a few times. They tested the rope, carefully flexing their arms. The rope, ordinarily, would be quite strong, but it wasn't designed to contain an almost ten foot tall beast like Shuffle. Shuffle amusedly thought about how easy it would be to snap the ropes.

Birdie chirped, "Okay! We're done!"

Before Birdie could move to untie Shuffle, they flexed their arms and pulled their wrists apart, snapping the ropes easily. Birdie and Chaos gawked while KQ whistled. "Damn, bro. That was sick."

Shuffle's mini victory was cut short by the fact that they were still in a cow print lingerie set. Unconsciously, they tugged the apron lower. "I'm.... gonna go change...."

Chaos giggled. "You don't wanna show off a little more for us? I wanna see what else those arms and hands can do~"

Shuffle's blush deepened, and KQ quickly ushered them back to the dressing room. Thankful they were finally free of the tight, revealing underwear, Shuffle slipped back into their jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie. They sighed in relief, taking a moment to bask in the softness of their hoodie before stepping out. KQ was waiting outside, and they gave Shuffle a grin. "Thanks, bro. You want your facts?"

"... Later.... I just wanna go home."

KQ patted their friend's arm. "Alright. See you later, bro. Thanks again for doing this."

Shuffle nodded and left the studio, beginning the short walk home. As soon as they got home, they spotted Spidey on the couch and made a beeline for her. Spidey looked up from the book she was reading and smiled, marking her place and setting it aside. "Hey, love. How'd it go?"

Shuffle sighed as they carefully laid on Spidey, head on Spidey's stomach, arms wrapped around her torso. "It was..... an experience........"

Spidey smiled, rubbing soothing circles into their magic 8-ball head. "Just want to relax?"

Shuffle nodded, closing their eyes. "Remind me to never accept favors from KQ... like... ever....."

Spidey giggled, then glanced at her phone as it lit up. With her free hand, she checked it, then smiled. "Well, I think you look wonderful in cow print."

Shuffle's face immediately flushed dark red. "Spidey!!"

~~Some suggestiveness with some fluff...... I LIKE.~~

@spider-anon-art hehehe~

#some spuffle #cuz they Somft #suggestive #shuffle is a Shy Boi #Chaos and Birdie are flirty af #Spidey is a sweetheart #KQ and Shuffle are bros #anon harem #anon harem short story

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cheri-translates · 4 years

Text

Lighthouse (A translated one-shot)

I translated this masterpiece originally written by 白飞飞是我宝贝 on Weibo (with permission)

It’s rare to find a piece of writing that is so immersive and makes the deepest parts of your soul ache. I knew it’d be a tragedy if it isn’t accessible to anyone who doesn’t read Chinese T^T

I’ll be keeping the original writer updated on comments left on this work because she’s the one who deserves all the credit 💕

[1]

Morning sunlight filters in through the curtains and fall on my eyelids, leaving a reddish shadow. I frown slightly, struggling to open my eyes.

Before me are grey curtains and white walls. The familiar yet foreign decor leave me unable to react. I turn over.

My head feels like it's filled with water, and the pain sobers me up a little.

I look at the grey-blue quilt, the grey-blue pillows, and the clean outershirt and T-shirt in the closet...

I shoot up from the bed, ignoring my severe headache. After a quick glance around my surroundings, I finally look down at myself - I’m still in the same outfit as yesterday. Other than it being slightly wrinkled from sleep, not a single button is loose.

Even so... why am I in Gavin’s house?

I get up with some effort, pressing a hand to my head while the other is against the wall, supporting me as I walk out of the room. On the table sits a glass of soy milk, a glass of fresh milk, steam buns, but no Gavin.

Sitting at the dining table, I stare dazedly at the warm milk in front of me.

Maybe my body isn’t fully conscious yet, or maybe yesterday’s hangover has left me a little numb. Today, I don’t feel the irritability and gloom that has been torturing me for almost half a month.

Half a month ago, I broke up with Gavin. I initiated it. To my utmost surprise, he didn't refuse. He simply hesitated for a while, and said “okay” in a hoarse voice.

I take a sip of the milk, suddenly recalling the way a coquettish smile had hung on my lips when I was still with him.

“Gavin, I want to drink the milk you’re holding. Is that okay?”

“It’s not that I dislike soy milk. I like both, so I want to drink it too.”

“But I can’t finish two cups by myself, and I simply enjoy... snatching. Food. From. The. Wolf.”

The tips of Gavin’s ears turn red. With one hand, he grabs me off his body and wraps my entire self into a hug.

Since then, we would always have a cup of soy milk and a cup of milk for breakfast, with both cups placed in front of me.

He would always wait for me to finish my meal before helping himself to the “leftovers”. I would blush and watch as his thin lips casually stick to the cup where my traces still remain. An inexplicable sweetness would fill me, occupying the entire atrium of my heart.

The sudden memories are overwhelming. The knuckles gripping the cup have gone white. After taking a deep breath, I feel the first sting in my heart. I resign myself to my fate, forcing my eyes shut, and let the delayed pain and torment swallow me up whole.

[2]

The phone rings, and I pick it up without checking who the caller is.

"This is Gavin."

In my trance, his classic greeting makes me think we are still together.

“Are you awake? If... you are, there’s breakfast on the table.”

"Why am I in your house?"

My voice sounds strangely hoarse and terrible, like a broken bellow.

"You drank too much yesterday. Minor called me. Your doors and windows were shut, ahem, so...”

"Oh,” my voice is a little dry. “I see, thank you.”

We’re already adults, and even used to be lovers who were attached at the hip. Simply spending a night at his house doesn't warrant me to cause a scene.

What’s more, he is Gavin - the Gavin who has never made things difficult for others.

After finishing breakfast hastily, I tidy the table. I pretend not to see the matching teacups on cabinet. My eyes tremble slightly when they sweep past by the photos we took together.

Before leaving, I walk to the shelf behind the door to retrieve the key out of sheer habit. When my finger touches the ginkgo leaf pendant, I shirk backwards.

When I spot the two pairs of cotton slippers - one large and one small - in the shoe cabinet, I feel my heartstring finally snap, and I collapse against the wall.

The memories in these details are truly terrifying. Donning a harmless appearance, they slowly tear down the defences I had constructed with great difficulty.

These two pairs of cotton slippers were purchased during our early days as a couple. I still remember that it was the first time I saw a sick Gavin. He was leaning against the wall of the hallway - just as I am doing now - his soft bangs covering his tired eyes.

Trying a new menu in the kitchen, I suddenly feel a searing chest pressed against my back. His chin rests lazily in the crook of my neck, and the warm breath exhaled from his nose reddens my cheeks.

"Gavin? Why are you back so early today?" I try to ignore my rapid heartbeat, and my speed of cutting the vegetables slows down significantly.

He rubs his head against my shoulder and responds in a muffled voice:

“Dizzy.”

Only then do I notice his abnormally high body temperature. After hastily washing my hands and wiping my apron twice, I place my hand on his forehead.

He lowers his head obediently and lifts up his bangs, revealing delicate eyebrows. The amber eyes underneath are unnaturally moist, and remind me of a deer in a forest - pure and gentle.

“What happened? Why are you burning up so badly?”

I frown and pull him out of the kitchen, then press him onto the bed without giving him a chance to refuse.

When I was sick as a child, my dad would always tuck me in tightly. Although it was very hot, I would feel much better after sweating it out. So I also tuck the white quilt around Gavin’s neck. He is very cooperative, but his bright eyes remain wide open and he stares at me without blinking.

"What are you looking at? Close your eyes and go to sleep!" I pretend to be angry. However, upon seeing the abnormal flush on his face and the obvious tiredness between his eyebrows, my heart softens. "Well, you should have a good rest if you’re sick. I'll cook some porridge for you. Take your medicine after eating it, okay?"

My tone sounds as though I’m pacifying a child. After hearing this, a bright smile appears in his eyes. After a long time, he responds lazily with an “okay”.

But his actions are not as obedient as his words. While I’m busy cooking porridge, he walks out of the bedroom again and hugs me from behind without saying a word, like a huge koala.

Clearly, a sick Gavin and a normal Gavin are two completely different people. For the first time, I realise that this man, who is unafraid of dying in a shower of bullets, can actually be coquettish to such a degree.

I shake his hand away angrily, but he responds by lifting me up and striding over to the sofa.

"Gavin! What are you doing!" I instinctively want to pound on his shoulder, but when I think about how he’s still sick, I stop myself. The only thing I can do is raise my voice to sound agitated.

He places me on the sofa, then leans against me lazily, his strong arms wrapping around my waist, breathing in the scent of my hair.

"Can you keep me company?" The cold has made his voice deeper, as if a handful of sand has been sprinkled into his voice. "I feel terrible.”

With these few words, the anger that was about to flare vanishes. My heart softens and feels numb, as though there are ants crawling through it.

“...okay, I'll stay with you."

He falls asleep on my shoulder in under five minutes. He must have been really tired. I lay him down carefully on the sofa and pull a blanket over him.

At this moment, Gavin, who is more than 1.8 meters tall, is curled up on the sofa looking aggrieved and haggard. The blanket isn’t large enough to cover his feet, and I realise that he has been walking around barefoot.

Although the weather has begun to warm up during this time of year, it’s easy to fall sick between spring and summer. He once dragged me home because I didn’t wear a jacket. But when it comes to himself, he isn’t as meticulous.

Treading quietly, I leave the house to buy food items from the supermarket downstairs. I also stop by the living area to pick out two pairs of slippers - one big and one small, one blue and one pink, with a wolf and a bunny printed on them.

They feel soft and warm, and are very comfortable.

When I reach home, I’m wrapped in a familiar embrace as soon as I open the door. I hear a voice filled with grievances from above my head.

“Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me?"

I break free from his embrace. Lowering my head, I see that he’s still barefoot.

"I went out to get groceries. I’ll make you porridge with preserved eggs and lean meat tonight."

I kneel down, retrieve the newly bought slippers from the bag. Without looking up, I command:

“Lift your feet.”

Gavin puts them on obediently. I stand up and look at him. “How are they? Do they fit?”

His ears are ridiculously red. He blinks gently.

“Are these for me?”

"Yes, my Mr Wolf."

I reply casually, carrying the ingredients into the kitchen.

