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countryclubstarkey · 4 years

Text

Competition - Rafe Cameron x Reader x JJ Maybank

Requested (I hope you like this! @countryclub-sloppytop)

Pairings: Rafe Cameron x Reader x JJ Maybank

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Smut, Threesome, Drinking, Choking, No protection, Cream Pie, Anal, Squirting, Overstimulation, this is also extremely dirty (I don’t know why I keep doing this LOL).

Word Count: 3.5k+

A/N: The rivalry between the pogues and Rafe isn’t that big in this, so he’s basically the rude brother of Sarah. The beginning is kind of long because I want to introduce the character, but then it gets into it.

The Outer Banks, paradise on earth. Which is bullshit in your opinion, recently your parents decided to move you to the Outer Banks far away from your childhood town and friends. You were grateful for everything they give you, but moving you away on your last year of high school is stupid. They know that it takes you a while to open up to people, graduating with no friends isn’t that fun either.

The only thing that you don’t mind is the beach, and living by the ocean. You come from a big city, so going to the beach is a once in a while thing that you and your friends did.

“Okay, y/n, we have a family friend who lives here and they’ve invited us for dinner so please be ready by 7 pm.” Your mom says while walking into your room.

Rolling your eyes playfully at her, “Mom, I don’t want to have dinner with a bunch of adults,” you whine at her. Rolling her eyes at you, you can see where you get it from now.

“They have three kids, and two of them are around your age so please socialize tonight and come out of your shell,” she pulls out a black dress setting it on your bed. “Wear this tonight, and start getting ready, or else we are going to be late,” while walking out of your room. You let out a loud sigh dreading tonight’s dinner hoping it doesn’t end as horribly as you think.

Around 7 pm, you finally arrive at a mansion in the extremely rich neighborhood of the Outer Banks. You feel out of place right away, their kids are probably some snobby rich kids. You’re wearing a black deep plunge dress that comes to your mid-thighs. Earlier, You felt slightly overdressed, but now seeing the house you feel like you should have came in a gown.

A middle-aged man opens the door when you reach it, “Hello, oh you must be y/n, nice to meet you sweetheart,” he tells you while shaking your hands. You shake his hand and walk into the house amazed by the architecture and the decor. Your eyes land upon a blonde girl who looks about your age smiling widely at you.

“Hi, I’m Sarah, nice to meet you,” while pulling you in for a hug. You didn’t expect her to be so straight forward, but you return the gesture, “I’m y/n.”

She grabs your hand and begins to give you a tour of her house, you didn’t expect Sarah to be this nice. The rich kids at your old school looked down on everyone and laughed at everyone who they thought was beneath them. She takes you down to the basement where you heard laughter, which seems to belong to a teenage boy.

“Rafe, this is y/n and y/n this is my annoying older brother Rafe,” she says while ruffling his hair. He slaps her hand away and stands up where you can actually see his face. All you can say is wow. He’s at least a foot taller than you, broad shoulders, dirty blonde hair, and a chiseled jawline.

He looks you up and down, biting his lips before extending his hand out, “Nice to meet you, sweetheart.” You blush at his nickname and shake his hand. Sarah pushes him away from you, grabbing your arm and pulling you back upstairs.

“Please, don’t fall for my brother’s game, he has a reputation and I don’t want you to be added to his list,” she rambles on letting you know. You nod your head, but you know you’re going to fall into his trap at some point.

“Kids, dinner,” Ward yells out at all of you causing you to walk towards the dining room. You meet Rose, who is definitely an interesting personality. Also, Wheezie who’s Sarah’s younger sister, she seems a little bratty but it’s probably because she’s not close to your age.

You take a seat next to Rafe across from Sarah, who narrows her eyes at Rafe sending him a warning. Throughout dinner, it was just the parents talking, while the rest of you just ate your food in silence. Towards the end, you felt Rafe’s hand land on your thigh causing you to let out a slight cough. He smirks at your actions and removes his hand pretending like nothing just happened, just wanting a reaction from you. Before you can head out with your parents, Sarah pulls you aside for a second.

“There’s a party on the cut tomorrow night that my boyfriend and his friends are hosting, and you are going to come with me.” Debating whether or not you should go. “I don’t know, I don’t really party,” you simply reply to her. Back home, you preferred partying with your small group of friends rather than a large group.

She pushes you out of the house yelling, “I’ll pick you up at 7.” You laugh at her actions and realize that tonight wasn’t as bad as you thought.

The next night, Sarah picks you up on the dot with Rafe driving the car. While Sarah is talking, you glance at Rafe admiring his features. He notices your stare and sends you a quick wink causing you to pull away and pay attention to Sarah again. You notice the car stop by a huge beach filled with teenagers drinking and basically humping each other out in the open.

“Come on, I want you to meet John B and his friends.” You come face to face with a group of teenage boys who are extremely attractive and a stunning curly-haired girl.

“Guys, this is y/n, y/n this is John B, Pope, Kie, and JJ,” while pointing to each one. You all acknowledge each other, but your eyes linger on JJ a little longer than the others. He throws an arm around your shoulder pulling you towards the keg.

Handing you a cup, “You got to be a bit tipsy for these parties to be fun,” he whispers in your ear cheering his cup to yours and chugging his down. For the few hours, you try to keep up with JJ but the boy was like a machine. Downing each drink like its water, you’re slightly concerned but too drunk to care. You get to know him a little and can point out that he is a natural flirt, which you don’t mind at all.

You forget all about Rafe until you see him walking towards you and JJ. You notice JJ’s mood alter once he reaches you.

“Pogue,” Rafe sneers at JJ. Okay, maybe this really is paradise on earth, because you never thought you would be between two of the hottest guys you have ever seen. “Kook,” JJ replies with the same attitude. However, the tension is a bit much between the two of them, you don’t know why and you don’t want to know.

“Umm, the testosterone is a bit much here so I’m going to go find Sarah,” you say while patting their chests. The two watch your hips sway as you walk away, and look at each other before rushing after you. As they’re running after you, JJ pushes Rafe a little bit causing him to stumble a little falling behind. JJ grabs your waist spinning you around before you could walk any further. His fingers tickling your sides causing you to break out into giggles. Your fun is cut short when Rafe pushes JJ causing him to trip and land on his ass. You burst out into laughter at the look on JJ’s face, but he retaliates by pushing him back.

You sober up a bit when you notice the harsh expressions on their faces, so you stand between the two pushing them away, “how about you both put your toxic masculinity aside and not fight tonight.” The two scoff at you continuing to glare at each other like they’re arch-nemesis.

Feeling bold for the night, you pull the two boys closer to you so that you’re stuck between the two, “how about you fight it out another way,” you whisper at the two. The two boys frown at you not understanding your statement before smirks appear on their faces.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to humiliate you JJ,” Rafe tells the surfer boy. Letting out a low chuckle causing you to feel the vibrations through his body. JJ steps even closer to your body grabbing your hips tightly, “Don’t worry pretty boy, let’s just hope you can get it up.” You try to cover up your giggle with your hand, but JJ does it for you. He leans forward pressing his lips to yours, he tastes like cheap beer, weed, and surprisingly sweet like honey. You wrap your arms around his neck bringing him closer to you, feeling like putty under his touch.

Rafe grabs your body pulling you away before connecting his lips with yours causing you to let a soft moan satisfying him. He tastes like the opposite of JJ, you could taste the vodka that he drank earlier, and his mouth still minty fresh from the gum he took earlier. Rafe’s touch is a bit rougher than JJ, he’s kissing you like you are his last meal. You pull away not wanting everyone in the Outer Banks to see your business, “Is there a place where we can go that’s more private,” you murmur at the two. JJ nods grabbing your arm pulling you away from the beach with Rafe following you guys close behind.

The three of you pull up to what looks like an old fish shack turned into a little house, it looks extremely cozy. Rafe looks at the place in disgust, “you live in this trash?” Rafe questions. You slap his stomach, scolding him.

JJ rolls his eyes pulling you into his lap while sitting on the couch, “Sorry, my daddy doesn’t pay for everything.” You felt another fight coming, so you grab JJ’s face pulling him into a bruising kiss.

“How about instead of fighting, one of you fucks me,” you tell them and tugging your shirt off leaving you in your lacy light purple bralette. The alcohol is still in your system making you bolder than other times. They look at each other, agreeing to be civil just for one night before turning back to you looking you down like you’re their prey.

Rafe connects your lip, moving one leg on his lap, while the other remains on JJ’s lap. JJ leans forwards pulling one of your straps down exposing your breasts to them. He grabs the one closest to him and kneads it in his hands. Bringing it into his mouth, his teeth brush against your nipple causing your core to ache for him. His mouth begins to suck and nip the area, leaving love bites all over your breast leaving a reminder of the sinful night you’re going to have.

Rafe turns your attention back on him, biting your bottom lip bringing it in his mouth. His tongue envelops your own, his hand reaching up to wrap around your neck bringing you closer to him. Loosening his grip a bit, “Harder,” you whimper at him. He readjusts his grip slightly causing your breathing to become uneven. The mixture of the tight grip on your neck and his tongue in your mouth causes you to pull away for a second to catch your breath. Rafe immediately pulls you back in basically fucking your mouth with his tongue. The sensation from Rafe on your lips and JJ on your breasts cause your core to tighten.

JJ unbuttons your shorts, slipping his hands down feeling your pussy shudder at the sudden touch, “Fuck, she’s soaking,” he tells Rafe. His fingers move your panties to the side, slipping into your heat. You pull away from Rafe whimpering, panting from the pressure on your core. Rafe starts to rub figures on your clit joining JJ. The two begin to match each other’s pace, JJ pumping two fingers in and out of you with Rafe rubbing your clit leaving you wanting for more. Rafe’s other hand returns to your throat stimulating you further causing you to let out a loud moan, “Come on, let me hear you scream,” JJ mumbles in your ear-biting your lower lobe. You feel yourself getting closer, and let out a shrieking scream as you cum all over JJ’s fingers.

JJ slips his fingers out, glistening with your juices. He taps your lips urging you to suck his fingers clean.

You lean forward wrapping your pink lips around them tasting yourself, you lick a long strip gathering your wetness before wrapping your mouth around his fingers again pulling away when you feel satisfied. You felt their members poking your thighs, reaching out grabbing both of them rubbing them through their pants, “How about you suck us off like you just did with his fingers.” Rafe says while unbuttoning his pants and rolling them down his legs, JJ copies his actions urging you to get on your knees. It’s an intimidating sight, the two standing up with you facing them in their briefs, their bulges prominent.

You pull down each of their boxers, their erections pop out hitting their belly buttons. Grabbing each one in your hands, Rafe’s shaft is a lot thicker, while JJ is winning in length. You pump JJ’s length while wrapping your lips around Rafe’s thick shaft spreading his precum around with your lips. Rolling your tongue around his tip causing him to let out a muffled grunt, he grabs your head having enough with the teasing, “Open wide.” He begins to thrust in your mouth, grabbing your head as leverage letting you adjust to his length before delivering harsher thrusts.

On the other hand, JJ begins to thrust in your hands wanting some pleasure as well. You spread his precum around using it as lubrication before speeding up your movement making him let out tiny grunts. Your movement comes to a halt when Rafe thrusts a little too deep causing you to gag around his length. He gives one more thrust not moving back, causing you to control your breathing around his member. Finally, pulling away and looking at your face with your mascara running, a few tears blotched on your face and your plumped lips.

JJ turns your attention to his length before thrusting a little more in your hands and pulling you up from your knees. He pulls your shorts and panties down tossing them in a random corner of the house, “Come on,” he grunts at the two of you. He tosses you on a random bed before diving in between your legs and smashing his lips against yours.

You reach for his member, but he slaps your hands away. He spreads your legs, eagerly thrusting into you. Both letting out a sigh of relief, lifting your leg he puts it on his shoulder continuing his stirring thrusts. Rafe joins you on the bed, palming your breasts under his large hands. He starts playing with your nipples increasing the pleasure that you’re feeling all over. JJ moves you targeting your g-spot causing your body to rip away from the bed before Rafe grabs a tight grip on your hips pushing you down onto the bed. JJ reaches down rubbing your clit causing your orgasm to build up, “Fuc-k, JJ I’m coming,” you scream out. He places a harsh slap on your clit causing you to jolt and making you feel like you’re floating after calming down from your orgasm.

JJ lays down on the bed pulling you on top of him before Rafe reaches down circling his thumb around your tighter hole, “You’ve ever been touched here,” he whispers in your ear. You shake your head, body trembling from the previous orgasm. JJ pulls his lips against yours giving you an impulsive slap to your ass. Gasping out from the sudden action, JJ swallows your gasps slipping his tongue back in your mouth.

“You got any lube, she’s tight as hell here I got to stretch her out a bit,” Rafe asks JJ. He reaches for a bottle hidden in his dresser tossing it to Rafe who catches it with ease. Pouring some lube over your hole, and his fingers he slowly presses one in your rear. An uncomfortable squeak blurts out from your mouth, which JJ silences with his lips. Rafe continues to stretch you out with his fingers pausing when he feels you stiffen. After managing to get his third finger in, he decides to try it with his cock. He signals JJ to distract you, you feel his member press against your tight hole slightly whimpering, “It’s okay princess, you’re going to beg me to go faster in a minute,” Rafe grunts in your ear. Moving slightly, pushing his length inch by inch, feeling yourself stretch out, you grab JJ to steady yourself. He reaches down rubbing your clit to distract you from the uncomfortable feeling, you feel Rafe’s hips touch your backside when he finally enters you fully, “F-uckk,” he whimpers.

Not moving for a few minutes, he feels you clench on him causing him to give shallow thrusts, “I want you too,” you tell JJ. He grabs his cock watching it disappear between your legs again, Rafe’s thrusts stopping so you can get used to the feeling of the two. You shut your eyes in pleasure and pain, never feeling this full in your life. The two begin thrusting simultaneously, while Rafe would thrust in, JJ would pull out. Feeling yourself already getting close, you move your hands to your clit rubbing it pleasuring yourself further. Rafe pulls you up moving you towards his body, one hand on your chest while the other grabs your neck once again. JJ moves your hand out of the way replacing it with his own rapidly rubbing your clit.

A new feeling begins to build up with your core causing you to scratch at the air trying to grab onto something, the boys quicken their pace gripping every part of your body trying to get closer to their own orgasm. Beginning to see stars, you try to push JJ’s hands away, his strength preventing you. Your vision goes blurry as you let out silent scream falling limp in Rafe’s arms, “Fuck, she just squirted, that’s so fucking hot,” JJ groans. Finishing up their own orgasm the two fill you up with their cum, milking it out until every bit is inside of you.

Pulling out of you and watching their cum leak out of each of your holes onto your thighs mixing together with your own juices. Slowly opening your eyes from your euphoric state, you face JJ’s baby blue eyes, “Welcome back Sunshine,” he grins at you. Rafe begins leaving sloppy kisses all over your body, your body trembling from the new feeling.

He reaches down getting close to your heat before you can stop him, his fingers slip inside you gathering your wetness using it as lubrication. Your body moves off the bed trying to move away from him because of the overstimulation, “Please, Rafe I can’t anymore.” JJ pulls you on his lap whispering sweet things in your ears, “He didn’t see you squirt babe, you going show him how beautiful you look right?” JJ asks you while twisting your nipples between your fingers. Rafe nods his head giving you a pouty look, “You going to do it again right, just for me sweetheart.”

He speeds up his fingers while lowering himself and presses his tongue against your clit at the same time, your body craving him and inviting him further to continue his actions. He finds your g-spot when you let out a yelp, screaming “Right, there.” He claims the same spot over and over again, while JJ continues to whisper in your ear urging you to cum for them. The same feeling comes back building up in your abdomen once again, “I---,” you try to say but it’s too late you squirt all over Rafe’s fingers, tongue and body. Your body trembling and exhausted from the multiple orgasms you had that night. Feeling satisfied with seeing your shaking body because of what he did, he pulls his fingers out of you, slipping them in his mouth, licking your juices clean. You sigh at the sight, feeling turned on but no ounce in your body wanting to continue.

JJ leans in one more time leaving a passionate kiss on your lips before laying down beside you, while Rafe lays on the other side. The room is foggy smelling like pure sex and sweat with the only sound echoing through is your deep breathing.

Breaking the silence, “So who was better?” Rafe asks you. You look at the two boys and realize that they were serious, leaving you a giggling mess you shake your head at them.

“I never said I’ll choose, I just said you guys should do me instead of fighting,” you tell the two before wrapping your arms around Rafe pulling JJ closer to cuddle you from behind. They share a look before leaning in pressing their lips against your body again.

“Maybe, we need to try it again, so that you have an actual answer.”

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron smut #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron x reader smut #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank smut #jj maybank x reader smut #outer banks

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alpacaparkaseok · 3 years

Text

Mine

12. Skydiving with no parachute

Genre: Min Yoongi x oc

Warnings: none

Word Count: 3.3k

“You’re all packed and ready to go, right?” Sebastian’s voice is loud and clear as I put him on speaker phone and place him on the nightstand.

“Just about,” I respond, folding another shirt and placing it in my suitcase. “I’m just wrapping it up right now. What time will you guys be here tomorrow?”

Bong-cha is out for a meeting at the Bighit building, she promised to come back as soon as possible so we could enjoy the evening together. I decided to make the most of my afternoon and pack everything up.

“Rhea said we’ll swing by at 6.”

Our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 9:30, sending us back over to Europe for another week of promos and then we’ll be off to the states. Home sweet home.

“Ok, sounds great.”

“See ya tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

For all that’s gone on over the past few weeks, today is too calm and quiet. I have the entire house to myself, nobody is blowing up my phone, and I have nowhere to really go today. Any other day, I would have been over the moon about my current situation...but I can’t help but feel a little restless.

Yoongi and I brainstormed yesterday for a long time, trying to figure out just how we were going to make this work. Living on opposite sides of the world and the both of us having busy schedules that just so happen to be in the spotlight isn’t exactly making this easy.

There was a point yesterday where Yoongi stopped mid-sentence and looked at me with bright red cheeks.

“Is this moving too fast? I mean, I know you said we’re on the same page, but I think we should try to make this as normal as possible, you know?”

That statement alone was enough to have me swooning over him all over again. “I’m with you on that. I think right now...should we just focus on the basics?”

To be honest, I still don’t even know what we are, but I’m just happy to know that we are something.

At least, that’s what I’m trying to entertain myself with now that I’m just sitting on the couch and staring at Bong-cha’s TV. I’m not even sure what I’m watching, the thoughts in my head are too loud to think around anyway.

There’s a lot that I end up doing within the confines of the apartment. I can safely say that I’ve completed 12 ½ squats, 3 pushups, and one thirty second wall sit.

I’ve also eaten approximately three meals in the past two hours, so yeah. Boredom can be a dangerous thing, can’t it?

The reality of the situation is this: I’ve completed everything I need to do for the day, and now I’m just trying to stop myself from marching back into my room and folding Yoongi’s black shirt for the fifth time.

Eventually I end up scrolling through the outlines my agent has sent me, mulling over each option. There’s one project that is especially calling my name, but from what I’ve heard there’s a couple of pretty big actresses going after it.

I’m in the middle of a very convincing monologue when Bong-cha walks in.

“Wow,” she chuckles at me while dropping her bag on the counter. “Looks like you’re having a great time.”

“Oh, yeah.” I shrug, putting my phone away. “I’m trying to memorize this monologue for an audition. It’s all about this forbidden love back in the 1700s, it sounds like it would be pretty intense. But people love that kind of crap, you know? Hey, how was your meeting?”

Bong-cha is slipping into her room to change into something more comfortable. “It was fine, pretty boring. Just wrapping up some final details. Jungkook said to tell you hello, by the way.”

We both know who I’m really itching to ask about, but I refrain from asking for the time being. “So what’s on the agenda for tonight? We can go out, eat at that one restaurant, you know the one by the park? That place never gets old. Or we can stay in, order takeout.” I quickly add once I notice the look of pure exhaustion on Bong-cha’s face.

Rolling her shoulders, she shoots me a tired smile. “Don’t you want to go out? I don’t want to be lame for your last night here.”

“No, I really don’t care. Sometimes it’s nice to just chill at home.”

It doesn’t take much more convincing before Bong-cha is on the phone and ordering up some food. We settle down in the front room, bickering over different movies and chatting about my promo schedule.

“So you’re going back to Europe? Why? Weren’t you just there?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Yeah, but we weren’t able to finish up everything that we wanted to because we came here. So we’ll be there for a week in Germany and Italy.”

“And then you’re heading home?”

“Yep.”

“When are you going to start bringing me souvenirs? I always-” Bong-cha is cut off by the sound of someone knocking on the door. “Oh, there’s the food. Anyways, like I was saying- oh!”

I jump up from my seat, heart pounding in my chest as I hope against hope that a certain dear friend of mine is at the door.

“Hi, I intercepted your delivery guy.”

Jimin holds up our food with a shy smile, giving me a little wave. Bong-cha takes a moment to recover, but when she does she invites him in and scolds him for doing the deliverer’s job.

“Are you packed now?” Jimin asks me from where he’s unloading our food on the counter. Bong-cha is moving about in a frenzy, pulling glasses from the cupboards and shooting me panicked expressions any chance she gets.

It’s all I can do to not burst out laughing at the situation. “Yeah, everything is ready to go. Actually, would you mind taking something back to Yoongi for me?” When Jimin nods I rush into my room and grab the black t-shirt from my bed.

“Wow, you stole his clothes? That’s pretty bold of you,” Jimin teases me before setting the shirt down where he’ll remember it. “Here’s your plate.”

I take the plate from him, making some lame excuse about needing something from the kitchen and sidling over to Bong-cha. “Invite him to stay for the movie,” I breathe out, hoping she hears me.