Gavin finally settles down peacefully, sitting on the sofa obediently and waiting for my food. Most of the porridge that day ends up in his stomach. After taking the anti-fever medicine, he encases me in his arms and turns the lights off early.

His breathing is especially clear in the dark, and is tainted with scorching heat, ironing the back of my neck in a regular pattern. I can’t bear the numbness and move slightly, but the man behind me holds me even more tightly. I can’t fathom where this sick person derives his strength from. I can't break away at all.

"Thank you for today," I hear him say suddenly, with a slightly hoarse voice that sounds particularly sultry in the quiet night. "I liked the preserved egg and lean meat porridge you made, I liked the slippers you gave me, and... ahem, anyway, thank you."

I chuckle, rolling over in his arms. I raise my head to meet his crystal-clear eyes in the dim night.

"No need to thank me, Mr Gavin. Because I like you the most."

[3]

When I awake from the memory, I hear the rattle of a key coming from outside the door. Feeling flustered, I have no idea where to put my hands and feet. In the next second, I meet the bright amber eyes from my memory once again.

Holding a bag of vegetables in his hand, he stands quietly at the door, looking at me silently. When his eyes trail to the high heels on my feet, his brows furrow slightly.

I bite my lip and break the awkward silence. "Thank you for yesterday. I won’t bother you further. Goodbye.”

I give him a nod. Before I can step outside, he blocks the way.

Lifting my head, I look at him with a puzzled expression. His neck muscles are tense, and his lips are pressed into a line. The morning light falls on his handsome side profile, softening his sharp features.

"Your complexion looks bad. Rest for a while, and don't force yourself.”

Perhaps I have yet to sober up completely, because I find myself agreeing awkwardly. I change my shoes again and sit down on the sofa. Taking a deep breath, I try to ignore the faint pain from my temples.

Gavin pours me a cup of hot water. I hold it in my palm and say mindlessly, "I didn't expect that I would be a guest here one day."

Gavin pauses, and he says nothing.

After retrieving two tomatoes and a piece of tofu from the bag, he walks into the kitchen, which is pretty much a decorative piece to him.

I arch my eyebrows in surprise. When I hear the stove turning on, I walk over with curiosity.

Gavin has his back towards me, surrounded by sliced tomatoes and tofu, and a bowl of beaten eggs. At a glance, there are no eggshells in it. He flips through a booklet and follows the steps in it meticulously.

I probably guessed what he wanted to do. When he finally stretches out his hand to take the sugar, I stop him in the nick of time. "Gavin, that’s white sugar. The salt is over there.

His stiffens, the tips of his ears turning redder than the tomatoes in the pot.

Once the soup is prepared, he ladles it into a bowl and brings it to me.

"Drink a bowl. It’d help you sober up.” His voice is a little soft and obviously lacking in confidence. "I tried it just now... ahem, it's not bad...”

I smile and take the egg drop soup from his hand. Stirring the soup with a spoon causes bright red tomatoes to bob around. The aroma of green onions instantly dispels the smell of alcohol stuffing my nose.

I take a sip. It really doesn’t taste bad.

But I can’t understand why such a delicious soup makes me feel as though I’m drinking something bitter.

I stand at the door of the kitchen, taking slow sips. When I can almost see the bottom of the bowl, I force myself to laugh.

"Is this the former police officer who only knew takeaway food and instant noodles? This cooking is a great leap forward."

The brightness in his eyes dims for a moment, and he responds with a hint of self-mockery. "I’m used to your cooking, so I can no longer eat takeaway food or instant noodles. The only thing I can do now is learn to make it myself.”

I’m left stunned, not expecting that he would say this. He turns back to the kitchen to wash the pots and bowls. I watch his tall figure in a daze, and am suddenly swept up into a whirlpool of memories.

While heading to the supermarket, I turn my head to Gavin and ask him a question.

“Gavin, what do you like to eat?”

He responds with a faint smile. “Anything. As long as you make it, I will love it.”

I know Gavin always puts me first, and that I would get nowhere if I continued down this line of questioning. I simply change my approach.

“What do you usually eat then?”

After thinking about it carefully, he says, “STF doesn’t have a canteen. I usually eat at a restaurant outside, or have instant noodles. I'm not a picky eater, so it’s fine as long as I can fill my stomach.”

I know that he works hard, but I’m still a little angry at his living habits.

“Without me around, would you be eating instant noodles your entire life?”

When he sees me suddenly frowning, his tone gets slightly flustered.

“I...”

“Hmph, in order to punish you, I’ve decided that..." I reach out angrily and pick out a Chinese cabbage from the freezer. "You have to clear the entire plate tonight, and my boxed lunches in future! Eat well, sleep well, and take care of yourself. Do you understand!”

There is a smile in his amber eyes, and the corners of his mouth rise a little. In the end, he rubs my hair with some helplessness, and obediently says, "okay.”

Bang.

The sound of the cabinet door closing shut pulls me back to reality. When I meet his eyes, I hurriedly conceal my dazed expression.

“Thank you. I just remembered that I still have things to do at the company, so I’ll make a move.”

I walk towards the entrance, slightly embarrassed.

When I hear him call my name, I stop.

"Can we talk?”

I stand frozen in place, all the blood draining away the warmth from my heart. It isn’t until I’m surrounded by a broad embrace that I can eventually hear my heart beating again.

Gavin always liked hugging me from behind the most, hanging his head by the side of my ears, his soft sideburns on my face. I would hear his unhurried, gentle breathing.

Just like right now. My back leans against his hard chest, his body temperature wrapping me in a thin cloak. The arms on my waist are strong, and there’s a new scar on it.

The familiar heartache sweeps across me again, unbridled. Before I can react, I hear a breath near my ears.

"If Minor didn’t call me, would I have had no chance to see you again?"

[4]

I ruminated over why Gavin and I broke up. It always came back to a cliche term - unsuitable.

I’m the boss of a small company, living a standard 9 to 5 life. Although I sometimes work overtime, my life has a fairly regular pattern.

Gavin is a special officer who has no fixed working hours. He runs off whenever there’s danger, and we often lose contact. The longest time we’ve been apart was for nearly a month, and the only communication we had spanned only ten minutes. Most of the time, I was asking, “Is there a signal? Can you hear me?”

But I never felt that our professional life was an obstacle in our love. On the contrary, it was precisely because of our intersecting schedules that I cherished the time with him even more.

It's just...

When I learned that he had a vacation on the 520 during our early days together as a couple, I excitedly made a travel plan for an overnight stay at the beach.

There was a filming site of a movie that I particularly liked. I lay in his arms enthusiastically and described the reeds, the lighthouse, and the ocean where the first light of day could be seen. Gavin had smiled and listened to me, then dropped a kiss on my forehead.

But when the time came, I went there alone.

He had received an urgent task suddenly. After hesitating for a while, he wanted to call and decline. However, I held his phone and shook my head at him. "It's okay, go.”

Then, it was the first Qixi Festival we celebrated together. Gavin had specially adjusted his schedule to keep me company. That day, we walked through the ancient streets lined with lanterns while holding hands. We released a small paper boat by the river together. We also watched a sweet and romantic movie. He watched me smile, our fingers clasped together, warm and powerful.

But when I got up in the morning the very next day, I saw Gavin seated on the sofa with his head down. I whispered his name, and he raised his head to look at me. His eyes were moist and red, and his usually clear voice was hoarse.

"The teammate who swapped shifts with me yesterday met with an accident during the mission... if it weren’t for me, he would have been fine now...”

I held his hand distressedly and comforted him. It wasn’t his fault. But when I saw the pain in his eyes, I knew that he would shoulder everything himself, and that he would carry on with this self-blame and guilt.

After that, Gavin became more frequently tasked with missions, and became more frequently injured. In addition to distress, I also felt helpless.

Then came the Spring Festival. He had accompanied me to my aunt’s house. He wasn’t very good with talking, and his body had unconcealed wounds. My aunt’s expression gradually morphed from enthusiasm to politeness.

My aunt dragged me to the kitchen and asked me solemnly, in a low voice.

"What does he do? Special police? You know this kind of work is dangerous! Should you marry him in the future, what if... and I’m saying ‘what if’... what if something goes wrong? What would you do?”

I tightened my cuffs, took a deep breath, and said, "Aunt, no matter how dangerous his work is, or how dissatisfied you are with him, he is the person I’ve decided on, and I love him very much.”

My aunt frowned and looked at me. She sighed slowly. "Silly child, you’ll understand later on that the most important thing in marriage is not love, but suitability. Love is just one condiment in life, and life is a big dish. It needs the right dishes to match, supplemented by condiments, in order to have an excellent and delicious presentation."

“I’m not trying to nag at you. I just want you to think this through carefully. I know that Gavin is a good boy, and I can see how much he cares for you. But I can also see that you don’t look as happy as before. I just hope you young ones can live happily.”

After returning home that day, my aunt’s words continued echoing in my ears. I didn’t want to accept my somewhat shaky reality.

In countless nights without Gavin, I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling in a daze. What flashed before my eyes were Gavin’s scars. He never took the initiative to tell me about his injuries, and never mentioned the danger of his missions.

His solemn and stern eyes told me that every “I’m fine” from his lips had no credibility.

With time after time of heartaches and disappointments, I seemed to suddenly understand what my aunt said.

When he flips through the medicine cabinet in the living room again in the middle of the night, I walk out of the bedroom and turn the lights on with a “click”.

At first, he’s surprised. Then, he starts panicking as he tries to hide the scar on his left shoulder. Without a word, I take out the hard iodine and gauze from the medicine box, carefully remove the his bloodstained clothes, and gently clean up the wound little by little.

This time, the wound isn’t deep, but there is a lot of bleeding. I squat down in front of him, the hand holding the tweezers trembling slightly. In contrast, my words are calm.

"Gavin. Do you know that if I were your teammate, I definitely wouldn't want to see you in this sorry state? It’s only when you take care of yourself that you can protect even more people.”

I throw the napkin away and wrap the gauze around his arm. His muscles are smooth and tight. Even though I’ve seen it so many times, it still gives me heart palpitations.

"In the future, you have to protect yourself well, understand? Don't let the people who love you feel scared all day. This kind of torture is even more unbearable than physical injuries.”

I tie a neat knot, then sit beside him, hugging him gently. His amber eyes flicker, and within them are waves of pain and struggle.

"Gavin.”

I lean my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes and memorising the warmth of his body.

"Let’s break up.”

[5]

I break free from Gavin’s embrace and leave his house in a hurry after leaving him with a sentence:

“Don't follow me.”

I run in a hurry, because I know that if I hesitate for a second longer, I will fall into his arms completely and become unable to extricate myself.

It's ridiculous.

Even though I keep reminding myself that we have already broken up, I still love his warmth.

The drinks were really worthless. If it weren't for this hangover, I wouldn’t have been so embarrassed, and I wouldn’t have been so easily defeated by mere memories and a hug.

I take a taxi and return home.

The moment I close the door, I finally remove all my forbearances. I throw myself onto the sofa and raise an arm to cover my eyes. Tears trickle down the corners of my eyes, silent and endless.

[6]

I must have been crazy to agree to Minor’s invitation to attend the high school reunion. When I see the tall figure walking into the banquet hall, my instinctive reaction is to flee.

But standing next to me is an old friend. He’s chatting about the past enthusiastically, and I have no choice but to remain still and nod along in agreement.

Gavin’s appearance is akin to throwing a boulder on calm water, and the ripples caused by the waves spread through the entire banquet hall, including my heart.

Although he should have already spotted me, he doesn't talk to me. Instead, he sits two spaces away. His expression is cold and fierce, as though he has come to participate in a serious operation.

No one dared to approach him in high school, and this has remained true even now. To outsiders, he is a lone wolf - indifferent and arrogant, causing everyone to retreat from him.

I used to see him in the same light, but everything that occurred later overthrew these myopic impressions. I discovered the softness and delicateness hiding under his hard shell.

“Hey, what's the matter with you? Why are you distracted all the time?"

My old friend waves his hand in front of me, and I apologise with a bit of embarrassment.

After saying a few more words, he suddenly asks, "Do you have a boyfriend now?"

Hearing this, I choke on my red wine. In the corner, Gavin seems to be frowning at me, his amber eyes bright and scorching, making me subconsciously want to escape.

I avert my eyes and shake my head. "No."

He becomes a little more interested then, changing the topic from high school to the present.

"Let me tell you - I’m working at LFG now and have bought a car and paid the down payment for a house. Also, my parents don’t live with me, so if you’re...”

"Are you done?” A cold voice interrupts him. My heart trembles and I raise my head, only to see Gavin's cold glare.

At this moment, nearly half of the eyes in the hall are focused on our conversation. Looking like he doesn’t care about anything, Gavin grabs my arm and pulls me out of the room. I can’t escape from his grasp, and feel frustrated by his inexplicable behaviour.

He takes me to a small balcony outside the hall, then imprisons me between the wall and his chest. He looks down at me, brows furrowed deeply. There’s an unconcealed anger in his eyes.

"What are you doing?” I question, unwilling to look at him directly.

The reply I get is a kiss that plunders everything.

His lips press against mine roughly, and his unique scent overwhelms me. There is a collision and friction between our lips and teeth, and there is pain.

It’s an uncontrolled plunder and invasion.

He doesn’t let me go until my last breath is violently swept away. I pant heavily, but he embraces me in the next second.

This time, his embrace is gentle.

It’s careful, as if he’s protecting a fragile glass flower. His heavy breath brushes my neck, mingling with his low and trembling voice.

"I'm sorry."

[7]

I don’t deny that I lived a terrible life in the half month after separating from him.

I worked overtime every day, letting work fill all the gaps in my life. I didn’t give myself a chance to relax at all, because it only takes a second for pain and regret to gnaw away at me.

Minor has been secretly reporting my life to Gavin. I knew that. But I never thought of stopping him, and a ridiculous expectation even started brimming in my heart.

I wondered if there would be a night, when the lights of the city begin to fade, when he would appear in front of me as he used to. He would wrinkle his beautiful eyebrows and gently bring me into his arms. With a slight touch of reproach, he would ask resignedly, “Why are you working overtime again?”

I also wondered if he would push the office door open anxiously when I’m stricken with another stomach ailment, picking me up sideways without a word. The expression on his face back then was full of anger, but the stream of light in his eyes magnified his distress and tenderness infinitely.

I also wondered, when I have finished my work for the day and am leaning against the wall of the elevator and staring at the changing floors, whether I’d see him as soon as I open the door.

If he did show up, I would put everything down and leap into his arms, and tell him over and over again that I love him.

But in the half month since our break up, he never appeared once.

This city is so large that even if two people were once intimate, they may miss each other for a lifetime if they don’t stay in touch.

So I started to waver again. Why did I live even more unhappily after listening to what my aunt said?

Why is it that once the seasoning of love is no longer part of this big dish of life, the entire thing tastes like wax?

I don't understand - would I be happier finding someone I’m suitable with but do not love, or consume each other’s love and embrace the friction?

Deep down, I know that if I could abandon everything and make a choice, I would choose the latter without hesitation.

At least, my life as of now tells me very clearly that the decision I made was wrong.

And this mistake has tortured the both of us beyond recognition.

[8]

My back is extremely tense and feels like a fully stretched bow.

The hands around my waist move slightly, and Gavin’s voice falls on my ears, drawing intense pain from my heart.

With every breath, I can only smell the scent of his body and the sweet aroma of red wine from just now.

Over his shoulders, I see the bright, brilliant, erosive, and prosperous city. Trapped inside are people all sentenced to life.

I know that I’m one of them.

Without warning, tears trickle from the corners of my eyes, leaving streaks of cold water on my face.

In my increasingly fuzzy and hot vision, I see Gavin’s somewhat flustered expression. He gently wipes away my tears with his rough finger pads.

Those eyes, full of anxiety, become the only lighthouse within reach.

It seems that as long as I look at him, I will never lose my way.

After a few small sobs, I rush into his arms without a care. I pull at the corners of his clothes and cry until his white T-shirt becomes damp.

He comforts me clumsily, his hands caressing my hair in exchange for the string of muffled "sorry"s flowing from my mouth.

[9]

I called my aunt.

"Aunt, is suitability really that important in life?"

"Silly child, suitability is very important. But more importantly, are you happy?"

“What if I’m with someone who I’m not suitable with, but I feel happy?”

"Then he might be the most suitable person for you.”

[10]

I stand at the door of the STF office, holding a boxed lunch and looking outside.

An officer who recognises me greets me with a smile. "Is sister-in-law giving Gavin food again? Just go in and wait. The team is already on their way back.

I smile and nod. “It doesn't matter. Waiting over here is the same thing.”

Another colleague pats him on the shoulder, as if laughing at his stupidity. "What would you know, you single loner? Sister-in-law wants to see Gavin sooner!"

I blush, and suddenly see a familiar profile coming in through the door.

The faint light of dusk outlines his wide shoulders and narrow waist, depicting his side profile clearly. Seeing me, the solemnity and coldness on his face melts into a pool of spring water.

"What are you doing here? Didn't I say you should wait for me at home?"

He walks up to me and takes what’s in my hand, his tone brisk and clear.

I crinkle my eyes and smile, saying, "I’m off work early today, and came over since I have nothing to do.”

We walk all the way to his office. Opening the boxed lunch, he sees that it contains his favourite dishes.

Gavin takes a whiff in a slightly exaggerated manner, then smiles. "Mm, smells good.”

I quickly hand him the chopsticks. He picks up a piece of beef and brings it into his mouth. After swallowing it, he lowers his eyes and smiles. "I get to eat the food you cook after my mission. I suddenly don't feel tired at all.”

I feel a twinge in my heart. I huff nonchalantly and respond. "If you like it, I’ll prepare and bring you boxed lunches in the future.”

"No need." He reaches out and tousles my hair. "Be good and wait for me at home. Just knowing that you’re at home makes me feel very contented.”

After work, we walk home together hand in hand. The setting sun filters through the uneven skyline of the city, elongating our shadows.

The summer evening breeze carries the scent of camphor trees across my face, and the temperature of the day finally reveals a tired and lazy side. Dim light reaches the world through the clouds drifting in the sky, bringing a certain tenderness to this steely city.

"Gavin?" I turn my head to look at the man wearing a smile on his mouth, and happen to meet his clear eyes.

"What's the matter?"

"Your birthday is coming soon. Are there any gifts you want?”

"Anyth-"

“You’re not allowed to say ‘anything’!" I interrupt him with a glare, giving his palm a forceful squeeze.

He smiles compromisingly, and his eyes seem to be filled with scattered gold.

"Then teach me how to cook a meal. I hope one day in the future, you can return home from work and eat a meal I’ve prepared.”

I’m momentarily startled, and suddenly remember what my aunt said -

"Then he might be the most suitable person for you.”

I have thought about this question of suitability many, many times. Just like the “unity of opposites” in philosophy, I simply can’t make sense of it. But no one has ever told me that this question doesn’t require thinking. The answer has always been in my heart, and the clues to finding the answer have been scattered throughout my life.

Even the most trivial things in life carries memories belonging only to us. And these small and plain memories will gather into a surging tide when you least expect it, washing away the dust covering the answer in one’s heart.

Perhaps there has never been such a thing as “unsuitable” to begin with. This so-called “unsuitable” is just used by people looking for an excuse to part ways.

A breeze blows past, and ripples appear on the lake in my heart. When I look at him again, I suddenly feel light and happy both physically and mentally, and that nothing could come between the both of us.

With a big smile, I say, "Okay! I’ll leave the birthday party to you then, Mr Gavin.”

He chuckles softly, his bangs a little messy from the evening breeze. "I will learn properly, and won’t disappoint you.”

The sunset finally sinks behind the tall buildings. Neon lights and vehicle headlights begin to flicker, and the dim yellow streetlights on the side of the road replace the sunset, continuing to illuminate the long road.

I know that he will hold my hand as we walk, step by step, slowly and steadily, along this path home.

#mlqc #mlqc gavin

150 notes · View notes

enamoured-x · 4 years

Text

so it goes

Summary: When Alex moves in across the hall, Rio knows he’s in trouble. A good girl like her would never want anything to do with him, or so he thinks.

Disclaimer: The oc in this series is Latinx.