“Have you eaten?” Bong-cha asks as she stomps on my foot. I yelp, rushing out of the kitchen.

“No, not yet. I’ll eat later, though.”

“Well...Cara and I were just going to watch a movie tonight. You can stay if you want, we’ll order more food.”

Jimin’s smile could power New York City as he looks at Bong-cha. “Sure, that’d be nice.”

We fall into an easy conversation, the three of us lounging about and scarfing down our food. Jimin ends up ordering a ghastly amount of food and treats, so much that it looks like we’re hosting a party. I can tell that Bong-cha is one churro away from offering Jimin her hand in marriage as he laughs at a funny part in the movie.

7:06 ME: Soooo Jimin and Bong-cha?

It’s surprisingly easy to angle my phone away from their attention as the two of them are lost in their own little world. One watches the movie while the other watches the person, and then they switch.

7:09 MYG: What, the fact that he’s completely whipped for her?

“What are you over there giggling about?” Bong-cha asks me, wiggling her eyebrows. Jimin tries to do the same, looking like some evil experiment.

“What? The movie is really funny.”

“Cara.”

“Yeah?”

“The main character’s mother just died.”

“Oh.”

Jimin leans back, stretching a bit. “I bet she’s texting Yoongi. That’s all he’s ever doing these days, anyways.” My face burns which leads Jimin to give a triumphant shout.

“Has he confessed his undying love for you yet?” Bong-cha asks. Jimin jumps in next.

“He basically did yesterday, didn’t he?”

“No, Cara just said that they’re working through the basics. No ‘I love yous’ or anything yet.”

“Yeah,” Jimin rests his hands on his knees, angling himself toward Bong-cha. “But actions speak louder than words.”

Now Bong-cha leans forward as well, my own participation in this conversation long forgotten. “That’s true, but you can’t just rely on actions alone! Sometimes words are necessary.”

“So girls want actions and words?”

“Of course they do! Actions can be misleading, words at least offer a clear explanation!”

Jimin looks like he’s caught between telling Bong-cha he loves her or pulling her closer. “But words can be misleading as well! Why can’t people just connect the dots through someone’s actions?”

7:12 ME: Oh my gosh they’ve got it baaaad

7:12 ME: This is honestly the most fun I’ve had all day, just watching them. Are they always this oblivious?

“Because nobody should have to rely on that one thing alone! There should be a healthy balance between actions and words. Say what you intend, and follow up with your actions! It’s as simple as that!” Bong-cha is nearly panting, but there’s a hint of a smile curling around her lips.

Jimin scans her face for a moment longer, eyes lingering on the bridge of her nose and the way her hair falls into her face when she’s riled up.

“Huh. Interesting.” With that Jimin sits back, returning his attention to the screen. Bong-cha follows suit almost immediately.

“Idiots,” I mumble under my breath.

“What was that?” Bong-cha asks.

“Oh, nothing. Just reading out loud.”

🌙

12:17 MYG: Sorry, I just got out of a meeting. I didn’t mean to not respond. To answer your question, yes. They’re always like that.

I’m wide awake and staring up at the ceiling when Yoongi messages me. Snatching my phone from the bedside table, I scan the text.

12:18 ME: You just finished your meeting? Why was it so late?

12:20 MYG: I had to change some things with the mixtape, so there were a lot of things to go over.

Frowning, I hastily type out another question.

12:21 ME: What are you changing? I thought it was perfect the way it was before, but I’m sure whatever you changed will be good too.

12:25 MYG: It’s not as bad as it sounds. I just finally found a concept that I thought really fit. Now we’re just trying to make sure everything flows with the concept.

12:27 ME: What’s the new concept?

A while passes before Yoongi responds, and I try to trick myself into thinking that we’re done talking for the night so I can finally get some rest. Of course, once my phone lights up with a new message I’m just as awake as ever.

12:52 MYG: You’ll see when it drops in December 😌

12:55 ME: Rude.

12:57 MYG: Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping right now? What time are you leaving in the morning?

1:00 ME: Leaving here at 6, flight leaves at 9:30.

Sighing into the darkness I watch at those three little dots appear at the bottom of the screen. I can’t lie and say that I wasn’t disappointed that I didn’t even get to see Yoongi today, but it’s just now that I’m realizing I didn’t even get to say goodbye.

I’ve told myself a million times today that this is just how it’s going to be, and that I’ll just take what I can get. If it’s tired late night texts, then I’ll take it.

I think that scares me. It scares me, how little I want from him. How he has so much sway over my heart.

It’s a good scary, I think. Like the kind of scared you get before you jump out of a plane, your first time going skydiving. Right now I’m just hoping that my parachute isn’t riddled with holes, but as I stare at those three little dots, I’m wondering if I even remembered to put a parachute on in the first place.

1:02 MYG: You should go to sleep, Car. Let’s facetime tomorrow? Just shoot me a text when you land.

As my tired fingers text out a goodnight, I can’t help but feel like I’m an idiot for skydiving without a parachute, because the ground seems to be approaching too fast.

🌙

All I know is there’s an alarm going off, and I want to kill it.

“Whaaaat do you want from meeee,” I groan out as I fumble in the darkness for my phone. Once it’s silenced, I check the time.

5:15 am. I’m disgusted.

Stumbling around the room until I hit the lightswitch, I hiss as light fills the room. Through squinted eyes I can see my suitcase and the clothes I laid out for today. I’m ashamed to say that I nearly sustained a concussion while attempting to put my pants on, my tangled legs and the dresser being the main culprits.

I think it goes without saying that by the time I emerge from the room and finish brushing my teeth, I’m ready to go back to bed.

The sounds of Bong-cha using the toaster guide me, suitcase in tow. Now comes the hardest part: saying goodbye.

“Do you want jam as well or just butter?” A deep, tired sounding voice asks me.

Min Yoongi stands before the toaster, decked out in sweats and a sweatshirt. His hair is a mess, standing up on the ends. His eyes are still half-closed, his lips in a pout as he turns to face me.

I gape at him, taking in what I think might be his best choice of outfit ever. “Is this a dream?”

He shakes his head slowly. “It’s too cold outside to be a dream. Jam or just butter?”

Later I’ll cover for myself and claim that my tears were just a side effect of the early morning and the long day ahead of me, but right now I can’t think up any excuse as hot tears start falling down my cheeks.

“J-jam.”

Yoongi’s eyes widen as he notices my predicament, and he clears the kitchen in no time, leaving the toast abandoned. I think he must be tired as well, because he doesn’t even hesitate before pulling me into his arms and squeezing me tight.

My arms wrap around his back, hands getting lost in the fabric of his hoodie. He presses his lips to the top of my head, the action causing me to snuggle in even deeper and get his hoodie all wet with my tears.

“Y-you came...and made m-me toast?” The words are muffled, but it’s quiet enough in the house that he hears me.

“Should I not have?” Yoongi asks, and I pull away just enough to look up at him, scowling.

“No, I’m happy you d-did. It’s just…” I take a steadying breath, more tears flooding my eyes as Yoongi looks down at me with a soft expression I’ve never seen before.

“I know.” He pulls me back in, hands rubbing soothing circles on my back. “I know, Car.”

We stay like that for a long while, and it’s only when my sniffles have subsided that Yoongi gently takes my hands in his and leads me over to the kitchen island. I sit down, watching as he spreads butter and then jam onto my toast.

Setting the plate before me he reaches into the fridge for some orange juice and pours us both a glass.

“Sorry, it’s probably cold now.”

I shake my head, taking another bite. “Still tastes good. Thank you.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Yoongi gets up, one hand tracing over my shoulders and he walks over to the couch. “This is for you.”

He hands me a small package wrapped in brown wrapping paper, a black ribbon tied around the middle. I raise my eyebrows at him.

“A present? Can I open it?”

“Open it when you get to your hotel tonight.” Yoongi looks a bit embarrassed as he sits back down, and I realize that he might be feeling a little out of his element here. After all, when was the last time he ever had a relationship?

I get up and put the package away in my suitcase, groaning when I check the time. Everyone should be here in about 5 minutes.

“Times up?”

Looking up I see Yoongi wandering over to me, hands pushing his hair back in an effort to tame it. I nod solemnly.

We don’t speak a word as I meet him halfway, fingers entangling themselves in the hair at the nape of his neck. He closes his eyes for a moment, and I take advantage of the situation, leaning up and pressing a peck to his jaw.

I can hear his sharp intake of breath, quickly followed by Bong-cha’s annoyed voice.

“Really? Get a room, losers.”

Blushing madly, I try to squirm out of Yoongi’s grasp but his gruff laugh has me stilling in his arms. “Turn around, Bong-cha.” Without waiting to see if she will, Yoongi leans down and presses a long, slow kiss to my lips.

It’s not nearly long enough as the sound of a car honking outside pulls us apart. Yoongi has a somber look in his eyes as he gives me an encouraging nod and a small peck to my forehead before stepping back.

Bong-cha skips forward, launching herself into my arms. “You two are gross, but I still love you.”

“Love you too,” I whisper, my tears threatening to make a reappearance. Bong-cha seems to pick up on it, shoving the handle of my suitcase into my hands and pushing me toward the door.

Yoongi beats me to it, swinging it open and clenching his jaw as a blast of cold air hits us. Without a word he takes my suitcase and heads out, leaving me with nothing to do but follow him and hope I have everything.

“Bong-cha?” I turn around to see my friend wrapping her arms around her middle.

“Yeah?”

“Keep me updated. Jimin...he really likes you.”

My friend doesn’t have it in her to roll her eyes, instead just nodding before waving me off. She’s never been one for goodbyes.

Yoongi is already at the car, handing my suitcase off to Ren who hoists it into the car. He looks like he’s freezing, but as he turns to wave me over I decide that freezing looks good on him.

“Be careful, call me, text me, have a safe flight-”

“You’ve got to stop worrying so much, Yoongs.”

Smiling down at me even as he shivers, Yoongi pulls me in for another embrace. There are so many words hanging between us, but I choose to sweep past them and opt to nuzzle my face deeper into Yoongi’s neck.

“See you soon.”

I sigh, hoping that I will. “Yeah, soon.”

🌙

The airport, flight, and car ride to the hotel pass in a blur of shapes and colors. I vaguely remember there being a mob at both the Seoul and Berlin airports, but I was stuffed so tightly between security that I could hardly see anything.

Now, sitting on the edge of my bed, I hold onto the little package from Yoongi. Holding my breath, I untie the ribbon and tear open the paper, chewing on my lip.

An audible gasp leaves my lips as I hold up Yoongi’s black t-shirt. As it unfolds, a small slip of paper flutters to the ground. Holding the shirt to my nose I grin as I realize Yoongi must have sprayed it with his cologne. I wonder who’s idea that was; my bet is on Jimin.

Grabbing the paper, I flip it over to see Yoongi’s handwriting.

It looks better on you.

Chuckling softly to myself, I hurry and slip the shirt over my head. It’s quiet in here, but soon the sound of my video call fills the room as I anxiously wait for Yoongi to pick up.

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wavesmp3 · 4 years

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eurydice

minghao x reader - retelling of orpheus and eurydice, steampunk au - warnings: death - wc: 3.8k - for cwc fall fic fest !

---

minghao hadn’t expected the underworld to be this quiet. although, when he thinks about it, he isn’t sure what he did expect. there’s an eerie stillness in the silent air that drips down his torso and dangles by his feet begging him to stay. be weary of the underworld the guide had warned him it lives to tempt fools like you.

‘fool’ was the word the guide had used. minghao had denied it in the moment. “love,” he said to the guide, with a determined set to his jaw, “i’m doing this for love.” but now as he wanders the silent darkness and unnatural heat of the underworld with only a lantern to light his passage, he thinks that perhaps the guide wasn’t too far off. for his love made him foolish enough to make a deal with a demon and travel the underworld all in search of you.

“you came.” you say to him once he finds you with a voice so quiet it almost gets lost before it reaches his ears. you don’t look shocked to see him. you don’t even look happy. in fact, you barely look like you. minghao doesn’t recognize the hollowed shape of your face and the dull line your lips make. he found your body in the darkness, but for a moment, minghao can’t be positive he found you with it.

“of course,” he gulps, and you don’t make any indication that you’ve even heard him speak. he swallows again and shifts the lantern to his other hand, bouncing slightly on his heels. he fights the urge to shove his fists into pockets, and another, more prominent urge to turn around and run straight for the sun. “you waited.”

“well, yeah,” you shrug, “what else is a dead person supposed to do?”

minghao remembers the day you died. remembers it too well, almost. he remembers the ringing in his ears and a hollowness inside his chest. he remembers the way he couldn’t cry. the way he couldn’t feel sad. he remembers hearing that you had died and thinking there was no way in hell he’d let it stay like that. minghao knew, from the moment he heard, that he’d come and find you.

minghao hasn’t cried. but right now, staring at the face of someone who’s been dead for too long, he feels like he just might.

“you made a deal with a demon.” you repeat, voice still void of anything sounding remotely like you.

“yeah.” he says, picking at a spot below his chin, faking nonchalance in the same way he would’ve when he first met you. the same nonchalance that you used to poke his side and tease him for. but when he does it right now, you barely seem to register the words let alone the tone of them. “for you. i made a deal for you.”

you nod. “what is it?”

“you get to come with me back to the real world...”

“...but?”

“but you have to walk behind me the entire time. and I can’t look back. not once, not until we’re back up above.”

“and what happens if you do?”

“you die.” he waits a beat. “again.”

you utter something incomprehensible, a small croak that sounds faintly like a scoff. “kind of like eurydice.”

minghao leans forward. “what?”

you meet his eyes suddenly, as if only now realizing he’s been next to you this entire time. you blink. “nevermind.”

you don’t make a sound after that, don’t even move a muscle. minghao didn’t expect you to be elated, but he did expect you to at least be surprised. and your lack of shock, your lack of… you, creates a knee-deep river of doubt in his mind. “you don’t have to come with me.” he says with what he hopes is reassurance. “i didn’t come here to force you back. i came here to ask.”

and the silence that comes after he says it stretches into eternity. an infinite eternity that ends the second your mouth twitches, just barely, into what minghao swears is a smile. “you came.”

he inhales, and the air tastes faintly like hope. “i couldn’t let you go.”

“okay.” you accept, fiddling with something minghao can’t make out in your hand. and the admission, makes him release a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. minghao knew coming down here was a shot in the dark. literally. his friends had made sure he knew. even the guide had made it clear: sometimes the dead don’t want to return. so, yeah, minghao knew there was no guarantee you’d want to follow him back to the real world and no guarantee you’d agree to the demon’s terms. but all that doubt, all those voices telling him no seem so insignificant when he hears you say: “i’ll come with you.”

you meet his eyes again, and this time they look a little more like yours.

throughout his relationship with you, minghao grew fond of the way you cracked your knuckles and joints. it’s stress relief you’d tell him popping your neck for the fifth time that morning. he’d found it odd at first, concerning even. but now days, minghao can’t seem to find the way you crack your back every time you get up as anything but endearing.

even now, as you pace around the small, tattered couch that you had bought off of the old apothecary owner, cracking your knuckles anxiously, minghao feels nothing more than a small, comforting pang of affection for the way you worry about tomorrow’s work at the plant.

“it’s a really big shipment,” you tell him, coming around the couch for what he counts as the sixteenth time, “and i’m gonna be running it alone.”

“you’ve done solo shipments before.”

“not one like this.”

“i think,” minghao says, patting the spot next to him on the couch, “you’ll be fine.” you slump into the couch, the green cloth almost swallowing you whole.

“yeah,” you nod, leaning into his side, “you’re probably right.”

“and also,” minghao begins, reaching over to retrieve a piece of folded paper from his coat pocket, “soonyoung gave this to me today.”

he hands you the ad for a ticket to center circle. tickets to center circle are hard to come by and expensive to buy. but minghao figures if he pitches some money in, you’ll have just enough for a one-way ticket there.

you study the ad for a while, running your finger against the crease in the paper. minghao shifts uncomfortably in his seat while you do.

wordlessly, you fold the paper back up and toss it on the coffee table.

minghao gulps. “you don’t want it?”

“i don’t need it anymore.” you shrug.

“but it’s your dream.” he insists, hoping his face doesn’t give away how happy he is that you want to stay in ironport.

burying your face against his body, you murmur, “dreams change.”

this time, minghao doesn’t hide his elation at the news.

the walk to the real world begins quietly.

“do you remember the myth of orpheus and eurydice?” you say from somewhere behind minghao, voice quiet and yet far. and yes, it must be far because the words sound like they’ve been echoing off the rocks and stones for years.

“remind me.”

“from what i can remember, they were in love.” you wait a moment, and minghao could bet that if he turned around right now, he’d find you somewhere far behind him, cracking your knuckles. “and when eurydice died, orpheus convinced hades to let her go on the same terms as your deal with the demon. or something like that.”

“i see,” minghao whispers. “so what happened when they made it back to earth?”

“that’s the thing,” you say, this time nearly yelling the words, “they didn’t. orpheus looked back at the last second.”

minghao stops walking. “well, that’s not going to be us.”

he hears you sigh. “i know.”

minghao starts walking again, holding up the lantern that emits just enough light to see his feet and nothing else. “so why’d he look back?”

“i don’t think the myth really says. some say he got impatient. others say orpheus began to doubt that eurydice was actually behind him and then also doubt that hades would ever let her go. but I think they’re all wrong. maybe he looked back because eurydice asked him to.”

the implication makes minghao gulp. “why would she do that?”

you don’t answer the question. “why do you think orpheus turned?”

“i don’t know.”

“turn around and you will.”

“that’s not funny.”

quietly, you say: “it wasn’t a joke.”

minghao pretends to not hear.

when minghao realized he loved you, it wasn’t something big or spectacular. it wasn’t a tidal wave of emotion that crashed and dragged him below the tide. rather, it was a small wave of adoration that lapped by his feet, a cool and calm sensation that made him want to dig his heels in the sand and wade further into the water.

when minghao realizes he loves you, you’re sitting on his kitchen counter, complaining about work.

“i love you.” he admits, walking towards where you sit. he doesn’t miss the way you still and the way you refuse to look anywhere but at your own hands. and minghao knows it’s too soon, too fast. it’s only been two months since he’s known you. one month since you started dating. he knows it’s too soon to have fallen in love. but that doesn’t really change the fact that he has. he repeats it, feeling a deep need to cement this moment further into his memory and another to memorize the image of you sitting on his kitchen counter smiling at your hands.

“for real?” you mutter, biting back either a smile or a laugh, minghao can’t be sure which one. he nods, wrapping his arms around your waist. you crack a lone knuckle. “well that makes this awkward, and i really hadn’t planned on telling you liked this but,” you hold up your left hand, the ring that’s usually on your middle finger now fitted around your ring finger, “i’m actually married.”

“really?” he leans back. you give him a sympathetic nod. “to who?”

you switch the ring back. “oh well to the music of course.”

“yeah,” minghao laughs, leaning forward until his forehead is pressed against yours, “i’m definitely in love with you.”

you don’t hide the smile this time. instead you take his face between his palms and press your lips to his.

it’s three weeks after that moment in his kitchen, that you return the statement, although you don’t return it with the words themself.

he meets you on one of the benches outside the warehouse after work. when you see him approaching, something seems to visibly soften throughout your entire body. you pull him down to sit next to you on the bench, wrap your arms around his torso under his heavy coat, and bury your face into the space between his shoulder and his chest.

minghao’s surprised by the gesture. you were never one to initiate affectionate and even less likely in public. he places a kiss on your temple. “you okay?”

“i had the worst day at the plant.” you mumble into his coat.

“do you wanna talk about it?”

“no,” you hesitate as if deciding what it is that you do want. after a moment you answer: “i just want you near.”

“do you feel that?” minghao hears you ask.

“feel what?”

“the rain?”

he holds out his palm and stares at the darkness above. how could it possibly rain in a place like this, minghao wonders to himself.

“no.” he finally answers. “i don’t feel anything.”

“it’s pouring!” he can’t tell. he doesn’t hear the rain, doesn’t hear the thunder you claim to have heard. but he hears your voice, and it sounds warbled as if coming from behind curtains and curtains of pounding rain. he can tell you’re yelling to be heard over it. “you still don’t feel it?”

“no!” he yells back.

“i’m tired.”

“we’re almost there.” he says to the darkness that stretches before him, praying that it bounces off the emptiness of this world and finds you. “we just have to make it through the night.”

“no, minghao, i’m tired.” you repeat frustrated. and with the way you say it, minghao isn’t sure what exactly you’re tired of.

“do you remember your first storm in ironport?” he asks, a desperate attempt to take your mind off the current storm, and another, more hopeless try to make you miss home.

“yeah,” you murmur, voice no longer a desperate yell. and yet somehow, minghao hears you better now than he did before. “how could i forget?”

the day of your first ironport strom is also the day of you and minghao’s first kiss.

in all transparency, minghao hadn’t noticed the dark clouds gathering above and the distant rumbling coming from the farmlands in the west. he’d been too distracted with watching you nod off during the trolley ride back from the warehouse, too distracted trying to make sure your head stayed perfectly balanced on his shoulder.

but by the time the trolley does squeak and stutter to your stop, it’s pouring. you slowly get up and hover by the exit, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. “i bet you hadn’t insisted on taking me home now.” you say between a yawn.

minghao shakes his head and joins you by the exit, wearing a smile that feels too bright against the weather outside. “make a run for it?” he suggests.

you scrunch your nose and crack your knuckles. “yeah, okay.” you find his hand, and fit it against your own. “ready?”

minghao swallows the fluttering in his stomach. “ready.”

despite the running and shocked yelps, you’re drenched before you even make it to the end of the street. and it’s sometime after the second turn that you both give up entirely, jumping into puddles at the corner of rosebud and kicking water at each other.