Word Count: 1.9k

Chapter 1

She was a good girl. She was the girl next door type. Rio knew that so he stayed away, hell, he was convinced she’d run in the other direction if she saw him. She had just moved in next door and Rio had only seen glimpses of her but she never saw him. She was beautiful and sweet, he knew that much when he saw she made friends easily with the other tenants living in the building. She was never without a smile. Always wore cute summer dresses that had little flower patterns on it that were innocent enough until they cut off mid thigh. She was sexy and cute all in one and Rio couldn’t help but be enthralled by her. He didn’t want to scare her off though so he kept his distance. When he first ran into her, he was still convinced she’d be afraid of him but she was anything but.

Alex was tired to say the least, she had a long day running errands and she just wanted to go home and get in bed. Granted it was only four in the afternoon but she had a busy week, Mother’s Day was in two days so naturally everyone was placing orders for bouquets. She had spent a lot of time ordering flowers from the local farm and then putting them together. Cutting ribbons and printing out cards. Owning her own flower shop was no easy feat but she loved it and she loved the girls who worked for her.

When she got up to the top steps of her floor she saw a man coming out of the apartment across from hers. She had taken it upon herself to know most of the tenants on her floor and a few others but she still hadn’t met the man who lived right across from her. Granted, she was still fairly new here but he was her neighbor. When he turned to leave, he saw her. Alex walked down the hall and to him with a smile.

“Hi. We haven’t met but I’m Alex, I live across from you.” Alex stuck her hand out. Rio couldn’t help but smile back, hers being so contagious. It was also nice to know she wasn't scared of him upon sight, he knew people made judgements based off his tattoos, but not her. He liked that, so he took Alex’s hand in his.

“Rio. Nice to meet you, Alex.” She couldn’t lie, she liked the way her name sounded coming from him. She couldn’t deny he was attractive. His full plump lips, his dark eyes, with his dark buzz cut hair and facial hair to match. The eagle tattoo on his neck was really hot but she’d never admit it out loud. His attire was mostly black, black shirt, black jeans and jacket. She liked it though. It suited him.

Rio tried to contain the little laugh that he wanted to let out when he noticed that she was discreetly checking him out. He was doing the same though. Taking in her long brown hair that was in a low ponytail, showing off her shoulders in her little floral summer dress. She was stunning now that he could get an even better look at her. Her golden tan skin was glowing with a thin layer of sweat from the heat, her lips covered in gloss and her dark brown eyes were filled with life. Rio even thought her damn nose was cute and he mentally cursed himself for it.

“You too.” Alex couldn’t help but blush under his gaze. Those damn eyes, she thought. And the small smile that he wore was more of a smirk, it was alluring.

“Well, have a good day, Alex.” And with that, he walked toward the stairs. Alex cleared her throat and unlocked her door to her apartment, she didn’t know why she was still blushing. Maybe because Rio looked at her like he knew all her secrets.

Alex both loved and hated Mother’s day. She loved doing her work and putting arrangements together but the influx of people coming in had her a little stressed out. Most of them were pick up orders but of course there were last minute buyers which she was always prepared for. It was just a hectic day but she secretly enjoyed it all. It was all hands on deck today so Allie, Julia, and Hope were all tending to customers as well. The three girls have been Alex’s best friend’s since college and were thick as thieves. Alex had gotten the place a year ago now and business had been amazing so far. It was a quaint little shop called Flor Amor, that sat between a few local coffee shops and small bookstores, nowadays people loved to buy local so the street tended to be very busy.

She had moved apartments because the last one was only meant to be a temporary thing before she found a place she really liked which is how she ended up where she was now. It was fifteen minutes from the shop and she loved it. She loved the other tenants too, they were all nice and welcoming. Her mind went back to Rio and their very very short interaction, it still made her blush though.

“Do we have any more white lilies?” Hope asked as she came into the back room where Alex was currently putting together a few orders that were to be picked up later.

“Yeah, there’s some more in that bucket over there.” Alex pointed to the bucket on one of the tables and got back to cutting stems.

“You don’t need any for your orders?” Hope asked as she grabbed the flowers that were left.

“No, I already have all of mine.” Hope just nodded and then went back out. Alex was in the zone, the shop had a little lull so she was able to finish some orders. She couldn’t help but sing along to the music one of the girls had put on. Once she was done with her orders she went back into the front when she heard more people come in. Alex couldn’t help it but she loved to greet everyone especially considering lots of her customers were repeat customers.

Alex greeted a few women she knew as regulars and even showed them some different bouquet designs that were in the fridges along the wall. She was so busy with them she didn’t notice Rio walk in.

“Sorry, sir, we don’t have any more white roses.” Alex heard Julia explaining. It was close to six already and the shop would be closing then so it made sense that they were out of white roses. Alex excused herself from the women to give a formal apology to the person Julia was talking to seeing as she was the owner. Alex saw only his back when she walked up to them but when he turned around she was surprised to find Rio. Rio himself was a bit shocked but very pleased when he saw her smile at him. Once again she was in a cute little dress along with a white apron.

“Rio, good to see you.” Alex scolded herself, good to see you? She didn’t even know him.

“Yeah, you too.” Rio kept his eyes on her, the same damn smirk on his face.

Alex tried not to get worked up again, she barely knew him, how did he have this affect on her with just a look?

“What seems to be the problem?” Alex asked him, trying to make the silence go away.

“We’re out of white roses.” Julia explained and then excused herself as she understood Alex would take care of the customer.

“Yeah, those sell out quickly. Is there an arrangement you’re looking for in particular?” Rio nodded in understanding but his smirk stayed. Maybe it was just the way he smiled, Alex thought. Maybe it was the eyes, she needed to stop thinking about his eyes.

“Nah, I don’t know much about flowers.” Alex couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. Rio thought it was the cutest fucking thing.

“Right, well I could show you one of my favorites if you’d like?” Rio just nodded and put his hands behind his back as he followed her to one of the fridges.

He took her in again, he couldn’t help it. She was shorter than him and he found it cute. And he loved the way her legs were on display in her short dress. Alex showed him a crystal vase that contained blush colored roses with hints of baby breath scattered in it.

“People who go for the white roses usually want something simple. This one is pretty simple but the color makes it a bit more fun.” Alex could have sworn she saw him checking her out but she ignored it and opened up the fridge and took out the vase.

“I’ll take it.” Rio said but he never even glanced at the vase, he just kept his eyes locked on hers.

Alex blushed this time, she didn’t comment on the fact he barely even glanced at it before agreeing. Out of habit she bit her lip and tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her ponytail.

Rio clenched his jaw at the sight of her teeth tugging on her lip. Yeah, he knew he was in trouble. He followed her back to the register and watched her like a hawk. Alex swore she was turning red under his gaze as she boxed the vase and rang him out.

“It’ll be thirty dollars.” She met Rio’s eyes.

“Thirty? Like I said I don't know anything about flowers but ain’t they more than that?” Alex felt her cheeks warm.

“Friend’s discount.”

Rio smirked, he liked the idea of being her friend. Maybe he should stay away but she was too tempting.

“We friends now, mama?” Alex swallowed hard as he leaned on the counter and tilted his head.

Despite her shy demeanor, she didn’t stumble over her words like he thought she was going to.

“Why not?” She shrugged.

“Hmm, well I appreciate it.” Rio handed her the exact amount of cash and slipped a twenty dollar bill in the tip container. Before Alex could protest he winked, grabbed his vase and walked out. She felt like she could breathe again. His presence had a way of taking out all the air in the room and she found herself to kind of like it. She liked the way he smiled and the way his eyes gleamed. She liked his eagle tattoo on his neck and slowly found herself wanting to lick —

“Who was that?” Julia asked as Hope and Allie stared her down too.

“My neighbor.” She shrugged and started closing up seeing as it was ten till six.

“He’s hot.” Hope said, Allie agreed.

“He looks…” Julia started, trying to find her words.

“Dangerous?” Allie confirmed and both girls nodded their heads.

“Exactly, who doesn’t love a bad boy?” Hope said. Alex just stood there amused at their conversation.

“Okay, enough. Let's start cleaning up.” Alex shooed them away.

Rio had the bad boy look down but Alex didn’t really know him. He was a bit smug but not in a narcissistic way and not only did he look like he knew all her secrets, he looked like he was harboring a lot of his own. Alex couldn’t help herself, she wanted to know more about him. He was strange and quiet but his presence was loud, she couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

#rio x reader #good girls rio #rio good girls

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bumbershots · 3 years

Text

A CERTAIN ROMANCE

CHAPTER FIVE: A SPECIAL DAY

Author’s note: Hello! We have finally reached the awaited date between Harry and Alma. I was really excited for this chapter, hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did, forgive me in advance for any mistakes, my beta reader (my boyfriend) was unavailable, so this is a good time to say that if anyone out there has the time and willingness to beta read any future chapters send me an ask or message to let me know. Enjoy! (:

Story masterlist ** Word count: 2.6K **

Harry wakes up feeling excited, nervous and hungry. He takes care of the latter, decides to make some blueberry pancakes, turns out he can't eat more than two and a cup of coffee. Not that the pancakes weren't great, in fact they were fantastic, he even decides to brag about them on an Instagram story that is published for his close friends only. Nick quickly replies to it with a laughing emoji.

You should take a Tupperware full of them to your date ;)

The reason behind his excitement and nerves make his heart race, he decides to type in a polite 'fuck off' to his mate before heading to the shower. Under the warm spray of water he tries to sort out his thoughts. Harry doesn’t want to think about his upcoming trip to California.

It was necessary for the album or so he thought last week, after going through a box with the very few memories he kept from his ex. He wasn’t in a right state of mind then, he feels pathetic. The only reason why he wanted to spend time in Los Angeles was because everything there —from the pavement to the sky— was tainted by her.

Why would he want to go back to that place where the constant reminder of his pain was literally living in the same neighbourhood? Because it would provide him the cathartic release he was looking for. That’s the line he used after Sarah and Mitch tried to dissuade him from flying across the Atlantic and Harry was so proud of himself when it worked.

That very same day, he got the first text from Alma, it was the address like she promised. ‘In case one of your talents isn’t stumbling upon my work place ;)’ the second text read and Harry had to endure Sarah’s questionnaire about the girl that made him blush with a mere wink emoji. Not that he minded talking about her, he could go on all day.