“look,” you exclaim, pointing at the sky, “there’s a break in the clouds.” minghao looks up at where you point. ironport is known for its ferocious storms with dark grey and angry clouds that tumble across the sky and linger there for days on end. minghao, living in ironport his whole life, has seen his fair share of the town’s storms, but this, minghao has never seen. over the farmlands, the clouds part across the sky and a golden light comes pouring over the grassy hills. and for a small moment, gazing upon the sky’s golden spotlight, minghao lets himself believe that the heavens are real. your voice comes out low. “it’s beautiful isn’t it?”

his eyes land on you. “yeah, it is.”

and minghao’s so lost, mindlessly staring at you that he almost doesn’t register the way you stare back at him with a lopsided smile, grab his color, and pull him towards you until his lips meet yours.

almost.

“still raining?” minghao asks, just to check if you’re still behind.

“yeah.”

“you must be drenched.”

“i am.” you pause. “and cold.” it must be a test, minghao thinks. or a trial of some sort, because how is he supposed to not turn around right at this moment and give you something to make you warm. with a sinking feeling that never seems to diminish in the underworld, minghao trudges on through the dark. he’s pulled out of his thoughts when you ask: “how do you know you’ve made a mistake?”

he tilts his head at the question. it’s an odd question, yes. but something to pass the time he assumes. “you know the sensation you get on the air lift right before the drop by the watchtower.” he waits for some affirmation that you’ve heard. it never comes. “it feels like that for me. like a rock in my gut. i know i’ve made a mistake because i feel the wrongness of it.”

you let out a small cough. “do you feel that right now?”

“no.” something akin to fear settles underneath his tongue. “do you?”

it’s after you’ve been in town for a month that soonyoung asks if you and minghao are friends. minghao doesn’t think to mention the way you two have been hanging out at the warehouse every day after work or how much he enjoys talking with you. it doesn’t phase minghao to describe the lack of air in his lungs each time you’re so much as mentioned or the smile that appears whenever you’re near. instead, he shrugs, and says, “yeah, i guess we’ve gotten close.”

“it stopped raining,” you murmur softly, sounding close. so close minghao thinks he can smell the rainwater dripping from your clothes and hear your arms flailing in the darkness. it takes a moment for him to realize, you actually are.

“when did you get so close?”

“oh, minghao,” you smile, or at least he imagines you do, “i’ve never been far.”

the second time minghao sees you is not a coincidence. he’s been spending every evening at the warehouse since your first conversation together, hoping at some point in the night you’ll walk in with the other plant workers. until finally one night you do.

“small world.” he begins, meeting you at the bar.

“yeah,” you reply, and a sudden warmth fills minghao when you purse your lips, as if there’s a private joke hiding behind your teeth. “we’re all closer than we think.”

the first thing minghao thinks when a sort of warmth fills his body, is that there’s a fire growing in the dark abyss that is the road between the underworld and the real one.

it’s only when he hears you say, “minghao is that the…?” does he realize that the warmth lingering in his fingertips is from the sun. the world around him is still entirely dark, the only light being from the lantern still. but before minghao sees the light of the sun, he can feel the sunlight and taste it on his tongue.

“it’s almost over,” he says to the new warmth in his knees and to you who’s now so close behind him.

you don’t respond. and some small part of minghao that’s buried under oceans of grief and love, knows what the silence means. a miniscule, almost negligible, part of minghao knows how to interpret your lack of response.

but the larger, more intruding part of minghao that can’t bear the idea of letting you go, selfishly asks, “what about your dream? what about center circle?”

you sigh, and it’s the first sound you’ve made since noticing the sun. “oh minghao, i stopped caring about center circle the day i met you.”

the first time minghao sees you is at the warehouse. and as soon as you enter with the other plant workers, minghao knows you’re new. he can tell by the way you talk, with an accent that sounds too western to be from around here, and from the way your face is the only one he doesn’t know. curiosity is what he tells himself and soonyoung when asked later that week. minghao approaches you at the warehouse bar because he’s curious. although, curiosity doesn’t begin to explain the churning in his gut and the chill running down his spine as he does.

“hey,” he greets, resting his elbows against the bar. “i’m minghao.”

you study him before answering, as if determining whether you should even bother with giving him your name. lucky for him, you do.

“you new around here?” he asks, despite knowing you are. the polite thing to do, he figures.

“what gave me away?” you snort.

“ironport’s a small town.” he shrugs, with a degree of nonchalance that doesn’t at all match the current pace of his heart. “the people that are born here tend to die here as well.”

“not me.” you mutter, shaking your head. “i’m certainly not dying in ironport.”

minghao seats himself on the barstool next to you. “is there a preferred place of death then?”

“center circle.” you tell him, as the barkeep slides you your drink. “it’s been my dream since forever. i’ve worked my way up from the wallows to the plains and now finally to ironport. if i die before getting to the center circle, i’ll walk there from hell myself.”

“that’s a bold dream.” he responds half-teasing, half-not.

you take a long sip from your drink. “i know.”

“and yet?”

you meet his eyes steadily. “and yet i can’t let it go.”

at the bottom of his gut minghao again feels curiosity tug.

“minghao,” you breathe, so close he can feel it on his shoulder. “come back to me.” he doesn’t respond, acts like he doesn’t even hear the words. instead, he steps forward, feels the warmth of the sun on his cheek, and then sinks back into the cool sensation of your forehead knocking against his neck.

“come back to me, okay?” you repeat into his back. “but don’t come back too soon.”

“and you’ll wait for me?” he asks, yearning for nothing more than to turn around and kiss your eyelids and nose and cheeks and lips. wanting nothing more than to turn around and memorize your face in all the ways he forgot to do while you were alive and on earth.

“well yeah,” you smile against his shirt, “what else is a dead person supposed to do?”

and for a small second, relishing in the sensation of your chest shaking with laughter against his back, minghao feels at peace.

“so have you figured it out yet?” you start, lifting your chin from his shoulder, and interlocking your fingers with his. “have you figured out why orpheus turned?”

“no.” he returns, with a squeeze.

“but i’m about to find out.”

a/n: kind of a mess of a fic at this point, but idk also i may or may not have edited this one bit ...

#minghao scenarios #seventeen scenarios #cwcfff #caratwritersclub #seventeen fanfic #minghao fanfic #minghao imagines #seventeen imagines #minghao fluff #minghao angst #minghao #seventeen #mine #eurydice #wait i used to tag all my writing with my old url too :((#lowqualityseventeen

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t-lostinworlds · 4 years

Text

Hidden Agenda (Tom Holland)

A/N: ITS ABOUT FUCKING DAMN TIME LOL. Christmas was almost a month ago now but ha, better late than never right? no? okay, sorry heh. At least it’s long-er right? still no? yup. Anyhow! I hope you guys enjoy this one! x

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: You were planning on spending Christmas alone but Tom presses that you spend it with him and his family instead. He just so happen to “forget” to mention it to them that you were just his best friend, and not his girlfriend.

Warnings: Nada but my usual typos

Word Count: 8.1k+

Masterlist in Bio

-:-:-:-:-

"Bye guys. I'll see you all soon." Tom bid his last goodbyes as you waited just by the door of a mutual friend's house, the party still in full swing but the two of you have already decided to call it a night.

"Let's just walk yeah?" He turned to you with a smile, offering his arm for you to hold, which you did, gladly.

It was the 23rd of December and the city of London was still as alive as ever, given the fact that it was nearing midnight. The wind was cold with a sprinkle of snow here and there, coating the streets lightly with white. People were all bundled up in layers as they walked under numerous twinkling lights, small chatter and laughs echoing about with the hum of the carols that each open store plays, and nothing could ever scream Christmas more than this.

"You're going back home tomorrow right?" Tom asked, your bodies close together, side by side in an attempt to stay warm. "Nope." You simply answered, not even bothering to give any further details. You didn't have to.

"You're still not in good terms with them?" You shook your head no, sparing Tom a glance to see a frown written on those lips. He didn't need to tell you who he meant since you already know 'them' means your family. You two are close, so naturally, you tell him everything. Well, most of everything.

"What're your plans for Christmas then?"

You shrugged, sighing as you shot him a small smile. "I don't know. I'll probably just stay back at the flat and watch a movie, order take out and eat ice cream. Maybe wear a Christmas hat and jumper for it to be special and not just my typical night." You joked, but Tom lips didn't even twitch as he only stared at you with furrowed brows, frown still intact.

"What, alone?" You looked at him curiously, the concern written on his face only growing to which you only responded with a small nod. "Well, yeah—"

"Yeah, that's not happening." Tom scoffed with a shake of his head. You turned your head fully to look at him confused. "What'd you mean?"

"You're spending Christmas with me."’

He stated casually, almost bluntly as if he didn't have any plans for the holidays whatsoever, his voice firm in a way to tell you that he's already made up his mind.

"You're going to be with your family Tom." You stated, as a matter of fact, since he has already told you what he was doing tomorrow, so him spending Christmas with you doesn't exactly add up. Tom only squared his shoulders, eyes looking straight to avoid your confused gaze.

"Exactly."

It took you a minute to understand what he was trying to say, his proposition slowly registering in your brain before you halted your movements, stopping right in front of him to try and get your point across. "No no no, I'm not going to crash your holiday plans with your family Tom. I'm going to be fine at the flat."

Tom only raised his one messy brow, hands in the pockets of his coat and when he gets in this stance, you know very well that he was ready to argue. "Well, I sure as hell won't let you spend Christmas alone Y/N."

You crossed your arms over your chest to counter him, a frown on your lips as you are not exactly keen on being an intruder to a family celebration, especially if it was this last minute. "I'm not just showing up uninvited, I really don't want to invade."

Tom only chuckled, walking closer to you with a reassuring smile, the corner of his eyes crinkling as his hands landed on your shoulder comfortingly. "You won't. I'll text mum a heads up and we'll go down there together. Trust me, they'd be glad to have you. They've been dying to meet you."

Granted, you haven't met the Hollands.

You've known Tom for so long but you still have yet to meet his family. It was a case of your busy schedule combined with his that you haven't had the chance to go whenever an opportunity pops up. You have met Harry since he's with Tom mostly, but that's about it. So going with him at their house during Christmas, with it a very last minute plan, it was making you a bit nervous, and by a bit, you mean a lot.

You pouted at him, still a bit wary of this idea of his. "Are you a hundred percent sure they won't mind?" Tom flashed you that charming grin, all confident and bright, the one that never fails to make your heart flutter even if you so badly don't want it to. "Completely sure."

"But Tom—"

"Y/N, I really don't want you to spend Christmas alone and we can stay out here in the cold and argue for as long as you want, or you could just say yes right now and spare us the time because you very well know I don't easily back down." He cuts you off with a knowing smile, arms all crossed over his chest to let you know that he was up for the challenge, just like he always is.

You groaned with a roll of your eyes because you just know, deep in your bones, that you weren't getting your way with this, especially when it was crystal clear that he's already made up his mind. He would just keep pushing until you say yes, or either way, he'll drag you down there no questions asked.

Thomas Holland is just stubborn that way.

"Glad to see that you care about how I spend my holidays." You grumbled, your heart fluttering at his concern of not wanting you to spend Christmas all by yourself, a glimmer of hope shining through, your mind playing its daydream as to why that could be.

"I'm your best friend, of course I care." And just like that, the small hope was snuffed out seconds later, a light sting in your heart that you tried your hardest to ignore, but you also can't say you aren't used to it by now.

You shook your head with a timid smile to mask what you truly felt about his statement, letting out a sigh as you looked at the boy in front of you who sported an all-too proud grin on his face. Of course he knows he's winning this. "Fine, fine, I'll go. But you'll come with me early tomorrow for a last minute Christmas shopping. I don't want to show up empty handed."

Tom's face lit up like a Christmas tree at that, his smile only getting wider as he offered you his arm again. Even if you wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug smirk of his, you took his arm nonetheless, a small chuckle escaping out of the boy as he wholeheartedly agreed.

"Deal."

* * *

To say you were nervous would be an understatement.

Your hands were clammy, your heartbeat rapid, and if the look on your face wasn't an enough dead giveaway, your not-so-steady breathing would surely do the trick.

Tom was right beside you as you two walk up to their front door, and he can practically see you physically shake with nerves. You can feel his eyes bore a whole on the side of your head, a look of concern but mostly amusement written on his face.

"Hey, you're going to be fine. I'm sure they'll like you. There's no need to be nervous Y/N." He chuckled, swinging his arm over your shoulder as he pulled you in for a side hug. You only nodded with a sigh, Tom squeezing your arm in comfort as he placed a soft kiss on top of your head.

It was so funny, borderline hilarious how anxious you were feeling on meeting his family. The excitement is there of course but this nagging voice inside your head just seems to overpower everything. It was somewhat of a want for them to approve of you and like you in a way, which doesn't even make any sense or prove any point as to why you want their approval. The thought was just ridiculous given the fact that you aren't even his girlfrien—

"Y/N! Hello darling, nice to finally meet you."

Too caught up in your thoughts that you didn't even notice that you've already reached the door, a lovely woman was standing right in front of you as she opened it wider and pulled you in for a warm and welcoming hug. "Nice to finally meet you too Mrs. Holland." You greeted with a bright smile once you pulled away, her hands grabbing yours as she gave it a squeeze.

"Oh please, call me Nikki. I've heard so much about you already since Tom just won't shut up. He's quite fond of you this boy, I mean it is the first time he's ever brought a girlfriend home."

Your eyes widened in shock once your brain processed the word, your head slowly, almost dramatically turning to look at a red-faced Tom as you try and find some kind of explanation. He met your eyes briefly before he shook his head, your brows furrowing even more when he turned back to his mother, cleared his throat and only said, "Mum it's cold out here."

"Oh! My bad, come in, make yourself at home sweets." You weren't given the time to ask Tom questions as you were ushered inside seconds later. The confusion only consumed you more the longer you wonder as to why Tom didn't bother and correct his mother.

What on earth is this boy doing?

"Look who's here." Nikki announced the moment you reached the living room where most of his family was situated. The loud chime of her voice made three sets of eyes turn to you, all faces sporting wide grins that did nothing but made you feel at ease and comfortable in so little time. Tessa was quick to run and jump at Tom, his voice raising an octave as he greeted his precious girl. You, on the other hand, turned towards the sound of your name.

"Y/N! Glad to see you again." Harry was the first one to stand up and greet you with a warm hug. "Hi Harry, how are you?" You grinned, ruffling his mesh of curls that only made him chuckle. "Never better."

His twin brother, Sam, was the next to introduce himself followed by their youngest, cute little Paddy, freckles and all.

"Ah, so this is the girl Tom won't stop talking about." You felt your cheeks heat up at the sentence, turning around to see Tom's father walk in just seconds later.

"Dad—"

"Hello Mr. Holland." You ignored Tom and turned to the father of the family with a sweet smile, in which he returned graciously.

"That's too formal love, just call me Dom." He greeted with a warm hug. Once you pulled away, you caught a glimpse of Tom just watching with a sheepish grin on his lips, making the confusion in your brain grow even more.

You felt really flattered by the fact that Tom has told his family about you. It makes you feel, somewhat special in a way but of course, being as guarded as yourself, you tried your best not to think much about it. You are pretty sure he's talk about all his friends to his family in the same way he talks about you.

Though you are still very curious as to why Tom's mother thought you're his girlfriend, because that's just far from the truth. But it seems like you can't get him alone to ask. That or he's purposefully avoiding you and your questions, you don't know which is which as of yet.

"Oh Tom, I'll help you with your stuff. I believe you two are sleeping in the guest bedroom." Dom butted in and gave Tom's shoulder a pat. He was about to walk out of the room but your voice stopped him.

"We will be sharing a bedroom?" The words slipped out your mouth before you could even stop it, your brows knitted together, your eyes searching Tom's to which he avoided so evidently. "Well, you two are together and I do trust Tom not to do any funny business." Dom simply said, playfulness laced in his tone.

Well, guess that makes it that most, if not all of his family think you're his girlfriend.

"Seriously Dad?" Tom groaned, palm rubbing on his red face, you found it quite adorable if being honest, maybe even more if you weren't raking your brain for answers as to what the hell is going on.

Dom only chuckled as he gave Tom's shoulder a squeeze. "I'm just messing with you. Come on son, your bags won't carry themselves upstairs." Tom nodded with a sigh. He only spare you a quick glance, shooting you a shy smile with his cheeks all flushed and pink.

You were waiting, just waiting for him to say something, to tell his dad that you weren't together, to correct him too but it never came. It was like he wants them to think that you are in fact together, which isn't the case at all, and you could only think as to why.

Well you're not correcting them either.

Huh, touché.

Of course a part of you was enjoying the moment, you've had feeling for Tom for a while now. With him being so sweet, kind and caring with a side of charm, talent and sexiness, how can you not? So his family thinking that you're his girlfriend? It was pure bliss.

You do hate the way it makes you feel hopeful though. Hopeful that there was something more about this, feelings wise. But you just know he doesn't. If the countless of girls he's been pining for wasn't enough proof, then him saying that he doesn't feel anything for you to Harrison, was.

You didn't mean to eavesdrop on their conversation that night, you just happened to walk in his living room to hear your name, and you got hooked.

"Don't believe anything they tell you." Tom warned playfully, his voice taking you out of your train of thoughts. You furrowed your brows at him confused to which he only gestured behind you, his finger pointed accusingly at his brothers. You turned around to see all three boys smiling innocently at you, though the mischievous glints in their eyes says otherwise.

Oh you were getting some good gossip tonight.

"Come on Tom, how bad can it be?"

* * *

Your laugh was the first thing Tom heard when he walked back inside the living room, a smile making its way onto his lips to see you glowing with joy. Even more so when he saw Tessa situated comfortably on your lap, the precious dog looking up at you sweetly as she listens to whatever you were saying, the way your hand stroked the back of her ear was enough to make her stay right where she is.

The sight alone melted Tom's heart ten times over.

"What are the four of you talking about?" He asked with a brow raise, his brothers looking at you and then back at him before stifling out little chuckles. "What are you telling her boys?" Tom presses even more, dread slowly consuming him on the thought of what his brothers could've spilt this time.

"Don't worry Tom, they're just confirming what I already know." You responded with a wide grin, leaning back on the couch, all calm and smug.

"And that is?"

"That you're really stupid, especially with girls. God the things that you've done." You answered nonchalantly, shaking your head at him teasingly. Tom's cheeks turned a deep shade of red as a number of horrible and embarrassing stories crossed his mind and he was sure the boys told you one, if not all of those said stories.

"Whoops time to check the turkey." Sam was quick to stand and exit the room, chuckles coming out of him to which Tom could only do nothing but watch him disappear.

"I'll help and set the table. Paddy come on." And just like that all three boys were out of sight, leaving you with a curious yet adorably embarrassed Tom. "Seriously, what did they tell you?" You stifled out a laugh at his distressed state, Tom only jutting out his bottom lip in response as he slowly made his way to stand in front of you.

"It's nothing. Just things you did when you were younger. They quite exposed you if I'm being honest but nothing too bad." You answered to try and reassure him, but still, Tom wasn't having it, but he also knows you weren't going to tell him anytime soon either so he decided to just let it go, even if it was bugging him a lot.

"Wow, we just got here and you've already taken over my family." Tom sighed as he plopped beside you on the couch, his eyes glancing down at the dog who rested soundly on your lap, not even bothered by Tom's presence. "You too Tess? This is just outrageous." He protested, arm resting just behind you as he shot you a playful glare, bottom lip all jutted out and you couldn't help but laugh. You shrugged with a wide and proud grin of your own. "What can I say, I am quite the charm."

"Yup, you definitely are." Tom whispered under his breath but he doesn't really realize most of the time when he's speaking out loud, so of course, you heard.

There was a slight change in his tone, a difference in the way he said it that made the butterflies in your stomach go haywire, a certain look on his face that made your brain grow curios but your heart grow hopeful.

Silence rang in the air as none of you decided to speak after that. Tom knows you heard what he just said, the faint blush in his cheeks just screams it, and it was only a matter of seconds for it to grow awkward until you realized that you've got your own questions for him.

"Tom, why does your whole family think that I'm your girl—"

"I got the yearbook!" Paddy came out of nowhere with a toothy grin, book in hand to which you assumed was Tom's, judging by the way he groaned in utter dismay. "You guys really love to embarrass me."

Paddy only giggled as he made his way beside you, handing you the yearbook to which you thanked him for. You turned to Tom to see another mortified look on his face, and you could do nothing but laugh at his reaction. A smirk was plastered on your lips, all teasing and smug as you patted his leg in feign support.

"Hey, that's what brothers are for."

* * *

Dinner was well underway.

The beautiful sound of laughter accompanied by the glorious and delicious smell of the full plates made you feel all warm as you look around the dining table surrounded by a happy family. Tom was sat right beside you, eyes all crinkled as he tried to contain his amusement at bay due to something his Dad had said.

You were holding your end of the conversation as well as his family asks you whatever question they had in mind. It was the typical ones, what you do with work and school, favorite marvel movie – not choosing Spider-Man just to get on Tom's nerves – the usual jazz. Nothing was out of the ordinary until Tom did something cute from the outside looking in, but questionable to you.

"Hey, look at me." He mumbled as he patted your arm softly, making you stop your conversation with Sam to turn and look at your best friend. "Hmm?" You hummed, Tom only smiling at you as his hand took hold of your chin to keep your head in place. The middle of your brows creased, your heartbeat picking up its pace as you stared right at Tom's brown orbs all confused, but you didn't have to ask no more as he brought his napkin up to gently, almost lovingly wipe the gravy that was on the corner of your lips.

"There." Tom flashed you one last smile before turning back to his Dad as if it was nothing, him missing the way you let out the breath you were holding as you tried your best to keep the butterflies from causing any more havoc.

"You two are such an adorable couple." Your head snap back at Nikki who had such a proud grin on her face, looking at you and Tom so adoringly and you didn't want to be the one to ruin it for her, so you just smiled at her shyly, your cheeks all hot as you looked at Tom with the corner of your eyes, the boy still oblivious of the consequences of his actions.

It was such a mundane thing, what Tom just did, and he's done it before too, but somehow, in front of his family, it felt like there was some hidden agenda to it, and you suddenly felt uneasy.

* * *

The festivity was now moved back to the living room, the main lights now dimmed replaced by the glow of the Christmas tree as the TV played Elf. Everyone was scattered everywhere with the young boys on the floor wrapped in big and soft comforters, both parents cuddled on the edge of the couch, while you and Tom sat next to each other on the other end.

You tried your best to focus on the movie, but it was becoming a hard task as your mind processed other things instead. Along with Tom's arm resting over your shoulder, pulling you closer and closer to his side as his fingers played with the ends of your hair? It wasn't easy to stay focused.

Even more so when he—out of nowhere—turned his head to place a soft kiss on your forehead, his lips gentle against your skin as it lingers for more seconds than normal. Your eyes snapped up to meet his to which he was quick to avoid as his brown orbs were back on the television. You were staring at him intently, only breaking your gaze once you caught Dom and Nikki whispering in each other's ear, not so discreetly pointing at the two of you.

You placed your eyes back on Tom, your brows furrowing in concentration and curiosity as if you'll find answers on the dips and valleys of his face.

What is this boy trying to prove? Does he actually have a hidden agenda?

Tom tore his eyes from the TV screen to look down at you seconds later once he felt your burning glare on him. "What're you staring at?" He mumbled, the smirk on his lips slowly growing as you only rolled your eyes at him and stayed quiet, looking down at your hands once you felt your cheeks heat up.

And here you were, back on your never ending train of thoughts, more fuel added to the fire when Nikki and Dom bid their goodnights, the phrase "love birds" thrown about to which you and Tom only responded with timid smiles, the boy beside you still not bothering to correct them at all.

That's when the theory as to why finally hits you.

Everything could be just a big misunderstanding but a part of you can't help but think that maybe the reason why Tom has been acting the way he is the moment you arrived at their doorstep, is to actually make his family think that you are in fact his girlfriend.

Maybe his family has been pestering him to get a girlfriend to the point where it was getting on his nerves. Maybe this has been his plan all along the moment he invited you to spend Christmas with him, to show off to his family so that they'll stop asking questions, so that they can finally stop pressing about his love life. If so, then that would absolutely suck.

A heads up would have been slightly better because if that really was the case, then you just feel utterly used and downright played.

And just like that your mood was quick to switch.

"I think I'll go and get some sleep too." You grumbled as you pulled away from his grasp. You were fast to stand to your full height that it made the middle of Tom's brows crease with worry. "You alright?"

You flashed him a tight-lipped smile, avoiding his eyes as much as possible as you nodded. "Yeah, just tired."

Tom had his thinking face for a second, the one he wears whenever he suspects that you weren't exactly telling him the truth. You were glad though that, that said face only lasted a few seconds. "Okay, I'll be right up in a few."

Once you've said goodnight to the boys, you were quick to turn on your heel as you rushed upstairs, shutting the bedroom door behind you with a long sigh.

You were going to make the most of your time alone, to think and to breathe at least, to have a much needed space given the fact that Tom would most likely show up in a couple minutes and there would be nowhere to escape him.

Perks of sharing a bedroom. Sarcasm greatly intended.

* * *

Lying down alone in bed has always been one of your places to think, or in this case, overthink.

You were torn, still not clear as to what you'd conclude this situation to be. If you've just made a big deal out of the whole situation when it wasn't at all; or that there's definitely something going on and you just know nothing about it. But either way, you can't help but be hurt.

You could try and pretend to actually be his girlfriend and just live in the moment, this has been your dream for so long after all. But you also can't stop thinking about how you're playing yourself if you do exactly that.

If you let him use you for his own gain, then you're just setting yourself for heartbreak in the future.

Your feelings for Tom shouldn't in anyway make him have a pass on lying. What you feel for him should never make him able to get away with everything, especially with the risk of him taking advantage of it. Maybe he knows what you feel, maybe he doesn't, but that still doesn't give him any right to drag you into whatever he's planning without confronting you about it first.

It could've made a difference if he talked to you about it, asked this whole thing as a favor instead of just playing you right into his trap.

Could this actually be the reason why he suddenly thought about bringing you home with him? If so, then he probably doesn't care if you were to spend Christmas all alone.

You were hurt for sure, but you were also very angry, hence why you aren't fully rational with the situation at hand.

You and Tom have never slept in the same room ever before. Same house sure, all the sleepovers can vouch for that, but you've always had your own space whenever that happens. You two have shared a few clothes, and a few stuff but none of you has crossed too much into the other's personal space. Being best friends, it has its perks but it also has boundaries for it to stay that way, which is why you also have never shared a bed.

You weren't exactly sure if you're ready to make tonight the first, especially with the whole 'his family thinks you're his girlfriend' thing going on. You also weren't sure if your heart could really take it, being so near to him in an almost, too intimate setting with your emotions and all.

Having feelings for your best friend is stressful as fuck.

As much as you want him to sleep on the floor, you couldn't find it in you to let it happen. You were definitely mad at him, but just because, you still couldn't let him sleep on the cold, hard floor. So, you opted on placing a pillow in the middle of the bed, a make-shift wall to separate your side and his. It wasn't much, but it was something at least, a needed distance for you not to cross dangerous territory.

The things you do to spare your heart.

You were staring straight at the cream-colored walls, gears in your mind still turning when you heard the door open and then shut, the lock clicking just seconds later, but you stayed still, no movement, no noise.

It was a few minutes of him doing whatever it was he was doing as he walked around the room, into the bathroom and back. You couldn't see him as you tried and pretended to be asleep, your eyes faintly closed; only hearing his footsteps coming closer until you felt the other side of the bed dip. You can definitely feel his eyes on you, just staring, observing, and he was silent for a moment, until he lets out a deep sigh.

Tom knows you, of course he wasn't falling for your little act. "I know you're still awake."

"Oh yay, do you want a cookie for noticing?" You grumbled, still not bothering to turn around. Your back was facing him, but you can just picture him running a hand over his head, a little frustrated maybe, but nothing you can't handle.

"Are you mad at me?" You couldn't help but roll your eyes, your snark getting the best of you because he knows what's been happening the moment you two arrived, so it's only fair that he comes clean with it. "I don't know Tom, should I be mad at you?"

"I don't know too Y/N but judging by this barrier? You definitely are."

You couldn't stop your eyes from rolling again, just out of habit, even though he can't see it. You didn't even try to hide your annoyance as you exclaimed enthusiastically. "Great job! You want another cookie?"

"Y/N, stop with the damn cookies and just tell me what's up." You can hear it in his voice that he was getting riled up, and you want nothing more than to annoy the living daylights out of him, but when he gets heated, you tend to feed off of it too.

"Fine. I'll tell you alright." You tore the blankets off of you in haste, standing back on your bare feet as you glared at Tom who was sat across you, frown written on his lips with a little hint of annoyance still present all over his face.

You crossed your arms over your chest in mere attempt to look intimidating, trying your hardest to not get too distracted since the fucker didn't even have the decency to put a shirt on. "Maybe you should've given me a heads up when you're going to use me as a decoy girlfriend to appease your family."

Tom's face visibly softened at your words, a sigh was heard from him as he lowered his head to avoid your eyes. You stayed quiet and just waited for him to say something, it was after the count of ten—in your head of course—when he looked back up at you with an expression you can't quite read.

"Look, mum just assumed that you are. I definitely am not using you as decoy and I didn't tell them that you're my girlfriend." He reasoned, nervous hand coming up to rub on his shoulder, unconsciously flexing his bicep along the way and you hate how one little thing could affect you so much. You took a breath, replaying that you're mad at him over and over inside your head.

It was rare for Tom to ever lie, and when he does—in most cases—you would be the first to notice. He wasn't lying sure, but you still weren't convinced that he was telling you the full truth.

"But you didn't correct them and say that I'm just your best friend either." You pointed out as you narrowed your eyes at the boy. It was clear in the way he looked away that he was cornered, no more cards to show except for one that Tom wasn't ready to play just yet. Lying wasn't an option either so he tried to shift the conversation instead. "Well, neither did you."

You blinked, completely taken aback by his choice of tone, an accusing one that is. "Oh don't you dare try and pin this on me now Thomas."

Tom knew that his whole name coming out of your lips was warning enough, but being the idiot that he is, of course he decided to poke his head inside his ass some more instead of just being straight up and honest with you. "I'm just saying, you could've told them we weren't together but you didn't so this isn't all on me."

The glint in your eyes made Tom swallow the lump in his throat. But when you spoke with gritted teeth, that's when he knew he might actually have screwed things up. "Unbelievable. You knew how nervous I was to meet your family! How could I ever possibly tell them off? Fuck it, you know what? Don't bother me until you're ready to tell me the truth."

"Y/N—"

"If you do as much as cross the tip of your finger over this pillow I'm going to end you." The threat in your voice was clear and Tom could do nothing more but watch as you climb back in bed, pulling the covers over you rather harshly as you kept your back turned on him.

He laid himself down with a deep sigh, both hands finding its way on the back of his head as he stared up at the ceiling, stealing glances at your form every now and then. His frown only got deeper as the clock ticked by with you still paying him no mind. The silence in the air grew longer, even deafening to the point that it was driving him nuts.

Tom was well aware that you were still up because your breathing wasn't as steady as it should be when you're actually asleep. He knows you like the back of his hand, just as you do about him. Your every quirk, every habit, he notices every single one of them. It was easy for him to know what's been bothering you—well, in most days—and it's definitely easy for him to notice if you're pretending to be asleep, especially if he was just so close.

You had every right to be upset because he was so obviously beating around the bush. He knew fully well how much you hated it when someone isn't being completely truthful right up to your face or otherwise. To add to that, he just had to get in your nerves some more by pushing some of the blame on you too.

Tom wanted nothing more than to smack himself upside the head. He does deserve it.

But one thing for sure was that he shouldn't let this argument reach the morning. He just has to suck it up, gather all the courage he could muster and tell you the whole and honest truth, no matter the consequences. Even if he was putting your friendship at risk.

Slowly, Tom sat up as he leaned back on his arms, eyes casted at the girl who lay just beside him. "Y/N?" Silence. "I know you're still up." More silence.

Come on Tom, you can do better than that.

Swinging his legs off the bed, he stood fully up, quietly rounding the corner and walking towards your side. Tom was right when he suspected that you weren't asleep when you moved quiet abruptly. It was like your motion sensors were on high alert as you were quick to turn around before he could even reach you, keeping your back on him to purposely avoid him.

Crouching down so that he was almost the same level as the bed, Tom lifted a hand up to poke your arm gently, and when you didn't swat him away, he took that as a good sign.

"Y/N, just hear me out please." Tom softly cooed, finger running up and down your arm with a feather-like touch, soothing away your anger in mere seconds. He couldn't stop his smile from growing when he felt you slowly relax, and Tom knew it was only a matter of time before you finally give in. He always took so much pride on how you can't resist him for far too long.

"What do you want?" You grumbled, still not going through the hassle of turning to face him, but only because you know how close he just is. If you did as much as roll on your other side, your face would only be an inch or two from his own, and you aren't sure if your heart can handle that proximity.

"Just want to talk." You spared him a glance over your shoulder, seeing nothing but puppy-dog eyes staring right back at you with his full pout in play. "Please?" Tom added, and all you could do was groan in utter defeat, just knowing that he won't stop unless you talk to him. His stubbornness is one of the reasons why you're here, right at their house during Christmas, in the very first place.

You sat up and moved back until you were near the headboard, crossing your legs as you watch him sit on the space in front of you, right in arms-length.

Tom stared at you for a moment, head tilted to the side with a look you can't quite comprehend, but it did bring that certain flutter you feel in your heart whenever he looks at you, but this time, more intense. Even more so when he suddenly whispered, almost like a breath, his voice soft and gentle, tone laced in pure endearment when he said:

"God you're beautiful."

The warmth in your heart was quick to rise and spread to your cheeks. You willed yourself to think nothing more of his comment than just a poor attempt to distract you. "Tom, spill."

Tom shook his head with a shy chuckle, eyes casted down for a quick second before it was back on yours. "Right uhm, first off, I promise you, I didn't plan this at all. I was just as shocked as you were when mum called you my girlfriend. This was never my reason as to why I invited you here in the first place. And second..."

Trailing off his sentence, Tom slowly moved closer towards you. The sudden change in the atmosphere only made your heartbeat quicken, and when he reached out to take both of your hands in his, all your nerves were on an all-time high. "I didn't correct them and say that you're my best friend and that we're not together or that you're not my girlfriend because... I was uhm, because I really want, no, I don't want you to be." Tom's voice faded as he spoke the last part of his sentence that you didn't quite catch what he said nor did you understand. His eyes were now casted down at his fingers that were gently fiddling with yours, nervousness very clear in his touch.

You furrowed your brows at him, frown on your lips as you softly said. "You're not making any sense." This made Tom throw his head back with a groan, hands letting go of yours as he rubbed them on his face frustratedly. His eyes were shut tight as he mumbled to himself, but the fact that he was so close, you still heard it nonetheless. "Dammit why am I so bad at this?"

"Tom, why didn't you tell them I'm not your girlfriend?" You asked to try and pry the answer out of him, asking him the question that's been hanging over your heads the moment you arrived. Both his arms fell limp on his sides, and when his eyes met yours with a different glimmer coating them, you were nowhere near prepared by his confession.

"Because I enjoyed it okay? I liked the way it sounded when mum called you my girlfriend. I felt so happy just seeing you get along with my brothers instantly, even when the only thing they did was embarrass me. And when you didn't say anything? I was taking every chance that I could to soak it in while it's still there, to pretend to be your boyfriend because maybe it's the only chance that I'll ever get, even if it's not real." You stared at him in shock, words stuck in your throat as your brain still tried to process what you're actually hearing.

Tom's heart was hammering against his chest, loud and fast as he leaned closer, his shaking hand reaching out to hold your face, palm soft against your cheek, thumb stroking your skin ever so gently.

Your eyes blinked as if his touch brought you out of your thoughts. Confusion was written all across your features, a nervous chuckle escaping Tom as he continued, heart and soul poured into his words. "I was enjoying the moment because I don't want you to be just my best friend anymore Y/N, I want you to be more than that. I've had feelings for you for so long now and seeing you tonight with my family only just confirmed that I am hopelessly and deeply in love with you."

You shook your head at him, eyes closing as you tried to get a hold of your sanity, still unable to believe the actual words that came out of his mouth. Because Tom telling you that he loves you? Your best friend? The person who you've been in love with after all this time? It just seems too good to be true. "Don't even try and lie to me Tom."

"Why would I lie to you about this?"

"I heard you telling Harrison you didn't have feelings for me." The slight shake in your voice made Tom's heart ache a little. You were doubtful and Tom knows it's because you were scared of that he was just telling you this just because. He understands why, he knows about your past relationship, of course he understands. But he could never, in a million years lie to you. He never would.

"I was in denial because you don't feel the same way and knowing Harrison, he was for sure going to say something to you if I admitted to him my feelings then. I was scared that it'll ruin our friendship and fuck, maybe I just did right now and I'm just—"

"What makes you think I don't feel the same way?" You cut him off, so many mixed emotions rushing through you in a span of a minute. You were still suspicious, that’s what so much heartbreak can do to you, but that only starts to fade away once you think about who's in front of you. You trust Tom with everything that you are, and that always outweighs every doubt in your mind.

"Because when you—wait, does that mean what I think it means?" The realization that grew on Tom's face made him look ten times more adorable, hopeful eyes looking at you with that bright, charming smile slowly making an appearance.

You bit the insides of your cheeks to stop yourself from grinning, wearing the best poker face that you could to try and seem unfazed. You weren't giving him the satisfaction just yet. "Tom, answer my question."

He shook his head no with a sheepish grin. "But your question is suggestive. Why would you ask me that question if—"

"Yes, I'm in love with you too, you idiot."

Tom was quick to shush your giggles as he pressed his lips against yours, his hand finding its way on the back of your neck to keep your head in place. The kiss was everything you could have ever imagined it to be, so much longing and passion poured into it that it could only make your head spin and your heart grow.

You were consumed in nothing but bliss as his mouth molded yours, his hand finding your waist as he gently pushed you down until you laid flat on your back. Tom situated himself between your legs as soon as you wrapped them around his waist, your arms snaking around his neck to pull him even closer, a soft groan leaving him at the feeling of so little space between you two.

"You have no idea how long I've been daydreaming about this..." Tom whispered, his lips leaving yours as he slowly trailed down, placing a peck on your chin before his lips found its way down your neck. "...about kissing you..." You gasped as he gently nibbled on the skin, trailing even further down to your collarbone as he softly growled. "...all of you."

"I think I do." You breathe out, hand running up and down the back of his neck as he continued to litter you with kisses, some gentle, some... not so much. "Yeah?" The grin in his voice was clear as day as he looked at you through his lashes with a dark glint in his eyes, his hands sneaking under your shirt, fingertips touching you in a way that made goosebumps erupt on your skin.

"Hmm, I've been doing the same." You hummed. Tom's lips hurriedly made its way back on yours as he kissed you hungrily this time, teeth nibbling at your bottom lip before his tongue slipped its way in your mouth. You ran your hands down his bare torso, feeling every bit of muscle, from pecks to abs. It was ridiculous how your simple touch could turn Tom on so much, the blood rushing down that made his sweatpants grow tighter. "I wanna love on you."

You let out a soft moan when he suddenly rutted his hips once, only once to tease you and to tell you just how much he wants you. But as much as you want him too, you couldn't seem to forget about where exactly you two are. "Not tonight Holland. Your parents are right downstairs and your brothers are right across the hall."

Tom only chuckled lowly at that, burying his face back on the crook of your neck as he nipped at your soft spot, earning a gasp from you. "Guess we have to stay quiet then."

"Tempting, but I don't think I can, especially when it's you." You admitted coyly, Tom pulling away at your words as he supported himself on his forearms, eyebrow raised at you with the cockiest grin you've seen him wear. "Oh? Is that so?"

"So next time?" You smiled at him shyly, heat coating your cheeks as you brought a hand up to cup his face. Tom chuckled with a nod, leaning towards your touch like a puppy as he hummed. "Whatever you want love."

He pulled away from your grasp as he sat up, the sudden absence of his touch making your frown. Tom only flashed you a reassuring smile, grabbing the pillow-barrier just beside you and throwing it across the room, the space on the bed now bigger than before. "Won't be needing that anymore." His comment earned a hearty laugh from you, the sound melting Tom's heart as he looked down at you with pure adoration.

"You, my love, are the Best Christmas gift ever." Tom sighed as he leaned down to place a sweet kiss on your lips, snuggling himself back in your arms, face buried in the crook of your neck with an awfully wide smile that he can't seem to wipe off, not that he was complaining.

"Great, because I actually forgot to buy you anything." You teased, hand running up and down his bare back to which Tom could only sigh in pure content. "That's alright, you are more than enough."

"God you're such a cheese ball."

"I've finally got you after so fucking long, my cheesiness isn't going to run out anytime soon darling."

And after a few more giggles, teasing comments, lots of kisses with a sprinkle of 'I love you's here and there, the two you slowly drifted off with smiles on your faces, happy and grateful to be finally in each other's arms.

Christmas at the Holland's went way better than you thought it would.

-:-:-:-:-

Like & Reblog if you enjoyed and let me know what you think! <3

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nanagoswife · 3 years

Text

For You? Always.

Chapter Five

Summary: Your best friend, Sadie, finally arrives. When she arrives, you introduce her to Ben.

W/C: 2.9k

<<Previous, Next>>

Now that you were going to introduce Ben to Sadie, you had to tell her about him first. Since she was also a busy person, the conversation was short.

So, you gave her a small catch-up text after she told you to save the, “juicy details,” for when she got there. Those words only made you laugh, filling you with your usual anticipation of seeing her.

As the week went by, you and Ben had only been able to go to dinner one night, and spent any other time together at work.

He had been wrapped up in work with Siara, leading to late nights and not being able to get much free time.

Ben assured you, though, that he was free for the weekend. Siara confirmed the statement. This weekend was going to be one to remember.

Finally, it was Friday. Sadie said that she would meet you at your office when she arrived despite your insistence to meet her at the airport.

Having little work, you waited for her with ever growing excitement. Time seemed to drag on as you waited.

“Do I smell smoke, or is that just this hotness I see,” Sadie said, standing in your office doorway.

Jumping up, you rushed over to give her a hug, basically barreling her over. The two of you hadn’t seen each other in months when you usually saw each other at least once a month.

“I’m so happy that you’re finally here. I have so much to tell you.” you told her.

“Well, before that, let's go say hi to Siara. Also, hi Paisley,” she said as Paisley walked by.

Returning the greeting, Paisley continued on as she still had work to finish. She denied any offer of yours to help.

Going down to see Siara, you were also excited to see Ben. He hadn’t been able to find anything to make his way to you today, and you couldn’t find one to go to him. Well, you couldn't find an 'acceptable' reason.

Knowing that this would be the first time Sadie met him as well brought you into a tizzy. The wanting her to meet him, but the fear that she might not like him, filled you.

Heading towards Siara’s office, you saw Ben walk in as he looked down at a stack of papers in his hands.

Following behind him, you saw that the familiar cluster on the desk had been greatly reduced to a few files spread out. This was a shocking sight, as Siara and Jason always had piles of paper and folders over the table.

Seeing Ben look thoughtfully at the papers and conferring with Siara made you admire him more than you already did. The care and determination in his work made him seem so much more enchanting.