He usually preferred a shower before breakfast, usually even work out before then but well, hunger clouded his judgement earlier today. Even with that taken care of that dread still niggled him away. Just slightly. So, he decided to pick up his guitar for a moment and strummed. There was no real intention to play seriously, or to write anything down on the journal by his desk. It was more of something he enjoys too much not to do it, a way to keep his hands and mind busy, faffing around with chords. With a bit of luck he might come up with a song, a tune which just worked, that just... clicked.

Contrary to what people might believe, genius didn't strike him here and then. Not like when he'd come up with Sign of the times or Two ghosts. But finding a neat little pattern of chords a good thirty minutes later makes him smile, it's something he can work with. It needs a little polishing from Mitch and company, sure, but it has a good rhythm. He scribbled down some notes on his journal and sent the audio to his fellow musician.

Maybe he will find the words in one of the old notebooks that are somewhere in the other room, perhaps on the ones that are still on his unpacked suitcase from Japan. Silently he also hoped to find the lyrics around London. He had lived in the capital for a few years now, but he had been different then. Now he likes to think that he's a man, no longer the teenager from the boy band or the shiny new solo artist. He has new perspectives, sights, smells in this new home of his. New ideas.

Harry gazes out his bedroom window; the view is not great –mostly of the other houses in the complex. His mind focused on the cloudy sky, confused because he swore it was sunny just a few minutes ago, can bet on his life that he woke up to dazzling sunshine rays of a warm yellow colour peeking through that same window. He puts his guitar away on the bed with care and makes a beeline to his wardrobe. He needs to figure out what to wear, pronto.

Skipping her afternoon kip was not something Alma did, it was a rare occurrence which meant one thing: something special was happening.

Walking down Oxford Street, trying to decide where to get some lunch without a care in the world, that was until the calmness faded, when her schedule for the day hit her.

She had a date with Harry. A date, with Harry Styles. It was weird to go by his full name in her head, she couldn't bring herself to call or think about him as The Harry Styles.

Maybe she'd settle to call him Harry the tube guy.

The clock on her phone showed that it was no longer single figure hours, she needed to get some food now or starve until her shift was over, and then he would have to watch her feast at whatever place he chose. Alma groaned, thought how ridiculous it was to worry about him watching her eat. Harry was a grown man; of course he knows that women eat too, right?

Walking into the nearest Sainsbury's she decided to take a deep breath. He's just some guy, she concluded after paying for her chicken baguette. Nothing to stress about.

Harry showered again, while belting out some classic pop tunes. Namely Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, something that in the past he'd swear blind you'd misheard and it was actually The Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd. But he'd come to terms that he liked what he liked.

Towel clad in the bedroom, trying to shirk off hypothermia, he was quick to put on some pants and jeans, before throwing on some simple white tee proclaiming some fading band name. He uses a dry clean towel from the closet and attempts to dry his hair, as he styles his flopped mop the thought of a haircut crosses his mind. It was getting a bit long.

One last look at the clock and he is ready to leave. "You'll be fine. Trust me." He quietly speaks to himself before closing the last few buttons of his green parka and fixing the newsboy cap on his head.

When he walks out of Colindale tube station, a little earlier than half past five, he sees the bakery from her instructions just below the large modern building Alma was kind enough to describe. She was right; the bakery is right across the street, he waits for the green man to light up to cross, shoving his hands in his pockets. The huge front windows of the establishment allow Harry to see her behind the till, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. She looks better than she did three weeks ago. He hesitates about going in for a few minutes, but feels it ought to be better than to lurk on the street.

Alma can feel his presence the moment he sets foot into the shop, her eyes are drawn to him and a content close lipped smile is the best greeting he could ask from her. The only customer in the place can feel the shift in the atmosphere when they lock eyes. So, picking up her bag full of baked goods, she steps out and leaves them alone.

"Sorry if I'm too early." He begins while she takes off her apron and hangs it in the back wall.

"You're right on time," Alma says after checking her watch, "I'm off Carlos, see you tomorrow!" She hollers to the employee that is taking a non-allowed nap in the back. Harry holds the door open for her and follows out of the warm store. "Shall we take the tube?" At his affirmative response, she then takes out her Oyster card and leads the way.

The café was not somewhere Alma expected Harry to go, the little shop with soothing music and simple stools full of the scent of organic coffee brewing is dazzling and unique. A bit like him, she thinks. She liked it. It reminded her of the places she used to frequent when she had recently moved into the city.

Harry orders a black coffee at the counter before asking Alma what she'd like.

"A cappuccino, and remember I'm paying for our food," she hands him a tenner that he reluctantly takes from her.

"Absolutely," he iterates the order to the woman behind the counter and adds two salted caramel cupcakes handing over the cash. "If you get a seat, I'll bring it over."

Alma thanks him before scampering across the room to sit at the back two seat table tucked in the corner. It was right beside the large back window, dimly lit. Before she sat, she removed her signature burgundy coat and Harry couldn't help his eyes being drawn to certain aspects of his companion. Nice arse, he remarked with a raise of his brows before the woman behind the counter tells him for the third time that his order is ready, a look of disdain as she probably caught his gaze. Giving her a sheepish smile to appease her, he manages to balance the two plates and mugs in his hands and walk over to the table.

"They asked if you wanted whipped cream or foam and I settled for foam, hope that's not a problem." He plonks himself on the seat across from her, removing his parka in a clumsy manner before hanging it in the back of the chair.

"No problem, I actually despise–

"Whipped cream, yeah, I kind of remembered what you told me about that birthday party of yours," the green eyed lad finishes for her and scratches the back of his neck. "You know with that dare..."

Her eyes flickered down to the cupcakes laid out before them and she started picking the caramel out of one, hoping to hide the nerves his words caused.

"Right enough, yeah... I can't believe you remembered that or that I told you about it." She chuckled nervously at the anecdote she chose to share with him, it was a bit inappropriate due to the amount of vomit around it, literally. But he shrugged with a charming smile. No big deal. "Nice place," she noted.

"I know it's a bit of a strange choice. It doesn't strike me as, you know, the kind of place you put so much effort into for a first date..." Harry stops talking and now his eyes meet the cupcake in front of him. "Bollocks I must have sounded so daft, I'm sorry." Lucky for him, she doesn't laugh, instead she reaches out to stroke his hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

"Nothing to be sorry about, I can be quite daft so..."

"I doubt that Miss suave." He gets a laugh out of her then, one that is almost a snort and earns a few glances from other customers.

"I’m far from it! Honestly, I once accidentally stepped on dog shit and didn't notice until my date couldn't bear the stink anymore and checked my shoe, in a very fancy restaurant. Terrible story. Trust me, I can be daft." Alma held up her hands and the musician giggled at her.

"Promise you won't laugh?" he raised an eyebrow at her, pleading. She promised. "Well, I kind of always wanted to have a first date here. It's always one of the first places I visit when I'm back in London, the food is amazing, and service is excellent. Came here completely hung-over after my twenty-first birthday party. I guess it has a lot of good memories." Pinked cheeks gave away Harry's embarrassment, he wanted to relax and for her to be more comfortable around him.

With a sincere smile Alma placed her hand over his resting on the table. "I think that is very sweet." This reply was not what he had expected; she leant in and beckoned him closer. "For your information Harry, this is exactly a great place for a first date." Up close he swore the darkness of her eyes were about to swallow him whole and spit him out to an alternate universe. He swallowed hard and took a sip of his coffee to distract himself a bit. Perhaps caffeine was not a good choice on a day where his heart was speeding so frequently.

"Did you have a good day today at work?" he asks with a familiarity that Alma can get used to.

"Yeah, had a bit of free time to plan my next video blog. It's been ages since I uploaded one." She bashfully admits. "This cupcake was delicious, a great flavour choice." And just like that they fall into easy conversation until their cups are drained. The place is almost empty around quarter to eight and they both know it's almost closing time –the death glances from the employees behind the counter gave it away. They put on their garments again before leaving.

Harry makes his way to the door expecting Alma to follow. Instead she first gathered up their mugs and plates, to place them neatly on the counter and thanked the three workers behind it with a genuine smile. Harry looked surprised; she didn't quite have to do that. She noticed.

"Just being polite," she stated the obvious, before walking under his arm that held open the door. He chose not to comment and fought back a smile.

They stood outside, not really sure of what to do next. Usually he would suggest going back to his place. It was near, but he watched her yawn discreetly and he suddenly remembered that she had a real job, well actually jobs in plural. He broke the silence.

"It was nice to see you again Alma." He meant it and she smiled as she toyed with the buttons of her coat. British summer weather was hardly cold, but today it seemed to be punishingly windy. Harry near gave a shiver, but instead took a deep breath before speaking again. It was now or never. "It'd be quite great, if I could... I'd like to see you again. Please." He shifted on one foot, nearly drowned in the silence that followed.

"I'd quite love to see you again," Harry gave a slight gulp, very slight and got out strength from the words she spoke to take a big risk, the first of today.

He stepped closer and cradled her face in his hands before leaning down and kissing her cheek. It wasn't the full on kiss he wanted to give her. But it is something he'd been dying to do since he first saw her today, something he hoped would make clear how attracted he was to her. Harry smelled like coffee and caramel. God this man's lips are prettier up close, she thought right before he straightened up.

She stayed close to him before speaking again. A low murmur so that the passing London traffic wouldn't steal her words from him.

"This was an amazing date."

Alma walked with him the long distance of one mile to the tube station, their hands brushing against each other. He was desperate to just hold hers, kiss her soft knuckles and ask about the lightning-shaped scar on her little finger. But decided against it, he knew that West Hampstead was not a common area for paparazzi, but he didn't want to risk her. Especially after the splendid afternoon they just shared.

They said their farewells.

"I'll call you," he said again. She warned that he better, before entering the station, he took great delight in watching her walk away from him, his gaze falling once more to her bum now covered by the coat. Harry spun on his heel and walked the short distance to his home.

Surely London could help him find the lyrics for that tune, this city definitely had something.

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frostsinth · 4 years

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The Secret We Keep - Epilogue

Part 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8 - MasterList -

So as a massive thank you to all my followers as I’ve hit another milestone, here’s an NSFW epilogue. Also soft and gooeyness, that gives you a little glimpse of what the pair are up to now.