“Well, well, well, if it ain’t little Sisi acting all grown up,” Sadie said jokingly. Siara’s eyes went wide followed by a large grin.

Unlike you, Siara hadn’t seen Sadie in over a year. Every time Sadie had been in town, Siara was bogged down in work. So, it was understandable when you heard an almost shriek of excitement as she bolted up.

Making your way over to a now standing Ben, you watched the ferocity of Siara’s hug with Sadie.

Leaning closer to Ben, you told him, “She doesn’t get to see her as often as I do.” A wave of understanding flooded his face.

For a few minutes, you two watched the reunited friends as they complimented each other’s looks and caught up on a few quick stories.

While they did this, you almost leaned against Ben. As you enjoyed his warmth, you felt his hand take yours. You smiled but kept your eyes on the other two in the room.

You waited until they were done to introduce him, all while reluctantly letting his hand go.

“Ben, this is Sadie, and Sadie this is Ben.”

He stuck out his hand for a greeting, but Sadie didn’t take it. Instead, she pulled him into a hug.

“Sorry, Ben. I should have warned you that she’s a hugger,” you said as you chuckled at his surprised reaction, Siara also laughing.

Giving a small smirk as Sadie pulled away, Ben replied, “It’s alright. It’s nice to finally be able to properly meet you. It's a pleasure.”

“Oh don’t be so formal.”

Then, she noticed something else he said.

"Properly meet me?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you that he used to go to high school with us," you told her.

"If I remember correctly, we didn't ever have a class together. That, and I wasn't overly noticeable."

He shyly rubbed the back of his neck as you said, "Oh, Ben, you weren't unnoticeable. I noticed you."

A small smile formed on his lips. One that you enjoyed seeing. For someone so successful and talented as him, you were tickled whenever he showed how humble and shy he was.

You didn't realise the two of you were looking at the other for too long until Sadie or Siara cleared their throat.

He looked over at you with his look of overwhelmed kindness, triggered from the moments before, earning a slight laugh.

Sadie saw this and noticed a bit more in his eyes when he looked at you. Especially in that one small moment. The look disappeared after he looked at her or Siara.

Making a mental note of it, she continued, “So, are you joining us tonight?”

“Joining you doing what?” Ben’s look changed to one of confusion.

“Only going to the finest place in town," she paused for effect, "McDonald’s.” Seeing his look of surprise earned a laugh from all except him.

“Believe it or not, it’s been a tradition,” you chimed in. “Every time either of us arrives at the other’s, we head to the closest McDonald’s there is for dinner,” you continued stepping up beside him, letting your arm timidly graze his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think to ask if you’d like to come tonight. Would you like to?”

Ben looked at you with soft eyes, procuring a smile from you as he nodded and said, “Only if you want me to.”

You did. You really wanted him to, even if it was for something like that. The only response you gave was the only response he needed, an affectionate smile.

For a moment, again, you were lost in his eyes. Being broken out of the moment, Sadie grabbed your attention by slightly pulling your sleeve.

“It’s about that time too, and I still have to drop off my bag,” Sadie said with a slightly impatient tone.

You looked to Siara to make sure it was okay to take Ben, and she nodded.

Grabbing his hand, you pulled him with you for a few steps before letting go to let him walk on his own.

As he stepped up beside you, he took your hand back in his while you walked together. At this, you looked to him and smiled. Sadie made that as another mental note.

On the walk over to your house, Sadie told you everything that had been happening in her world. There was so much that you could hardly keep up with the words.

This is why the two of you need to see each other so often. So that you can actually understand what she's saying.

Getting to your house, you pass her the key so that she could quickly run her things in.

Waiting, you leaned your head against Ben’s shoulder and he laid a slightly lingering kiss on the top of your head. The gentleness of it warmed you.

What you didn’t know was that Sadie saw it happen. She went quick in hopes that she would see something. All she wanted was the best for you, and she knew you wanted to hear her opinion even if you hadn’t said it directly. This trip was going to fill with mental notes for her, and so far, none were negative. Not for your sake, anyways.

Finally Sadie walked out, urging you to follow her to get on with the tradition.

As you made your way to the usual McDonald’s you went to, Sadie kept up the fast storytelling. You looked up at Ben to find him just as lost in the information as you were, his overwhelmed expression slightly showing again.

“Hey, we’re going to go for a few drinks tomorrow. You should come, Ben,” Sadie suddenly said, cutting off her own story.

Feeling a bit frustrated because you were going to ask him, you looked at Ben with expectant eyes. Masking his dazed look with a smile, he agreed to come.

When Sadie turned back around, Ben leaned over to quietly say, “I haven’t been to a lot of bars. And when I have they’ve been empty except me and my colleagues. I don't know what to expect.”

You were slightly shocked, but you also weren’t that surprised. His personality was not one that you would place in a setting like that.

Bringing your other arm up to squeeze his for comfort, you told him what to expect. The bar you were going to was one that locals only really knew about anyway. That meant it would only really be the three of you talking in a relatively calm scene with not too many others, even on a Saturday.

Reaching the McDonald’s, the three of you ordered and Sadie gave no other option other than her paying.

Her talking of what’s happened in the last while had finally slowed down after you got your food and sat down at a table. Sitting beside Ben and across from Sadie in the booth seats, you were finally able to fill Sadie in on your time, which was significantly less exciting.

“That’s it?” Sadie said, astonished. “What about what you and Ben have been up to?”

You froze, not knowing what to say, but Ben helped that. He gave Sadie the details from his first day to the dinner at the beginning of the week. One thing you were slightly thankful for was that he left out some of the more intimate details. You wanted to leave that to a private moment with her.

Though you’ve been together for about a week, it’s felt like you’ve been with him since the day you properly met a month ago. From how Ben even told it, he seemed to feel the same way.

Both of you looked into each other’s eyes as he finished the story, feeling happy in the moment.

Breaking the moment, Sadie started to joke about how the two of you were 'lovey dovey'.

Rolling your eyes, you got up to wash your hands from the oil and salt. Sadie took this as an opportunity to have a quick one on one with Ben.

“So, what are your intentions with my girl? Because if you break her heart, you will feel my wrath.” Ben felt a bit stunned at the suddenness of Sadie’s words.

She waited patiently as he took a moment to find the words.

“I want a life with her," he started. "We may have only properly been together for a week, but it's felt like it started last month when I first got here."

He paused for a moment. The words he was saying were true. What he was about to say would possibly surprise Sadie.

"Ever since I met her in high school, she has been amazing. Y/N was one of the few people that made me feel happy in those days. After finally properly meeting her, I felt even more drawn in. Every time she looks at me, I get lost in her eyes. Even in this month, I can’t picture a life without being by her side.”

Sadie listened to every word carefully, finding nothing that she thought would be a lie. The tone in his voice, the look in his eyes, he adored you. She gave him a smile.

“Then,” she began, “you deserve her. Most importantly, she deserves you.”

Ben rejoiced at the words, a grin growing on his face as you walked back.

Sadie quickly said, “All I ask is that you trust in her no matter what,” before you came into earshot.

“Good to see she didn’t chase you off,” you said jokingly. They both laughed as you sat back down. Ben seemed happy before, but he seemed even more so now as you looked at him. His eyes seemed to glimmer more than they usually had.

After that, Sadie encouraged Ben to tell her some things about himself.

This filled about an hour of time as she kept asking him questions about certain details. You knew she was mainly doing that to see if it would annoy him, but at the same time she did show interest.

Not a single moment had a sign of annoyance, but a joy that he could tell these stories once again. In Sadie’s book, he had passed that test.

Once she felt content, Sadie made the suggestion of leaving. Doing so, you had once again taken Ben’s hand in yours. This time you had leaned in closer to him, taking in the comfort of his warmth.

Like she had on the way to McDonald’s, the way back was filled with her talking, but this time about stories with you.

Smiling and laughing when needed, you and Ben didn’t pay as much attention to the stories as you did to each other. With you pulling his arm closer, eventually wrapping both of your arms around his one, with your fingers interlaced with his, and him kissing the top of your head every once in a while as it rested against his shoulder.

Moments like this have been increasing recently and you relished them.

The only positive of the seemingly quicker walk home was that Sadie was able to slow down her story telling. Yet, you wished it was longer so that you could stay with Ben for a little longer. Usually you’d create a reason to stay with him longer, but Sadie was here and you wanted to help him feel relief from the constant energy she gave off. You’d see him tomorrow.

“Well, when should I meet you tomorrow?” Ben asked.

“Meet us here around seven. Just a warning, one of us may not be ready,” you said this pretending to block your mouth and pointed at Sadie.

“Hey! At least I look good.” The three of you laughed, yours and Ben’s ending in a slight sigh.

As you all said your goodbyes, Ben gave you a warm smile. Seeing it brought a pleasant warmth flowing through you. Then, as you watched him walk away, a feeling of loneliness crept up. A wanting for him to be nearby.

With Ben rounding the corner, you hadn’t realized how long it had been as you watched him leave. Embarrassment ran through you when you turned back towards Sadie. She only had a knowing smile that didn’t help ease the feeling.

Urging you to come inside, she said she had something to tell you. Perplexed, you followed.

Your embarrassment started to fade as you tried to convince yourself that doing what you did was normal. Doubting it, though, only helped it creep back in.

Making herself comfortable on the couch, Sadie waited for you to sit, well, anywhere. Though you were nervous as to what she’d say, you sat next to her on the couch. Doing this made you feel slightly uncomfortable. Almost as if you were about to get the talk from your parents. Slightly because of that feeling, you didn’t want to make eye contact with Sadie in fear it would make it even more awkward.

Finally working up courage to meet her gaze, she said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to say anything bad.” Relaxing your shoulders in solace, Sadie chuckled and gave you a moment before she continued. “I have never seen you this happy about someone in a long time. I have also never seen anybody so eager to be with you. Not even you know who.”

Knowing that your ex was a sensitive topic, it was an unspoken rule to never say his name. What she said about Ben had also made you feel elated.

Sadie continued, “Even from this one day, the way he just looks at you compared to everybody else, well, is pure adoration.” A smile started to form on your face. “Don’t get too hopeful yet. We still have tomorrow to get through which may hold the ultimate test.”

Confusion settled in at those words. “What do you mean by that?”

“I only said that it may happen. Also, I’m not telling you otherwise it would spoil the surprise.” A playful lilt was in her voice, but the thought brought a slight sense of fear to you. All you could think was that she planned something.

Even though she would say she would never, she would and she has. Not for something like this, but you couldn’t help but think she would.

Next>>

@stardancerluv @jaydenwoo

#obi wan kenobi #obi wan x reader #obi wan x you #obi wan x y/n #ben kenobi #modern au #ewan mcgregor #fanfic #For You? Always.#obi wan fluff #fluff #obi wan #obi wan fanfiction #obi wan fic #obi wan imagine #obi wan kenobi imagine #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan kenobi x you

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deliberatelyvague · 4 years

Text

You Do Matter (obey me brothers x fem! reader)

Part Two of You Do Deserve It

Started: July 11, 2020 at 11:09am

Ended: July 11, 2020 at 2:21pm

Pairing(s): (obey me brothers x fem!reader) (oc x fem! reader)

Trigger Warning(s): anger, talking about not mattering, generally depressed behavior

Author’s Note: I like writing this story, so as long as you guy like Coda enough to keep them, I’ll keep them in there.

Prompt/Request: Could you maybe make like a second part to the one with Coda as the best friend? But instead of the brothers now spending more time, they kinda are angry? At Coda? And (Y/N) is really angry and sad because the brothers(some of them) kind of have been ignoring Coda/said something really mean to them? And (Y/N) just kinda blows off and screams at them and idk is just mad and scary, cuz she's so quiet usually. Maybe an open ending? Maybe not. Hope you're doing well.

Requested by: @leowillbefine

Part One

————

Coda hadn’t been acting like themself. They had been quiet, which was unusual for them, and they also hadn’t been spending as much time with everyone as usual. If the being quiet didn’t put light onto a red flag, the fact that they didn’t spend time with any of you did.

Even if they didn’t talk, they usually would just sit in the room with you as you read or did homework. But they were closing themself into their room and not interacting as all other than going to school and sitting quietly as meals.

You were very concerned. You didn’t want to push them, but you also didn’t want to wait until too late to reach out to them. So after dinner you marched your way to their room, holding their favorite blanket from your room and their favorite snack: Whales, that you had managed to convince Diavolo (somehow) to get Barbatos to get for you. You heard Hozier playing, so you knew they were in there.

You knocked on the door and the room went quiet almost immediately.

“Coda,” you called, twisting the knob. It refused to turn, and a spike of fear went through you. “Coda, why is the door locked?”

You heard a scurrying from behind the door, and Coda unlocked the door and opened it. They blushed, letting you in.

“I just wanted some time to myself, I guess.”

“Codes, no offense, but you’ve been having time for yourself for a while now. I’m worried.” You got straight to the point.

They look guilty, and wouldn’t meet your eye before they looked back at you.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’ve been fine, I just need to recharge a little bit. Is that all you wanted?” They kind of hurried you out, which stung a little bit.

“No- stop putting up a front. What’s wrong? It isn’t like the you that I know to act like this, or at least not for this long.”

“It’s nothing, [Y/N], I promise,” they said. “Can we stop talking about it?” They turned their head away from you, but you could see the tears start welling in their eyes.

“No, Coda, we won’t. You don’t let me bottle it up, I’m not letting you do it either. Now, tell me what’s wrong.”

They sat on their bed and pull the blanket over them, clutching onto it as they took a shaky breath.

“It’s just, ever since the incident, the brothers have been being rude to me. Of course, not as bad as they were and Satan still talks to me, but still. I enjoyed their attention,” they gave it a thought. “Well, I enjoy anyone’s attention.

“But I guess it just make me think about how I probably didn’t matter that much to them, right? If they could just easily cut me off. Then it makes me think that I don’t really matter to anyone..”

They tapered off, their eyes looking as if they were just staring through the carpet they were staring at.

“Codes,” you venture, but then a spike of anger tore through you. You were never angry at the brothers, not even when they had been avoiding you. But it’s like they could only focus on one thing at a time, you or Coda. “I’m going to talk to them.”

“No, [Y/N], please don’t. Just leave them be, they’ll probably get over it eventually and be nicer. I’ll be fine.”

“No, I am. I’m not going to let you feel like you don’t matter to people, and if they’ve caused it, I’m just going to go talk to them.”

Coda gave you a concerned look, and then fell over your lap, wrapping their arms around you and nuzzling into your stomach.

“Tomorrow, please? I just want to be comforted.” You pushes your way up farther on their bed, resting your back on the wall and stroking their hair.

They started crying eventually and you continued to talk to them, and they fell asleep on your lap.

You thought about what you would say to the boys. You didn’t want to let your anger show, but confront them. No matter how bad it was, Coda in a way relied off of other people’s affection. No have such a big source of affection taken away so quickly, if shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise that they had gotten bad again.

And with their therapist not here to talk to them, it was even worse. You just hoped that the boys would be in a moderately good mood tomorrow.

———

Sometime during the night, you had fallen asleep on Coda’s bed, and they hadn’t been there when you woke up. Sometime between when you fell asleep and when you woke up, Coda had found their way to the library, and you found them curled up in an arm chair reading a book. Satan was also in there, and his eyes looked up at you then back over at Coda when you walked in.

He was the only civil one, he had always given attention to both you and Coda, and didn’t stop even when Coda went off on the others.

“Coda told me about what you wanted to do,” Satan spoke, and Coda’s eyes shot up at you like they didn’t know you were they. Well, they probably hadn’t.

“[Y/N], please it’s fine.” They whined at you, closing their book and moving to the edge of the seat. “I’ll be fine. You, Satan, Diavolo, Barbatos, and the angels give me enough attention.”

“No, Coda, I agree with [Y/N]. What they’re doing it unacceptable. Ignoring you because you called them out and then calling you by that name you don’t like? It’s terrible of my brothers.” They winced at the latter part of his statement.

Your eyes looked over at Coda.

“They called you Esther?”

“Call. They call her that,” Satan clarified. That sent you over the edge.

“Man, I was going to be moderately nice about this, but there’s no excuse to call you that,” you stated, and made your way to the lounge room, where all the boys were most likely to be.

You barged into the room, locking your eyes onto the group of them immediately.

“You all are some ignorant beings, you know that right? Just because someone makes you angry doesn’t give you the right to call them by a name they obviously hate. It’s petty and childish, and for beings that are older than recorded time, that’s pretty sad.

“How dare you treat them like that, just because they were defending me? I mean, you guys are demons, but you don’t have to act like them all the time,” you finished, and the demons in the room just gaped at you.

You heard what you assumed Coda and Satan behind you. Your eyes flickered behind to them, and Satan was looking at you with wide eyes while Coda looked frightened at the demons in the room.

“Can we go? Please, Diavolo said that we can stay with them for a couple days until they calm down,” Coda whispered to you, tugging on your arm. “I don’t want to see how they react, please?”

You nodded, your eyes not leaving the brothers until you were pulled hard enough away from them.

“Satan said he’ll deal with them now,” Coda informed on the way to the castle. “I hope they’re not too mad. That wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

You could tell they were trying to lighten the mood.

“I hope they’re mad. Serves them right for treating you that way.” You could feel Coda’s eyes on you, but they didn’t say anything, just leaving you two in silence to walk the rest of the way to the castle.

#obey me x reader #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me satan #satan #shall we date #shall we date satan

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anxresi · 4 years

Text

Amity’s Amends

Story: After the events of 'Understanding Willow', Amity knows she has a lot to make up for. And she'll start tonight, right in front of four people who have been the bane of her existence for too long. Get ready for a roasting, s'mores optional.

...............

Amity Blight arrived home that night after her adventure inside Willow’s head, full of more hope and determination for the future than she ever felt possible.

Her initial skepticism of the Earthling Luz Noceda had long since disappeared, and now the two could honestly even describe themselves as good friends. Maybe even more, if the way I blush whenever she hugs me is anything to go by. Just like my favorite ships in those Azura books we both like...

The young witch quickly dispelled all thoughts of frivolous romance from her head, using the same methodology she would dispel one of her enchantments if it got out of control. That’s for the future, if it happens at all. Right now I have other stuff to take care of…

She burst through the front door, half-expecting her strict parents to meet her there with the standard ‘where do you think you’re been?’ or ‘your darling brother and sister would never stay out this late’.

Whereas she dreaded such searching questions before, now an odd mixture of defiance and resilience made her itch to hear them, just so she could show off her new steadfast attitude.

Alas, there was no Mr and Mrs Blight in sight. They’d taken the night off (again) to mingle with the VIPs their family relied on for its ‘prestigious’ reputation, so her long-awaited confrontation with them was just gonna have to wait until later. Goodie. Gives me something to look forward to.

In the front room however, were two other people Amity wanted to put straight on a few things… along with a couple of surprise guests. Erica and Edmira Blight, her ‘dear’ siblings, sat on the couch with her so-called best friends, Boscha and Skara. They seemed deep in conversation, but the intense chat soon faded to a whisper the moment Amity strolled through the door.

“ Mittens!!” Edric was the first to greet his little sister, grabbing her by the shoulder to give her a light noogie. “We were wondering where you got to! I was just about to send out a search party… or at least, borrow mom’s crystal ball to track you down.”

“Great to see you, sis!” Emira smirked at Amity in a non-too genial way. “And look who’s here too! Your besties, Boscha and Skara. They came over because they tell me they’ve been worried about you lately… and I must say, me and Edric have been as well. So think of what you’re about to hear as an ‘intervention’, if you like.”

“Amity, you’ve changed! You don’t insult the other losers with us the way you used to, you don’t let us tell you how to dress, and we’ve even caught you hanging out with that Earth creature!” Skara stared at Amity unblinkingly, as if unwilling to let Luz’s dreadful name pass her lips.

“Yeah, exactly! And after all the bad stuff you said about Willow, I can’t believe you defended her today! Almost like you were... friends or something, but of course that can’t be the case.” Boscha sniggered to herself, like the mere notion was just impossible.

Amity listened to all this ‘selfless’ advice until it was over, with her arms firmly crossed and her left foot tapping on the plush carpet. “So, you’re all here today out of the goodness of your hearts, to tell me I’m hanging with the wrong crowd and I should act more like everyone else here?”

“Yeah, Mittens. I mean, we love Luz and all but…” Edric gave his opinion, hesitantly.

“...She’s just not right for you. She’s lucked out so far in her spell training, but when she crashes and burns she’ll take you down with her. Not a pretty sight.” Emira was a bit more forthright than her twin brother.

“Plus, she’s always with Willow. Ugh , instant popularity killer.” Boscha put her finger in her open mouth to illustrate her point.

“Also, what’s that other kid’s name? ‘Gas’, or something? He’s as much of a geek as the others, always going on about Earth stuff. If he likes it ssssoooo much, why doesn’t he just move there? And take those other two freaks with him?” Skara chortled at her joke, obviously thinking she’d said something hilarious.

Amity heard all this rudeness and bile aimed at her newest pals with the patience of a saint, but finally she could take no more. “ Excuse me , but his name happens to be ‘Gus’. Him and Luz are two of the nicest people I’ve met, so if you think I’m going to let you talk that way about them around me you’ve got another thing coming. If everyone in the Demon Realm was as stuck-up and conceited as you and Boscha are, believe me… I’d be on the first broomstick out of here with them! Now, what else was I going to say…”

Amity’s siblings and ‘friends’ sat there open-mouthed, unused to hearing such backtalk from someone usually so compliant, but she wasn’t finished yet. Not by a long shot. “Oh, yes. Sorry Skara, I am unable to attend your 15th birthday celebrations because of a prior… wait, I don’t have any pressing engagements. It’s just that you’re a total bitch, who I no longer want to be associated with. I set your butterfly free, too. Never mind, I’m sure there are loads of other brainless bullies out there you can hang around with, to make your fragile ego feel better about itself! Which brings me neatly to…”

If Boscha thought her obnoxious snickering was going to win her any brownie points from Amity, she was very much mistaken. “...You. I don’t know what you’re finding so funny Boscha, in many ways you’re twice as bad as Skara. You lead, her and me follow. At least, that’s the way it used to be. I hope you’re happy with this trio becoming a duo, because I am through . As for what you said about Willow, strange you should mention that as we were besties once, before I messed it all up. Now I’m trying to make up for it, by apologising a lot, attempting to be a better person and getting away from two horrible girls I only hung around with because my parents made me…”

To this last statement she gave a meaningful look at her quaking ex-pals on her couch. “...And I wonder who they could be.”