As always, a huge thanks to everyone, and please check out my MasterList above if you haven’t already. While you’re there, feel free to BuyMeACoffee. Shoot me an ask/DM/comment if you have any questions or requests or thoughts. I love hearing from everyone!

Enjoy!

“Three silvers for the night,” I told the traveler, placing the now clean mug back on the shelf with the others, “And that includes a light breakfast in the morning.”

He nodded tiredly, as it was already very late, reaching into the pouch at his belt and fishing out the coins. “Fair deal.”

I smiled at him cheerily as I took them. “Let’s get you settled then. Gordy!” I called, turning to deposit the three silvers in the coffer behind the bar. The teenager looked up from where he was sweeping by the fireplace. “Could you be a dear and take this gentleman down to his room please?”

The boy nodded, leaning the broom against the wall and brushing his hands down his apron. There was a loud clatter and a soft woof, and the boy’s progression was suddenly impeded by a large grey body darting in front of him. Gordy nearly toppled over, barely managing to catch himself on the nearest bench. The last of the patrons gathered at the table in the far corner laughed loudly, and the poor boy’s ears turned pink. The traveler jerked in surprise, raising his hands defensively as the huge beast lopped over to him and began wuffing a big black nose at his pockets.

“Kosh!” I scolded, whipping the edge of my cleaning cloth lightly at the wolfhound’s snout. The big hound backed up a few feet with a sneeze and a shake. “Apologies, sir. He may be big, but he’s just a pup. He’s still in training.”

And big he was! The large stormy grey dog was only a few months old but already came up to my waist. With long, lanky legs, huge paws, and a scraggily coat, he looked like a disproportionate grey lion more than a dog. For all his bulk though, he was a gentle soul; reminding me fondly of another such individual in my life. His scruffy tail wagged eagerly back and forth, long tongue lolling out as Gordy stalked over with a grumble. The wolfhound panted and whimpered as the teenager gestured for the traveler to follow him. Gordy shoved him amiably as he passed and the dog licked at his hand.

“Last room on the left.” I instructed him. I smiled kindly at the stranger. “Breakfast is set here in the bar room a few hours after dawn. Come up whenever you’re ready.”

The man nodded appreciatively, casting the big dog a final wary eye before following the equally lanky teenager down the stairs to the basement. Another loud roar of laughter and the slamming of fists on wood had me turning a critical eye back to the last table and setting my hands on my hips. The men there shoved at each other companionably, clanking their drinking horns together. Kosh gave another soft woof and padded back over to them.

“Finish up, gentleman!” I called over, slinging the cloth back over my shoulder. “We’re closing up for the evening.”

They gave an almost uniform groan of disappointment. The biggest of the group laughed again, clapping his meaty green hand on the shoulder of his closest companion.

“You’ll have to get back to your wives at some point, boys!” The orc exclaimed as the man sputtered into his drink under the weight of his huge hand. “Can’t hide here forever!”

That brought up another chorus of laughter, and a few more clinking cups. The orc tossed back the last of his own drink by way of example. The other men started to follow suit, nodding their agreement.

“Bar’tok, perhaps you’d like to take a break from drinking all my ale, and fetch me a fresh keg from the basement.” I scolded genially, raising an eyebrow at him.

He gave me his familiar sheepish grin, standing quickly. “Sure thing, Boss Lady!”

I tossed him the key as he sauntered past, then returned to closing up behind the bar. I gathered the last of the scraps into the bucket at the end of the bar, and replaced the now clean horns on the shelf with the rest. I moved out to gather the few remaining at the tables, and waved to the men as they dropped their coin and bid me goodnight. Alone for the moment, I paused briefly, taking stock of the place with a warm satisfaction spreading through my chest at the sight of the renovated tavern.

In just the few short months since I bought it from oldman Hinson, we had expanded the bar room, clearing out all of the smaller first floor rooms and anything not completely necessary for the structure of the building. Leaving an open floorplan with high post and beam ceilings. I had put up the biggest of my collected antlers and horns as well as a few purchased patterned tapestries on the walls and had a large sheepskin spread before the fire where Kosh now stretched and yawned before collapsing with a thump onto his hairy belly. There was enough space for half a dozen tables, and the huge, remade fireplace made the whole place feel warm and inviting. We had also made the main door taller, and added a second to allow for my big and burly new patrons who visited the tavern frequently to have easy access. Behind the bar was a small kitchen, with a deep clay oven for bread as well as a stone open fire spit for cooking meat. Cast iron pots and pans hung neatly on the wall beside it, and fine wood shelves were near overflowing with various wines, liquors, and spirits as well as the plentiful number of drinking horns I possessed. The kegs lined the inside of the counter, ready and waiting, with a few large black iron lanterns set at the corners.

Below, we had remodeled the basement to host four small guest rooms as well as a storage room. Plenty of space to store a stockpile of ales and spirits to keep the patrons happy as well as serving as a cold ground storage larder for potatoes, onions, and other long term keeps. The staircase up to the loft apartment had been redone as well, and it looked quite grand with its short balcony at the top overlooking the barroom below. It was only accessible from behind the bar, in order to keep drunken patrons from wandering up unbidden.

The teenager trumped back up the less impressive basement steps now, stifling a yawn behind one freckled hand. I smirked, finished with my admiration of the renovations, and bringing my load of dishes back to the counter.

“I’m all set for the evening, Gordy, why don’t you head home?” I told him, then dug out his pay for the week as well as some jerky from my secret stash. “If you wouldn’t mind taking the scraps out to the hogs on your way out.”

He nodded eagerly, taking the small handful of coins and jerky excitedly. He crammed the meat into his mouth and the coins into his pocket (and I was grateful he kept that order straight) and gathered up the bucket with a grunt. I smiled as he tossed his apron onto the barrel by the basement door and staggered towards the exit.

“Goodnight, ma’am!” He called through a mouthful of jerky over his shoulder as he slugged the door open. “See you bright and early to help with the goblin order!”

I waved him off, turning as Bar’tok came up the stairs as well, one huge keg balanced on his big green shoulder. I smiled at him, nodding to its place in the corner.

“Just there if you would, Bar’tok, thank you.” I gathered up the tray of dirty plates and horns to bring over to the bucket of water I kept by the back door to let them soak overnight. I would finish cleaning them in the morning while breakfast cooked, it was already very late.

The creak of the main door behind me and excited bark from Kosh had me slowing my clean up distractedly. Wondering if Gordy had forgotten something. But when I glanced over at Bar’tok who was facing the door, the wide, knowing grin he shot over my shoulder had my heart skipping a beat.

“I’ll finish up down here, Boss Lady,” He told me, taking the tray from my hands. “You have better things to do with your time.”

I spun eagerly, a smile already spreading across my face even before my eyes settled on the huge, burly orc currently shoving a leaping wolfhound down from trying to lick at his face. His face was set into a heavy scowl, his brow knotted. But as soon as our eyes met, his features instantly softened. I was already untying my apron and coming around the counter as he strode across the room. I gave a little yelp of delight as he swept me up without breaking his stride, sitting me on the bar and wrapping his big arms around me. There was a clatter and a clash as one of the lanterns toppled off the end, having been bumped by an errant elbow, and his big face flushed slightly. I ignored it, catching hold of his face with both hands.

“...Welcome home.” I breathed against his lips as he slowly pulled out of his customary crushing kiss. As if he were drowning in the sea and my mouth was his first taste of air. I ran my fingers through his thick hair, then cupped his bushy square jowls fondly.

Hans grunted deeply, his big nose flaring as he drew in deep breaths of my scent. His eyes turned doe-like, and his lips fell into that soft curl I loved. He placed another light kiss against my waiting mouth, then gave a distracted and irritated snort as he had to turn to push the whimpering, bouncing dog half clambering up his side. The pooch did not like being altogether forgotten as we were reunited once more for the first time in nearly a week. I laughed, reaching behind the bar to grab a well planned bone and tossing it off towards the center of the room. Kosh gave a final booming bark, then darted off, his claws scratching the worn wood as he pursued his treat.

I wrapped my arms around the big orc’s neck as he scooped me into his arms, pinning my hips flat against his waist, parallel to him with my legs dangling straight towards the floor. Bar’tok smirked as we passed him by, and I felt my ears grow hot, but Hans didn’t even spare him a glance. He carried me around the back of the bar, eyes never leaving my face as he made his way up the stairs to our apartment overhead. As if he couldn’t soak in the sight of me enough. I smiled, bending down and resting my forehead against his, breathing in his musky scent and feeling my heart race again at his touch. He shoved open the door with a pleased grunt, then kicked it closed behind him.

Spinning, he pinned me against the back of it, smothering me with kisses once more. I shifted, wrapping my legs as far around his huge torso as they would go, running my hands over his shoulders and neck. He growled deeply, the sound vibrating against my lips and my body, then pulled back only to bury his face in his favorite place against the side of my neck. Nipping and kissing and tasting my skin there. I gave a breathy moan, and felt another growl against my throat as his tusks ran over my tender flesh there. His thick tongue traced over the long since faded scratch, and he kissed the spot delicately where Wren’s knife had nicked me as he always did, before moving down to my collarbone. I rubbed at his muscles, sliding my little hands under his armor to trace over the tough skin of his back. He rumbled with pleasure at the sensation, pressing against me gently, pinning me against the back of the door and surrounding me with his bulk. I felt the familiar ache building within me, and squeezed my thighs around him. His nostrils flared as he pulled in the fresh scent of my arousal. Another deep, husky growl vibrated against my neck.

Curling around me again, he hoisted me off the door with both meaty hands on my ass and spun back to the room. Two of his long strides and he dropped me onto our huge bed against the back wall, where I bounced lightly. I could hardly stand to wait for him as he fumbled with his travelling cloak and armor. His ax made a loud thunk as he dropped it on our table, and I felt a flush rising to my cheek. Wondering if Bar’tok could hear us still. I was sure there was no masking the clatter of the chair falling over as Hans struggled to remove his armor as quickly as he could and knocked into it. But it was all quickly forgotten though as my attention settled on Hans’ face, his eyes hooded, his big tongue licking his lips. I bit my own lip, kicking off my new boots and stockings and sliding backwards onto the bed.