She turned around without missing a beat to her equally nonplussed siblings sitting nearby, but addressed them in slightly less harsh tones than the previous pair. “ Edric, Emira… you know I love you both dearly, even if your childish pranks do sometimes leave me wondering if you really are the older, more ‘mature’ brother and sister you claim to be. But please, stop trying to ‘encourage’ me by subtly putting me down. It’s not helpful, it’s just dispiriting. And please stop calling me ‘Mittens’. That was cute when I was a baby and couldn’t put my gloves on, now it’s just irritating and makes me think you don’t respect me. Lastly, you’ll be glad to know that by tomorrow, you’ll both stand out a lot more. I’m washing the green out of my hair! Brown is so much more my color, dontcha think?!”

At this juncture, and with everyone around her completely shut down by her searing outburst, Amity stretched and gave out a fake yawn. “Anyway… early start in the morning. You know how it is: the pressures of being top student never go away. Well, see you tomorrow brother, sister… and as for you other two, see you never . Ta-ta!”

She then made her way upstairs with a noticeable spring in her step, the only things on her mind being to work hard to achieve all her goals in life, being the best friend she could be to Willow to make up for years of neglect…

And the way her cheeks flushed whenever a certain Earth girl held her real close.

Oops. Here we go again.

.......................

Well, what do you think? I know this is very unlikely to happen... after all, they do have a lot of episodes to pad out. But hopefully, now that Amity understands how some of the more toxic influences in her life have been allowed to shape her, she can start confronting them and making her own decisions.Also, it's so obvious her and Luz are a future ship. Fight me if you disagree... kidding. ;)

#amity blight #luz noceda #owl house #the owl house #gus #willow #fanfiction #Disney

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treatian · 3 years

Text

The Chronicles of the Dark One: Breaking the Curse

Chapter 22: Limited Availability

His conversation with Regina signaled the end of his day, and as he trudged back up the hill and away from the machinery and Regina, he was looking forward to going home. It had been a long day; he was going to pour himself something to drink, watch the evening news as he tried to repair an old lamp, then go to bed content with where the long day had taken him. And then tomorrow, he'd wake up and do it all over again, with the small exception of one meeting that Mr. Gold's brain reminded him about. He'd nearly forgotten that tomorrow was the town council meeting. He wasn't required to go, but he always did. He enjoyed sitting there and reminding Regina who really owned the town she played "leader" of. Mr. Gold had enjoyed it long before he had, in truth. It was about the only enjoyable thing to those meetings. They were long and monotonous, but they also contained a wealth of information and gossip that would take Dove weeks to-

Voices up ahead stopped him in his tracks and brought him to a standstill. Voices…out here? In the middle of the night? Regina was behind him, and there were men, construction workers, with her, but these voices were very clearly ahead of him, up and over the ridge in the front. They were voices he recognized but was shocked to find in conjunction with one another. Emma Swan...and Sidney Glass?! The Savior was working with the Magic Mirror, the man who had run against her in the election? Regina's puppet! That didn't bode well.

"Wait!" he heard Sidney call out.

"The bitch tried to have me killed. I'm finding her," Emma stated.

"The bitch"…Regina? Regina had tried to have Emma killed? He wouldn't put it past her, but…how had she found her all the way out here? Slowly he continued to trek forward, still deciding if he wanted to be seen or not. He didn't like the idea of Emma working with Sidney or anyone that close to Regina; it didn't smell right.

"Let's be cautious. We need to think clearly," Sidney stressed.

"To hell with caution. I'm going to find out what she's doing and why she's out here."

So they were looking for Regina. And had somehow tracked her all the way out here but didn't know why. Together? What the hell was going on?

"She was meeting me," he called as he made his way over the hill and finally saw the Sheriff and former mirror talking together. Emma's eyes widened when she saw him, not that he could blame her, he hadn't exactly been expecting to run into her or Sidney either, but here they were.

"What are you doing out here with her?" Emma asked.

"Just a little business transaction," he smiled, playing his role as best he could without telling the girl to get away from Glass.

"What's in the briefcase?" Sidney asked with genuine curiosity…and suspicion.

"Everything comes at a price. Land is no different."

"That's why you're meeting her out here? Regina bought your land?" Emma questioned.

"The very ground you're standing on."

"What does she want it for?" she asked.

He smiled. To tell or not to tell…it was a difficult decision considering he hadn't a clue what was going on or why the pair of them were working together. He wanted Emma to be mad at Regina, he wanted her to fight her, but there was really nothing to fight with a playground. And with Glass here…there was something more at play.

As a lawyer, he was familiar with the phrase "you can't unring a bell." Words couldn't be taken back, especially not without magic; once they were out, they were out. He'd rather hold his cards close to his chest until he knew what all this was about. If he deemed it safe, he could always call Emma later and explain what she was buying but until then…

"You know, in business, I find it's best not to ask too many questions. Hurts the bottom line. The question is, Emma, why are you standing out here in the middle of the night with Mr. Glass?"

The man who had been in Sidney's pocket, who had run against Emma for Sheriff just because Regina told him too…he didn't buy this was any kind of accident. What amazed him was that he could see it and Emma couldn't. She was the perceptive sort, maybe not with the same precision he had, but he knew that she was capable of telling when something was fishy. What was going on here? Did she see it and was just pretending not to? Or was she so blinded by hatred for however she was convinced Regina had tried to kill her she couldn't see it?

"You don't know what Regina did to me. You don't know what she did to her son. We can't just sit idly by."

He grinned, but his stomach felt twisted up into knots. Regina's right hand encouraging her enemy, playing her on an emotional level. Oh, no, he didn't like this one bit. It smelled very foul indeed. It was the familiar stench of Regina. Well, that answered one of his questions. Regina was obviously working on some plan where Emma was concerned; he just didn't know what it was. And that was very distressing.

"Of course you can," he recommended glancing at his Savior.

Mary Margaret and Henry were good for her, but Sidney Glass…that was a bad relationship, to be sure. But he couldn't say anything, he wouldn't, not to Emma, not when Glass was right there. There was no way that it would end well, even if he pulled her to the side. Anything he said or did in front of Emma could be construed to Regina in a very bad way, a way that would reveal his secret long before he was ready for it to be revealed. He needed more information. He needed to play this very carefully.

"Be careful," he warned, stepping between them and purposefully looking away from Emma. "Emotional entanglements can lead us down very dangerous paths."

He hoped she was smart enough to get the hint. And as for himself, he was smart enough to have information at the tip of his fingers when it came to the Savior. Once back at the car, he put the money in the trunk then cast his gaze out to the long road back. He carefully reviewed every tree, every branch, every blade of grass, until finally what he was looking for revealed itself for him. Headlights flashed off the side of the road, a small signal to let him know that he was seen and knew he was there. Clever bird, he wouldn't have seen him if he hadn't given himself away.

He weighed his options, staring at the place the headlights had been, but then finally got into his own car and drove away. It had been tempting to just walk right up to him, to get into the car and speak with him, but the last thing he needed was for Emma to return and still see his car there. So as he passed the place, Dove's car was hidden, took out his cell phone, and called.

"What's happening, Mr. Dove?"

"At this point, Sir, your guess is as good as mine. They've been at it all day, but…I don't know, doesn't something about this smell fishy to you? Cause it smells fishy to me."

"None of those statements are particularly comforting considering what I pay you."

"Emma Swan has been hanging around Sidney Glass all day. They were at the diner together, the station, they even confronted Regina at one point. I followed them out here not long ago, but I can't be in the room with them. I can't listen to their private conversations. Until you invest in some bugs, that's about the best I can do for you. I've got no idea why they're here or who they're looking for. I'm a man, not a fly on the wall."

"Or a bird in a bush…"

"Sir?"

"Nothing," he dismissed as he continued his drive. They'd confronted Regina, Emma believed Regina had tried to kill her, and now she was trying to find her. With Sidney Glass. The pair of them working together, Regina trying to get a rise out of him all of a sudden…no, he didn't like this one bit.

"Listen, I've contacted some of my friends, made a few inquires to see if they knew anything about it. So far, I've come up with nothing, but I haven't heard back from some of them, so…maybe come morning we'll know something."

He sighed. "Something"...that would be "something," at least. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, and he tried to remember that he couldn't be angry with Dove, not in this situation. He was right. He didn't have any sort of "bugs" here, and without magic, the bird had to stick to watching at a distance. He couldn't just go sit in the police station and say, "don't mind me, go about your business." His spy was helpless but to sit back and watch everything unfurl and then make his own conclusions based on nothing but gossip.

"Stick close until you can figure out what they're after, Mr. Dove," he ordered. "The second you know anything new, kindly inform me at once."

"You got it, chief," he affirmed before hanging up the phone. He tried to remember he couldn't be angry at Dove, but all the same, he was angry. He was limited. And limited certainly didn't mean powerless, but also wasn't powerful. He wanted information. He wanted his magic.

#Rumbelle #Rumple #Rumpelstiltskin #Dark One #mr gold #Regina Mills #Evil Queen #Emma Swan #sidney glass #magic mirror #ouat #ouat fanfic #fanfic

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hangmansradio · 4 years

Note

are you gonna change Grant's pronouns?

Well nonny... Let me answer your question but also explain the reasoning behind my answer. So I apologise in advance if this ends up being quite long-winded. In short, my answer is no. But please don’t think any less of me and let me try to explain. I’ve talked to so many people about this and been having a really hard time trying to decide what to do. My knee-jerk reaction when I heard everyone saying they were going to change pronouns was that I didn’t want to do that. And then I felt like an awful person for feeling that way, and basically spent a day believing I’m a hideous person and trying to beat my brain into thinking differently. I’ve talked to people who identify as cis, as trans and as non-binary. I have dozens of friends who slip up and down the gender spectrum sometimes on the daily and it makes no odds to me how someone identifies. You can ask me to call you by any pronoun you desire, you could tell me you’ve decided to live your life as a pot-plant, its all good! I read the interview with Grant where they talk about their gender and how they were exploring things like cross-dressing as young as ten. And the whole interview felt very relaxed, and not at all like a sort of... coming out tale, for lack of a better phrase. Grant didn’t seem to be dictating (to me at least) that they wanted people to alter the way they talk about them. They were just discussing gender and new words for gender in the context of how times have changed. How they themself didn’t have words like gender fluid or non-binary when they were young, and that this is why things like the t slur ended up in the Invisibles. But I digress. Grant is now sixty years old, which means they’ve had roughly fifty years living their life as non-binary, even if they didn’t exactly have the words for it. Which says to me that they’re probably extremely comfortable with it, relaxed, and have no qualms or issues that tend to surface in young people. So... Why was my instinct reaction to changing my work anything less than joyful acceptance? I’ve asked myself this question over and over. I have been told I’m being ignorant. Have been told that as a cis person I have no comprehension of why pronouns are important. I spent yesterday evening crying to myself, when I was already sick in bed, and made quite the sorry sight. And the thing is, as a writer, I’ve spent the last two decades getting into other peoples mindsets in order to write a myriad of characters. And so far, people tell me I do this quite well. I have a degree in psychology. I am working towards a masters degree in psychology. I have done separate studies into counselling specifically. Understanding people is my thing. It’s what I do. So why then, do I not want to change the pronouns? In answer, I had to stop and think entirely selfishly. I had to look into myself and away from the all those voices telling me I don’t understand or that I’m ignorant, and question what made me feel uncomfortable. And the answer is quite simple. I write fanfiction, yes. But the characters I create are MINE. I do not write about Grant Morrison the comic book writer. I write about a character all my own, and slap the face of Grant onto it. I don’t read MCR fanfiction, or any fanfiction about real life people because it makes me uncomfortable, and recently I’ve been warring with myself about leaving the MCR category when it comes to writing, because for me... the disconnect between real people and my characters is wholly, utterly complete. If I could explain it simply - I view my characters (all of them) as OC’s. But for the sake of writing in the same category I have been for years, and thus keeping the readers I adore so much and the friends I have made - I use MCR or Grant or their wives as the actors and actresses to play the roles of my characters. My fanfiction is a movie in my head, and the people whose names and faces I borrow are my cast. So for me... to change my fiction every time something changes in the real world just does not compute in my head. If Gerard Way was to act in a film today, and announce tomorrow that he prefers she/her pronouns, the movie wouldn’t be re-filmed to accommodate. If Grant Morrison decided tomorrow that they would like to act in movies, I’m almost certain they wouldn’t insist on only being cast in non-binary roles. Equally, I have read fanfiction in the past that gender-swaps all members of MCR. I have read fanfiction that casts them as trans characters. I have read fiction where they are gay, straight, ace. I myself have written them as vampires, werewolves, mafia dons... For years, Gerard and Frank especially have talked about how frerard fanfiction makes them uncomfortable. Yet that has always been my main forte. I do not write it to be disrespectful, and it is my sincerest wish they never read it or have it mentioned to them. It is just fiction... it’s transformative work, and the morals are dubious I agree, which is why I still am considering leaving the MCR fandom for good. So... If I have been writing about two straight men and making them gay for years and years... If I have been writing Mikey (who we all know is a sweetie pie) as an evil character multiple times... If I have taken their straight wives and wrote them as lesbians... Then surely, surely, it doesn’t make sense for me to go back to the work I have written in the past and change it now for the sake of something happening in real life? Something that Grant themselves have not come out and made a statement about, and probably never will, because to them, it’s not a big deal. Or so it feels to me. In short (and I apologise again for the length of this answer), fanfiction to me has always been FICTION. I cannot stress this enough. I do not, and will not, factor the real world into it because the whole point is that it is a world of my own creation. If I decided to write a fic tomorrow that had Grant as a female presenting octopus no one would bat an eye. And to not change their pronouns is not meant as a statement or a slight, far from it. It is simply that those stories were written before the change, and were not about a non-binary character. And as someone who often writes erotic stories, is it my place to try and write sex scenes involving a non-binary character when, as so many have kindly informed me, I am ignorant in this matter? Especially when, in my eyes at least, writing someone as non-binary is not as easy as simply changing the pronouns and letting the story remain the same in every other aspect. I hope this makes sense and doesn’t make me come across as someone who is being cruel or stubborn for no reason. Or as someone who just doesn’t understand. If there is one thing I have learnt from talking to so many people yesterday, it is that there is no right or wrong answer, and the only true way to avoid hurting one another is to listen to each other and accept that we all feel very strongly about this, and sometimes for different reasons. Fanfiction shouldn’t be something that others can dictate. It was always about reading and writing what you enjoy, and if you dislike it, then hit the back button. That being said - The Devil’s Furnace and Domino will have the pronouns changed, out of respect to Ry who has requested as much and who owns the soul of those stories as much as I do. 💜

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splendidlyimperfect · 4 years

Link

Let them think you are weak and do what wolves and fire do best.

Surprise them when they least expect it.

-Nikita Gill

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: The Witcher Rating: Mature Relationships: Geralt/Jaskier

-----

Jaskier is not useless.

Sure, he’s not great with a sword – he knows how to wield one, to Geralt’s surprise, but it’s not something he’s trained in. He’s handy with a dagger, especially from a distance, and he’s bashed more than one monster (or bandit) with his lute while Geralt is off fighting something significantly more dangerous.

The problem right now is that the incredibly dangerous thing – a maurezhi, which apparently feeds on human flesh – has thrown Geralt across the room. He hit the wall, and Jaskier had heard a crack, and now Geralt’s not moving and Jaskier’s pressed behind an overturned table, hand over his mouth and hoping to hell that the maurezhi can’t hear him.

The room is silent for a moment, and all Jaskier can hear is the hammering of his own heartbeat, and the rain pounding down in torrents outside the abandoned building.

Then there’s a deep, inhuman growl, and the sound of something scraping across the stone floor. Jaskier shudders, trying not to picture the mangled victim they’d found earlier with its insides… well, not on the inside. A quiet clicking echoes off the stone walls – the creature’s long, poisonous claws clacking together – and Jaskier looks over at Geralt again. He’s still not moving.

Get up, Jaskier thinks desperately, gaze bouncing around the room as he tries to find a way out. Even if he could get over to Geralt, the man is heavy, and Jaskier would never be able to drag him out of the building in time. He could distract the maurezhi, but then he’d risk it finding him, and Jaskier would really prefer to keep his entrails inside his body, thank you very much.

Continue reading on AO3

The maurezhi stalks closer to Geralt, another rough growl scraping its way out of its throat. It’s nearly six feet tall, even hunched over with its claws dragging over the floor – claws that, Jaskier has been informed, will paralyze a human with a single touch. He’s not sure if this extends to Witchers, but he’s also not particularly interested in finding out.

“Geralt!” Jaskier shouts, ducking out from behind the table and quickly taking cover behind another chunk of debris. The roof has fallen apart here, and rain pours in, immediately soaking Jaskier’s cloak. “Get up!”

The creature hisses, and Jaskier’s heart leaps into his throat when it turns and stalks toward him, much quicker than it had been moments ago. Shit. Fuck. Shitfuck.

“Over here, you…” Jaskier yelps as the maurezhi’s claws tear apart his hiding place, and he rolls out of the way, looking wildly around the room. There’s nowhere else for him to hide, and this thing is going to stab him and paralyze him and then he’s going to have to watch while it eats Geralt alive, and—

A glint of silver catches Jaskier’s eye. Geralt’s sword is lying near his unmoving body, half-buried in the rubble from where the wall had caved in. Before he can think, Jaskier throws himself forward, skidding across the room at an inhuman speed and grabbing the hilt of the sword with both hands.

“C’mere, you bastard,” he growls, whipping around and hefting it as high as he can. He shifts so that he’s standing in front of Geralt’s body, feet planted, adrenaline pushing away the immobilizing terror.

The maurezhi howls, baring its teeth – gods, how many are in there? – and charging at Jaskier. He shouts, pivoting on one foot and swinging the sword as hard as he can as soon as the creature is within range. It connects with a sickening squelch, and Jaskier’s teeth rattle when it hits bone. He yanks it back as hard as he can, kicking out at the claws that are swiping at him, and thrusts again, wild and desperate.

They’re not going to die here. Geralt’s saved his ass too many times to count, and the fucking White Wolf isn’t going to get ripped apart by some horrifying monster that will end up wearing his skin.

Jaskier staggers backward under a blow from the maurezhi, heart pounding at the close call, and then he’s screaming, teeth bared, and sword held high as he leaps at the beast and aims for its heart.

There’s a flash of blinding light, searing the air and scorching Jaskier’s forearms as he digs the sword into the creature. It howls again, high and gurgling, and as suddenly it appeared the light is gone, and the maurezhi is dead, and Jaskier’s gasping for breath and blinking at the smoking corpse in front of him.

“Oh,” he wheezes. The sword is suddenly much too heavy for him and he drops to his knees, sucking in a desperate breath. “Fuck, what the—shit. How the…”

Then he remembers that Geralt is unconscious and quickly turns toward him, setting the sword down and running his fingers across Geralt’s face. It’s scraped and bruised, and there’s a nasty-looking cut on his temple, but the immediate problem seems to be the enormous hole in his chest that’s currently pumping out an alarming amount of blood.

Jaskier yanks off his own doublet, buttons tearing under his trembling fingers, and presses it against the wound. He sucks in another shaky breath, wiping his face with the back of his hand and breathing a sigh of relief when he finds Geralt’s bag still around his waist. He digs through it quickly, peering uncertainly at the vials – why the gods doesn’t Geralt label them? – until he finds one that looks familiar and tugs off the lid. He pulls back the doublet and pours a bit of the liquid onto the wound, and it immediately starts to bubble and hiss as the potion takes effect.

Jaskier breathes a sigh of relief, leaning forward and pressing his forehead to Geralt’s. “Idiot,” he breathes, trying to calm his pounding heart. “You can’t do this to me. My heart can’t take it.”

Geralt doesn’t wake up for two days.

Jaskier spends the entire time alternating between pacing back and forth across the room or curled up on the bed, staring at the rise and fall of Geralt’s chest. The wound, now stitched and bandaged, is taking longer than usual to heal, and it makes Jaskier’s stomach twist every time he looks at it.

When Geralt finally opens his eyes, blinking blearily and staring up at the ceiling, Jaskier nearly starts to cry.

“Don’t you ever do that again,” he says, sitting down heavily on the side of the bed and watching a confused expression make its way across Geralt’s face.

“Do…”

“Almost die,” Jaskier clarifies. He tries to rearrange his features into a scowl, but all he can manage is a weak look of relief.

“I didn’t—”

“You absolutely did, and I had to save us – which was terrifying, how you do that all the time is beyond me – and then I had to carry you back to your horse – do you even know how heavy you are? Plus it was pouring rain, so by the time we got back I couldn’t stop sneezing and Roach was soaked, and I was pretty sure you were going to die because you wouldn’t stop bleeding and—”

“You… saved us?” Geralt interrupts. His brow is creased in a frown and his gaze is still slightly unfocused – a side effect of the herbs the healer had used to help keep the pain at bay.

“Yes, which surprises me just as much as you, but that thing was going to kill you and eat you and wear your skin – or my skin – which is just—and your sword was lying there and y’know, it weighs nearly as much as you do, but I had to and—”

“Your eyes are pretty.”

“Don’t you dare interrupt me; I’m not done chastising you—” Jaskier stops as Geralt’s words catch up with the frantic racing of his brain. “What?”

Geralt’s usually stoic expression is soft and open, and he slowly reaches up and touches the bandage on Jaskier’s cheek. “You’re hurt,” he says.

“I—yes, but that…” Jaskier frowns as Geralt’s fingers brush across his chin. “That’s not… what you…”

“Your eyes,” Geralt says, tucking a stray curl behind Jaskier’s ear. “They’re pretty.”

“You’re delirious,” Jaskier mutters as heat creeps into his cheeks. “It’s those herbs the healer gave you, it’s—”

“Mn-mm,” Geralt insists, pushing himself up on one elbow and wincing. Jaskier quickly grabs his pillow from the other side of the bed and tucks it behind Geralt, helping him sit up. Geralt’s fingers touch his, sliding along his palm, and Jaskier’s heart does that stupid twisting thing that it’s done every time they’ve touched since they met.

“You need sleep,” he says quietly, torn between pulling away and enjoying the touch while he can. Soon the herbs will wear off and Geralt will be back to his usual self – the man whose vocabulary consists of “fuck” and “hm,” and definitely not “your eyes are pretty.”

Geralt ignores the statement and frowns, looking down at the bandage on his chest. “Wait.” Jaskier’s rambling from earlier seems to catch up to him and he says, “You carried me?”

Jaskier hmphs. “And you’re heavy,” he complains.

“Out of the building?”

“Yes, I already said—”

“All the way to Roach.”

“Yes.”

“And you killed the maurezhi.”

“Yes.”

“With my sword.”

“Yes, we’ve been over all of this, keep up.”

“Oh.”

Geralt is quiet for a second, then looks down at their joined hands as if just realizing that they’re still touching. Jaskier expects him to pull away, but instead Geralt slides their fingers together and gives Jaskier the most ridiculous, drug-addled smile he’s ever seen.

“Thank you.”

Jaskier laughs. “You must really be out of it. Thank me again when the herbs wear off tomorrow and I might believe you.”

“I will,” Geralt insists, and his gaze is so sincere that Jaskier suddenly can’t look at him. “You’re very brave.” Jaskier’s cheeks burn and he plays with a loose thread in the blanket. “I’m glad you were with me.”

“I am too,” Jaskier mumbles. “I really prefer you not to be dead, if it can be helped.” Geralt laughs – a light, sincere sound that makes him seem so young.

“I’d also prefer to not be dead.”

“Right.” Jaskier tugs on his hand, but Geralt refuses to let go. “Well, it’s—you’re good for business, and I wouldn’t have anything interesting to write about if you died.” He hesitates. “My life would be… rather boring.”

“Mine would be empty,” Geralt says, and he brings his other hand back up to Jaskier’s face and runs his thumb across his cheek.

“Look,” Jaskier says, trying to push away the sudden urge to cry. “You can’t just say things like that. ‘s not fair.”

“Why not?”

“Because if you were sound, you’d never tell me I had pretty eyes.”

“Then I’m an idiot,” Geralt says, voice and expression both earnest.

“Well, I won’t argue with that,” Jaskier says, sighing and leaning into Geralt’s touch. A tiny thread of guilt works its way into his chest for taking advantage of the situation, but the other part of him can’t help it. The more time they spend together, the more Geralt allows Jaskier to touch him. It’s usually small things – a hand on Geralt’s back as Jaskier passes him, leaning against him when they’re sitting by the fire, feet touching under the table when they eat dinner at the inn. But Geralt has never touched him like this.

“You look tired,” Geralt says softly, tipping his head toward the other side of the bed.

Jaskier hesitates. When they sleep outdoors, they do sleep next to each other – Jaskier feels safer being out in the open when he can hear Geralt breathing next to him. But whenever they’re at inns, they sleep apart – still in the same room, but not in the same bed.

“I can sleep on the floor,” Jaskier says, sighing when Geralt stops touching his face.

“Now who’s being stupid?” Geralt gives him an unimpressed look and shuffles over a little more to make room for Jaskier on the bed.

Jaskier sighs, wrestling with his self-restraint for just a moment before giving up and climbing carefully into the bed. He tries to leave a respectable space between them, but Geralt is having none of it and tugs Jaskier close until he’s basically leaning on Geralt’s shoulder.

“You have to promise me something,” Jaskier says as a yawn catches him by surprise.

“Hm.”

“Don’t shove me out of bed tomorrow morning when you wake up and realize you’re basically cuddling me.”

“Won’t.” Gerald shuffles down, pulling Jaskier with him until he’s using Geralt as a pillow.

“Promise?” Jaskier asks, giving in entirely and curling up on his side, one leg tucked over Geralt’s, hand in the middle of his chest.

“Promise.”

Jaskier hums, not quite believing him, but happily falling asleep to the soft, slow beat of Geralt’s heart.

#the witcher #the witcher netflix #fanfic #geraskier #geralt/jaskier #gerlion #jaskier #geralt #my fic

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5sosbitchfest · 4 years

Text

Alrighty, Nonsters. We currently have 290 Asks in our box! As much as we might try, I know there is NO WAY we’re going to be able to get through all of them. Everything exploded this weekend when MessyGate went down! I don’t want to ignore any asks just because I already answered a similar one. So, I’ve tried to gather as many similar Asks as possible to let your your voices be heard. Y’all are definitely NOT alone in your feelings. Get ready for a lot of opinions on Messy’s Twitter Drama.

Also, if you sent in an Ask and we haven’t answered it yet, please feel free to resubmit it! I do try to scroll through all of them but it is a daunting task and personal stuff and work make it difficult for me to get through everything in a timely manner!

********************************

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I’m really disappointed in Luke and this band in general, the way they deal with things. “honest policy” with messy? So he knew all of this and it was okay? Or he confronted her on this and he is okay with what she has done? I’m not sure this whole thing would be a deal breaker for me, but it certainly would make me real mad at my SO and some whiny excuses wouldn’t be enough to make things alright. Radio silence would’ve been much better than that story he posted, made himself look like a fool.

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: These girls will sooner or later become their downfall if their management or them does not realise they should rely on other things than bringing relationship up front to sell their music. I find it extremely bad that they are behaving as if nothing happened, I hope there will be changes once touring will be possible again and we won’t see these girls tagging along everywhere or being brought up in interviews all the time but somehow I’m not counting too much on that.

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I wonder if Luke knows everything that Messy got exposed for or just the parts Messy wanted to show him. Bc Luke said in his Story that he wasn't online lately so maybe he wasn't on Twitter too and Messy just showed him the parts that make her look good and he still doesn't know that she spoke bad about Ashton or how she stalked the fans also after she knew that they didn't hack his email adress cause he wasn't on Twitter so he couldn't see the screenshots.🤷‍♀️

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I'm just waiting for the day one of them date someone who isn't a part of their circle. tired of them passing around the same toxic girls.

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: These girls are just digging a whole for these guys and they want be able to get out of it soon

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: It was a chicken move for Sierra to do it as a reply and no one has talked on twitter that she deleted it because they probably think her deleting it is saying it wasn’t true

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: Am I the only one who thinks that guys really only heavily interact with us when they want to promote something or say something about the music? I do understand they have lives so being on Twitter isn't number one priority and with all the drama that surrounds this fandom its very easy to not want to be online a lot, I just can't help but feel that way

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I'm talking about this messy situation (no pun intended) with my friend and she said to me that Messy should consider changing her career if she can't handle that not all people are going to like her. (that ofc doesn't include any form of harassment bc that's not cool)

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I really don't know how to feel about the Luke situation. At first I was upset and disappointed of Luke but now I almost pity him bc real or not either the management would want Luke to defend her or Messy. And I think Luke isn't the kind of person who would stand up against the management or Messy (even though it would probably be better for him if he would). And most people don't realise when they're in a toxic relationship so I can't really blame him. I just hope this ends asap.

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I literally was so angry and frustrated with Luke and this whole situation yesterday that I couldn’t even look at him on my home screen, I had to change it. It’s really a disappointing thing to witness. Whether management put him up to this or he genuinely believes this toxicity is okay, I’m just very grumpy with him at the moment. He deserves better and WE (the fans) deserve better.

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I think Luke really needs to be in a relationship with sb who either isn't famous and doesn't want to be or with someone who is famous bc they have a successful career too and who doesn't need Like to be famous.

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I’ve only seen a few accounts on Twitter who are attacking Messy and Crusty to the core and exposing every bad thing they’ve done with receipts for the sossies defending them! I’m happy that karma is finally getting to those con artist who think they can get away with anything

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: that recent lierra picture is photoshoped lmao. if you look at Sierra's hand you can see color coming off from it and her arm looks hella weird.her forehead looks hella weird and look couldn't have taken the picture because I doubt that he could stretch his arm that far and make a perfect picture. also we haven't even seen Sierra's face so I still don't believe they're together

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: The Lemon pic was like a punch in the face (even though Petunia and Luke are looking cute there). But I've been asking myself lately if Luke has seen the whole drama going around on Twitter or just the posts Messy wanted him to know so the ones who make her look like the victim (and not the ones where she insulted Ashton or she made it clear that she stalked his fans). Cause Luke said he hasn't been online lately.

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I mean we dont know how much of the story he truly is aware of and how much s changed to fit her narrative and get L to feel bad for her. Plus he was under pressure from management to do damage control and not standing up for his gf is a very bad look for outsiders who dont understand why she's at fault. It was a pretty neutral statement and he was obviously told to make the post so I dont blame him and just blame her more for putting him in the situation in the 1st place

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I wonder how much toxicity happens behind the scenes, we know S is very manipulative and L is very much a people pleaser so.. and with how much they have to sell their "love" and "happiness" in the relationship. Minipulation is a powerful thing and it could explain why hes out of touch with reality, especially lately since he's isolated with her and doesnt have the voices of the band to raise any concerns and he's been getting skinny again and seems very "meh" rather than happy, idk

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I feel so disconnected with this fandom rn. I feel like no one is streaming CALM and that makes me sad bc it's such an amazing album. The boys aren't even online anymore, everyone is mad at each other and now Luke comes up with this shit... tbh I wish I would wake up tomorrow and see him tweeting something like yeah I'm sorry about my ig story I still love y'all lmao

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: Wait wait wait wait ive been gone from the fandom for a little while now and what the fuck is going on with Luke and S? What did S do that she made a fake ass apology for?? I’m so lost please help me! 😂

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I'm seeing a lot of my mutuals unstanning and I'm just so mad bc Sierra started this drama and got Luke into it and I'm sad that people are leaving bc of this, it's just too much toxicity and it shouldn't affect the band and their connection with the fans but with Luke saying this he makes it seem like he supports the ugly things she does

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I am a Luke stan and I've always loved him bc he has inspired me so much through the years but when he does this things it's like...damn. I feel like he's invalidating the fans' feelings by being like "if you don't like my girlfriend, ur fake" like he has never noticed me on Twitter or anything but my biggest fear is to be blocked by him or just ignored bc I don't like her (although I never expressed it publicly) n yeah anyways :// It feels weird

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: Going back and re-reading the DM’s messy literally confirms that she accesses Luke’s account by saying “we couldn’t get in” or some shit like that

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I hate being a luke stan, sometimes it just seems like he doesn't care? he always puts these toxic gfs before the ones who adore him and pay his bills. might just move into Cashton's lane. unproblematic kings.

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: He literally posted a picture of him cuddling her and petunia within the hour

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: The saddest part of this situation is it’s like a repeat of Arzaylea. Luke has no idea what a respectful, mature relationship is. We saw it with Arz and were seeing it again it’s just a little bit different. He stays being controlled and manipulated by toxic partners. I really think homeboy needs to be single for a WHILE and focus on himself. He needs to unlearn the things his past and current relationships have taught him about love because if I know anything, it’s that this ain’t real love.

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: Is it bad that I just want the larzaylea drama back?? Like everyone could at least agree on their feelings then...

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: Just checked messy’s insta and of course, everyone that still supports her filled her tagged with just the single picture

Anonymous said to 5sosbitchfest: I feel like the reason Sierra is getting away with what she’s done is because she isn’t that known. Like yeah she’s associated with 5sos, but they’re also like not that big which is probably why it’s getting swept under the rug. I’ve only seen the 5SOS fandom calling her out for her actions. If this had happened with a well known celebrity, they probably would’ve been dragged and been trending on Twitter. I might be wrong but I feel like this is what’s happening which is just unfair.

#kirby #luke #lemon #messy #messygate #messy's twitter drama

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randomoranges · 3 years

Text

here is a very self-indulgent blurb for a very self-indulgent au.

teaching is fucking hard ok. one day is like 4 weeks of work.

Friday Nights

The first thing Étienne does when he’s out of his winter gear is crash face first onto the sofa. There’s a pile of laundry that still needs to be folded, but he’ll get to it later. From the entrance, he hears his boyfriend chuckle and before long, there’s a dip in the sofa as Edward joins him. Étienne believes he’s moved some to give Edward room, but he realises it’s a thought he never put to action, when Edward nudges his legs so that they can properly take over the couch and have enough space for each other, the laundry and their accumulated fatigue.

“I thought this week would never end,” Edward groans from somewhere beside him. Étienne would like to snuggle up to him, put his head on Edward’s chest and get lulled by the rhythmic beating of his heart, but moving requires energy that he no longer has. Instead, he stays in his position, with a vague notion that some part of Edward is close by.

“I’m convinced today lasted seventy-two hours. I feel like I’ve been run over by a train.” He doesn’t even bother to properly turn his head so that Edward can hear him and if it comes out partially muffled by the sofa, he doesn’t care.

Étienne remembers a time when, not even some ten years ago, Friday nights were synonymous with fun and the words “good time.” He would go out, meet up with his friends, stay up late, and paint the town. Now, if he makes it ‘til midnight on a Friday night, he considers it a minor miracle. If they do anything exciting on a Friday night, he considers it an act of God.

To think, he used to be a fun guy.

Now his idea of fun is sleeping in on Saturday and maybe spend five minutes with his boyfriend, before catching up with the neglected housework, the grading, the planning, the e-mails he never got around to and preparing for the week to come.

Hell, Edward could strip before his very eyes and Étienne isn’t even sure he’d manage to remain awake to fully enjoy the show.

He silently mourns for all the things he could be doing now that it’s the weekend and that he’s not.

“When d’we get borin’?” He slurs and asks. He hopes Edward heard him. Shifting and turning his head sounds exhausting.

“When the school year started.” Edward replies bluntly.

A laugh manages to bubble past Étienne’s lips and Edward responds with a gentle squeeze to his leg.

Edward is right though. It’s the same thing every year. Just as they start recouping somewhere in the middle of July, summer comes to an end and when the school year starts, they’re perpetually playing catch up with their rest until the next break when they can recharge their batteries.

Oftentimes, Étienne wonders why he picked this job. It often feels as though he’s running a marathon without any proper training.

“I know we said we’d get the cleaning done today so we wouldn’t have to do it over the weekend, but I’m so tired. Can we get to it tomorrow?” Edward pleads, sounding desperate.

Étienne’s been living with him for three years now and every summer since he’s moved in, they’ve tried (and failed) to set New Methods to keep the house in order and every year, without fail, once October rolls in, it’s the same thing. The laundry accumulates, the dishwasher doesn’t get emptied out right away and the dust bunnies seem to have a more exciting sex life than they do.

It’s a miracle there’s food in the refrigerator.

He sees 750 students in a week, 150 per day, has to deal with their moods, needs to be entertaining enough, discipline the group and also keep them motivated, explain, clean, grade, prepare, plan, respond to e-mails, to administration, to calls and to meetings. He barely has any breaks in a day and lunch is an hour’s worth of catch-up. The chores can indeed wait.

“I think that’s the sexiest proposition you’ve made me since Thanksgiving.”

This time, it’s Edward who laughs. He feels more than sees Edward shift and manoeuvre them until they’re more comfortably placed on the sofa, laying on it together, Edward holding him close. He finally has his head on his boyfriend’s chest and Étienne lets out a content sigh.

“Are you turned on by my proposition, Curly?”

Étienne looks up in time to see Edward waggle his eyebrows in a comical suggestive way and he manages a tired grin and a weak swat to his chest.

“Maybe if it did a little dance for me, I would.”

They share a tired smile at that and settle against each other. Edward makes an attempt to rub Étienne’s back, but after a few strokes, his hand remains comfortably on Étienne’s back and even just that is nice.

“I don’t know how teachers’ who have kids do it.” Edward says suddenly, out of the blue.

“Maybe they’re not having them with a teacher partner. Maybe they’re super-humans. Honestly though, I don’t know. We can’t even manage to fold the friggin’ laundry. Can you image having to care for another kid after dealing with a whole bunch of them all day long? Doing more homework and assignments and whatnot after grading a whole stack?”

“Just the thought of it makes me even more tired. I have mad respect for them though. There was a girl in uni with me who was a single mom and was already teaching and finishing her degree. I honestly don’t know how she did it.”

Étienne whistles low. He doesn’t think he would have been able to do it. Hell, he didn’t even move out of his parents’ home until Edward asked him to move in. He’d tried. For a short while. But he hadn’t been able to properly care for his apartment, while teaching, grading, prepping, planning and trying to keep himself fed and alive. By Christmas he had moved back home.

At least Edward gets it. At least Edward feels the same as he does. It’s a perk to their relationship amongst many.

They both agree to the statement and get lost in their own scenarios of having to find even more energy to care for a child after a draining day of teaching. In fact, they get so lost in their own thoughts that when Étienne next mentions something, he realises that they both fell asleep for close to an hour.

He shakes his head, partially amused, a little annoyed and he watches him sleep for a moment. He considers waking him up, but then thinks better of it. He could get up and get a start on dinner, but even that sounds too complicated and draining. Instead, he decides, to lay his head back down and rest a little more. Maybe they’ll order in and call it a day afterwards. Tomorrow will be another day anyways.

#pc: montreal #pc: edmonton #edward murphy #étienne maisonneuve #au #ficlet #teacher au #3 sentence fic meme thing

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subasekabang · 4 years

Text

Past Nova - Chapter 03

Title: Past Nova - Chapter 03

Rating: T

Word Count: 12,665 [Ch 03: 4990]

Pairings/Characters: Neku Sakuraba. Beat. Shiki Misaki. Rhyme. Sota Honjo. Nao. Joshua Kiryu. Sota/Nao.

Warnings: Past Character Death mentions.

Summary: Neku and his new friends find that they’ve been brought back to life, time wound back as if the three weeks had never happened. It’s something that they don’t have time to adjust to though, as Neku realises that Sota and Nao are still alive, with no guarantee that the two won’t end up back in the UG. Even without a timer on his hand, time is ticking down - but Neku isn’t going to let Sota and Nao disappear without a fight. Not again.

Partner: @licobleps & HB Kit

Author’s Note: Here is the last chapter I made for Bang! Unfortunately, I, once again, have overestimated my time management skills and have not made it to the end of what I had planned to do for this Bang, sadly. However I’m proud of what I did manage to finish so far and hope you enjoy! I’ll definitely aim to write more super soon~

“If a star fell, what would it look like?”

The questions kept on coming from Nao and Sota didn’t mind.

“Maybe it would look like you, Nao.”

She was always brightening things in his life.

“Like me? No way! They’ve got to be, like, a lot more sparkly!” She put her hands on her hips. “And I don’t, like, really wear sparkles.”

“You think?”

Despite not having anything physical on her that ‘sparkled’, he could see that her eyes were glittering.

“Not sure. But I think I had a dream about a star that fell once.” The memory seemed to come by suddenly, almost like a shooting star itself. “It fell out of the sky and landed in the clouds. I tried to pick it up but then I woke up in my room. Then I realised the start was in my room. So I didn’t actually wake up. It was another dream!”

Sota paid attention to every single word.

Whatever dreams lay behind her those eyes, he wanted to be a part of them.

Chapter 03 - Casper Star

I don’t understand why you’re like this. Why can’t you be more like your sister?

When Beat woke up, light was streaming into the room and he could hear an alarm blaring by his bedside.

It was a good thing that Rhyme reminded him to put on an alarm because he would have slept through it. That would have sucked since they had things to get to do today. He jumped out of bed, grabbed some clothes off the floor, sniffed it - smells okay - and then changed into them. His room was messier than usual. He would probably get shouted at later but he didn’t really give a damn.

He was halfway out of his room when he stopped and looked back. He almost left his skateboard behind. He felt like he should have that with him today.

Rhyme was sitting at the dining table, all dressed up and ready to go.

“Les’ go.”

After yesterday, he couldn’t leave the others waiting for him.

xxxxx

“Yeah, c’mon. What’s going on that you had the balls to come back here, huh ‘Beat’? Or should I still be calling you - ‘Mad Boar’?”

Beat didn’t have anything to say to Yamazaki. He was here for the other two - he guessed now that their names were Sota and Nao. He hadn’t known that those were their other names before this. That wasn’t completely true, they probably mentioned it before but he had forgotten.

You couldn’t forget Yamazaki, though. No one was allowed to forget that name.

“I’m here to talk to Jo-san and Hoshi. Ain’t want nothin’ to do with you.”

“Some big talk from such a little punk.”

Beat was pretty tall himself, for his age but Yamazaki was not only taller but he was also stacked. He could tell, especially with Yamazaki getting right up in his face.

“Aniki, he’s, like, just a kid.” Hoshi tried to pull him back. He shook her off but he did step back.

“Ain’t much fun to square up with Mad Boar when he’s got a bunch of twigs with him.” Yamazaki flashed his brown eyes towards the others. “Don’t let me catch you around this ‘side of the park again. If I see you again, you’d better be here to join us or - ” he pointed his thumb downwards “ - be prepared to be buried here.” He brushed back his wild mess of blond hair, so light it was almost white. “Alright, Jo. Hoshi. Enjoy your little chit-chat with these brats.”