The big orc pulled his tunic up and over his head, and I hardily appreciated the sight of his flexing chest and stomach muscles beneath. I sucked in the view greedily, drawing in a sharp breath as he dropped quickly onto the bed and crawled after me. I hooked my hand around the back of his head, pulling him down into another deep kiss. He dragged my body closer to his, his growl becoming a soft groan as my other hand rubbed at the stiffness between his legs. He bent in half, bringing his hips closer to my reach while keeping our mouths locked together. I parted my lips, inviting him in, and his hot tongue eagerly slid after mine.

I felt his hand moving up my leg, pushing up my skirts. I could feel his need and eagerness bleeding into me. Desperate to be connected again in every way we possibly could. Cannily soaking up every minute of our coupling. He moved gently, but persistently, hitching up my dress around my hips and pushing my legs apart. Then he pushed my hand aside and scooped me up, bringing me to meet his own hips and grinding firmly between my legs. I quivered beneath him, and felt his hot lips and tusks scrape against my jaw as I tossed my head back against the bed. He rolled his hips again, then again, and panted against my throat, the roughness of his trousers coupled with the firmness of his erection sending us both into fits.

With the lightest of touches, I planted my palm against his chest and pushed him back. He moved obediently, retracting, frowning slightly until he realized I was following after. The big orc rolled onto his back with a grunt, and I bunched my skirts up at my hips as I straddled his. He looked at me, his dark eyes hungry, his tongue tracing over his thick lips. My legs barely reached the bed on either side of his huge body, but I was able to grind against his growing bulge over the top of his pants all the same, and now it was his turn for his head to fall back in enjoyment. I did it a few times more, teasing him until his big meaty hand clamped down on my hip and his foot kicked out, knocking into the chest at the foot of the bed as he gave a hearty groan.

I rose up onto the balls of my feet, crouching over him and grabbing at the edge of his pants. He helped me to slide his trousers off, freeing his huge cock with a relieved sigh. I tossed his pants off to the side, and winced at the clang of the candlestick toppling off the end table with it. He snorted, casting an eye over towards the mess, but quickly returning his husky gaze to my face. I blushed, shyly looking away from him, but settled just behind his member. After a moment’s hesitation, I began rubbing myself back and forth across its length. He groaned again, his hand on my hip squeezing lightly, his hips jerking involuntarily beneath me. I couldn’t help but grin now, delighted by how easily I had the huge orc at my mercy. His free hand came up, yanking at the collar of my dress, loosening the ties and pushing it off my shoulders. I heard a rip, but didn’t care. It wouldn’t be the first time. Hans wrestled with the cloth until my breasts bounced free. The familiar pendant slapped against my sternum, its chain cool against my already flushed skin. He slid his palms slowly up my body, from my hips to my breasts, then cupped one in each hand. Massaging the malleable tissue and pinching lightly at my nipples.

That sent my patience over the edge, and I reached down as I balanced briefly back on the balls of my feet, guiding him into place. His grip on me tightened as I slowly slid myself onto his cock, and both of our mouths dropped open. He gave an untampered moan, thumbing my nipples a final time before sliding his hands to wrap about my waist. Easing me onto his massive girth.

He was still too large to me; every time he felt a little painful going in. Until my arousal offset his size, and all I could feel was the burning heat. I had come to enjoy that sensation of his cock stretching me. The pain it brought was just a teasing reminder of the pleasure to come. This time was no different, and as I sunk down to the base, my thighs quivered with delight. I stayed there a moment, felt him twitch beneath me expectantly, enjoying the heat of his body between my legs.

When I began to move up and down, his head lolled back again, and his hands on my waist tightened. His hips bucked up against mine as I came down, practically tossing me up into the air. I was quickly gasping, the pressure and pleasure building within me. I leaned forward, placing my palms on his broad chest to give myself a better rocking momentum. My core flexed and tightened, and I held my breath as my vision flashed white. Close. I was so close already. I was slowing, unable to keep the pace as my head began to swim and my mouth dropped back open.

With a hearty growl, he cupped my ass in his hands, and deftly rolled. I gasped loudly as my shoulders hit the bed, my hips hoisted up as he bent me over his knees. His meaty palms massaged my backside as he slowly rolled his hips against mine. I saw stars at the edge of my eyes, and my moan was embarrassingly loud. It only encouraged the hulking orc, and he picked up my previous momentum and then some. Our hips smacking together loudly, the bed rocking and creaking beneath us. He moved deeper, plunged harder, and my back arched in response. I couldn’t reach him with my hands, so balled my fists into the sheets as I felt myself edging closer again.

I cried out, felt the gushing release, and felt him growl again. Bending over me. Riding through my climax with his fast, deep thrusts. I reached up, catching the back of his neck and pulling him down to me as I lifted my shoulders off the bed to meet him. Forcing him to bend in half over my hips lifted to his to crush our mouths together. I bit his thick lip as I fell back.

“Don’t stop!” I breathed, my fingers clenching into his thick mane.

He rumbled again, and his thrusts returned to their previous pace. Sensitive and wetter than before, I nearly peaked again. But instead came to a comfortable, rolling edge of pleasure that I melted into as I felt him shudder and groan a few minutes later.

My eyes must have closed, because I didn’t know he had bent back down until his big lips pressed back against mine. I willingly opened my mouth, inviting in his huge tongue, rolling mine around it. His tusks scraped against my cheeks, and I could feel his long hair brushing against my face.

I shuddered with delight as he slowly pulled out, my heart racing in my breast. He broke our kiss to run his lips down my jaw, down my neck, kissing over my sternum and each collar bone, skirting the pendant. Licking up the damp sweat pooling there. I laughed weakly, feeling his progress with my hand still on the back of his head.

Finally he came back up, having made it nearly to my navel and covered almost every inch of my flushed skin with his big mouth. I opened my eyes, looking up at him with a languid smile. His slate blue gaze, the stormy skies at sea, watched me with a great soft warmth in their depths. I sighed happily as he kissed me again, letting his big hand scoop under my waist and pull me to lay on him as he rolled onto his back.

“I missed you.” I told him, propping myself up on my elbows over his chest to look down at him.

He sighed deeply, contentedly, running his big hands up and down my bare back. Pushing my ruined skirt off the rest of the way and tossing it to the side. I rolled down, resting my ear against his chest to hear his own racing heart beneath.

“Would that you never had to.” He murmured, his deep, rolling timbre sending shivers down my spine.

I kissed the skin of his breast, tasting the salty sweat there, then ran the tip of my tongue over the nipple. He chuffed lightly beneath my administrations, and I smiled.

“I always miss you,” I admitted quietly, tracing my fingertips over his firm muscles, laying a light kiss on each after my fingers passed over them, “Even when you just go to the other room.” I craned my neck back, stretching and sliding up to kiss at his thick neck. “I never want to be away from you.”

He gave a heavy snort, one of his happy ones, his big hand coming up to trace his large knuckles gently along my jaw. “I don’t deserve you.” He said, his words belittled by the fondness with which he spoke them.

I rested my elbows on his chest again, propping myself up to lean over his head and meet his gaze. I smiled shyly, and his thick brow softened, his lips curled into my favorite gentle shape. He kept the back of his hand against the edge of my face, his thumb coming out to wipe lightly against my cheek. I leaned into his touch, closing my eyes.

“You undervalue yourself.” I replied.

I felt his rumbling reply down the length of my body laid atop his torso. “I have done nothing good in my life. Nothing deserving of a reward like you… But by the Gods I am thankful for whatever fool made the mistake that brought you to me...” He brushed his hand open, resting his palm flat against the side of my face. “... I would give you everything in my power. Anything you want.”

I smiled, opening my eyes to meet his. “I want nothing.” I reminded him. “Just you. You’re all I need to be happy.”

He grunted, shaking his head in disbelief as he always did. “I could give you more….”

“You have given me everything.” I assured him, turning and resting my head back into the crook of his neck. “I don’t think I could ever be happier.”

He sighed, the deep billowing breath causing me to rise and fall with his chest. I closed my eyes, listening to it gush through his lungs like bellows on a forge. He ran his hand through my hair, gently stroking it as our breathing and heart rates slowed. Shifting, he wrapped his arm around me, rolling onto his side and cocooning me with his huge body.

“You are my everything, Madara,” He whispered against the top of my head, “You are my air. My heart. My world.”

I smiled, nuzzling against him and tucking myself neatly into his chest. “Then you have already given me the world.”

...

The End (for now)

#the secret we keep #oc #update #epilogue #monster x human #monster lover #monster boyfriend #monster romance #orc lover #orc boyfriend #slow burn #secondhand embarrassment #terato #exophilia

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gardenia-angel · 4 years

Text

Chapter 3

𝓑𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮 𝓜𝓮 𝓝𝓸𝔀

A few hours later I was sitting on the couch. One of my hands handcuffed to the arm of the couch and my other was softly petting a cat that was resting in my lap. I should’ve expected that they weren’t going to completely untie me. They’re trained assassins, that would be dumb of them. I probably would’ve tried to escape anyway. Axel had also put the gag back over my mouth. I guess we weren’t on the level of asking personal questions.

The day just kept getting weirder. Axel had taken off his clothes and was now cooking in the kitchen in just his underwear, a white t-shirt, and a pink apron. What could be weirder than that?! I asked myself. Lo and behold, Otto and Oscar stood face to face in front of me. I watched with perplexed look upon my face. Otto had a knife in his hand, ready to throw. Keeping his eyes on Oscar, he threw the knife in one swift motion. The knife barely missing his foot by an inch. My brows furrowed in confusion as I stayed silent and continued to watch. Oscar picked up the knife and did the same thing. Although this time the knife actually could be seen penetrating Ottos thigh. My eyes widened at the amount of blood that started to pour out. “What the hell?!” I tried to say but it only came out as a muffled noise. They both looked at me a little alarmed, but not even fazed about the blood.

Oscar finally got what I had said and tsked his tongue. “Oh he’s fine, right Otto?”

Otto removed the knife with no effort and nodded to Oscars question. It made me wonder what era they were from, seeing that this is their way of passing time and also I noted their very outdated clothes.

In an instant, it was like I had vertigo. I was thrown into another vision. The three brothers were in a cornfield. Vanya was also in the cornfield. She seemed to be running away from them. In another moment, Axel was about to shoot her but Vanya has sent them flying backwards with her powers.

The vision had come to an end and I was back in my reality. “Are you ok?” Oscar had asked. Axel was about to come and investigate what was wrong but a ‘woosh’ sound could be heard coming from the cupboard. He opened the small door revealing a tube with a message inside. Oscar and Otto came up behind him to see what the message from Commission was.

I already knew what the message was. A picture of Vanya and her coordinates. To get their attention I decided to try speaking again, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to understand what I was saying. So they would have no choice but to take off the gag. Otto came and took it off of me. “Thank god, finally!”

“What were you saying?” Axel asked.

“The message you got from the Commission, it’s about Vanya isn’t it?” They looked at each other, which made me certain that it’s true. “Listen, you shouldn’t go. Vanya’s more powerful than you think!” I continued.

“It doesn’t matter. We have orders.” Axel said before going back to the kitchen. Otto went to the freezer to get ice for his leg while Oscar took the seat next to me and began playing with another cat. When Otto opened the freezer door, I gasped. Sitting inside was the head of the lady that lived here. I turned away quickly, directing my attention to the cat Oscar played with. “I’m gonna be sick.” I mumbled. Oscar turned, seeing the head in the freezer too? “What? Just a head..” He shrugged.

“Just a head!” I scoffed.

Axel had finished making their dinner. He set their plates on the table then came over to me and tried handing me a plate. The smell of fish almost made me gag. “You know, I may not remember who I am but I’m pretty sure I wasn’t a seafood person.” I laughed lightly while trying to block the smell by pinching my nose. Axel still had the plate out for me to grab. Geez I wonder when he’ll loosen up. I shook my head and pushed the plate back towards him. “I appreciate it but no thank you. I’ll pass..”

“You can’t just eat nothing!” Axel said while going over to the table to give his brothers the fish, which they happily took.

“If I’m not mistaken, I think you’re sassing me!” I said in the same tone as him. Oscar and Otto looked at each other after I said that. Axel, taken aback by my words, turned back to me and scoffed. “You’re being difficult..” He grumbled.

“Maybe if you wouldn’t keep me chained, you’d see that I’m not so much of a pain.” I countered, crossing one of my arms around my waist and tilting my head. He narrowed his eyes in thought. “So what you’re saying is you’ll cook for yourself?”

“Yeah I will if I’m hungry but right now I’m not...I’d much rather take a shower..” I mumbled the last part. Axel gave me a funny look, not knowing what to say. “You are going to allow me to shower right?!” I hated this. It felt as though I was being treated like a child.

This time Otto spoke up. But this time they spoke amongst each other in Swedish. I internally groaned. What the hell was being said this time? They didn’t appear to be saying anything bad about me, otherwise they probably would be laughing and smirking. But they sounded serious.

“Fine.” Axel said when he turned back to me. I smiled. “You know I think we will learn to get along very well with each other..” I said as he unlocked the handcuffs. I stood and walked over to the hall entrance. “And don’t worry, I won’t try to escape.” I turned to say. I walked calmly away until I wasn’t in their vision then bolted down the hallway to the bathroom. It wasn’t that hard to find. There were four rooms. Three of them being bedrooms and one being the bathroom. As soon as I shut the door I went straight up to the window. A clever smirk on my face as I pulled the curtains apart.

“Fuck.”

It was a single hung window which was the type that only opens up a few inches. Not enough room for anyone to fit through. I guess a shower really wasn’t such a bad idea anyways. As I showered, I thought about what was happening with the Hargreeves siblings. I wondered if Five was worried that I disappeared. He probably isn’t though. I was just a burden that was thrown into a story that’s not even mine. But how do I know this isn’t my story? Or maybe I was just in the afterlife. Some weird afterlife if you ask me.

Once I was done, I felt a million times better. I was refreshed and ready to make peace with the Swedes. Or at least try to be on civil terms with them. I still thought it was a bad idea for them to go on their mission. I tried to think of things to get them to stay but no solid statement could come to mind.

I looked down at my pile of clothes. They were absolutely filthy. Both my pants and my shirt were covered in dirt and grime. My shirt also having the smell of sweat and the slight metallic scent of blood. It made me gag. I never knew my clothes would ever smell that bad. I had a decision to make. I either put these clothes back on or I can try to find something to wear in one of the rooms. Leaving the bathroom was a risk I was willing to take. I opened the door slowly as to not make a creak and peaked my head out. The coast was clear, they seemed to still be in the living room. I quickly tiptoed into the nearest room. I turned the light on to see better and took a look around. If I had to guess this was the landlady’s room. Opening the closet I took out a sleeveless dress with a multi colored checkered pattern. Oh yeah this was definitely the sixties. The dress itself was too big compared to my frame. I put it back in its place and made my way into the next room. This room had a slight teenager-ish vibe to it. To put it simple, the walls were slight darkish pink but covered in posters and the furniture and decor were a light cotton candy pink. I walked over to a vanity and picked up a notepad that sat on top. “Packing for college checklist.” I whispered. The lady must’ve had a daughter who just recently went to college. Well I hope she doesn’t mind if I raid her closet.

With that in mind I opened her closet. She barely had any dresses in here, at least none that I would feel comfortable wearing, so I went to take a look in her drawers. I picked out a pair of high waisted plaid pants and a white sleeveless button up top. When I went to close one of the drawers it had gotten slightly stuck. For a moment I had forgotten where I was and went ahead forced it shut with a loud bang. ‘Oh shit they had to have heard that!’ I thought to myself in a panic. I stayed quiet to see if I could hear any footsteps. Within a few moments someone could be heard coming down the hall. I was still wrapped up in a towel and didn’t have the time to change before one of them came. I dashed to the door to shut it all the way before anyone could come in. I closed it with a slam and reached down to lock it, yet there was no lock to be found. “Shit, shit, shit!” I said in a hushed tone as I held my body to the door. One of them tried to open it but found that the door knob wouldn’t budge. “Huh? What are you doing in there?!” Came the angry voice of Axel. He banged on the door. “No! D-Don’t come in!” My strength was no match for his and he was able to push the door open. I took a few steps back and mentally prepared myself for the embarrassment I was about to endure. I turned my head down to the side and winced as I held on to the towel wrapped around me tightly. “What do you think you’re. . oh. .” His voice started off furious but it quickly trailed off. I could feel my face flush as I tried to regain my composure and look at him. He looked absolutely confounded and lost for words. “Uh —umm..” I was also lost for words but I at least broke the silence making him snap out of it and avert his eyes away. He stepped back through the doorway. “Uh, sorry.” Was all he said before closing the door gently. I put my hand up to my my mouth to keep myself from the burst of nervous laughter that wanted to come out. I had mixed feelings of uneasiness, shock, and giddiness. What just happened?!

I quickly changed into the new clothes, not wanting to ponder on the thought much longer, and walked into the living room like nothing happened. They three were loading up guns. They looked up as I entered the room. I put my hands on my hips as I looked at each of them. “You’re still gonna go? Even after what I told you!” Axel looked at me, his eyes lingering for a second before turning to Oscar and saying something in Swedish.

Was it bad that I wanted him to look at me again the way he did earlier?

Oscar made his way over to me and pulled me towards the couch, once again hand cuffing me to it. “You guys don’t believe me, do you?” I sighed as I stared at the wall in front of me. None of them spoke until they were about to walk through the door.

“Even if we did believe you, we still have to do our job.” Axel said before shutting the door behind him.

As I sat there on the couch, the cat from earlier had come up to me again and sat in my lap. “I may not have known them for long . . but I worry for them.” I said softly to the cat, who stared up at me while purring. “Yeah, maybe I will be able to help them. Maybe that’s why I’m here?”

A few hours passed by before I stirred awake again, the cat still sitting with me. I looked at a clock that read ‘1:11 am’. They still weren’t back yet and I wondered what could be happening. As if on queue, one by one walked inside. Their shoulders were slumped and their eyes looked tired. Oscar has a gash the side of his head that was bleeding slightly. Otto has some fresh cuts on his face. “What happened?” I questioned. I knew something was going to go wrong.

Axel was the last to walk in, his face contorted in pain. He took off his coat, his whole sleeve was soaked in blood from a wound on his arm. I gasped softly at the sight of it. I’ve seen so much blood in such a short time. I wondered if it was always like this for me.

Axel rolled up his sleeve revealing a bullet wound. A feeling, almost like and instinct, took over and before I could stop myself, I spoke up. “You guys looks awful! Un cuff me and let me help.”

They all looked at me with their same expression of surprise and suspicion. “Please . . Let me help you.” I said slowly and earnestly. They gave in with little hesitation. Once I was freed I asked Otto, him being the least injured to go find some washcloths and other medical supplies. I went ahead and helped Oscar first. The cut on his head wasn’t too bad, it just needed to be cleaned up. He smiled and thanked me for helping. He stood from the chair to leave the room. “Careful with Axel he may bite.” Oscar joked before disappearing into the hall. I felt my face heat up as I turned to Axel. He had his face in his hand, shaking his head slightly.

“Well anyways..” I said trying to get back to the task at hand. I cleaned the wound up as much as I could. “It looks like you need stitches.” I told him. He nodded for me to go ahead.

“Why are you being kind to us?” He asked as I began stitching.

“I’m not sure.” I said after a moment. I didn’t really know how to answer his sudden questions. “Maybe because you decided not to kill me.” I said with a small smile. I finished up and we stayed sitting there on the couch. “And I feel as though there’s . . Something more to you guys than what’s on the surface.”

“What’s on the surface?”

“Cold hearted assassins that work for the Commission.” I said without a second thought.

“And the ‘something more’?” He asked. His aura seemed to be more at ease and not so tense around me anymore, making me feel more relaxed.

“I don’t know yet . . But I’d like to find out.” I replied in the same soft tone.

“You’re very different.” He said and smiled to that. We sat there in comfortable silence for a while. I felt myself become more tired again and soon my head leaned to the side and I fell back asleep.

“Thank you . .” Axel whispered before falling asleep as well.

❤️Tags : @koelu-chan @gorgeourrific-nerd

#the umbrella academy #the swedes #tua season 2 #the umbrella academy season 2 #tua the swedes #the swedes x reader

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