As the man started to walk down the steps, the others followed him, without a single instruction. That’s just the way things worked around here.

“Beat, what the hell was that about?”

He looked at Neku and he seemed angry.

“What?”

Then he realised that Shiki was practically hiding behind Neku. Rhyme, too, had moved closer the older two, grabbing onto Shiki’s wrist.

“Sorry,” he said immediately. “I didn’t wanna come here in the first place. But when you guys said to split up, I panicked, yo. I couldn’t let you guys jus’ come here on your own.” He messed up, again. “When I realised we were lookin’ for Jo-san and Hoshi, I just…I knew where they were gonna be an’ I knew Yamazaki was goin’ to be here an’ I didn’t want him seeing you first.”

“Okay? So if we were going to be running in with some shady people, you could’ve at least warned us,” Neku argued.

“Shady? Who’s is this kid, Beat?” Jo-san’s guard was up.

“No, I didn’t mean you Sota, I just meant - ”

“And how come you know my name? Pretty rude for a kid, aren’t you? How come you were looking for me?” Jo-san wanted answers but Neku wasn’t talking back.

“They’re my friends and sister, Jo-san,” Beat cut in. “They uh…” Guess he had to lie. “I told ‘em about you and they wanted to meet you.”

“Oh, are you, like, Beat Junior then? You’re totally adorbs.” Hoshi was probably the only person they met in those last few minutes that wasn’t intimidating.

Rhyme dropped her hold on Shiki’s wrist and extended her hand out. “I’m Rhyme.”

“Oh em gee, Beat and Rhyme? You two’ve got a twin look going on, aw!”

“Yeah, so it’s more like Skulls Junior.”

“That’s, like, totes precious!” She smiled broadly. “You can call me Nao. Or Nao Nao, for short.”

Leave it to Rhyme to get someone to like her within a few words.

“Hmph. Well if Nao likes you, then you guys can call me Sota.” That seemed to take the edge off Jo-san slightly. “So whaddya want? We got somewhere to be so we can’t hang around. And I know you didn’t bring them to where Yamazaki was at if it ain’t important.”

“Yeah we - gotta.” His mind was drawing a blank of what excuse they were supposed to use to pry info for Sunday out of him. “We gotta talk. I jus’ gotta talk to you, aight?”

“…Alright, man. But me an’ Nao seriously gotta go somewhere. I’ve got time tomorrow, so I’ll text you later.”

They left real quick after that.

“Beat.” Neku took Shiki by the arm. “I’m walking Shiki home for now. We’ll talk about this tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, man. I get it. I’ll see you guys.”

Xxxxx

Beat felt guilty, thinking about how spooked Shiki was. He asked if Rhyme had been scared too but she said it was fine. He still felt bad, though. That was the last kind of situation that he wanted Rhyme to see him in. He was just glad as hell that he never had accepted one of those white bands from Yamazaki…

He felt guiltier when they met up at their spot by Hachiko again and Shiki’s first words were all to try and make him feel better. “Sorry for worrying you guys. I think I just freaked out a bit, ‘cause…you know I can’t exactly use Mr. Mew in a fight in the RG. And those guys definitely wanted to pick a fight.”

“Who were they?” Neku asked the question, directed at Beat.

“They’re…” He glanced at Rhyme. She didn’t know about them yet.

“The Shirotora,” Rhyme filled in the words that Beat didn’t want to say. “They’re a gang.”

“Those are The Shirotora?” Shiki covered her mouth. “Oh god, you’re right! They were all wearing those white bands around their arms.”

“Never heard of ‘em,” said Neku.

“No offence but you’re not exactly up to date on a lot of things, Neku,” said Shiki, “but the White Tigers are getting pretty infamous around Shibuya. Especially ‘cause of who their leader is rumoured to be. I mean, not rumoured, anymore, I guess since we met him yesterday.”

“Yeah, Yamazaki’s their leader.” Beat was still trying to avoid eye contact with Rhyme, already feeling worse about the whole situation, since she already knew who the gang was.

“It’s the talk of the town because he’s rumoured to be Tora Ana Yamazaki’s brother.” The way Shiki said it, it seemed like it was supposed to cause some kinda reaction.

“…And who’s that supposed to be?”

“Neku, come on. She’s only the designer for Tigre Punks!” She put her hands up in the air. “She’s one of my role models!” Shiki cleared her throat. “Anyway, rumour has it that they’re siblings because - well, Shirotora - White Tigers - Tigre Punks. And also, statements from people who managed have run-ins with the leader have said there’s a resemblance. It’s a bit of a publicity crisis for her, ‘cause people like the ‘punk’ look but they don’t want to support any real gangs, of course. I mean, I didn’t think they were actually related but if they’re both Yamazaki….they’ve gotta be, right?”

Beat could only shrug. “I dunno, really.” He really didn’t.

“So, how do you know Yamazaki?”

It was gonna come out anyway.

He knew Neku didn’t want to force him to say anything. If he really didn’t want to say anything he knew he didn’t have to. But he had put them in danger by bringing them there, even right after he had promised to himself to make sure Rhyme was kept safe after the Game.

“I met Jo-san and Hoshi first. Phones, I told ya that I didn’t really get along with my parents, right? Well, after a while, since I didn’t care anymore…I just got into a bad mood. A lot. But I ain’t someone who just wants to punch someone when I’m angry. Some punks, though, they don’t like the way I look. Say I’m lookin’ at them funny. So they start fights.”

“And you fought, back?”

“Yeah, man? I wasn’t gonna just let ‘em treat me like a punchin’ bag. I had a big repitation after that.” By the way Neku was looking at him, he said pronounced something wrong, again but he continued, “So more of ‘em started coming and I just kept fighting. I dunno when but later I kept hearing people call me the ‘Mad Boar’.”

He hadn’t heard that nickname for a while. The bruises he got from fighting had all healed up by the time he entered the Game, but while talking about it, he could feel the phantom sting of pain on his knuckles.

“An’ one day I was fightin’ and there were like…ten of ‘em, I swear. I was losin’. But I guess Jo-san thought that wasn’t fair and he stepped in and helped me out. He doesn’t look like it but he’s really strong. Hoshi was there too, she helped to patch me up a bit.”

“We haven’t really actually hung out much but I have their number in ‘case I got in trouble again. And Jo-san and Hoshi would always show up. I didn’t know that they were with The Shiratora. Until Jo-san told me Yamazaki wanted to meet me. And turns out he wanted me to join them, as ‘payment’ for takin’ up Jo-san and Hoshi’s time. I said no, ‘course. I might get in fights my I ain’t bein’ a part of no gang.” He wanted to make this absolutely clear to all of them. “Yamazaki ain’t happy when people say no, so I’ve been tryna’ stay clear of ‘em.”

He finished there and took a breath, waiting to hear their reactions.

“Well, Beat.” Neku crossed his arms. “I’m surprisingly unsurprised.”

“Huh?”

“It just sounds…very like you.”

“Huh?”

“As in, I always thought you were a wannabe delinquent. But you’re a softie at heart so I knew you couldn’t be a real one.”

“Bwaaaah!?” A softie?! “I’m no softie - wait, is that a good thing? I ain’t no delinquent, either!”

“Ah, I get it.” Shiki snapped her fingers. “I bet the other times you got into fights would be something like…if there were older kids ganging on younger kids or something.”

“How’d you know that?”

“Or if someone was trying to steal someone’s wallet.”

“HUH? Were you guys watching me?”

The hell? How did they know all of that?

Then he heard a giggle.

“Yup! That’s my big brother.” Rhyme addressed him sternly, “but you really shouldn’t fight. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Rhyme didn’t look disappointed in him. Neither did his friends.

He didn’t know the words to describe how relieved he was.

“Hey, Beat, sorry for being really touchy with you yesterday and just now,” Neku said. “I just…I just don’t like the thought of any of you guys in danger. Especially when we’re on a mission to save people.”

Yeah, he got that.

“It’s cool, Phones.”

There was a buzz in his pocket. He flipped open his phone. Jo-san was going to be here in ten minutes. Beat told the others what the message was and they agreed on their plan of action. Hoshi was the friendlier one on first meeting, so they would try to make better friends with her first. Heck, she already liked Rhyme so this was going to be a piece of cake.

“Sup, guys.”

Ten minutes later, it was just Sota on his own.

“Why you all starin’ at me like that?”

“Where’s Nao?” Neku asked.

That seemed to be the wrong question because Jo-san pushed his shades higher up on his head. “I ain’t always with her, you know.”

“That’s a problem,” Neku muttered this and Beat was the only one who could hear it.

“Oh, so what’s Nao up to, then?” Shiki tried, putting on a cheerful voice.

“Somethin’. What’s with all the questions about Nao? You guys need somethin’ from her?”

Uh oh, this could be bad, Jo-san got really touchy about Hoshi.

“I thought she was really nice, yesterday,” said Rhyme. “Beat wanted us all to go skateboarding and I’m sad that she didn’t show up. The more the merrier, ya know?”

“You’re right, she is really nice.” All of a sudden, Jo-san was all smiles. “Skulls Junior, you’ve got a great sense for people.” He put his hands in his pockets. “Let’s go then, where are we heading off to board anyway?”

“Back to Miyashita Park,” said Beat. “S’long we don’t go over to the other side, it’d be fine.”

“Cool, let’s go, then.”

xxxxx

Beat hung around Miyashita Park a lot. Yeah, he was more likely to get into fights around here but since there were fewer people around, there was a lot more space for Beat to just stretch his legs and skate. Neku had whispered frantically to Beat, asking how exactly were they supposed to get other skateboards. They stopped by the Cosmic Corner shop and Beat asked the Iwata brother if he had any spare boards they could borrow. His Partner seemed shocked that the shopkeeper would just lend them the boards so easily. Beat didn’t know what the big deal was, he’d been here tons of times since forever ago and he could always buy stuff just fine?

After that detour, they ended up in the park again.

There weren’t exactly any concrete bowls in the park but there were steps and railings that Beat liked to practice on. He warmed up with a few lengths before realising that Neku and Shiki were having some trouble with it. Shiki hadn’t exactly come prepared for the activity (‘no one told me we were going to be skateboarding!’) and Neku was dressed fine but was struggling.

Neku got two feet onto his borrowed board for about a second before he somehow managed to slip back, sending the board rolling away from him.

Beat ran over to grab the board and help him.

“Phones, you alright?” He pulled Neku up, with ease. He was a bit taken aback by how light Neku was. “What happened to your balance, man?” He was pretty sure Neku had been fine when they were doing Fusions in the UG.

“Thanks, I’m good.” Neku tugged the pointed spike of his hair. “And I don’t know. Guess I can’t move as well in the RG.” He started just…staring at Beat.

“Why you lookin’ at me like that, Phones?” It made Beat feel a bit jittery when Neku stared him down like that.

“I just figured, maybe you were stupidly strong as a Reaper because you’re already stupid strong anyway.” Neku tapped at Beat’s arm. “I mean look at this, your arm’s like twice the size of mine.”

“And me too! Is this all muscle from fighting?” Now Shiki started prodding at his arm. “Or do you work out?”

Beat could feel his face flare up from all the sudden attention. Usually, people only crowded around him when they were, y’know, ready for a beat-down. This was an entirely foreign situation to him. “Y-yeah, I’ve got weights at home.”

“Yo, Beat.” Jo-san, who had been doing a few up and downs of his own, had come back to them. “Your friends going to skate, or what?”

They both stopped man-handling Beat, which he breathed a sigh of relief to.

“Sota, I was actually wondering if you could give me a few pointers,” Neku said. “Beat’s not that great of a teacher.”

“Say wha -! “

Before he could protest further, Rhyme was shushing him. When did she get here? He swore she was also doing her own thing since she wasn’t a novice either.

“You want me to teach you, Phones?” Jo-san sounded a mixture of both surprised and flattered. “Sure, man. Come over here. And you too, Glasses.”

The three went off to a little distance away and Jo-san started showing them how to hop on and off their boards. It looked like asking him for help was the thing that finally made him relax around them. He did seem to have a thing for helping people.

Neku said that Jo-san helped him out too during their second week. That was when Beat was still trying to attack Neku, so that must have meant a lot to him. And now Jo-san didn’t recognise him. It was the same as with him and Rhyme.

If she wasn’t the person she was, Beat probably would have had a lot more trouble trying to get her to be his Partner, especially since she didn’t remember he was her brother. She was trusting like that.

He glanced back at Rhyme who was back at practising her small tricks.

She was always the one that was quick on the uptake. Neku had said that he wasn’t good at teaching as an excuse, but he really wasn’t. Rhyme learnt all these tricks by herself, just from simply watching Beat. Not only did she always work hard but she also had a natural talent for things that he didn’t.

‘I don’t understand why you’re like this. Why can’t you be more like your sister?’

He almost forgot that he dreamt that last night but it suddenly came back to him. His parents hadn’t exactly said it outright like that but it was close enough to what they meant.

No need to keep thinking about the dream.

Beat distracted himself by practising some of his more advanced tricks. It had been a while and he was a bit rusty. He had lied to Rhyme when he said that being a pro skater was his dream. But as he kept saying it, it didn’t seem like too bad of an idea. His moves were pretty good and he enjoyed it. It was something that let him move around and expend all the extra energy he had; a way better way to do it, too, then getting into fights.

This session, he managed to pull off four out of the ten attempts he made at a Casper flip, so he thought he pretty much had it dialled.

He went to check in on how the others were doing, thinking that it had been a while.

Neku and Shiki looked wiped, they were covered in sweat and he thought he spotted a skinned knee.

“Oh hey, Beat.” Neku was panting, only just about propping himself up on his elbows while the rest of him lay on the floor. Shiki had given up entirely with her whole body splayed out.

“No…more…”

“Bwahaha, you guys are a mess!” He was laughing but he was impressed that they stuck to it for that long. Jo-san was actually a pretty good skater too.

“Need…water…” Shiki looked up at Beat from the ground. “Did we bring any?”

“Nope, totally forgot.” He rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly.

“Don’t sweat, we’ll get some for you,” Jo-san assured them.

“We’re already sweating, that’s the whole problem,” Neku mumbled.

“Hey Junior, stay with these two. Me an’ your bro are gonna get some drinks.”

“Haha, sit tight Phones, we’ll be right back!”

Rhyme trotted past them as they headed out of the park. The vending machines were close to the park entrance. Unfortunately, they were broken so Beat and Jo-san had to travel a bit further out. They found more vending machines on the corner of a nearby street. He was about to put some coins in when Jo-san stopped him. “Hey let’s sit down for a bit.”

The corner they were on was at the top of a set of stairs, winding down to a path lined with panels on one side and walls on the other. He didn’t recognise this route. Shibuya was changing all the time and he swore that they were building new things everywhere. There were a bunch of colourful ads under the panels for the latest hot products and they probably changed often too. Jo-san ended up mid-way down before finally sitting on the steps. Beat remained standing.

“How come you brought your board with you?” Jo-san questioned.

“Oh, I dunno.” Despite nearly forgetting it this morning, Beat hadn’t even realised that he was holding it under his arm until it was pointed out just then. He shifted his stance so that his board was standing vertically against the ground, allowing him to lean a bit into it.

“Interesting friends you got there.” Jo-san settled into a more comfortable position. “Didn’t think ya had friends. I mean, other than me an’ Nao.”

“Didn’t really know if you were my friend, Jo-san.” Really, he didn’t know if Jo-san considered him a friend. “But I owe you and Hoshi a lot and I respected you guys.”

“That so?”

It really made him wonder how he never ran into them in the second week. Maybe he was too busy trying to save Rhyme and concentrating on just taking out Neku like Shades had asked for. But he didn’t know what he would have done if Shades had asked him to attack Jo-san and Hoshi. Maybe he would have done it. He felt terrible for even thinking that but he really might have. He could only think of saving Rhyme.

“Didn’t know you had a sister either. You never mentioned.” With that timing, Beat had a brief thought that maybe Jo-san could scan him. Nah, of course not.

“Yeah, when I met you Jo-san, I wasn’t really talkin’ to Rhyme much.” He averted his gaze from Jo-san to the reflective panels next to them.

“How come?”

“I mean, she didn’t do anything. I was jus’ angry at my folks and took it out on her. I know it’s stupid.”

“You got strict parents?” Jo-san asked.

“Yeah.”

“Same here. I kinda guessed that before, though. You kinda remind me of me.” Jo-san looked up. “When I was a kid I got into so many more fights than you if you can believe it. My parents hated it. But I only did it ‘cause I didn’t want to follow their ‘path’.”

Yeah, that sounded familiar.

“I’m working part-time jobs right now but three days a week I’m working doing the thing I love.”

“What’s that?” Beat asked, actually never having thought about what kind of work Sota would be doing.

“I want to be a barber. Ya know, do haircuts for a living. Bet you didn’t expect that, huh?”

“Forreal?”

“Hell yeah. Nothin’ better than seeing the smile on a customer’s face when I save ‘em from a bad hair day. My dream is to be the best barber out there.”

Huh. What had Neku said earlier? ‘I’m surprisingly not surprised.’ That sounded about right for this too.

“That’s cool, dude.” Beat grinned. “You’re like Rhyme. She’s got a dream too.”

“You don’t?”

“Nah, not really. That’s kinda why me and my parents fought. ‘Cause they want me to ‘focus’ and have a ‘goal’ but I just…don’t.” He looked down at his skateboard. “I mean, I like boarding but it’s not my ‘dream’. Maybe I’ll keep doin’ it ‘cause I’m good at it but it’s not somethin’ I have to do.”

“I mean, you don’t have ‘ta have a dream, Beat.” Jo-san said. “You sound like you’re feeling down because you don’t have one. But it doesn’t matter. You can take it at your own pace. A dream isn’t everything.”

A dream isn’t everything.

He needed to be reminded that.

“Thanks, Jo-san. You’re a good friend.”

“No problem, man. And like I said, you can call me Sota.”

“Do you not like being called ‘Jo-san’?” It didn’t occur to Beat to ask. He had always just done it.

“I don’t hate it, and I don’t mind it from you but…it’s the name I use for The Shirotora. Nao also only uses Hoshi when we’re with Yamazaki and the others. So since we’re friends, I want you to call us by our real names.” His expression shifted from carefree to serious swiftly. “I’m glad you didn’t join us Beat. You already know this but Nao’s Yamazaki’s cousin. And I’m actually only with The Shirotora because I wouldn’t be able to date Nao if I wasn’t. There’s keepin’ family safe and then there’s bein’ crazy overprotective.”

Beat knew Sota wasn’t talking about him but he felt that it could apply to him. He was glad he snapped out of it and ended up helping Neku in the third week. He was sure Rhyme wouldn’t be proud of him if he continued as a Reaper.

“Then again, I dunno if I could talk. Being Yamazaki’s cousin means Nao can get in a lotta danger. An’ I’d do anything to keep Nao safe, even if I had to die to do it.”

His hand slipped at that, as he recalled jumping to save Rhyme from the car…jumping in front of Neku to save him from a brainwashed-Shiki. His skateboard clattered down a few steps and Sota only just about caught it.

Beat really hoped that trying to save Nao wasn’t the reason Sota and Nao died. That would be too similar to him…wouldn’t it?

Catching the skateboard had forced Sota off his feet. “Oh, that poster reminds me! I do have one more dream, actually. And that’s to marry Nao.” He grinned. “But enough about that, we’ve been talkin’ for a while. We were supposed to get drinks for your friends, right?”

He handed Beat his skateboard and announced he was heading back up to the vending machines first.

Beat took a look at the poster Sota was talking about. They had been standing near it the whole time but he had really clocked what was on it.

Oh, it was a poster of a plushie that Rhyme had mentioned wanting a while back.

He already got her the necklace but maybe he could get this for her next birthday.

“Is that supposed to be a cat or a dog? And it’s called a - how the hell are you supposed to read this - dori…dorimu…ita? Dream Eater?”

What a weird name for a toy.

xxxxx

Not only did Sota and Beat come back late but they apparently got the drinks Neku and Shiki wanted mixed up. They were too thirsty to complain too much about it, luckily for Beat. He was happy to have the cool soda wash down his throat himself, he was tired out already. They skipped out on lunch so he was hungry too. Hopefully, they could grab something on the way back.

“Sota’s on the phone,” Rhyme said, voice hushed. Oh yeah, he was. “I think he’s heading somewhere after work. The person told him to come without Nao.”

“She’s got good hearing,” Beat said when Neku and Shiki asked how she knew that.

“Should we try and follow him, tomorrow?” Neku asked. “I think we’ve made friends but if this has to do with those Shirotora people I think he’d want us to stay out of it.”

“If you and Beat do that, me and Rhyme could try talking to Nao.” Shiki suggested this between peeks at Sota’s ongoing phone call. “Sota gave me her number earlier when I mentioned that I’d like to ask her where she got her clothes from.”

“Okay, that sounds like a plan.”

Sota finished with his call and walked back over to the group. Beat tossed Sota his unopened can of Aquarius.

“Think we’re done for today, man,” Beat said. “These guys can’t skate no more.”

“Haha, that’s fine by me.”

Dragging the more tired members of their party along, they went back to Cosmic Corner to return their skateboards. Sota was going in a different direction to the rest of them so he said his goodbyes for the day then.

“Was fun hangin’ with you guys. We should do this again sometime.” He patted the top of Rhyme’s head, high-fived both Neku and Shiki and then held out a fist to Beat. “See you around.”

Beat bumped his own against Sota’s.

“Yeah, see you…Sota.”

As Sota got lost in the crowds, Beat turned to the others.

“Hey, we’re savin’ him. Him and Nao.”

They all nodded.

Beat may not have a dream but he had something else: the resolve to protect the ones that mattered.